In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes became the first president to make a strong case for universally available public education. “Universal suffrage should rest upon universal education,†he said in his inaugural address, adding that “liberal and permanent provision should be made for the support of free schools.†Hayes, a Republican, didn’t worry that some poor kid might benefit from access to “free stuff,†nor did he believe that the children of wealthy elites should be excluded from the universal nature of the program. For him, education was the basis for full economic and political participation, and full participation was the basis for all prosperity. An education should be available to all regardless of anyone’s station.
