OLD DELUDER SATAN ACT

The name given to the Massachusetts school ordinance of 1647, derived from its preamble, which begins, "It being one of the chief projects of that old deluder Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures." The legislation proper required that townships of 50 families or more appoint a common schoolmaster to teach reading and writing, his wages to be paid by either the parents or the town. Townships of 100 families were to establish a grammar school to prepare students for the university. Townships failing to comply with these demands were to pay a yearly fine of £5 to the nearest school until the order be carried out.

This ordinance is often quoted both as a measure to restrict Anglican and Catholic influence through the imposition of Puritan belief, and as the first Colonial legislative approval of the Calvinist principle of union of church and state in education with the latter given the authority to promote education as a public service. The preamble, however, seems rather an expression of religious belief offered as motivation to fulfill an obligation that had educational, social, and religious ramifications: the training of citizens who would be of service to church and state rather than a charge upon the community.

Although schools had been established by free initiative before the 1647 ordinance, they were few and not widely effective. The ordinance of 1642, the first Massachusetts educational legislation, had placed the responsibility for the literacy of children and indentured servants upon the heads of families. Since this legislation had proved insufficient, the 1647 ordinance required the establishment of an educational system and offered religious motivation and monetary sanctions to ensure its organization.

Bibliography: s. e. morison, The Intellectual Life of Colonial New England (New York 1956).

[f. f. burch]