“As I started reading about it, I saw that at the beginning of the 19th century, outside of New England - which was an unusually literate place - practically no one could read or write. And even in New England, the overall rate was only about 60 percent. That still means four out of 10 people couldn't put their name to a will.” PeopleWritingMeanStillsReadingNamesSawsFourCenturyPercentEnglandRate19th CenturyNew England Author:Robert Hass
“A movement got started for common schools, and by the end of the 19th century, 91 percent of Americans could read and write.” WritingEndsSchoolCommonCenturyMovementPercent19th Century Author:Robert Hass
“One thing we do know is that mass literacy is a product of the 19th century, at least in English-speaking cultures - Ireland, England, Scotland, Canada, and the U. S.” KnowsCultureOne ThingCenturyProductsMassEnglandCanadaIrelandScotlandLiteracy19th CenturyEnglish Speaking Author:Robert Hass
“You only had widespread literacy and books that people could afford in the middle of the 19th century. Did more people read poetry at the turn of the 20th century when there were about fifty million people?” PeopleBookTurnsMillionsMiddleCenturyFifty20th CenturyLiteracy19th Century Author:Robert Hass
“In the beginning of the 19th century, maybe forty percent of women and fifty percent of men could produce a signature, which meant that they'd had at least three years of education because it was in third grade that people started penmanship in the 19th century. And of course black people could get killed if they got caught teaching themselves to read in some parts of the country.” PeopleIfsMenYearsCountryThreeCoursesBlackTeachingCenturyProducePercentThirdsCaughtFiftyGradesFortyBlack PeopleThree Years19th CenturySignaturesThird GradePenmanship Author:Robert Hass
“Literature, the study of literature in English in the 19th century, did not belong to literary studies, which had to do with Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, but instead with elocution and public speaking. So when people read literature, it was to memorize and to recite it.” PeopleLiteratureStudyCenturyGreekLatinPublic Speaking19th CenturyHebrewElocution Author:Robert Hass
