("Yankee Doodle") - [Narrator] Did you know that Thomas Jefferson advocated for state-funded education?

Jefferson is known for being the main author of the Declaration of Independence.

Jefferson believed democracy could not work without well-informed citizens, so in his home state of Virginia, he proposed a free public education system outside religious influence.

At the time, education was private and for the wealthy.

Jefferson imagined three years of funded elementary instruction for all the free children, male and female.

Secondary and higher education, an option for boys only, was tuition-based with scholarships available to poor but promising scholars.

When he was unable to achieve this dream, he founded the University of Virginia, where he was finally able to form a modern secular university.

Today, we continue to debate how to create equitable and accessible education for an informed America.

("Yankee Doodle" continues)