This dissertation has been 63-2495 microfilmed exactly as received

GILLIOM, Morris Eugene, 1932- THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING RECONSTRUCTION, 1865-1876.

The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1962 Education, history

University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan IHE DEVELOPMENT OP PUBLIC EDUCATION IN

NORTH CAROLINA DURINO RECONSTRUCTION 1865-1876

DISSERTATION

Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By Morris Eugene Qllllom, A. B., M. A.

******

The Ohio State University 1962

Approved by

A d V l B ^ Department oC^aucatlon ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to express his sincere gratitude to the many people who were of assistance to him during the completion of his doctoral program and the writing of this dissertation. Acknowledgment is extended to Dr. Hugh

D. Laughlln, Dr. Henry H. Simms, Dr. Collins W. Burnett, and Dr. Alan Griffin. Special thanks are due Dr. Robert E.

Jewett, the writer's friend and adviser, for his Invaluable advice, counsel and encouragement. Finally, special indebtedness is acknowledged to the writer's wife, Bonnie

Lee, for her tolerance and for unceasing help and inspiration.

ii CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... 11 TABLES ...... v

INTRODUCTION...... 1

Chapter

I. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH PRIOR TO RECONSTRUCTION ...... 3

Colonial Period (1607-1750) Period of Emerging Nationalism (1750-1835) Period of Progress (1835-1B61) The War Years (1861-1865)

II. EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE 1365 .... 5^ Early Barriers to Education Early Efforts to Encourage Education The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 and Public Education The Academy in North Carolina Increased Agitation for Common Schools Establishment of the Literary Fund Passage of the 1939 Public School Law Calvin H. Wiley Elected State Superin­ tendent of Public Instruction Significance of North Carolina's Ante- Bellum Educational Efforts North Carolina Putalic Schools During the Civil War

III. THE GOVERNMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA AND PUBLIC E D U C A T I O N ...... 30

The Presidential Plan for Reconstruction The Rise of the Radicals Radical Reconstruction

III Page

IV. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ...... 105

Lo b s of the Literary Fund The Effect of the War on North Carolina's Economy Corruption under the Radicals Economic Conditions and their Effect on Public Education Public School Support during Presidential Reconstruction Public School Support during Radical Reconstruction Summary

V. THE RACE PROBLEM AND NEGRO EDUCATION DURING RECONSTRUCTION ...... 133 The Effect of Freedom on the Negroes North Carolina Denied Readmission to the Union The North Carolina "Black Code" Educational Efforts, IQ65-I869 Negro Education during Radical Reconstruction Problems Faced by Negro Schools Summary

VI. WORK OF ORGANIZATIONS...... 152

Educational Efforts by Northern Organizations The Peabody Fund

VII. EFFORTS OF LEADERS ...... 184 Suspension of State Superintendent Wiley Efforts of Wiley's Successors Educational Leadership by Government Officials

VIII. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ...... 193

Teachers of the Reconstruction Period The Public School Curriculum Textbooks Schoolhouses Signs of Professional Awakening in 1873

IX. CONCLUSIONS 219 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . 224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY . . 232 iv TABLES

Table Page

1. Resources o£ North Carolina's Literary Fund, 1 8 * 1 0 ...... 69

2. Sources of Public School Funds, l34l-l86l .... J2

3. Number of Negro Schools, Teachers and Pupils in North Carolina, 1 8 6 9...... 162

v INTRODUCTION

Reconstruction was a crucial period for public educa­

tion in North Carolina. Prom 1865 to 1876 the public

schools struggled for sheer existence against forces bred of poverty, ignorance and prejudice, despite the fact that before the Civil War North Carolina had made impressive educational advances and was reputed to have the finest

public school system In the ante-bellum South. That a state

with such a progressive background should fail miserably to meet the educational needs of her youth during the critical

years following the Civil War was one of the tragedies of

the Reconstruction Period. It is the purpose of this work to Investigate analyti­

cally and historically the chief forces that influenced

North Carolina public education from 1865 to 1876 so as to develop some basl for a judgment about the causes for the

state's postwar educational decline. In order to provide an

historical background for the consideration of the period,

two chapters are devoted to educational devdLopments in the

South and in North Carolina prior to 1 8 6 5. Topics discussed

in the study of Reconstruction Include economic conditions

1 the support of public education, the government of North

Carolina and public education, the race problem and Negro education, the work of organizations, efforts of individual

leaders, and the characteristics of the public schools. CHAPTER I

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH

PRIOR TO RECONSTRUCTION

There were four rather distinct periods of educa­ tional development in the South prior to the beginning of

Reconstruction in 1865* The first was the Colonial Period, dating from 1607 to approximately 1750. During this phase of development, education in the southern colonies was greatly influenced by European traditions, institutions, and customs carried to American soil by the colonists, as well as by the social, economic, and political conditions than existing in England.

Ihe second period, from 1750 to 1835* was the Period of Emerging Nationalism. These years were marked by efforts of the colonists to meet successfully the demands of their new and unique environment.

Ttie third period, dating from 1835 to 1865, can be titled the Period of Reform. It was during these twenty- six years that giant strides were taken to lay the founda­ tion for the development of a satisfactory system of public education.

The final period includes the Civil War years from

1861 to 1 865. Unfortunately, most educational reforms 4 accomplished prior to the war were wiped out by the destruc­ tion of human and material resources during the conflict and by the extreme poverty which was to follow.

Colonial Period (1607-1750)

Most educational practices In the South during the

Colonial Period were inherited directly from England and reflected the social, political, economic, and religious circumstances existing in the mother country at that time.

For example, the English poor laws, necessitated by the growth of a huge dependent class resulting from great sixteenth and seventeenth century social and economic upheavals, included features which set a clear precedent for the apprenticeship system used in the colonies.

Chief features of the poor law legislation, passed mainly between 1572 and 1601, were finally Incorporated in the law of 1601 which became England's statutory foundation for a national system of relief. This law provided for the assessment of definite compulsory contributions to relieve the poor and unfortunate, and called for the appointment of overseers of the poor. These overseers were to supervise the distribution of relief to the deserving poor, to apprentice children of the poor so that they could learn a useful trade, and to set to work able-bodied vagrants and beggars.^ The poor laws were not necessarily educational in

■•■Edgar tf. Knight, Public Education in the South, p. 7* 5

Intent, but they became the basis of the only training provided for many English children, and in turn became the foundation upon which American colonial apprenticeship developed.

Colonial Apprenticeship

The principle that education is a means for promoting the general welfare seems to have been accepted rather early

In the South. Colonial apprenticeship was officially designed to provide vocational and industrial training for poor children, orphans, and illegitimate children and to promote community prosperity. Practical application of this concept, however, tended to lag. Edgar Knight stated:

This wide difference between a principle of social growth and the practical application of It in community cooperation finds a somewhat striking illustration In the early efforts of the governing bodieB to control and care for the poor and depend­ ent children in the southern colonies, ttiat effort found expression in the laws dealing with apprentice­ ship and in the practices prevailing under them.2

Apprenticeship practices were adopted as early as 1642 in the South. In that year Virginia followed the pattern set by the northern colonies by passing an act recognizing the principle of the English Poor Law of 1601. The Virginia law established that the overseers or guardians of appren­ tices were responsible to the county courts for the proper care, vocational training, and appropriate education of their charges.

2Ibld., p. 48. 6

Apprenticeship legislation was theoretically enacted for religious, educational, humanitarian, moral, and voca­ tional reasons, but there Is some evidence that economic influences may have been the strongest motive. Practices as carried out under the system suggest that the interest of many masters lay In the area of economics and personal gain rather than in education for the good of the apprentice.

Complaints against masters for falling to comply with the law were frequent, and penalties for neglect were often heavy.

Drake gives a good illustration of the operation of the apprenticeship system which grew out of the Virginia law of 1642 in the following account of a specific case:

By virtue of this law, the courts sought employ­ ment for two orphans, a boy and a girl, in the public flax factory at Jamestown. The children were to be furnished by the county with 'slxe barrels of come, two cowerletts, or one rugg and one blankett, one bed, one wooden bowle or tray, two pewterspoons, a sow shote of six months and two laying hens, convenient apparel, both linen and woolen, with hose and shoes.1 For the master's services, the apprentice was required to agree to serve his master faithfully, keep his secrets, do him no ham, protect him against others, not lend or sell his goods unlaw­ fully, and not marry or commit fornication. The apprentice was forbidden the right to play cards or dice. He could not leave the master's ser­ vices day or night without the master's consent. He also pledged himself not to haunt ale houses, taverns, or playhouses.-3

^william E. Drake, The American School In Transition, p. 75. 7

In theory, the master legally obligated himself to see to It that his apprentice secured an elementary educa­ tion; but masters often found ways of getting around this law. Because of a lack of written records, It Is difficult to measure the extent to which the apprenticeship syBtem was used. It Is equally difficult to evaluate the educa­ tional features of the system since Its success depended mainly upon the Interest of the master ln"book learning."

The apprenticeship system was haphazard and generally poorly administered, and the Injection of the element of charity in education through the u b o of the system tended to Inhibit the natural growth of a healthy attitude toward public education. In a sense, however, the system did help to establish the foundation for later development of com­ pulsory education, and to provide a measure of education and vocational training for children who otherwise would have had none.

Charity Schools English Influence was evident in another educational institution which appeared in the southern colonies— the charity or pauper school. These schools were often estab­ lished and supported by foundations or endowments, a system of support popular in England at that time. The Symms school and the Eaton school are typical examples of insti­ tutions established under such plans. The will of Benjamin Symms, dated February, 163^, set aside property for estab­ lishing a free school in Elizabeth County, Virginia, so that a free education could be offered to the children of that

county. The school established by Symms has been called

11 the earliest foundation for free education made in English (tii America by a citizen of an English colony. Symm*' example

was followed by Thomas Eaton, an Elizabeth County physician, who contributed five hundred acres of land and other prop­ erty for the Bupport of a free school. Both the Symms and

Eaton schools provided educational opportunity to many children of those counties, and served as model schools for other Virginia communities.5

Charity schools were sometimes supported through the efforts of organizations such as the Society for the Propa­ gation of the Oospel in Foreign Parts, an auxiliary of the

Established Anglican Church established in 1 7 0.^ 1 This

society founded schools in each of the southern colonies except Virginia, and, although religion was the basis of the curriculum, reading, writing, and arithmetic were also normally taught. The society's work was most extensive in

South Carolina where its work began in 1705. Although ------Zj------Knight, op. clt., p. 2 9.

^Drake, op. clt., p. 73.

^Newton Edwards and Herman 0. Richey, The School in the American Social Order, p. 183. 9 instruction in the Society schools was based upon religion and tended to perpetuate the charity aspect of public educa­ tion, these institutions probably were the nearest thing to a public school organization found in the South prior to the

Revolution.7

Education of Children of the Wealthy Children of the wealthy class in the South received quite a different education from those who served as appren­ tices or attended charity schools. The education of the aristocrat was patterned closely after that of the well-to- do in England. These children normally received their early training under the direction of a tutor who taught them a wide range of subjects and guided them through various practical experiences designed to prepare them to assume

their proper position among the southern elite.

On a typical southern plantation, for example, a tutor instructed a boy the art of commanding, under the assumption that he would some day assume the responsibility of running the plantation. The pupil was usually given some authority over slaves, and learned, by working with the overseer, how to carry out the affairs of the estate. He learned about farming, the cultivation of cropB, and the curing and shipping of tobacco, and acquired skills needed for caring for stock, and merchandising. He not only learned to love ------Knight, op. clt., pp. 26-27. 10 outdoor life and to excel in fishing, huncirig, horseracing, and Bwlmmlng, but he also learned to appreciate the music, art and good literature which surrounded him. In addition, courtesy, hospitality, and an Interest in politics were Q cultivated early.

After his tutorial training, the child of the aristo­ crat usually entered a Latin Orammar School in America or was sent to Europe for further training. Hie I^tin Grammar

School, transferred directly from England, was eventually established in all the southern colonies except Oeorgla and was the only secondary unit in the colonies until the rise of the academy late in the eighteenth century. The Sole purpose of the Latin Grammar school was to provide training for college entrance, and it was in no sense a public school.

The schools were often well-endowed by Individuals or groups of wealthy men, but students were required to pay tuition fees. Only the select of the church and state, socially and professiondly, were admitted to study Its classical curriculum— its training was for leaders and not for the masses.

Influences of the Established Church Hie maintenance of the Established Church as a primary part of the social system of the South was a chief factor in

Sprake, op. clt., p. 7^.

9Ibid., p. 81. the alow growth of educational Interest In that area. The

Anglican Church, established by law In all the southern

colonies, adopted many policies which tended to Inhibit

religious liberty and educational opportunity.10 The Act of Uniformity, aB renewed in 1562, for example, excluded

clergymen from holding their benefices If they refused to

accept in its entirety the Book of Common Prayer. The act

further required the license of a Bishop as a qualification

for teaching and excluded dissenters from the privileges of

the university. The Five Mile Act of 1665 provided that any

clergymen excluded by the Act of Uniformity were required to

take an oath that they would never take up arms against the king or attempt to alter the governing procedures of the

Church or state. Those who refused to take the oath were not permitted to go within five miles of any borrough or

any place where they had previously ministered.11

In a later period, a reproduction in the colonies of

the English Schism Act of 171** required a license Issued by

the Bishop of London if one were to offer instruction of

any kind. This, of course, made It very difficult for dis­

senters to instruct in any manner, and, In turn, hindered educational development. Education was viewed as a function

of the church or the family, and this tended to undermine

10Edwards and Richey, op. clt., p. 182.

