Second Assembly of Pennsylvania (March 10, 1683) passed the following law:
<Chapter CXII. And to the end that the poor as well as the rich may be instructed in good and commendable learning, which is to be preferred before wealth,
BE IT ENACTED, etc., That all persons in this Province and Territories thereof, having children, and all the guardians and trustees of orphans, shall cause such to be instructed in reading and writing, so that they may be able to read the Scriptures and to write by the time they attain to twelve years of age; and that then they be taught some useful trade or skill, that the poor may work to live, and the rich if they become poor may not want: of which every County Court shall take care. And in case such parents, guardians and overseers shall be found deficient in this respect, every such parent, guardian and overseer shall pay for every such child, five pounds, except there should appear an incapacity in body or understanding to hinder it.> 1682SA001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement
Endnotes:
1682SA001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Second Assembly of Pennsylvania, March 10, 1683, law passed.