"Mass literacy is very much the result of concerted efforts by the state to provide universal education..." This isn't necessarily accurate. The U.S. was a hi

"Mass literacy is very much the result of concerted efforts by the state to provide universal education..." This isn't necessarily accurate. The U.S. was a highly literate society before the advent of state sponsored, public education. State sponsored education did indeed increase the literacy rate because many states forced parents to send children to school. http://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp#illiteracy http://nces.ed.gov/naal/lit_history.asp#illiteracy