“Free Schools” Summary

In the short story “Free Schools” by DeWitt Clinton, there is a theme of ignorance. The author believes that ignorance is the  effect of the government not guiding the people in the right direction. He believes that the poor are not educated enough and that with education, they will then be informed about the rights they have, and how everyone is entitled to these rights. “After a full view of the case, those persons of whom I have spoken agreed that the evil must be corrected at its source, and that education was the sovereign prescription” (89). DeWitt Clinton believed that once everyone was able to have access to education, there would be no social class difference as everyone would be educated the same way.