For many public spirited men in Massachusetts, 1837 was a turning point. After more than a decade of agitation for common school reform, the venerable and cumbersome General Court had finally consented to establish a State Board of Education. At the time there was some confusion as to what this new body might accomplish, but it was generally acknowledged that its most important act would be to select the right man as its executive secretary. The establishment of the board was the result of collective effort on the part of various reformers throughout the state, but if there was any man who could claim it as a personal triumph, that man was James Gordon Carter of Lancaster, teacher, editor, and legislator.