This article examines the work of the Caracas-born philosopher, Simón Rodríguez (1771-1854), with respect to the role that popular education should play in the new nations of the Americas. Rodríguez, like many of the new Creole elite, had rapidly understood that one of the main challenges facing the new states was the absence of a citizenry who could enliven civic and political life. Although popular education had already been extensively addressed by the Bourbon reforms since the mid-eighteenth century, the problem became even more pertinent once the new states embraced the principle of popular sovereignty, the institutional framework of republicanism, and a formal definition of freedom. Facing this challenge, the new governments adopted the Lancaster system and implemented wide-reaching educational programs. The article examines Rodríguez’s criticism of the Lancaster system and proposes three axes of analysis to better understand his own educational proposal: his notion of the originality of American societies; his principle of social interdependence; and the role of education in forming active, critical, and creative citizens, the only sure basis on which the new republics could survive.