Act of March 2, 1867, Public Law 39-73, 14 STAT 434, which established the Department of Education
3/2/1867
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The U.S. Department of Education describes the original 1867 department's function was "to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems."
Transcript
[page 1][stamp in upper left corner] Received
Mar. 1 1867
[handwritten on line printed at top of page] Thirty-ninth
[handwritten at top of page] Pub 73
[typeset] Congress of the United States, At the [handwritten] second [end handwritten]
Session,
Begun and held at the CITY OF WASHINGTON, in the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, on
Monday, the [handwritten on printed line] third [end handwritten] day of December,
Eighteen Hundred and [handwritten on printed line] sixty-six. [end handwritten]
[printed double line]
AN ACT
[handwritten] To establish a Department of Education. [end handwritten]
[printed double line]
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congress assembled, [rest of document handwritten] That there shall be
established, at the city of Washington, a Department of Education, for the purpose of
collecting such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of
education in the several States and Territories, and of diffusing such information
respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems and
methods of teaching as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment
and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of
education throughout the country.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President, by,
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Commissioner of Education, who shall
be entrusted with the management of the department herein established, and who shall
receive a salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and who shall have authority to
appoint one chief clerk of his department, who shall receive a salary of two thousand
dollars per annum; one clerk, who shall receive a salary of eigthteen hundred dollars
per annum; and one clerk who shall receive a salary of sixteen hundred dollars per
annum; which said clerks shall be subject to the appointing and removing power of the
Commissioner of Education.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of
Education to present annually to Congress a report embodying the results of his
investigations and labors, together with a statement of such facts and recommendations
as will in his judgment subserve the purpose for which this department is established.
In the first report made by the Commissioner of Education
[page 2]
under this act, there shall be presented a statement of the several grants of land made
by Congress to promote education, and the manner in which these several trusts have
been managed, the amount of funds arising therefrom, and the annual proceeds of the
same, as far as the same can be determined.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Public Buildings is hereby
authorized and directed to furnish proper offices for the use of the department herein
established.
[signed] Schuyler Colfax
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
[signed] La Fayette S. Foster
President of the Senate pro tempore.
[Signed] Approved March 2d 1867—
Andrew Johnson
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 299821
Full Citation: Act of March 2, 1867, Public Law 39-73, 14 STAT 434, which established the Department of Education; 3/2/1867; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/act-of-march-2-1867-public-law-3973-14-stat-434-which-established-the-department-of-education, March 28, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.