H-Knight, op. clt., p. 74. 12 any public concern for schools. Elaborate measures were taken to protect the church, but near the close of the

Colonial Period It lost much of Its power. As It did, however, resulting religious dissension tended to delay educational cooperation.

Influence of Class Consciousness

Perhaps the most significant and lasting Influence

England had on education In the colonies was the nurturing of the concept that education was a privilege reserved for the wealthy and was not available to the common man.

Settlers In the southern colonies were accustomed to English educational practices resulting from such theories, and, as a result, support for free public education developed slowly. In 1671 Governor Berkeley of Virginia expressed the popular attitude of the planting group toward education When he declared:

I thank God there are no free schools nor print­ ing, and I hope we Bhall not have these for a hundred years, for learning has brought disobedience and heresy and sects Into the world, and printing has divulged (them) and libels against the best government. God keep us from both. 13

The struggle to overcome this extreme class conscious­ ness was long and difficult, but by the end of the Colonial — ------Truman N. Pierce, et al., White and Negro Schools In the South, p. 25* 13willlam B. Hesse1tine and David L. Smiley, The South In American History, p. 3 8. 13 Period progress waB slowly being made. During the Period of Emerging Nationalism, there was to be a shift In think­

ing on the rights of man and the obligations of government, and from the events of that period a new attitude toward public education gradually began to emerge.

Influence of the Plantation System

Educational practices In the colonies cannot be

traced to English Influences alone, however, for other cir­ cumstances peculiar to the South tended to affect educa­

tional development. One of the moBt important of these

Influences was the plantation system. Because of the fertile soil and mild climate, the tendency In the South

was toward agricultural pursuits and rural life rather than

toward urban development. There were few towns; the popu­ lation was widely scattered; and large landholders soon

became the dominating Influence In southern society. With

the growth of the plantation system, existing class cleavages became further pronounced, and, since the aristocracy was

concerned only with the education of its own children, com­ munity Interest in education was practically non-existent.1**

Another by-product of the plantation system which helped to sharpen class lines was the slave system. Slaves

were first brought to America In 1619# and, after that date,

the Negro population increased rapidly. By 1750 half of the

14Edgard W. Knight, Public Education In the United States, pp. 24-26. 14

population of Virginia was made up of Blaves; and, by *he

time of the American Revolution, Negroes comprised two-

thirds of the population of South Carolina. In Georgia and

North Carolina, too, Negroes were numerous.

Education of the Negro

Although the presence of the Negro in the South was

to be a very significant factor in educational development

after the Civil War, the Negro slave in the seventeenth

century was placed at the bottom of the social scale, and

this fact precluded nearly all educational efforts on his

behalf. MoBt people simply considered that education for

the Negro was unnecessary and impractical. A few Negroes

were taught to read the Scriptures by missionaries working

with the Society for the Propagation of the Oospel In

Foreign Parts, and Negroes were occasionally apprenticed

and provided with the opportunity to learn a trade. With

education beyond the reach of most White children during

the Colonial Period, however, It is not surprising that

practically no educational opportunities were open to the Negro.*5

Characteristics of the Colonial School Teachers of the Colonial Period were normally not

well prepared for their Jobs, although many were undoubtedly

^5pierce, op. clt., p. 27. ^ 15 sincere and some did have a considerable amount of training.

Hiey often moved from one community to another accepting teaching positions anywhere they could be hired. Some of the early teachers were local clergymen or lay readers In the church who sought to supplement their salaries by col­ lecting tuition f e e s . 1 ^ According to Drake, there seemed to be a basic pattern of qualifications for the colonial teacher. He was expected to be sound In the doctrine of the church. He had to be a good disciplinarian— a quality that usually required a strong right arm and a hard head.

He was to be meek enough quietly to accept orders from higher authorities, and yet he was expected to be domineer­ ing enough to exact absolute obedience from his pupils.^

Hie school buildings were usually constructed of logs and were furnished with nothing more than rough-hewn log benches. Teaching methods were wasteful; group Instruction was rarely used. Discipline was usually harsh, and most pupils considered the teacher a person to be feared.

Although reading seemed to be the most important sub­ ject taught In colonial charity schools, elementary arith­ metic, writing, and spelling were covered to some extent.

Hie few textbooks available were printed in England; and, until after the Revolution, there were very few texts not

^Knight, Public Education In the South, p. 42.

^Dralfip, op. clt., p. 94. 16 based upon religious or moral purposes. Hie texts normally used in the charity schools and the church schools were hornbooks, primers, the Psalter, The Bible, and the catechism. The well-known "NSw England Primer" which was so popular in the North eventually found its way into south­ ern schools and was used there for many years.1®

Summary

The Colonial Period must be viewed as a time of transition, when the colonists who were attempting to carve out new lives in a new and demanding environment were greatly Influenced by the traditions and customs carried with them from England. Because of these traditions and the peculiar circumstances existing in the South, Interest in educational matters developed slowly. As the Colonial

Period ended, however, Interest in education gradually began to Increase; and, during the Period of Emerging Nationalism, public school systems began to take shape in the South*

The Period of Emerging Nationalism ------11750- 1055)------Decline of Religious Conservatism

During the final years of the Colonfel Period and the years of the Period of Emerging Nationalism prior to the War for Independence. the extreme religious conservatism typical of the colonial South began to pass away. This shift was to

iaKnight, op. clt., pp. 43-44. 17 have far-reaching effects on educational thinking after the war. Ellwood P. Cubberly has written:

By 1750 the change In religious thinking had be­ come quite marked. Especially was the change evi­ denced in the dying out of the old religious fervor and Intolerance, and the breaking up of the old religious solidarity. While most of the colonies continued to maintain an established church, other sects had to be admitted to the colony and given freedom of worship, and once admitted, they were found not to be so bad after all.iy

Many reasons are given for the weakening of the churoh's hold on the people. The hard-working frontier settlers had little time for church matters and religious controversy. An increase in shipping and other commercial

Interests tended to focus the minds of people on secular interests and activities. Many non-religious paupers and criminals were deported from English jails to the southern colonies. The rising individualism in both Europe and Ameri­ ca resulted in a natural reaction against the dogmatic rule 20 of the church.

The shift in religious attitude during the Period of

Emerging Nationalism was reflected in the Bill of Rights, which became a part of the United States Constitution on

December 15, 1791* Article I of the Bill of Rights forbade

Congress to establish a state religion or to prohibit the free exercise of religion. The original states which had had

-^pierce, loc. clt.

^^Ellwood P. Cubberly, Public Education in the United States, p. 59* 18 state religions, religious tests for public offices, and public taxation for the support of religion soon discon­ tinued such procedures, and they vrere prohibited In new states from the beginning.^1

One notable effect of the change In attitude toward religion was the transfer of responsibility for training the poor from the church to governmental authorities. By the time of the Revolutionary War every southern colony had passed laws making the education of poor children a state function. These laws, and the change in thinking they repre­ sented, were Important steps In defining the state's social obligations and In eventually undermining the attitude that education was strictly a religious or family matter. On the other hand, the laws seemed to make public education synony­ mous with charity schooling. This Idea waB held for many decades In the South and proved to be a giant barrier which seriously hlndred the successful development of public school systems in that section.

Increase of Educational Efforts by Private groups

When the church's authority had*been weakened and Its educational activities limited, It became necessary for new groups to fill the educational vacuum created. One such organization which took steps to support the cause of educa­ tion was the Winijaw Indigo Society, lhis particular

^Pierce, op. clt., pp. 27-28. organization was founded by a group of planters in George­

town, South Carolina, about 17^0 for the purpose of improv­

ing indigo, a principal staple of the period. Members

turned the organization into a "convivial club" and met monthly to discuss the latest news from London. Gradually

the group became interested in education, and, finding

Itself with surplus funds in 1753» it voted to establish an

independent charity school for the poor. A school was

founded between Charleston, South Carolina, and the North

Carolina border; it served that area for more than one oo hundred years.

The Sunday School Movement

Another of the early philanthropic efforts designed

to provide a measure of education for poor children was the

Sunday School movement. This plan was tried in England

about 1630, but had little success until 1780. That year a

publisher named Robert Raikes,of Gloucester, gathered to­

gether the poor children in the pin factories of the city

and paid four women a shilling apiece to spend their Sundays

teaching them to read the catechism. Ralkes1 idea was

brought to America; and, In 1786, a Sunday School of this

type was established in Hanover County, Virginia. In 1 787,

a Sunday School for Negro children was organized at

Charleston, South Carolina* In 1790, a Methodist Conference

22Knight, op. clt., p. 32. 20 at Charleston ordered Sunday Schools to be established near every church* Ibis movement was Important In the South as it stirred the wealthy classes to do something toward edu­ cating the children of the poor. These schools, In addition to being open to the poor, had a small but growing Influence

In destroying class distinctions and in making a common day school seem possible. The Period of Emerging Nationalism also marked the inception and growth of the academy. Soon after the

Philadelphia Academy, proposed by Benjamin Franklin, was opened In 1751* similar Institutions began to appear through­ out the South. The American academy has often been termed a product of the frontier period of national development and the laissez faire theory of government, lhe early academies, however, were usually under denominational or ecclesiastical control; they were often established with the purpose of promoting denominational Interests. As time passed and the number of denominations increased, It became very difficult to promote academies and still meet denominational demands.

Protest gradually grew agalnBt the use of schools as a means of teaching unquestioning obedience to religious dogma, and the principle that sectarianism and denomlnatlonallsm should 2ii not be a part of the school training finally evolved.

*^Cubberly, op. olt., pp. 121-122.

2i*Ibld., pp. 73-76. 21 Although It was a private school, and In the South principally a college preparatory institution, the rapid

spread of the academy and Its variants indicated a growing concern for education. Generally, it performed the tasks

later assumed by the public high school; and there is little doubt that it made people more aware of the educational needs of the time and was an important stimulus in the drive for acceptance of public schools. Concerning the academy,

Edgar Knight said:

The purpose of the academy was usually the same, whether large or small. With the growth of a strong democratic spirit in the revolutionary period the idea of a liberal education appeared, and the ideal of education for its own sake and for its value in promoting individual worth developed. This idea of a liberal education for heightening individual development was the dom­ inant aim of the academy movement, and while the academy primarily served those individuals who were atib to pay for its advantages, it also served in a larger way the entire community.25

Whereas the Latin Grammar school offered a very lim­

ited curriculum, the academy often offered a wide variety of

subjects. The academy was designed to meet the Increasing

demands of those who did not wish to attend college as well

as those who did, and to $raln those who wanted more advanced schooling than was offered by the district or com­ mon school that appeared In the South during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

------55------Knight, op. clt.,p. 77* 22

The academy took from the Latin Grammar school such college preparatory subjects as Latin, Greek, and mathematics, and until 1300 these three subjects constituted the main requirements for college admission. During the first sixty years of the nineteenth century only five new subjects appeared in college requirements geography, about 1307;

English grammar, about 1319; algebra, about 1820; geometry, about 1344, and ancient history, about 1847.

Academies were normally privately controlled and were managed by an incorporated board of trustees. The trustees usually requested nothing more from the state than incorpor­ ation providing them with legal existence and giving them complete control over the activities of the school. This recognition was ordinarily acquired with little difficulty.

At times, academies requested special privileges from the state, such as the right to conduct lotteries for the pur­ pose of raising funds. Tftese legal privileges were often granted in exchange for tuition-free admission of certain poor children to the school.

The buildings which housed the academies were gen­ erally rather crude, although occasionally a sturdy and cred­ itable structure was erected. The buildings were usually constructed of wood; better-endowed schools were sometimes of brick. Comfortable furniture was seldom provided, and

gbIbld., p. 1 0 6. 23 blackboards were rarely in evidence. Only the more fortunate students were exposed to such learning aids as maps and globes. Although very few of the earlier teachers had had any specific training for their work, they were often quite capable. Discipline In the academies was harsh, and instruction was generally thorough. In some cases academy graduates were admitted to colleges with advanced standing* Teachers' salaries varied greatly from school to school, but teachers were usually paid a salary by the board of trustees. Sometimes, however, they received a combination of salary and money collected by fees or were paid from funds gathered by collection of fees.27

The manual-labor school which appeared during the colonial period received Impetus from the Industrial work of the Pestalozzi-Fellmnberg movement which was popular during the first quarter of the nineteenth century. In theBe schools the Btudents were expected to study and attend classes in the morning and farm or work in shops In the afternoon. The first manual-labor school In the United

States Beems to have been established at Lethe, South

Carolina, by the will of Dr. John De La Howe, which was written In 1786. This school functioned effectively from

1803 until the Civil War, when loss of endowment forced it to close. By 1830 most of the states appear to have had one

27Ibld., p. 108. 24

or more institutions in which manual labor was a central

feature.2®

Many arguments were given by the supporters of the

Manual-labor movement for their ideas. In 1832 Theodore D.

Weld, general agent for the Society for Promoting Manual

Labor in Literary Institutions, made a report containing elaborate claimB supporting the movement as being a neces­

sary part of a successful educational system. ThiB report

claimed that the system of education currently, in use

jeopardized the health of the students, tended to effeminate

the mind, was a threat to morals, did not stimulate effort, destroyed good work habits, and was bo expensive that its practical results were antl-democratlc. The manual-labor features, on the other hand, would furnish the kind of exercises needed by the Btudents. The report argued that military exercises were proper in strictly military schools, but were not adapted to any other and would not be until fighting and human butchery became accepted vocations. It was claimed that ordinary gymnastics were not suitable because they lacked pecuniary value and did n>t produce material results. Veld claimed that manual labor would correct these and many other educational defects. It would furnish natural exercise and would produce moral and well-

trained students. In addition, the plan would promote habits of Industry, independence of characters, and orlg- A

gt5Ibld.T pp. 98-99. 25 lnality. The report promised that manual labor would reduce the expenses of education, Increase wealth, and make 29 all forms of honest labor honorable.

