In this history of American education, educators strove to use schooling as a great equalizer. In the beginning of the 1800s before the Civil War, educational opportunities were limited to middle and upper class white males; women and African Americans were not permitted equal opportunities. Following emancipation, black schools became established, and freed slaves could have an education. Despite this positive change, schools were segregated and unequal. In the late 1800s the market economy expanded and modern educational ideas of public schools were prioritized. Schools became more accessible for all races, genders, and social classes. The early twentieth century educational structures expanded upon these ideas of social mobility and continued