Classical Education of our Founding Fathers

This past weekend my family had the pleasure of hearing a reading of the Declaration of Independence during a local Fourth of July celebration. That brought to mind an article I recently read about the education of our founding fathers. Here were some interesting facts:

• Thomas Jefferson was trained by a tutor at an early age in Latin, Greek and French, then later continued his studies at a classical academy and the College of William and Mary.
• Alexander Hamilton entered King’s College (now Columbia University) with the expectation that he have a mastery of Greek and Latin grammar and the ability to translate the first ten chapters of the Gospel of John from Greek into Latin.
• James Madison was expected to write Latin prose, translate Virgil and the Greek gospels, and have an adequate knowledge of Latin and Greek grammar when he applied to the College of New Jersey (now Princeton).
• Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 30 were college graduates (which was an astounding number for that time).

Although not everyone received formal education in those days, it was rare to find anyone who could not read or write. Of note, ministers of that time were the ones most likely to have a classical education; therefore, it was not uncommon to find that several of the founding fathers were taught by clergyman.

The founders were dedicated to learning and had a great respect for the work of the ancients. It was through these works that they studied governments that worked well, and from that, formed their ideas of how they wanted their new government to be structured.

I am inspired by the character and work of these founders, and feel God used their spiritual upbringing and classical education to shape them into the leaders they became. Wouldn’t I want the same for my own children?