The Society Itself was short-lived; after Weld had served one year as Its general agent, another agent was never appointed. Although several schools adopted the manual labor features, especially In the 1830*8 and 18^0*s, most of them soon abandoned the plan because It proved to be Impractical and unsatisfactory. The scheme seemed to fall because of practical difficulties rather than Inherent weaknesses, but one lasting result of the movement was the

Introduction of athletics Into educational Institutions.

The manual labor Idea was not completely abandoned, however, and It later appeared In the Morrill Act of 1862, an act which was to have significant Influence on Industrial train­ ing In the United States.

The military school was very popular In the South before the Civil War, especially In South Carolina and

Virginia. IftlB popularity resulted partly from slavery and the patrol system of control; partly from the Influence of

West Point, which was established in 1802; and partly from the natural appeal of military life to the southern aristoc­ racy. Captain Alden Partridge, one-time superintendent of

z9Theodore D. Weld, Plrst Annual Report of the Society for the Promotion oT~Hanuai Training in Literary Institutions (lB33). PP. 1-5« 26 the United States Military Academy, founded the Virginia

Literary, Scientific, and Military Institute at Portsmouth,

Virginia, in 1839* In the same year, the Virginia Military

Institute was established in Lexington, following closely the general plan of Infest Point. As military taining became more popular, schools of this type multiplied in the South; by the middle of the nineteenth century they had numerous 30 graduates scattered throughout the southern states.

The academies of the Period of Emerging Nationalism faced many difficulties in their struggle for existence, and their success or failure must be measured in light of of the period in which they existed. They appeared at a time when an educational vacuum would likely have existed with­ out them, and they helped educators to make a significant break from the strict classical curriculum to one more practical and in step with the needs of the time. As a result of the academy movement, colleges began to sense that they were not meeting the needs of the people, and they began to adjust their purposes and curriculum. Too, the academy became the forerunner of the normal school as it became the chief source of supplying elementary teachers.

Effects of the Revolutionary War on Education

Although the religious stranglehold on education was broken during the Period of Emerging Nationalism and efforts

^ D r a k e , o p . cit., p. 144. 27 of individuals and organizations in behalf of education early in the period were encouraging, the effect of the

Revolutionary War on all types of schools was disastrous.

Ifte growing troubles with England had for more than a decade diverted attention away from education to other matters, and political discussion and agitation largely monopolized the

thinking of time. With the outbreak of the war, education was doomed to suffer even more. Most of the rural and parochial schools were forced to close or were able to operate on only a limited basis. The war consumed the energy and resources of the people throughout the colonies, and southern schools especially were allowed to fall into disrepair or to vanish completely.

After the war the stateB were impoverished and exhausted, and huge debts had been accumulated. The thirteen

states, with a total population of only 3,330,000, had ac­ cumulated debts totaling $75*000,000 during the conflict with

England. ^ Cubberly described the period in the following

terms: Commerce was dead, the government of the Confed­ eration was impotent, petty insurrections were common, the states were quarreling continually with one another over all kinds of trivial matters, and there were conflicting and overlapping claims to western lands to be settled. England still re­ mained more or less hostile and foreign complications began to appear. It seemed as if the colonies, having united to obtain political liberty,might now lose it through quarreling among themselves. The

^Cubberly, op. clt., p. 84. 28

period from the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town, In 1731, to the adoption of the Constitution and the Inauguration of the new government In 1739# was a very critical period In American history.32

RIb s of a New Spirit of Social Consciousness Considering the difficulties faced by the young nation at this time, It Is little wonder that education was not of prime concern. As the Period of Emerging Nationalism drew to a close, however, a new spirit began to be felt; and social ideas voiced during the period were to have far- reaching effects for years to come. A quickening of social

consciousness was reflected by an Increase In denominational activity and educational efforts of many kinds. ISiese efforts took many forms: the organization of many foreign and home missions, the appearance of theological institu­

tions, the establishment of new secondary schools and col­

leges and Improvement of old ones, and the formation of organizations for promoting moral and social reform. A new

Ideal of education In the broad sense was In the making.33

Respected leaders such as Washington, Jefferson,

Madison, Jay, Hancock, and DeWltt Clinton Bpoke and wrote

widely In Bupport of universal education as a necessary meanB of preparing citizens for civic responsibilities, and

3^Ibid., P- 84. ^Knight, op. cit., p. 116. 29 people with insight began to realize that there was educa­ tional significance in the extension of manhood suffrage.

Prior to the separation of church and state, education had not been considered a function with which the state was particularly concerned. The right to vote had been care­ fully limited by rellglouB and property qualifications, and there seemed to be no particular reason why the state should be concerned with schools. Citizens who qualified for the vote by meeting the requirements could adequately provide for the education of their children, and it seemed unneces­ sary for the state to educate people who would not be

leaders. With the extension of the vote to all classes of

the population, however, this situation was changed, and

responsible men began to realize that an educated populace had become a vital necessity to a democratic state.

DeWltt Clinton, a northern politician and educational leader, made clear his feelings on the state's responsibility for education when he stated:

The first duty of government, and the surest evidence of good government, is the encouragement of education. A general diffusion of knowledge is a precursor and protector of republican institu­ tions, and in it we must confide as the conserva­ tive power that will watch over our liberties and guard them against fraud, Intrigue, corruption, and violence. I consider the system of our com­ mon schools as the palladium of our freedom, for no reasonable apprehension can be entertained of its subversion as long as the great body of the people are enlightened by education.5

■■-qil------J Cubberly, op. elt., p. 155• 30

Southern leaders, too, began actively to urge the support of public schools, ftiomas Jefferson, for example, although his famous school bill of 1779 was defeated by the

Virginia Legislature, continued to work tirelessly for the cause of public education. Governor Henry Middleton of

South Carolina, another supporter of public education, stated in 1311:

I cannot Buffer the present occasion to pass, without bringing to your view the propriety of establishing free schools, in all those parts of the State where such institutions are wanted; there can scarcely be a difference of opinion of the advantages which a country must generally de­ rive from the instruction of its people; but one of the first objects of a government, founded on popular rights, should be to diffuse the benefits of education as widely as possible; and to en­ lighten and inform the whole mass of that people, whose collective will controls and directs the energies of the country. A system of general in­ struction is essential to the preservation of our political institutions.33

Qovernor William Carroll expressed similar feelings when he addressed the State Legislature of Tennessee In 1323. He said:

The subject of education has often been recom­ mended and it claims to the fostering care of the Legislature cannot be too strongly urged. Our colleges and academies have languished for the want of those funds so essential to their prospects and usefulness. A strong and very laudable desire seems generally to be manifested, that we should not be dependent upon the literary institutions of our sister states for the education of our sons. We have the means, and it is only necessary that they should be brought into action, and Tennessee

S^Knight, op. cit., p. 130. 31 will soon be as distinguished for her literary attainments as she has been for the defense of her rlghtB.3o

Of course, this awakened Interest in education did not have immediate effect, especially in the South. Many years would pass before the principle of equal political opportunity among men was accompanied by a similar principle of equal educational opportunity.37

Southern Attitude Toward Education after the RevolutionaryU S r

Following the Revolutionary War, the belief still was popular in the South that education was a private matter and was of no official concern to the state. As a result of this feeling, the majority of schools in operation were those private schools attended by children of the wealthy. In general, the aristocratic class disapproved of public edu­ cation because It meant that they would have to support schools to educate the children of someone else. To compli­ cate matters, the poorer classes had contempt for public schools because of the charity stigma that had been attached to them.

So far as the masses were concerned, the South was the most backward section of the United States education­ ally when the American Republic was formed. The theory that representative government must be built upon an educated

3blbld., p. 140.

37Ibld., p. 156. populace was only slowly accepted in that section. The earliest significant evidence which seems to show that the idea was being accepted in the South was the constitutional provisions made by the states to support education. Five of the nine southern states created before 1834 made specific reference to education in their constitution! and the remaining four and all new states eventually provided for education in their respective constitutions. A drawback of this legislation before 1835» however, was that it was extremely general and vague. For example! constitutional authorization for public education usually was nothing more than a brief statement to the effect that education should be encouraged. The actual advances made for public educa­ tion during these years were relatively slight, but an important fact is that an idea had been planted, and it was beginning to grow and win friends daily.

The New Social Consciousness and the negro

The social doctrine of the period proclaiming the equality of men had its effects upon the lives of many

Negroes. Acts of manumission became more common, so it appears as if some people were becoming convinced that even the Nfegro deserved some personal freedom. This fact appears to be borne out by the following figures. In 1790, when the first census was taken, there were 757#181 Negroes in the

3°Pierce, op. clt., p. 29. 33 United Statea, and 59#557* or 7*9 per cent of these were free. In 1830 the Negro population was 2,323,642,of which

3 1 9*599* or 1 2 .7 per cent were free.^ Those people who opposed slavery generally supported the idea of educating the Negro with the ultimate aim of achieving citizenship for him. Others opposed such educa­ tion because they felt the intellectual capacity of the Negro was too far below that of the white. Still others felt the Negro should be given some type of vocational training. Although few Negroes received significant training of any kind, efforts on his behalf were carried on by scattered church groups, and there is evidence that some slaveholders provided training for their Negroes by informal means. Slave uprisings in the early 1800's, however, convinced southern leaders that education made Negroes unfit for work, and legislation was soon passed further restricting the rights of assembly and movement of slaves and free Negroes. Several southern states eventually passed legislation for­ bidding the teaching of Negroes to read and write, and pub­ lic sentiment normally precluded such activity even if it were not specifically outlawed. By the mid 1830's, when public education began to make some progress in the South, the Negro was effectively barred from instruction of any kind.

^Maurice R. Davie, Negroes in American Society, p. 34. The Establishment of Literary Kind a

The establishment of permanent school funds or liter­ ary funds aided significantly In cultivating the attitude that education was a matter of public concern. Ihese funds were established and expanded by the money received from such sources as the sale of public lands, escheats, confis­ cations, fines, penalties, forfeitures, and state appropria­ tions. The funds were set up as an endowment, the Interest of which was used for the support of public schools. Un­ fortunately, many of the funds were mismanaged by careless and irresponsible officials, and others were depleted as a 40 result of intentional fraud and graft.

Permanent public school funds were established in all southern states except South Carolina prior to the Civil

War, and the ante-bellum school systems in the South were generally supported by such measures. Despite the lament­ able exploitation and squandering Involved in the supervi­ sion of the endowments, these funds generally Berved to develop a wholesome public Interest in schools. A few citizens realized that financial provision was necessary for the support of a system of education, but most people strongly opposed taxation for such purposes. The establish­ ment of permanent endowments seemed to provide a suitable solution to the problem of providing funds; and, after

**°Fletcher H. Swift, A History of Public Permanent Common School Funds In the United states. 1795*1905. P P ~ 150-1^9. 35 people accepted this method of support, they became much 41 more willing to accept taxation for public schools.

Summary

As influential men of the time supported the movement

for Increased educational opportunity, two basic educational

principles were gradually developing: first, that education

Is a natural function of the state, and that the chief

responsibility for providing educational opportunity lies

with the state and not with the individual, family or religious organization; second, that the state has the right and the power to levy taxes for the support of education.

Southern educational leaders were to face a long and bitter struggle before these principles would be widely accepted in the South, but the seeds of succetB were sown during the Period of Emerging Nationalism, and they would begin to bear fruit during the Period of Reform.

Period of Reform (1835-1861)

The period from 1835 to 1861 is often termed a period of educational reform in the South, but this can be Justi­

fied only in a relative sense and in the context of history.

Advancements in the drive for establishing public schools

in this period were not nearly as great as southern educa­

tional leaders had anticipated, and progress in the South

^Knight, op. clt., pp. 162-163. tended to lag from one to two decades behind similar develop­ ments In the North. Yet, when one considers the great diffi­ culties that had to be overcome In the South In the campaign to establish public school systems, one realizes that even the slightest gain can be viewed as being significant.

Barriers Hindering Public Education Early in the Period of Reform Following the Period of Emerging Nationalism, there was some sentiment In the South favoring education, but relatively few people were willing to accept the notion that public education for all was a matter of state concern or that taxes should be levied for the support of education.

Schooling for the poor was generally accepted as a proper state function; but free, tax-supported, universal educa­ tion was an Idea counter to southern tradition and thinking.

Limited educational progress had been made as a result of the establishment of permanent school funds, the efforts of early governmental and educational leaders, and the awaken­ ing of social consciousness, but southern leaders continued to face many barriers In their campaign for the creation of public schools.

Many of the barriers blocking the public school move­ ment had their origin In the colonial days. The plantation system and the Institution of slavery, for example, continued 37 to pronounce class distinctions and further to split the dependent and the ruling factions of the community* Members of the landholding upper classes who opposed free, state supported schools for all felt such schools would make edu­ cation too common and would tend to break down social bar­ riers, thus undermining the statuB of those whose social positions were already established. Naturally, such extreme conservatism and class consciousness were barriers to the development of free public education.

Conflicts with religious and various sectarian inter­ ests also tended to inhibit the movement. Voluntary agencies had long been depended upon in many areas to provide an elementary education for poor children. The fact that these agencies often received governmental financial support resulted in the voluntary groups opposing the Idea of state- supported free education. Many people felt that the theory of state control was a violation of parental rights and obligation.

