Introduction
Currently in today’s advanced society, compulsory public education is taken for granted by most, but its beginnings are found in the works of social and educational reformists, such as Hannah More. Found in this general informational and interactive website about Ms. More, some of the answers to questions about historical and public events that prompted Ms. More to expand educational opportunities to the poor in the face of intense criticism, as well as author documents that were widely distributed to the masses can be discovered. These documents, known as Cheap Repositories, offered people access to morally conservative stories that were also relate-able to people across class lines. These writings were considered some of the first educational pieces for children. By offering children moral guidance as well as teaching reading and other skills that improved their potential employment opportunities (skills that were often included as part of the written stories themselves), More offered an entire generation an opportunity to climb the previously impenetrable social ladder. However, questions and criticisms about faith, political agendas, leadership and authority of the church, and the role of women would all be issues that Ms. More faced during her work writing the Cheap Repositories. Parents were warned not to allow their children access to the works, that they may be corrupted and turned into atheists. (Anti-Jacobian Review, iii)
While Ms. More did not necessarily write all the Cheap Repository tracts herself, she was the brainchild behind their origin. Here, the focus will be on four specific documents, Betty Brown, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plains, Part One and Part Two, and Hester Wilmot. These stories are very representative of the types of stories written by Ms. More, and they exemplify the tensions between classes, the need to educate the poor, and the moral obligation of the wealthy to help the poor. Women working and becoming independent, one point of criticism in her work is central to the theme of some of her writings. Also, providing educational opportunities for the poor become part of the stories themselves. Growing concerns over food shortages and rioting of the poor in parts of the world influenced Ms. More to encourage philanthropy and reform. She saw education as a fundamental manner by which the poor could improve their condition.
Currently in today’s advanced society, compulsory public education is taken for granted by most, but its beginnings are found in the works of social and educational reformists, such as Hannah More. Found in this general informational and interactive website about Ms. More, some of the answers to questions about historical and public events that prompted Ms. More to expand educational opportunities to the poor in the face of intense criticism, as well as author documents that were widely distributed to the masses can be discovered. These documents, known as Cheap Repositories, offered people access to morally conservative stories that were also relate-able to people across class lines. These writings were considered some of the first educational pieces for children. By offering children moral guidance as well as teaching reading and other skills that improved their potential employment opportunities (skills that were often included as part of the written stories themselves), More offered an entire generation an opportunity to climb the previously impenetrable social ladder. However, questions and criticisms about faith, political agendas, leadership and authority of the church, and the role of women would all be issues that Ms. More faced during her work writing the Cheap Repositories. Parents were warned not to allow their children access to the works, that they may be corrupted and turned into atheists. (Anti-Jacobian Review, iii)
While Ms. More did not necessarily write all the Cheap Repository tracts herself, she was the brainchild behind their origin. Here, the focus will be on four specific documents, Betty Brown, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plains, Part One and Part Two, and Hester Wilmot. These stories are very representative of the types of stories written by Ms. More, and they exemplify the tensions between classes, the need to educate the poor, and the moral obligation of the wealthy to help the poor. Women working and becoming independent, one point of criticism in her work is central to the theme of some of her writings. Also, providing educational opportunities for the poor become part of the stories themselves. Growing concerns over food shortages and rioting of the poor in parts of the world influenced Ms. More to encourage philanthropy and reform. She saw education as a fundamental manner by which the poor could improve their condition.