Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. Elements of power within the public educational system are examined as Hurst begins the lecture by explaining Thomas Jefferson's thoughts on education as a service to the individual. This concept is expanded upon as the costs involved in individual liberty and political abuse are examined and used to explain America's present-day system of separation of church and state. The past ideas on public education are linked to the need for competent leaders, and the nation's transition to a system of broad suffrage. Thomas Jefferson's views on voting rights are compared to John Adam's opinion on the natural aristocracy, and the use of education to shape the electorate. The presence of land titling as basic to one's political character is also discussed as the lecture moves onto the legislature's role in curbing abusive power and John Marshall's court.