A tendency to place educational responsibility and authority In small local units where selfish provincial interest prevailed made community cooperation difficult to secure. The continued rural and agricultural character of

the South and the lack of industrial development in southern states precluded denAopment of urban centers; and as a result, social and educational problems typical of cities did not exist. The population was scattered; means of com- munication were poor; and people were generally slow to respond to social movements. Little free capital was available for education; and little could be obtained through taxation, because people objected to taxes not designed for normal governmental expenses. Many people simply considered the whole Idea of public schools as visionary and Impractical*

Barriers to Progress Weakened in the IBSS'-s ------

The backward conditions, overwhelming as they appear, began to give away during the Period of Reform, and by the

1850*8 promising educational progress was being made in many areas.**2 Hi is awakened Interest in the schools resulted in increased efforts and movements designed to further the cause of education.

One successful movement brought about many constitu­ tional and legislative changes during the period. Prior to

1835* legal provisions for education were extremely vague and generally Ineffective. For example, the North Carolina constitution of 1776 stated:

A school or schools shall beestablished in every county by the legislature, for the convenient In­ struction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by the public, as may enable them to Instruct youth at low prices; and all useful learn­ ing shall be duly encouraged and promoted In one or more universities.^

**2Ibid., p. 265. ^Knight, Public Bducatlon In the United States, p.139- 39 ISiis provision continued unchanged until 1834. Between 1834 and 1 8 3 9, slight alterations were made; and in 1839 a new and extensive law was passed by the state legislature. The new law created a highly creditable system of schools which attracted considerable attention prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. A shift from general and vague terminology in the laws to the use of specific and definite language helped to make the enforcement of school laws possible.

Rather than merely paying lip service to education, southern politicians were finally showing the courage needed to stand for convictions that were not yet widely accepted.

Southern thinking was undoubtedly influenced by a sizable group of reformers who attempted to point out educa­ tional needs of the time. Among these men were Joseph

Caldwell of North Carolina; Alexander Dimitry, who became

Louisianafs first state superintendent in 1347; William P.

Perry, who served as the first state superintendent in

Alabama; and Robert McEwen, who served as the first state superintendent in Tennessee from I836 to 1840. No other leader, however, worked so effectively as Calvin H. Wiley, without doubt the most notable southern educator of the period.

Wiley, who served as the superintendent of schools of

North Carolina from 1853 until the position was abolished in

1866, brought versatility, resourcefulness, and unmatched enthusiasm to his office, and provided educational leadership 40 comparable to that of Horace Mann of Massachusetts. He created active Interest In the public school movement through countless self-financed speaking trips to all corners of the state, talks to state legislatures, and annual reports which he published from 1854 to 1866. Because of Wiley's achieve­ ments, North Carolina boasted the outstanding system of public education in the South prior to the Civil War. His leadership was widely recognized, and his services and advice were in great demand as other southern states sought to pattern their school systems after that of North 44 Carolina. Vne thinking of Wiley and other southern leaders was clearly affected by such influential northern reformers as

Charles Brooks, James Q. Carter, Caleb Mills, Isaac E. Crary, and John D. Pierce, and especially by Horace Mann of Massa­ chusetts and Henry Barnard of Connecticut. Mann and Barnard were the most significant northern leaders during the early and middle 1300'b, and evidence shows that the southern educators communicated frequently with both men In an attempt to gain ideas and to benefit from their experience.

Although the growth of public education continued to be much slower in the South than in the North, significant progress was being made. Without doubt, leaders such as

Wiley aided this progress immeasurably, and southern ira------Drake, op. cit., p. 2 2 3. *41 provincialism began to give way slowly as a result of their untiring efforts.

Further indication of growing educational interest was the increase in recommendations favoring public educa­ tion made by southern governors to their state legislatures.

For example, in 1838 South Carolina governor Patrick Noble asked the Legislature to appoint a legislative commission to study the state's educational needs; Governor Campbell of

Virginia, from 1837 to 1839» constantly worked for better educational conditions and laws; In 13*43 Governor McDowell of Virginia urged the substitution of a better system for the indigent schooleystem which had been used for years in that state; and in 1853 Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee declared before the State Legislature that the existing schools did not meet the demands of the constitution and urged that the subject of education be dealt with firmly.

Governor Wise of Virginia, who was a strong advocate of tax-supported common schools in 1857, wrote in an open letter to the people of his state:

Educate your children— every one of thent--ln common schools at state expense. . . . Distrust all men who make false promises of freedom from taxation; but tax yourself and learn to believe in it as the only means of getting what you need. . . . There is no royal road to paying debts or to education. Industry, honesty, economy, and education alone can make you a free and happy people. Educate your children— every one of theml Don't wait for a tardy legislature, but organize yourself and make money by a voluntary system.

^cubberly, op. cit., pp. 175-176. 42

Statements of alms as expressed by Governor Wise re­ flected the attitude of the more progressive southern gov­ ernors of the period; and, although their pleas did not often influence the legislatures to action, they were

Influential In effecting a change In the attitude of the people toward the matter of tax-supported schools.

Progress being made as a result of the efforts of governmental and educational leaders was reflected In reports and memorials addressed to state legislatures and to the public by numerous educational conventions. Although such activity was not so pronounced or widespread In the

South as In the North, conventions held throughout the southern stateB served to emphasize the weaknesses of current educational practices, to direct the attention of state officials to the fact that reforms were needed, and to help win public support for the public school movement.

The Lexington, Virginia, convention of 1841 reported to the Virginia Legislature and pointed out defects of

Virginia's school system, and recommended state taxation, a state board of education, a state superintendent, normal schools, and public libraries.^ In 1847,a convention In

Knoxville, Tennessee presented a memorial to the state

legislature recommending state support, state supervision, the examination and certification of teachers, and the

^Knight, op. clt., pp. 202-206. 43 publication of a monthly education Journal.^ In 1858 delegates from sixty counties met at Marietta, Georgia, and this convention issued an address to the people of that state. It called for a state board of education, a state superintendent, state support for schools, and teacher iiS training. Pew reforms resulted directly from such memor­ ials and addresses, but they did serve to keep the educa­ tional issues before the lawmakers and the public, and they did play a significant role in influencing thinking of the times in favor of public education.

The Conflict Over Taxation Continues

Although strong social and political Influences were at work encouraging educational advances during the Period of Reform, objection to taxation for school support remained one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. Ideas on taxation expressed in an open letter to the Raleigh Register in 1829 were common among southerners and prevailed through­ out much of the ante-bellum period. The anonymous writer said: To the members of the approaching legislature: You will probably be asked, Gentlemen, to render some little assistance to the University of our State. But I hope you will strenuously refuse to do this. . . . It is respectfully submitted to . . . wisdom . . . whether out good old-field schools are not abundantly sufficient for all our necessities. Our

^ I b l d .

4&Ibid. HH fathers and mothers Jogged along uncomplainingly without colleges; and long experience proves them to be very expensive things. Hie University has already cost the people not a little; and the good it has accomplished thus far is extremely doubtful; if 1 might not rather allege it to have been pro­ ductive of mischief. College learned persons give themselves great airs, are proud, and the fewer of them we have amongst us the better. . . . Who wants Latin and Greek and abstruse mathematics in these times and in a country like this? . . . Common Schools indeed 1 Money is very scarce, and the times are unusually hard. Why was such a matter never broached in better and more prosperous days? Gentle- men, it appears to me that schools are sufficiently plenty, and that the people have no desire they should be increased. Those now in operation are not all filled, and it is very doubtful if they are pro­ ductive of much real benefit. Would it not redound as much to the advantage of young persons, and to the honour of the State, if they should pass their days in the cotton patch, or at the plow, or in the corn­ field, instead of being mewed up in a school house, where they are earning nothing? Such an ado as is made in these times about education, surely was never heard of before. Gentlemen, I hope you do not con­ ceive it at all necessary, that every body should be able to read, write and cipher. If one is to keep a store or a school, or to be a lawyer or physician, such branches may, perhaps, be taught him; though I do not look upon them as by any means indispens­ able: but if he is to be a plain farmer, or a mechanic, they are of no manner of use, but rather a detriment. There need no arguments to make clear so self-evident a proposition. Should schools be established by law, in all parts of the State, as at the North, our taxes must be considerably increased, possibly to the amount of one per cent and six-pence on a poll; and I will ask any prudent, sane, saving man if he desires his taxes to be higher? You will doubtless be told that our State is far behind her sisters in things of this sort,— and what does it prove? Merely, that other states are before us; which is their affair, and not ours. We are able to govern ourselves without reference to other members of the confederation; and thus are we per­ fectly independent. We shall always have reason enough to crow over them, while we have power to say, as I hope we may ever have, that our taxes are lighter than theirs.

^^Ralelgh Register, November 9, 1 8 2 9. 45

It was unfortunate that early American educational efforts were supported by philanthropy, because people had become accustomed to the idea that education was not the responsibility of the state, but was merely a charity for

the poor. It was unfortunate, too, that the quarrel with

King George had been based to a large measure upon taxation, for the dispute with England had instilled in the people a dread of taxation in any form for any purpose. These attitudes had been formed in the American mind through years of conditioning, and only after a long and difficult struggle were these mind sets changed.

The establishment of permanent school funds during

the Period of Emerging Nationalism had marked a breakthrough

in the battle for taxation, and opposition to public support began to weaken as local initiative and wholesome sentiment for education gradually developed. As this sentiment developed, people in the South finally began to realize that adequate Bchools could not be provided with the meager funds

collected by the endowments. States gradually began to grant permissive local taxation so that funds could be sup­ plemented; and by the outbreak of the Civil War, over one- half of the southern states had enacted such legislation.

Laws of this type were usually enacted in the urban areas

first, and Wheeling, Charleston, Mobile, and Tallahassee had

tax-supported systems prior to the war. Lawmaking bodies of

the various states moved cautiously in authorizing taxes

^°Knight, op. clt., p. 245. 46 for the support of schools; but by i8 6 0, the principle of public support was accepted by many people In the South and SI was being applied by several states In that section.

Efforts by the State to Control Education The struggle to establish some form of state control of education was as difficult as the struggle for taxation, but advances were made in this area also during the Period of Reform. Initial control was almost exclusively at the local level; but, once aid from permanent state endowment funds or any form of state taxation was accepted by a com­ munity school system, the state was in a position to make and enforce demands in return for the state aid granted.

As local schools accepted state aid, inevitably increasing state control followed.

It soon became apparent that some officer must be appointed or elected to represent the state and enforce its demands. Legislative enactment for administrative officials at the state level increased; and by 1060, three southern states--Alabama, Louisiana, and North Carolina— had provided for the office of state superintendent, and Tennessee had had the office for several years but had abolished it. Pour other states, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and Texas, had recognized the need for such a position and had given the ------FT ^ Ibid., pp. 261-263. 47 authority to some state official such as the secretary of state who acted ex officio, as the state superintendent.52

Education of the Negro The struggle for free education was to benefit the whites, but the Negro was hardly touched by all the activity.

There was actually no question of discrimination involved— the Negro was simply ignored. Southern whites normally felt that the Negro was inferior, therefore, laws and public opinion forbade his receiving even an elementary education.

A few slaveholders, however, did continue to teach their

Negroes to read and write. By i860 approximately 5 per cent of the daves and a larger percentage of free Negroes were literate, and a few slaves received training as craftsmen and artisans.^-*

Education of Children of the WealtRy During the Period of Reform as in previous years, children of the southern wealthy continued to receive their

.elementary education from tutors or at exclusive private schools; and for their secondary education they normally entered military schools or attended academies. By about

1850, however, there was a gradual decline in the academy movement as the feeling favoring greater public control and

Pierce, op. clt., pp. 33-34.

53ounnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma, p. 8 8 7. 48 support of education developed. Yet, In the South, the academy took the place of the high school during this period; and according to Simkins, there were three thousand such institutions in that section in 1860.-^ The teachers in the academies during this period were well prepared for their jobs, and their teaching appears to have been quite effec­ tive. The academies did a great deal to stimulate better

preparation for teaching in common schools at that time, and served as a major source of supply for better educated

teachers.

Common Schools Although advances in the movement for public education had clearly been made during the Period of Reform, the com­ mon schools of the tine were much like the schools of the

Colonial Period and the Period of Emerging Nationalism. The curriculum of the common school was narrow and

usually consisted of the minimum of courses considered essential to a basic English education— reading, writing, arithmetic, and spelling. These courses monopolized the curriculum for many years; and if a teacher was examined, the test usually covered these subjects. Calvin H. Wiley urged in the 1850*s that female teachers in North Carolina be examined in these subjects and that male teachers, in

addition, demonstrate a knowledge of grammar and geography.

0. Randall and David Donold, The Divided Union, p. 18. 49

At that time, however, geography, history, and grammar were considered to be advanced subjects and were late In being accepted as a part of the curriculum. Texts in history or geography, if used at all, served chiefly as reading guides.

Uniformity of texts was practically unknown, and fre­ quent changes in texts resulted in Increased expenses for parents and served to slow the progress of the schoolB.

However, many teachers did work for uniformity in texts in an effort to rid the schools of those which were poor, to prevent frequent and unnecessary changes, and to aid in the development of pupil classification.^ Although uniform texts were not adopted in any so\tha?n state before the Civil

War, after 1845 efforts were made in that section to pre­ pare their own textbooks rather than use those published in the North. Such efforts resulted from the feeling that northern publishers were treating the South unfairly on the slavery issue.

Teaching methods in the public schools continued to be generally wasteful and Ineffective. Pupils were not graded according to age or ability, and because of the great number of different texts being used for the same subject in the same classroom, nearly all instruction was given individually. The teacher's time was devoted almost exclusively to hearing lessons. Studying was a passive

^Knight, Public Education in the South, pp. 270-271. 50 process, and in some schools a "noisy" method was used whereby students studied their lessons aloud. Discipline was normally harsh, and the school day was organized around 56 numerous rules and such penalties as whipping.

