Formative influences on adult education in America
Part 1: Adult education in early America
Informal and literary endeavors
The evolution of regulated access
Part 2: The early National and Antebellum eras
Education's role in building the New Republic
The "elaborate experiments"
Developing the "true woman"
Part 3: Adult education in an era of modernization
Preparing for civic and work life
Challenging the limits to advancement and mobility
Supporting the new industrial and urban order
Part 4: The nation amid crisis and recovery
Ordering knowledge for the American public
Education's role in addressing unfinished agendas
Educational responses to national emergencies
Part 5: America at the peak of world power
Entering the age of adult education
Adult education's critical and conserving functions
Crafting a national agenda for adult education
Conclusion: Becoming responsive to the needs of all learners.
