Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/119



In order to understand the ideals and the motives of the Episcopal Church in its efforts to promote education in Oregon, it is necessary to know something of the traditions of that church as revealed in its earlier activities in America and in England. In the latter country the Church of England has always insisted upon church control of education. As a result of this and the fact that this church is much stronger in England than any other, it held practically a monopoly of elementary and secondary education until 1870. In that year an act was passed creating elementary schools outside of church influence and control, and in 1902 the system was so revised that education was still further taken out of the hands of the church. In spite of these changes, however, it may be said that the Angelican Church still practically controls half of the elementary and secondary schools of England today.

In the early history of the American colonies, we find the Episcopal Church again active in educational activities. In addition to numerous elementary and secondary schools founded in the Middle and Southern colonies, we find such prominent colleges as King's College, the forerunner of Columbia University, in New York, and William and Mary College, in Virginia, founded by this church in the eighteenth century. It is therefore to be expected that, when a sufficient number of church members had settled in Oregon to have organized church activities, they would very soon take up the problem of education. One feature of Episcopal schools which has been characteristic both in England and in America, and is re-