Many public school teachers of the period had little training beyond the grades they were teaching, and as a group they generally lacked high professional standards.

Examinations for a teaching license were usually not held; but, if they were, the exams were likely to be oral and candidates passed almost without exception. Ability to teach often meant the ability to maintain the upperhand In a school where the older boys were often larger and stronger than the teacher. Governor Henagan of South Carolina, in a message to the State Legislature in 1840, stated his opinion of teachers in his state in the following terms:

The men who take charge of our public schools, and accept so miserable a pittance as the reward of their labors, are they who cannot get employ­ ment on any other terms. Necessity forceB them to make the offer of their services, and necessity forces the commissioners to accept them. It is now in South Carolina a reproach to be a teacher of a freeschool, as it is regarded as prlma-facie evidence of want of qualification.57

Unfortunately, Governor Henagan■s attitude was com­ mon rather than unique; and as a rule, public school teach­ ing was not a highly regarded profession. This was all

5bIbid., p. 2 9 6.

57cubberly, QP> clt., p. 424. 51 before the days of the normal school, and at that time there was no specific training for teachers or school administra­ tors. No doubt, there were many dedicated teachers of high intelligence and teaching skill, but the majority appeared to have aroused public contempt— an attitude which only served to further inhibit educational progress.

Summary

The response to attempts at educational reform from about 1835 to 1 8 6 1, was neither as prompt nor as effective in the South as it was in other sections of the country, but even there a definite awakening was underway. The South faced numerous obstacles in the struggle for establishing free public schools, but progress was made.

During the two decades before the Civil War, the foundation was firmly established for the building of a system of free public schools, and all southern states were either responding to the trends of the period or were pre­ paring to make changes when the movement was Interrupted by the outbreak of hostilities in 1361. Unfortunately, most of the achievements of all the years prior to the war were to crumble during the conflict and the troublesome years which followed. 52

The War Years (1861-1865) Educational development In the South prior to the outbreak of the Civil War was encouraging, especially during

the 1850's, and it appeared as if the concept of tax-

supported, free public schools was on the verge of general

acceptance in that area. The coming of the war, however, played havoc with this promising beginning. Most schools

ceased operation, and educational effort was at a virtual standstill for four tragic years. Nearly all private and public schools were forced to

close during the war as funds were not available to continue

operations. Most school funds, invested chiefly in bank

stock and rallroadB, were either absorbed by the Confederate government or were lost or destroyed. Those few common

schools which did remain open found it extremely difficult

to hire competent teachers or to obtain teaching aids and

school supplies--the most critical being books. Hie block­ ade made it very difficult to import books, and in the South

a serious lack of printing facilities, paper, ink, and bind­

ings limited the number of texts that could be published.

Hie few books that were printed were mainly for use at the

primary level and had such intriguing titles as: Hie Confed­ erate Primer, Dixie Speller, and Hie geographical Reader for

Dixie Children. Most state military schools were closed during the

war although the cadets usually remained together in the 53 service of their states; and hundreds of academies were forced to close as volunteering and conscription took their toll of students and teachers alike. A few female academies remained open; but they, too, experienced many hardships and found it difficult to even feed and clothe their students.

As Confederate money depreciated in value, especially near the end of the war, school costs skyrocketed over a short period of time. For example, at Salem Female Academy board was quoted in the catalogue at $8.00 per month in

1861-62, but by 1863-64, the last year the school published a catalogue during the war, board had risen to $150.00 per month. Fees also rose. At Salem between l36l - 1363 the entrance fee increased from $5.00 to $10.00, music instruc­ tion from $5*00 to $40.00, language from $5*00 to $35.00, drawing and painting from $3-00 to $2 5.0 0, and the library fee from $1.00 to $5.00.58

The coming of the war tended to check education development in the North, but it proved to be a terrible material and social calamity in the South, and, in short, was an educational disaster. The war absorbed the energy and resources of the people, and not for at least thirty years after the war would any significant signs of educational progress and expansion become evident in the South.

C. Simonlnl, Jr. (ed.), Education In the South (Longwood College, Virginia: Institute of Southern Culture Lectures, 1959)> P* 30. CHAPTER II

EDUCATION IN NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE 1365

Early Barriers to Education

Intellectual and educational growth In colonial North

Carolina was extremely slow— a fact that resulted from a variety of conditions. Thinking concerning education In the colony clearly reflected class-consciousness inherited from the English, and, as a result, little attention was given by the landed aristocracy to the training of the masses; the population of North Carolina was sparse and widely scattered; attitudes inspired by the Established Church inhibited free thinking on education; there was a natural tendency toward rural rather than urban settlement; means of communication were poor; commercial intercourse was limited because of the colony's dangerous coast and poor harbors; there was a short­ age of properly trained teachers; and most of the small farmers were too busy clearing the land and tilling the soil to be concerned with education.1 Some of these conditions were altered by the North Carolinians before the beginning of the Civil War, but many lingered for decades and were not overcome until well after Reconstruction was completed.

^Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, pp. 2-3.

54 55 Early Efforts to Encourage Education

Although a general lack of interest in schools per­ sisted throughout the colony for years after its original settlement in 1 663, some public leaders did recognize the desirability of educating the masses. As early as 1736

Governor Johnston urged the Legislature to take some action on education;

In all civilized Socletys of men it has always been looked upon as a matter of greatest conse­ quence to their Peace and happiness, to polish the minds of young Persons with some degree of learn­ ing, and early to instill into them the Principles of virtue and religion, and that the Legislature has never yet taken the least care to erect one school, which deserves the name in this wide extended country, must in the Judgment of all thinking men. be reckoned one of our greatest misfortunes. 2

Despite the urgings of Governor Johnston, no notable efforts were made to Improve the situation until 1745* That year an act was passed permitting the town commissioners of

Edenton to construct a shoolhouse with money raised by the sale of town lots and by donations and subscriptions. It appears, however, the house was probably never built.

Succeeding efforts met with even less success. In

17*49 a bill was Introduced which would have stabllshed free' schools, but it never became law. Again in 1752 an effort was made to establish free schools; this bill, too was rejected. In 1754 an act was passed appropriating 6,000

2Hugh T. Lefler and Albert R. Newsome, North Carolina, p. 134. 56 pounds for founding and supporting a public school in the colony, but the money seems to have been used for military purposes.3

Governor Dobbs, Johnston's successor, also attempted to Initiate some action promoting schools; but his efforts were likewise marked by failure. Dobbs was assured by the

Lower House of the Assembly in 1753 "that nothing shall be wanting to promote a work of such interesting consequences, though at present we are somewhat at a loss in what manner ifii to accomplish it. . . . The Upper House also lent encour­ agement and stated that it had "at heart nothing more than the defences of the country, the promoting of true religion, the education of our youth in the reformed Protestant religion and moral virtues. . . .,l:> However, despite Dobbs' continued urging and the Assembly's grandiose statements, the government failed to carry through with any attempts to establish schools.

The North Carolina Constitution of 177Q and Public Education

Agitation for public education continued throughout the Colonial Period and the Period of Emerging Nationalism, and although the efforts did not result in immediate success,

3North Carolina, State Records, Vol. XXIII (1715-1776), PP. 39^-395. ^Knight, op. cit., p. 35*

5Ibid., p. 36. 57 they were rewarded to some extent at the writing of the

North Carolina Constitution in 1776. Section 41 of the

Constitution, copied almost verbatim from Pennsylvania's

Constitution, provided:

That a School or Schools shall be established by the Legislature for the convenient Instruction of Youth, with such Salaries to the Masters paid by the Public, as may enable them to instruct at low prices; and all useful Learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more Universities.

Although this article was considered by many as a man­ date for the establishment of public schools, the Legislature still took no action. Many circumstances discouraged the lawmakers from carrying out the constitutional edict. The terms of the article were nebulous and open to a variety of interpretations. Some people thought the provision meant that free public schools should be established and supported by state taxation, while others believed it was designed to provide aid to private schools and academies. The fear of taxation Inherited from colonial days continued to linger on, and many people argued that taxation was to be used by a republican form of government only to pay necessary expenses. To some people, public education represented an intrusion by the state into parental obligation. Others felt that the public education idea was based on charity, and that it would be humiliating to send their children to such

North Carolina, Constitution (1776), sec. 41. schools. Sectional Jealousies between eastern and western counties helped to prevent a development of common educa- 7 tional Interests. While such conditions Inhibited the efforts of advo­ cates of public schools, the majority of the state's youth continued to grow up without benefit of a proper education.

In 1800 a reporter for the Raleigh Sentinel wrote that nine- tenths of the people of North Carolina were buried in

"brutish ignorance."® In 1811 Dr. Jeremiah Battle Judged

that In Edgecomb County "about two-thirds of the people generally 'can read,' and one-half of the males 'write' their names; but not more than one-third of the women can write."9

The Academy in North Carolina

Although there was a reluctance to establish public schools in North Carolina during the Period of Emerging

Nationalism, the academy flourished there as It did in other southern states. The first academy formally established In

North Carolina was the Liberty Hall Academy which received

its charter in 1777*10 By 1780, forty-one academies were established throughout the state.11 With the passing of the

^Knight, op. clt., pp. 65-6 6.

®Raleigh Sentinel, March 25, 1800.

9auion Oriffis Johnson, Ante-Bellum North Carolina. p. 259. 10Knight, op. clt., p. M5 . 11Lefler and Newsome, op. clt., p. 2*47• 59 eighteenth century, the academy movement was well under way, and from 1800 to i860 the Legislature chartered 287 academies.12

Despite the fact that academies received special privileges such as tax exemption and the right to raise funds by lottery, few of them prospered for many years at a

tine because of financial difficulties. By 1327 the North

Carolina academy movement had reached its crest, and by 1350 it began to decline.^

Increased Agitation for Common Schools

In spite of competition from the academies, agitation for the establishment of a system of common schools gained some momentum soon after the opening of the nineteenth century. Public-spirited men began to look beyond petty sectional differences and popular reactionary attitudes and to consider the welfare of the entire population of North

Carolina.

Recommendations by the State's governors

Messages by the state's governors tended to reflect

the growing demand for common schools. In 1302 Governor

Williams said in his message to the Legislature:

I recommend that you take into consideration the importance of . . . providing, through adequate and

12Johnson, op. cit., p. 285.

13ibld., p. 286. 60

suitable means, for a general diffusion of learning and science throughout the state. Through the accomplishment of . . . [education], a far more estimable end, Independent of other important and interesting considerations, we may reasonably indulge the fond and flattering hope, that our posterity will be enabled at all times, and on all occasions, duly to appreciate and properly under­ stand and defend, their natural civil and political rights: In fine, that with enlightenment, and the consequent, love of freedom, they will never cease to be free.1^

In 1303 Governor James Turner urged the establishment of schools in these terms:

As the most certain way of handing down to our latest posterity, our free republican government, is to enlighten the minds of people, and to preserve the purity of their morals, too much attention can­ not be paid to the education of youth, by promoting the establishment of schools in every part of the state. Education is the mortal enemy to arbitrary government, and the surest basis of liberty and equal rights.*5

Similar recommendations were made by nearly all the succeeding governors until 1816 when Governor William's message reflected an increasing sense of urgency:

Hie subject of education has always been one of primary Importance, with all governments established for the benefit of the great body of people. Men Intended for slaves the more Ignorant the better. But, if for freedom, they ought, of course, to be enlightened. If the wealthy alone be admitted into the temple of science, the most dangerous species of aristocracy may be apprehended, from the union of two such powerful agents, as wealth and talents. A plan by which the means of obtaining some portion of education may be afforded to everyone, however Indigent is, without doubt, practicable.

^Charles L. Coon, The Beginnings of Public Educa­ tion in North Carolina, A Documentary HJBfcory, Vol. I, p. 3 1.

15Ibid., p. 43. 61

The example set in a neighboring state, In estab­ lishing funds for the advancement of literature and internal Improvements, seems well worthy of Imitation.1®

Arch lb old D. Murphey*s Study of iforth Carolina Education

Governor Miller*s message on education was referred to a legislative committee assigned to study the situation.

Archibold D. Murphey, chairman of the group, submitted his report on December 19, 1816. He pointed out that educational facilities of the state were Inadequate and that thousands of North Carolina*s young people were growing up in Ignorance. Murphey recommended the establishment of a school system based on democratic principles as the best means of strength­ ening the state through Its people and suggested that a legislative committee be appointed to "digest" a school system based upon the principles outlined In his report.1^

The committee was appointed, and at the 1817 session of the Legislature it submitted two reports. One report, presented December 8, 1817, by John M. Walker, recommended that provisions be made to prepare enough teachers so that tuition charges In existing schools would be reduced through competition, as tuition was lowered, education would eventually come within the reach of all young people of the

lbIbld., p. 103.

^Ibld., pp. 105-111. 62 state. Walker claimed that education of the poor was of 18 prime importance. The other report, submitted by Murphey, was the more significant of the two. Murphey advocated the creation of a school fund, the appointment of a schoolboard, the organi­ zation of public schools throughout the state, and the establishment of a deaf-and-dumb asylum. He visualized the school system as being organized around three divisions: primary schools, academies, and the University of North

Carolina. He also discussed teaching methods and discipline and outlined a proposed course of study for each of the three divisions. In his plan he stressed the duty of the state to educate children of the poor and suggested that they be educated free of charge in the primary schools for at least three years. A selected group of poor children were to be chosen for further schooling, and during their later training they were to be fed and clothed as well as taught at public e x p e n s e . ^

In December a bill based on the report by Murphey was presented to the Legislature. Although it passed its first reading in both houses, it was subsequently dropped by the

Legislature. Tfte impractical feature of attempting to main­ tain as well as educate the children of the poor coupled with the state's financial burdens accumulated during the

It3Ibld., pp. 147-164.

