This 28 page booklet is a compendium of the Connecticut state statutes in force relative to the common or public schools and the establishment of new schools. The text was assembled as a result of a resolution by the Connecticut general assembly in May 1843 and authorized by the state’s Secretary of State. This 1843 version was published 10 years after the “Black Law” was passed in Canterbury, Connecticut which made it illegal for Prudence Crandall’s school to teach African American students from states other than Connecticut. Several students were from nearby Rhode Island. While the law was repealed in 1838, Crandall’s school was closed for student safety after being vandalized in September 1834. This 1843 list of Connecticut school legislation was followed by a later 1866 version.
Noah A. Phelps (1788-1872) was a New Haven, Connecticut lawyer, judge, and member of the Connecticut State Legislature. While serving as the Secretary of State during the 1840s, he compiled this compendium of Connecticut statutes.
J. Gaylord Wells was a Hartford-based printing company active in the mid-19th Century.