In today's society, many Americans feel the need to pursue the "American Dream". The American Dream is most commonly associated with success, freedom, and happiness. This concept seems to have dwindled from where it was in past generations. It has gone from success, freedom, and happiness to having lots of money and the nicest possessions. To achieve the status of being successful, many feel that the best way to reach their goal is to receive the best education they can get. Education in the early nineteenth century was thought of to be essential in the prosperity and survival of the nation. The philosophy at the time was that education would build a better society and it would enable the nation to compete better with other countries. In the next century, that same philosophy carried over. But the attitude towards education was not the same as it was in the previous century. The quality of education declined due to many different reasons. To bring the quality of education back up, America in the twenty-first century should turn to a "multicultural" education system. With the diversity in the United States, it would be more beneficial to the nation. .
After the American Revolution, the founders of the United States argued that education was essential for the prosperity and survival of the new nation. Thomas Jefferson was the first American leader to suggest a publicly funded school system. In 1779, he proposed an education plan that would have supported free schooling for all children in the state of Virginia for three years. The best students from this group would continue in school at public expense through adolescence. The most advanced of these students would go on to publicly funded colleges. Jefferson's proposal was never enacted and his idea of selecting the best and brightest students for special advantage failed to gain widespread support. However, Jefferson's plans for universal education and for publicly funded schools formed the basis of education systems developed in the nineteenth century (Mondale 22).