^Ibid., pp. 123-145. 63

War of 1312 appear to have been chief factors in bringing about the defeat of the plan.

Despite the failure of the bill, Murphey's report helped to clarify thinking on education, and, In a sense, marked the opening of a new era of educational development in North Carolina. The farsighted proposal ultimately became the basis for the system of public schools established in North Carolina in 1339* Although the defeat of the Murphey bill was a source of disappointment to the advocates of public education, agitation favoring a school system continued. Newspaper articles, public speeches, and governors' messages reflect the fact that educational Interest was on the rise.

Governor Branch's Message on Education

In 1819 Governor Branch claimed that education of the youth was the most important problem facing the state. He said in his message to the Legislature:

Claiming a pre-eminence above all others, allow me to call your attention to the subject of educa­ tion of youth, the only durable basis of everything valuable for a government of the people, and to press on your attention the moral and political obligations which you are under, created and im­ posed by the solemn injunctions of the Constitution, to patronize and encourage a general diffusion of knowledge1 for when we advert to the languishing condition of some of our nurseries of science, and observe the apathy which prevails In regard to their advancements, it becomes a subject of no less

20E d g a r d W . Knight, pie Influence of Reconstruction on Education In the South, p. 9* 64 astonishment than regret. It is the boast of a republican government that all men are born equal; but what is it that keeps them so? On a proper solution of this question depends the perpetua­ tion of the liberties of this and every other free government— Let the few monopolize the science of the country, and they at once monop­ olize its sovereignty.21

Public Attitude

An article which appeared in the Raleigh Register in

1319 claimed the prevailing desire among the citizens of

North Carolina was that a general system of education be established throughout the state. The writer pointed out that there were differences of opinion concerning the methods for establishing schools and that the sparse popula­ tion might render application of the system impracticable in some areas. He felt, however, that such objections were on the whole trivial and did not warrant opposition on the principle question— creation of a qpstem of free schools.22

Efforts of Governor Holmes

In 1322 and 1323 Governor Gabriel Holmes addressed the Assembly and urged obedience to the constitutional man­ date to establish schools; his efforts failed to spur legis­ lative action. In 1324 sentiment for public education appeared to be increasing slightly, but Governor Holmes'

21coon, op. cit., p. 130.

^Raleigh Register, September 10, 1819• 65 message on education reflected his own discouragement:

I have harped on it [Literary Fund] so often that I now touch the chord with almost hopeless expectations and frigid Indifference. . . . I am irresistably constrained to invite your attention to the improvement of the minds of the rising gen­ eration of North Carolina. . . . Surely, then, we cannot with good policy, hesitate to create a fund that will assist the parents of every denomlntion to initiate their offspring in elementary rudiments of learning. . . • The people are industrious and patriotic; they cheerfully subscribe to the neces­ sary demands of the State upon their purse, without a murmer. They would gladly receive and greatly acknowledge your patronage for the improvement of their families. They have a right fully to antici­ pate your fostering cafe, and I cannot doubt but that the advantages resulting to society from such measures will claim your wise and well digested liberality toward them. ^

Establishment of Literary Fund

Governor Holmes' spirits were buoyed by an unexpected development on December 6, 1824, when Charles A. Hill of the

Senate Committee on Education reported on a bill "to create a fund for the purpose of educating that part of the infant population of this State, who shall from time to time be found destitute of the means of becoming otherwise properly taken care of in that particular."2^ Out of this report grew the law establishing the Literary Fund in January, 1825.

The Literary Fund Act stated that the Fund was being established "for the support of Common and convenient Schools for the instruction of youth, in the several counties of

g3coon, op. clt., pp. 217-218.

gi*North Carolina, Senate Journal, 1824-1825, p. 42. 66 this state."25 The act named the governor, the Chief

Justice of the Supreme Court, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State

Treasurer as the directors of the endowment. Their instruc­ tions were to Invest the funds In stock of any of the state banks of the United States and to manage the investments so as to realize the best possible return. Profits realized were to be divided among the counties on the basis of free white population. The act listed the following sourcesibr the fund:

The dividends arising from the stock now held by the State in the bank of Newbern and Cape Pear and which have not heretofore been pledged and set apart for internal improvements; the dividends arising from stock which is owned by the State in the Cape Fear Navigation Company, the Roanoke Navi­ gation Company, and the Clubfoot and Harlow Creek Canal Company; the tax imposed by law on licenses to the retailers of spirituous liquors and auction­ eers; the unexpended balance of the Agricultural Fund, which by the act of the Legislature is directed to be paid into the public treasury; all moneys paid to the State for the entries of vacant lands (except the Cherokee lands); the sum of twenty-one thousand and ninety dollars which was paid by this State to certain Cherokee Indians, for reservations to lands secured by them by treaty, when the said sums shall be received from the United States by this State; and of all the vacant and unappropriated swamp lands in this State, to­ gether with such sums of money as the Legislature may hereafter find it convenient to appropriate from time to time.2®

2^North Carolina, Laws (1825-1826), c. 1, sec. 1.

26Ibid. 67

Although establishment of the Literary Fund was

clearly a progressive move in the development of North

Carolina education, it did not result in the Immediate establishment of schools. The Fund suffered from mismanage­ ment, poor investments, and fluctuations of the market, and

for years remained too small to be significant. According

to the first report of the Literary Board in February, 1827#

receipts of the Fund prior to November 1, 1 8 2 6, totaled

$12,30^.95By November 1, 1835# receipts of the Fund had increased only to $29#670.72.2®

In 1835 sentiment favoring the establishment of

schools continued to increease, but still no new action had

been taken. Managers of the Literary Fund seemed to feel

that their obligation lay solely in the overseeing of the

Fund, and they made little effort to do anything educational

with it.29 Many state officials considered the Fund to be

a convenient source from which to borrow for their particu­

lar purposes, and this was often done.

In 1326 the Fund was significantly increased when the

federal government distributed among the states surplus

funds amounting to more than $28,000,000. These funds had

2^North Carolina, House Journal, Report on the Liter­ ary Fund, 1827-1828, pp. 187-186.

2®Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina# P. 92. 29Ibid. 68 accumulated as a result of unprecedented public land sales and the failure of a tariff designed "protective" to pre­ vent the Importation of great quantities of goods from abroad. North Carolina's share amounted to $1,433*757«39*^°

Of the total amount received, $300,000 was immediately placed In the Literary Fund to be invested in the Bank of

Cape Fear. Another $200,000 redounded indirectly to the value of the Fund— it was designated for the draining of swamp lands belonging to the Fund. Eventually all of North

Carolina's share of the federal surplus became a part of the Literary Fund except for $100,000 which had been set •an aside for current expenses of the state government

Soon after receiving this windfall from the federal government, the state turned over to the Literary Fund

$600,000 worth of railroad stock, 4,000 Bhares of Btock in the Bank of the State of North Carolina, valued at $400,000, and 3,000 shares in the Bank of Cape Fear, valued at

$300,000.By November, 1840, the resources of the Fund amounted to $2,241,480.05, and consisted of the following

(see Table 1, p. 69)*

^°Coon, op. clt., p. 799*

31Ibld.

32Knight, op. clt., p. 95* 69

TABLE 1

RESOURCES OP NORTH CAROLINA'S LITERARY FUND, 1840

Bank s t o c k ...... $1,032,200.00 Railroad stock ...... 600,000.00 Navigation stock ...... 87-500.00 Railroad bonds ...... 225,000.00 Notes of individuals and corporations.... 155*943*75 Swamp improvements ...... 62,829-24 CaBh on h a n d ...... 78,007 -06 Total $2,241,480.05 Source: Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, p . 96.

Passage of the 1839 Public School Law

Before the distribution of surplus federal funds in

1 8 3 6, many people had argued that the Fund was Insufficient to support a common school system. After the distribution and the rapid accumulation of other funds, however, this position was no longer tenable. Mounting pressure placed on the legislators by advocates of a common school system finally led to the passage of a law on January 7* 1839, establishing the first public school system in the state.

The 1839 law, which followed closely Murphey*s pro­ posals in 1817, provided the broad framework for the system.

It called for a special election to be held in August, 1339* in which the people of the various counties would vote on the issue of "schools"or "no schools." If the majority in a given county favored the establishment of common schools, the county court was to appoint a board of superintendents whoBe duty it was to lay off the county into school districts of not more than six square miles. Any district which sup­ plied a school building accommodating at least fifty pupils and raised $20 in taxes levied by the country court would receive $40 from the Literary Fund. Not leBS than three nor more than six school committeemen were to be appointed in each district to assist the superintendents in establishing and running the schools. The law further provided that any county which failed to levy a school tax or provide the required schoolhouse would be entitled to the $40 appropri­ ated to it as soon as the specifications had been m e t . 33

Establishment of Public Schools

The AuguBt, 1839* election was characterized by public indifference, but sixty-one of the sixty-eight counties voted in favor of schools. By 1846 the other seven counties

(Rowan, Lincoln, Yancey, Davidson, Edgecombe, Wayne, and

Columbus) alBO had voted for schools.3^

The first year the 1839 law was in effect, a total of

$1,200 was raised by local taxation for school support.

This was supplemented by $ 2 , 4 0 0 from the Literary Fund, so that a total of $3*600 was applied immediately to the sup­ port of the public s c h o o l s . 35 By the 1 8 4 2 fiscal year, the

Literary Fund dispersal to the common schools amounted to

33North Carolina, Laws (1838-1839)* c. 8. 3^Lefler and Newsome, op. cit., p. 351*

35jcnight, op. cit., p. 145. 71 a total of $65*000.The fragmentary statistics available, however, suggest that In many counties not all the funds received from the state were actually used for education*

Blades County, for example, In 18^2 received $1,379* but

listed only $1^3 as being expended for schools. Likewise,

Beaufort County received $792 and spent $1*12.37 it appears

that the Literary Board willingly disbursed the funds but made little effort to see how they were used.

Despite the carelessness and indifference with which

the Literary Fund was often managed, It gradually Increased and had a great deal to do with the growth of sentiment favoring taxation for the public schools. Growth of the

Fund and local taxation is evidenced by the figures In

Table 2.

The new system proved to be a disappointment for at

least a decade after Its adoption. The schools suffered

from a lingering dislike of taxation, a lack of properly prepared teachers, competition from private schools and academies, and the attitude among some people that public

schools smacked of charity. The chief weakness during these

years, however, Beemed to be the lack of leadership and

proper supervision at all levels. There was no one official

or agency to head up the system at the state level, and

3&Archibold Henderson, North Carolina, the Old North State, p. 122.

37Ibid. 72

TABLE 2

SOURCES OP PUBLIC SCHOOLS FUNDS, 1841-1861

Income from Literary Disbursements Local Total paid Year Fund Others for Schools Taxes for Schools 1841 $121,613.02 $92,655.67 $32,836.12 $16,418.06 $49,254.18 1842 101,323.48 150,289*59 65,297-24 32,748.62 97*946.86 1843 135,553.45 130,407.76 46,425.92 23,212.46 6 9,6 3 7 .3 8 1845 123,009.06 121,722.65 117,897*10 58,948.55 175,845.65 1845 112,246.24 64,362.61 61,566.01 30,783.00 92,349.01 1846 116.431.93 101.325.73 96,712.01 48,356.00 145,068.01 1847 122,556.47 106,830.81 96,511.31 48,255.65 144,766.96 1848 108,342.21 115,174.31 101,520.04 50,765.02 152,295.04 1849 105,388.29 116,893.38 90,499.38 49,724.69 149,174.07 1850 106,301.40 112,8 1 6 .2 8 1 0 7,3 3 9 .0 0 53,669.50 1 6 1,0 0 8 .5 0 1851 129,255.24 94,596.41 81,329.61 40,664.80 121,994.41 1852 137,380.41 161,472.33 144,351.13 72,175.56 216,527.69 1853 192,250.75 139.865.16 120,545.63 60,272.81 180,818.44 1854 196,090.25 169,983.32 1 5 3.7 3 6 .7 9 76.868.39 230,605.18 1855 146,753*35 202,689.50 82,688.88 41,344.44 124,033.32 1856 1 8 3,0 7 3 .0 193,976.09 0 1 7 7,4 7 9 .0 2 88,739.51 266,218.53 1857 2 7 8,7 6 7 .8 7300,528.53 180,751.38 90,375.69 171,127.07 1858 164,188.44 204,674.28 179,087.48 89,543.74 2 6 8,6 3 1 .2 2 1859 158,442.04 209,156.08 172,051.69 86,025.84 258,077.53 1860 167,475.12 216,904.01 186,054.11 93,027.05 279,081.16 1961 154,839.37 150,749.68 131,886.75 65,943*38 197,830.13 Source: Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education In North Carolina, p. 9 8 . uniformity was almost wholly lacking. County officials were often negligent and poorly prepared for their responsi­ bilities, and reports from the counties were often haphazard and Inaccurate.

Changes Made in the 1839 Law

During the 1840'b , changes were made in the 1839 school law in an effort to improve the system. Three dis­ trict trustees were to be elected by popular vote for each district in the county, and they were to assume general 73 responsibility for the schools--to provide schoolhouses, take the school census, employ teachers, and visit the schools. Schools were open to all white children between five and twenty-one years of age. TeacherB were exempted from road, military, and Jury duty while teaching. A penalty of $150 was to be levied on any county officer who was neg­ ligent in the performance of his duties.

