The story of Detroit / by George B. Catlin.

FOUNDING OF MICHIGAN'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 379

Gov. Mason asked what man in Mr. Crary's estimation was
best qualified to serve as superintendent of public instruction,
and at Crary's suggestion the Governor appointed the Rev.
Mr. Pierce to the office. When the appointment was later confirmed, the legislature asked Mr. Pierce to prepare a plan for
the organization and the support of the public schools of
Michigan.
Mr. Pierce had five months for the framing of his scheme and
he went east to counsel with educators of larger experience. He
conferred with John A. Dix and Gov. Marcy of New York, with
Gov. Edward Everett of Massachusetts, President Humphrey
of Amherst College, President Day of Yale, and a number of
other distinguished men of the time. He also attended the
American Institute of Instruction at Worcester, Mass., a college of professional teachers at Cincinnati, and a convention of
teachers held at Cleveland. Before this convention Mr. Pierce
outlined his half-formed plans for Michigan. A prominent
educator of Ohio remarked that "their state was o5 years
behind Michigan for lack of such a beginning and such a man
as Mr. Pierce."
The report of the Rev. Mr. Pierce submitted to the Michigan legislature that winter was filled with innovations, but it
was so admirably and reasonably stated that it was adopted
without a dissenting vote.
The next big question which confronted Mr. Pierce and the
legislature of Michigan was the ways and means of putting the
new educational scheme into operation and sustaining it. For
many years it had been the custom of Congress to reserve
Section I6 of each township to be devoted to educational
purposes.
As a rule as soon as Congress would make these grants the
local land-grabbers would utilize their political pull to have the
public school lands sold and the land speculators would bid them
in for a song. Rarely was a price of more than SI an acre
realized and sometimes they were sold for less.
At that time any Michigan man who tried to influence
Congress was under a handicap. Congress was inclined to be