This is an outline I created for the essay using research. It is taken from various sources. It''s far from complete but hopefully gives an idea of where I think the essay should go. This paper attempts to analyse some of events leading to the 1870 education act and the reasons that the state needed to take control of education in England and Wales. Why some individuals and organisations were in favour of a national system of education and others who did not back such an initiative will be explored. The events that lead directly to the birth of the modern system of education in England are to be sought mainly in the second half of the 19th-century. There were certain individuals at the beginning of the 19th century who were in favour of widespread education, however, for a number of reasons, they did not have the backing either of the government or of the people. Later on in the century leaders of the Chartist Movement and the Radicals were in favour of some sort of national system of education. However, it is safe to say that there was no widespread desire for the education of the population as a whole. In the social legislation of this period education did not become a real priority until the year of the first Education Act, 1870. Obstacles in way of a national system of free compulsory education. Economic development and the increase of wealth were seen to be priority issues. The question of education only attracted very limited attention. Tendencies and events favouring national education. The Education Act of 1870. Religious instruction was an integral part of the school curriculum but was not compulsory. This was to be nondenominational. Since 1870 Voluntary Schools declined except Roman Catholic Schools because Boards Schools provided better buildings and higher pay for teachers. Elementary education became effectively free with the passing of the 1891 Education Act. Industrial revolution 1760-1840.