Although these acts tended to strengthen the schools, the Legislature passed one act in 1341 which hindered devel­ opment of the system. This act provided that the annual income from the Literary Fund be distributed to the various counties on the federal population basis— whites plus

Negroes— rather than white population alone. This gave a decided advantage to the eastern counties where the Negro population was heavily concentrated, and served to exacerbate sectional antagonism within the state.

The Legislature in 1839 had refused to provide for a state superintendent of public schools, but as time passed and the inefficiency of the system became obvious, the law­ makers recognized its need for an executive head. In the

1850-51 session of the Legislature, Calvin H. Wiley of

Greensboro Introduced a bill providing for a state superin­ tendent. The measure failed during that session, but in

1852 Wiley's plan was adopted.

3BKnlght, op. cit., pp. 147-148. 74

Calvin H. Wiley Elected State Superintendent or public instruction

In 1353 Wiley himself* already well-known throughout

the state as a lawyer* author* editor* and politician* was elected to the state superIntendency at an annual salary of

$1,500.39 The new superintendent was to codify the educa­

tional laws of the state* to enforce those laws* to see that

the school funds were properly managed* to obtain annual

reports from county boards, to collect Information concern­

ing the operation of schools in each county* to find the

causes which promoted and those which hindered the sohools*

to consult and advise teachers* to Instruct the examining

committees concerning the proper qualifications of teachers*

to attend meetings of the state Literary Board, to deliver

educational addresses* to submit an annual report to the governor on the progress of the public school system* and to promote the cause of public education by any other suitable 40 means.

Wiley assumed control of a weak and disorganized

educational system and within the span of only seven years

developed It Into the outstanding school system of the South.

During hlB first year as superintendent he traveled through­

out the state* visiting schools* testing public opinion* and

^Johnson, op. cit.* p. 2 7 8.

^°North Carolina* Laws (1852-1853)* c. 18. 75 promoting public schools at every opportunity. In his first report to the governor in 185^* he stated:

I feel bound to say that money is not our great­ est want— . . . . We want more efficient management — a constant embodiment and expression of public opinion— a watchful supervision— a liberal course of legislation, good officers and patience and energy in all having an official position in the system.

During his time in office, from 1353 to 1866, Wiley managed to achieve most of these objectives and the history of the schools during that period was, to a great extent,

Wiley*s own biography. He aroused public opinion in favor of schools on his Belf-flnanced travels throughout the state successfully upgraded the teaching profession; organized the state teachers* association in 1356 and served as its presi­ dent; and in September, 1356, originated and edited the state teachers' Journal. He was also active in textbook publication; his text The North Carolina Reader became a standard work for schools of the state. Wiley used his annual reports, issued from 185^ through 1366, to provide information concerning the progress of the public schools and to point out weaknesses of the system. Prior to the war, Wiley's efforts were widely recognized, and he was considered to be one of the most influential leaders in the country. Archibold D. Murphey is commonly recognized as

^1North Carolina, Legal Documents (185^-1 8 5 5), No. 12, Pt. 2, p. 3 6 . 76 the father of public education in North Carolina, but Wiley *42 must certainly be considered its savior.

Figures spell out Superintendent Wiley's phenomenal success. From 1853 to i860 the number of school districts in North Carolina increased from about 3*000 to 3, **71; the number of schools from 2 ,5 0 0 to 3*082; the number of chil­ dren in school from 95,000 to 118,352; and the number of licensed teachers from 800 to 2,752.^ In i860 the average monthly teacher's salary was about $28 and the average school term was about four months. That year the teachers' salaries were higher and the school term was longer than at any other time prior to 1900.^

Although Wiley provided much-needed leadership to the

North Carolina public school system and almoBt singlehandedly overcame much of the widespread indifference, many problems persisted. Many schoolhouses remained in poor repair; the school term needed to be lengthened; textbook and equipment were generally inadequate; the curriculum was narrow, usually including only reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and geography; teaching methods were generally inefficient; there was still some aversion to taxation for schools; and lndif- ference still existed in some quarters. J

^Edgar W. Knight, Public Education in the South, pp. 235-238. ^North Carolina, Legal Documents (185**-1355), No. 12, pp. 32-31*. ^Knight, op. cit., p. 233. **5Lefler and Newsome, op. cit., p. 381. 77

Significance of North Carolina'a Ante-Bellum Educational Efforts

North Carolina*s continuing education problems were numerous and difficult, but her ante-bellum efforts and their results must be viewed In a relative sense. From the

Inauguration of the public school system under the law of

1339 until the start of the Civil War in l36l, a span of only twenty-two years, North Carolina overcame a deplorable educational situation and developed a system which proved to be the envy of the South. North Carolina, often referred to as the "Rip Van Winkle" state in the early l800*s, had taken giant strides just prior to the war in selling the public school idea to her population. The fact that educational problems still remained at the outbreak of the war, and the fact that North Carolina slipped back into a "Rip Van Winkle" condition Immediately after the war should not tarnish the amazing advancements made during the 1850's.

North Carolina Public Schools During ------the glvll War------

The public school system managed to operate on a limited basis throughout the Civil War, and Wiley continued to receive reports from local officials until Johnston to sur­ render in 1365. In 1361 a total of $197,000 was disbursed by the state for training 130,000 children. Schools were operated for about four months by teachers whose average 73

Balary was $26 a month.^ In 1862 nearly 90,000 children were in the state'b common schools. By 1363 sixty countleB made fragmentary reports of conditions, and in fifty counties

1,076 schools had been open, 372 teachers had been licensed, and 35,^95 children attended school for about three months.^

The state's last legislative act on education, passed on December 23* 1363, authorized the grading of public schools and provided that nothing except a lack of funds should lessen appropriations from the Literary Fund to the schools and that Literary Fund appropriations and local iifl taxes should continue to be applied to the schools. This act seems to indicate that the schools continued to command serious attention despite pressures of the war effort.

The final report of Superintendent Wiley, dated

January 18, 1866, contained few statistics Indicating the effectiveness of the schools at that time. Wiley remained in office until October 19, 1365, when the office of state superintendent was abolished at the Constitutional Convention.

Although the Literary Fund had not been used for military purposes, Confederate Investments had naturally been made

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Worth Carolina, ldbo-lbbl.

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Worth Carolina, ldbO-lttbl, p. 3* UR Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Educa­ tion in the South, p. lb. by the Board and the defeat of the Confederacy wiped out most of the F u n d .

North Carolina's educational progress, Impeded by the war, was ultimately halted during Reconstruction. In the next six chapters we will Investigate some Important aspects of that tragic development.

49Ibid. CHAPTER III

THE GOVERNMENT OP NORTH CAROLINA AND

PUBLIC EDUCATION

The collapse of the Confederacy in the spring of 1865

resulted in the temporary suspension of public schools In

North Carolina. Despite the fact that the state had boasted

the South's most highly developed ante-bellum public school

system and the fact that many schools had remained open

throughout the conflict, the government of postwar North

Carolina had little success, combatting the forces hinder­

ing public education. The public schools remained closed

until the fall of 1869 when they were reopened with limited

success by the Radical government under the 1869 school law.

The Presidential Plan for Reconstruction

Following the surrender of General Johnston to

General Sherman in April, 1865* North Carolina was placed

under military occupation and control. On May 29* 1365,

President Johnson Inaugurated his plan for Reconstruction by appointing W. W. Holden provisional governor of the state.

According to the Johnson plan, Inherited basically

from President Lincoln, pardon was extended to Confederates, with certain exceptions, who would take an oath to support

the Constitution of the United States and the laws of 80 Bl

Congress. Exceptions to general amnesty Included specific

leaders and those persons whose taxable property exceeded

$20,000. Although these people were not granted amnesty automatically, they could obtain a special pardon by peti­ tioning the President.

Johnson*s scheme for bringing the Confederate states back into the Union further provided that the provisional governor should call a convention chosen by the "loyal" people of the state for the purposes of making constitutional

changes and of preparing the state for its return to the

federal union. Temporary civil government for the state was

to be administered by the provisional governor, and federal

functions were to be resumed by the proper officials.1

Johnson*s plan was founded upon the principle of

self-determination. He preferred to base the new govern­

ments not upon a denial of political rights because of past

conduct, but upon a policy which recognized the return to

federal allegiance as a sufficient prerequisite to political

enfranchisement. Ihe President's desire was that the southern

states resume their natural place in the Union as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

^-J. 0. Randall, Civil War and Reconstruction, p. 715.

2Ibid. 32

The 1865 Constitutional Convention

In keeping with the Presidential Plan, Governor

Holden called for the election of delegates to the consti­ tutional convention, and this convention met in Raleigh on

October 2, 1 8 6 3. Most representatives at the convention were old Whigs who had opposed secession but in 1861 had submitted to the will of the people. The delegates appeared to be unanimous in their desire to restore the state to normal relations within the federal government.^ The con­ vention abolished slavery, repudiated the war debt, and declared the ordinances of secession null and void.

Election of the General Assembly

State officers and members of the General Assembly were elected November 9, 1365, and the Assembly met November

2 7. Because of uncertainty concerning the legality of its actions, the Assembly failed to concern itself with general legislation, and after a brief session it adjourned until

February, 1366. The second session lasted until the middle of March.U *------Jj. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, Reconstruction in North Carolina ("Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, '* V01. £V!£lI, No. 1^1; New York: Columbia University, 191^), p. 121.

^Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, pp. 221-222. 33

Educational Legislation

One law passed during the second session proved to be of educational significance. This law made county taxes for school support** discretionary and abollBhed the office of state superintendent of public instruction and the office of treasurer of the all-but-vanished Literary Fund.^ Tlie

Legislators, inasmuch as the remnant of the Fund was obviously insufficient to support a system of common schools,

seem to have decided that the offices represented an unneces­ sary e x p e n s e . ^ Members of the Legislature do not appear to have been as hostile to public education as their action may appear to suggest; rather! It seems that their action grew out of an inability to formulate a successful plan by which

to support a school system.

Whatever the reasons for the Legislature's action,

the laws passed were quite Inconsistent with previous policies of the General Assembly. It is true that there was a general feeling of uncertainty and insecurity during those days of confusion and that the state's financial situation was deplorablej but when one considers the difficulties overcome in ante-bellum years In the drive to establish

^See Chapter IV, "Economic Conditions and the Sup­ port of Public Education,"p. 1 1 7.

^North Carolina, Laws (1866), c. 3^, sec. 1.

^See Chapter VII, "Efforts of Leaders," p. 184. 84 public schools, it is difficult to understand the thinking of the legislators. Concerning the actions of the 1366 legislature, Edgar W. Knight said:

That the state which probably held the leader­ ship in ante-bellum educational effort should in a time of uncertainty deliberately abandon her schools, transferring all the assets of the school fund to the general treasury of the state, and leaving all matters of educational concern in local hands, whose powers were both persuasive and discretionary, was no less censurable than unusual. Besides, It was a striking contrast to the work of the law-making bodies under provi­ sional governments in some of the other southern states."

At the meeting of the Legislature in 1866-67, two acts of educational importance were passed which served to make partial amends for the puzzling behavior of the law­ makers in the previous session.9 One act dealt further with the problem of financing the public schools,3’0 while the other required the county courtB to appoint county superin­ tendents and local trustees. The duties of these officials were practically the same as they were for the school officers before the war, and the acts appear to have been an attempt to revive the ante-bellum school system.3*3’

Edgar Knight considered that these two acts reflected a serious and continuing concern of the North Carolinians

**Edgar W. Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Education in the South, p. 20.

^North Carolina, Laws (1866-67), c. 14. ^ S e e Chapter IV, "Economic Conditions and the Sup­ port of Public Education," p. 118. 13’North Carolina, Laws, Ibid., c. 15. 35 for their public schools. He stated concerning the action of the Legislature:

It should be remembered that these acts were passed by the native white citizenship of the State at a time of great confusion and uncertainty, and when it was known that Congress would replace with military governments the state governments as or* ganlzed by the presidential plan. In view of these conditions the acts are of great importance. They are evidence of an interest in education which was rarely seen in other things, and of a determination to protect the schools of whatever cost. But for the plan of congressional Reconstruction, which set in immediately, the history of education in North Carolina would be a different story.

The Rise of the Radicals

By the time Congress convened in December, 1865, the southern Btates had all reorganized their governments and had met the requirements for readmlsslon as laid down by

President Johnson, but the Republican-controlled Congress refused to allow the southern representatives to take their seats. Refusal to accept the southern senators and con­ gressmen was the first move by the Stevens-Sumner Radicals in their attempt to block the Reconstruction program of the president and to inflict their own vindictive plans on the

South.*3

The Fourteenth Amendment

During the succeeding two years, the nation witnessed a bitter running battle between President Johnson and the

12Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina. p. 225. 13 ^Hamilton, op. cit., p. 303. 86

Radicals. During that time, the "Black Code" of North

Carolina and the other southern states, surviving war

prejudices, and the tactlessness of President Johnson so

strengthen the Radicals in Congress that they were able to

override the presidential veto and pass into law a new

Freedman's Bureau Bill and a Civil Rights Bill as well as

to submit to the states for ratification the Fourteenth 14 Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Four­

teenth Amendment granted citizenship to the Negro by

Btating:

All persons b o m or naturalized in the United States, and Bubject to the Jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privilege or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its Jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.*5

The amendment further provided that a state which denied

suffrage to any male citizen, except for rebellion or some

other crime, would have its representation in the Lower

House reduced proportionately. Those persons who had

engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United

States after having sworn to support the Constitution were

disqualified from'holding any office, civil or military, ------TB------Hugh TaImage Lefler and Albert Ray Newsome, North Carolina, p. 458.

