Before Maryland developed a system of public education in the nineteenth century, formal education was
limited to the wealthy who educated their children abroad or in local academies and considered education the
duty of parents, not government. The British concept of "free schools," privately endowed institutions providing
a classical education to upper class children and subsidizing a few charity pupils, was influential. Nonetheless,
legislative appropriations to private academies incensed farmers and poor folks who resented paying for the
education of rich men's sons and thought any taxation to support schools was more of the same. Local opinion
favored local control, and local politics resulted in the appointment of poor teachers, mismanaged funds, and
voter apathy. The fervor of Jacksonian democracy led to strong public educational systems elsewhere but had
little effect in Maryland. Concern for education was often expressed; concensus was rarely reached; and only
when public outcry became quite insistent did the legislature act.

Colonial Education. In the colonial period, Maryland attempted to establish free schools. The General
Assembly, in 1695, assessed a tax on the export of furs to raise funds for these schools. In 1696, certain
gentlemen, having subscribed quite liberally themselves, were appointed as a board of trustees and visitors
to establish first a free school in Annapolis, then one on the Eastern Shore, and ultimately a free school
in each of the existing twelve counties, as funds allowed (Chapter 17, Acts of 1696). Yet, only one school
was founded—King William's School (later St. John's College) in Annapolis. In 1717, another financing
act taxed importation of Irish Catholic servants and Negro slaves to support public education (Chapter
10, Acts of 1717). Enough funds had accrued from the various taxes by 1723 for a distribution to be made
to the twelve counties. Boards of trustees were appointed in each county and instructed to purchase one
hundred acres of land in a central location with a dwelling house and other conveniences for a schoolmaster,
who was to be paid twenty pounds per year (Chapter 19, Acts of 1723). A 1728 law specified that the
schoolmaster was to teach as many poor children as the local board determined, indicating that the "free
schools" were not tuition-free (Chapter 8, Acts of 1728). Apparently, schools established under the 1723
act soon were floundering due to lack of funds and qualified teachers, despite additional revenue from
fines, forfeitures, and the estates of intestate persons. In several instances, county schools were absorbed
by the flourishing private academies or consolidated with schools of adjoining counties.

Development of a Public School System. The idea that the new republic needed educated citizens had some
impact in Maryland. In 1798, a prominent educator exhorted the General Assembly to establish a State
board of education and a uniform system of public schools. In 1812, the State began to raise money for
a Free School Fund by taxing the renewal of bank charters (Chapter 79, Acts of 1812). Legislation followed
in 1816 providing for nine Commissioners of the School Fund in each county to distribute the Free School
Fund (Chapter 256, Acts of 1816). Realizing that Fund monies would not be sufficient, five counties
requested the first property tax assessment to pay for the education of poor children (Chapter 244, Acts
of 1816). Caroline County voters were given the option of deciding whether their public school would
be supported by voluntary contributions or property taxes (Chapter 250, Acts of 1816).