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 spread of literacy
The "elaborate experiments"
Education and labor
Developing the "true woman"
Education and minorities
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.