The proposed research deals with the expansion of the Catholic school system in the United States at the turn of the century. Using archival data from 1870 to 1930 the project will involve the comparison of public and private school enrollments. Most studies of the growth in education in the United States have concentrated on the public school system. This research will provide a much more balanced picture of educational expansion by combining figures for both the public and private schools. Thus, this study will contribute to an understanding of the expansion in education, the similarities and differences in the factors affecting private and public school growth, and the links between the private and public school enrollments.
