Voters in early America were virtually all land-owning white men which generally speaking, meant they were able to read and write English. (Although there were some areas of the country, especially in Pennsylvania's Quaker communities, where German was the dominant language.) Depending on where in the country he lived and his father's social and economic status, the voter likely studied with a tutor, attended a school or academy as a young man or picked up literacy skills as a part of his apprenticeship with a craftsman or his father.

A formal course of study would typically, but not always, include Greek, Latin, some math, and some Sciences. If asked, he could likely recite from memory passages from the classics canon (such as an essay by Plato) as it would have been required for admission to Harvard or Yale. The voters with the highest level of formal academic language were likely those who read the law, which typically required studying with a practicing lawyer or taking additional classes at a college or university that offered them.

A voter who picked up a trade or owned a farmed likely had a more functional education which focused on bookkeeping, natural sciences, and reading the newspaper to stay up to date on current events.