^Randall, op. cit., p. 736. 87 state or federal. Finally the amendment declared illegal and void all debts "incurred in aid of . . . rebellion against the United States. h1^

In June, 1866, the amendment was adopted by both

Houses of Congress, and the Radicals required that it be ratified by the southern states as a prerequisite for re­ admission to the Union. Secretary Seward passed it on to the states for consideration, and by March, 1867, twelve of the thirty-seven states (Delaware and Kentucky in addition to all the seceded states except Tennessee) had rejected the amendment thereby defeating ratification.1^ The best show­ ing for the amendment was in North Carolina, where it received ten of 103 votes in the Lower House of the Legis­ lature.1^

Radical Reconstruction

The Presidential Plan for Reconstruction was success­ fully thwarted by Congress, and rejection of the Fourteenth

Amendment by the South inspired the Radicals to launch their own program of Reconstruction. This program would ultimately lead to the adoption of the 1868 North Carolina Constitution and the passage of the 1369 public school law. The basic

lbIbld., p. 739*

17Ibld., p. 7^0.

^William B. Hesseltine and David L. Smiley, The South in American History, p. 370. 83

Radical Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867, Ignored the existing governments and placed the ten southern Btates not represented In Congress In five military districts. North

Carolina was placed in the Second District under the com­ mand of General David E. Sickles, who was later succeeded by General E. R. S. C a n b y . 1 ^

State Constitutional Convention

In November, 1367, a convention was called in North

Carolina for the purpose of revising the state constitution

in accordance with the Congressional Plan for Reconstruc­

tion. Registration figures disclose that qualified voterB

included 106,721 whites and 72,932 Negroes, for a total of

179,653* If regulations were strictly followed, the list of whites had been purged not only of men prominent in the

Confederate cause, but also of holders of local offices.

More than 50,000 qualified voters failed to cast their bal­ lots, but the vote favoring the convention was nearly

three to one.20

At the call of General Canby the constitutional con­ vention met on January 14, 1868, and remained in session 21 until March 17, 1863. “Hie Republicans had a majority of

^Samuel Ashe, History of North Carolina, p. 1050.

20Archibold Henderson, North Carolina, the Old North State and the New, p. 315*

21Ibld. 39

ninety-four as the Conservatives elected only thirteen dele­ gates. The one hundred and seven Republicans included at

least eighteen "carpetbaggers" and fifteen Negroes. Many

of the "carpetbaggers" had formerly served as officers In

the Union Army and had come South to carve out personal

fortunes. Of the native white North Carolinians at the convention, none had been previously prominent in the state, op and few were known outside their own counties. c The day

the convention convened the Raleigh Sentinel expressed the

feelings of many North Carolinians by stating:

The pillars of the capltol should be hung in mourning today for the murdered sovereignty of North Carolina. In the hall where have been collected, in days gone by, the wisdom, the patriotism, the virtue of the State, there assembles this morning a body convened by an order of Congress, in viola­ tion of the Constitution of the United States and in utter disregard of the Constitution of North Carolina, a body which, in no sense as a whole, represents the true people of the State, which has not been elected according to our laws nor chosen by those to whom those laws have committed the right of suffrage. In the seats which have been filled by some of the best and truest sons of North Carolina will be found a number of negroes, a still larger number of men who have no interests or sentiments in common with our people, but who were left in our midst by the receding tide of war, and yet others who have proven false to their mother and leagued with her enemies.23

Constitutional Provisions for Education

The convention's committee on education, consisting

of eleven Radicals and two Conservatives, was appointed

22Hamilton, op. cit., pp. 253-254.

23Raleigh Sentinel, January 14, 1868. 90

January 20. The Radicals Included seven "carpetbaggers/' two of whom were Negroes, and four "scalawags." Reverend

S. S. Ashley of Massachusetts, who later became the first superintendent of public Instruction under the Radical regime, served as chairman. ^ This committee made Its first report on March 6, when It presented to the convention

Its proposals for Article IX on education*

The first section, taken directly from the Northwest

Ordinance of 1787, was quickly adopted without objection.

It provided the following: "Religion, morality, and knowl­ edge being necessary to good government and happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. After Beveral minor changes had been made In other sections of the proposed article, Plato

Durham, a Conservative from Cleveland County, touched off a bitter debate when he offered an additional section to the committee's proposal* It stated:

The General Assembly shall provide separate and distinct schools, for the black children of the state^from those prbvlded for white ch ildren .®

Knight, op. cit*, p. 2 2 8 .

25North Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 9, sect. 1.

^North Carolina, Convention Journal (1868), March 6th Session, p. 34l. 91

Ashley almost Immediately offered an amendment to Durham's proposal* Ashley's amendment read:

It being understood that this section is not offered In sincerity, or because there 1b any necessity for it, and that it is proposed for the sole purpose of breeding prejudice and bringing about a political re-enslavement of the colored race.2 '

After some heated discussion, the amendment proposed by Ashley was adopted, and the amended section as proposed pQ by Durham was defeated by a vote of 86 to 11. ° The debate over race, however, was not at an end. After several addi­ tional sections had been accepted with slight changes In wording, Section 18 was read. It provided:

'Die General Assembly is hereby empowered to enact that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall attend the public schools during the Deriod between the ages of six (6) and eighteen (lo) years, for a term of not less than sixteen months, unless educated by other means.29

J. W. Oraham, a Conservative member of the education committee, quickly offered this amendment: "Provided that there shall be separate and distinct schools and colleges .,30 for the white and colored races.” The move by Graham reopened the question of separate schools for the races, and resulted in another bitter discussion between Radicals

27Ibld.

28Ibid., p. 3^2.

2%orth Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 9, sec. 18.

8°North Carolina, Convention Journal (1868), March

6th Session, p. 343* 92 and Conservatives. Finally, A. W. Tourgee, a Radical from

Ohio, offered the following substitution for Graham's amendment:

That separate and distinct schools may be pro­ vided for any class of citizens in the states, pro­ vided that in all cases where district schools shdl be established there shall be as ample, suf­ ficient, and complete facilities afforded for one class as for the others, and entirely adequate for all; and in all districts where the schools are divided the opportunity to each shall be equal.-51

Both Graham's and Tourgee*s amendments were rejected.

All attempts to provide for constitutional separation of the races in the public schools had failed— a fact that was to hinder educational development throughout Reconstruction.

The entire educational report, as amended, passed

the final reading by a vote of eighty-eight to twelve and 32 was placed in the constitution as Article IX. Ifre con­ stitution was signed by all members of the convention except the Conservatives and was ratified by the voters of North

Carolina April 21, 22, and 23* 1868. Of the 196,876 regis­

tered voters, 93*086 voted for the constitution, 7^*016 voted against it, and 29*77^ failed to cast a ballot.33

North Carolina now had more mandatory and thorough constitutional provisions for schools than ever before*

3 1 i b i d ~

32ibld.

^Hamilton* op. cit., p. 286. 93

Following are some of the most significant sections of

Article IX of the 1868 Constitution as adopted by the voters:

Section 1* Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

Section 3* Each county of the State shall be divided into a convenient number of districts, in which one or more public schools shall be maintained, at least four months in every year; and if the com­ missioners of any county shall fall to comply with the aforesaid requirements of this section, they shall be liable to indictment.

Section 7* The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Superintend­ ent of Public Works, Superintendent of Public In­ struction, and Attorney General, shall constitute a State Board of Education.

Section 9* The Board of Education shall succeed to all the powers and trust of the President and Director of the Literary Fund of North Carolina, and shall have full power to legislate and make all needful rules and regulations in relation to Free Public Schools, and the Education Fund of the State; but all acts, rules and regulations of said Board may be altered, amended or repealed by the General Assembly, and when so altered, amended or repealed, they shall not be re-enacted by the Board.

Section 17* The General Assembly is hereby em­ powered to enact that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability, shall attend the public schools during the period between the ages of six and eighteen years, for a term of not less than sixteen months, unless educated by other means.

School Legislation under the Radicals""^

The legislators elected in 1368 included thirty-eight

Radicals in the Senate and eighty in the House. The

3**North Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 9* 94

Conservatives totaled twelve in the Senate and forty in the

Hous e.35 a special session of the newly-elected Legislature was called for July, 1363, and in keeping with Section 2 of

Article IX of the Constitution, committees on education were appointed. The House committee, appointed July 9> consisted of one Conservative and ten Radicals, one of whom was a

Negro. The Senate committee, appointed July 7, was composed of seven Radicals, one of whom was a Negro* Each committee contained several members who had been active in the consti­ tutional convention.3^ No legislation pertaining to educa­ tion was passed during the special session, and it was not until January, 1869, during the regular session that the committees on education finally became active.

A message from Governor Holden was read to the

Assembly on November 17, 1363, in which he urged the imme­ diate establishment of a general and uniform system of free public schools. He also suggested that provisions be made to separate the two races, but that pupils of both races be placed in schools of equal quality and character.3?

Not until January 27, 1869, however, did chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, G. W. Welker, a minister from Pennsylvania, Introduce a bill providing for a state

3'^Knight, op. cit., p. 231.

36Ibid. •37 1 Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Educa­ tion in the south, p. 25. 95

school system. On February 12, having been reported on

favorably In the House, the bill was reported back with

several amendments. On February 23, after several sections

of the bill had been adopted by the Senate, J. W. Graham

attempted to secure a provision in the bill for separate

schools, but his amendment was defeated 2k to 6.^®

A great deal of parliamentary bickering followed the

defeat of Graham's amendment as numerous attempts were made

to adopt amendments dealing with the racial question. For

example, Senator Love of Jackson County offered an amendment

that the school "committee shall never employ any colored

teacher, male or female, to serve as such, in any school

wherein white children are to be instructed."^ Another

member quickly moved to amend Love's proposal by adding "or

employ white teachers to serve in any school wherein colored

children are to be Instructed.The amendment to Love's

amendment was adopted by a vote of 28 to 11, but still

another member moved to add "that no white Democrat should „iil teach any colored girl. This amendment was ruled out of

order by the chair, and the original amendment as amended

was finally rejected by a close vote (21 to 19 ).

^aNorth Carolina, Senate Journal, February 26, 1869, Session, pp. 359-361.

39lbid., p. 3 6 0 .

^°Ibid.

^ Ibld., p. 361. 42Knlght, Public School Education in North Carolina, p. 233. 96

The school bill finally passed the Senate, March 17,

1869, by a vote of 30 to 10. On March ?1, it waa received by the House, and after some minor verbal changes had been made, the bill was ratified by a Joint conference on April

12. The law as finally accepted waB almost wholly a product of the Senate.

'Hie new law was broad in scope and much less discre­ tionary than previous legislation. It provided for a state board of education and outlined its duties. It stipulated that local township committees were to establish and main­ tain a sufficient number of schools so that all local children between the ages of six and twenty-one could attend school for a minimum of four months every year. The duties of local school officers were defined to include such tasks as providing a schoolhouse and its furnishings; employing and dismissing teachers; requiring the exclusive use of textbooks adopted by the state board of education; visiting schools; gathering and submitting information and statistics on the schools; and attending to the details of administer­ ing the schools.

A county examiner was to be appointed by the county conuhlssloners. The examiner's duty was to examine teachers and issue certificates, and to aid in enforcing the rules and regulations governing the schools. The teacher's

**3Ibid.7 ~p. 23^- 97 certificate issued by the examiner was to be valid only in the county in which it was issued, and no person was to teach without one. Separate schools were to be provided for the two races, but all schools were to be supported, regu­ lated and instructed in the same manner. The course of study prescribed by the law included reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, and English grammar, as well as "any other studies considered appropriate."^

The law of 1869 was basically like that of 1839* The major differences between the two laws were that the latter stipulated a definitely prescribed school term, provided for a general school tax, and provided for education of the

Negro.^5

Application of the 1869 School Law

North Carolina now had a basically well-conceived and clearly defined school law. The constitutional convention and the Legislature had performed their tasks reasonably well and had provided what appeared to be a sound framework upon which to build an adequate school system for both races.

Unfortunately, an elaborate framework of Btatutes alone was

North Carolina, Public Laws (1369), Ch. 184.

^5p0r a discussion of the sections of the 1369 law dealing with school support, see Chapter IV, "Economic Conditions and the Support of Public Education," p. 120. 98 not sufficient to assure the successful development of the

system.^ Supporters of public education found themselves fac­

ing many new and difficult obstacles as they attempted to put the law of 1369 into operation. The population was

plagued with feelings of uncertainty and insecurity result­

ing from the vindictive and unreasonable Reconstruction

policies of Congress. There was a lack of genuine educa­

tional interest on the part of the public as well as many of

the lawmakers. The newly-won status of the Negro served to

complicate further an already difficult political and social

situation. Widespread poverty throughout the state pre­

cluded adequate support for public schools and served to

damage further public morale and social consciousness.

Despite the fact that the State Legislature had constructed

a reasonable school law in 1869, it failed to follow legal actions with vigorous attempts to solve those social and

political problems inhibiting proper operation of a school

system. As a result, education was extremely slow In

developing, and under the Radicals North Carolina's public

school system soon reverted to the "Rip Van Winkle" condi­

tion of early ante-bellum days.

------5 6 ------Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, p. 238. 99

Conservatives Reassume Control of the Legislature

In 1370 the Conservatives regained control of the

State Legislature when they captured thirty-six of fifty seats In the Senate and seventy-five of one hundred- seventeen In the House. ^

One of the primary goals of the Conservative Legisla­ ture during the 1870-71 session was the Impeachment of

Republican Governor Holden. After a hotly contested battle, the Governor was found guilty on March 22, 1871 of "high crimes" and misdemeanors," and was barred from holding any 43 state office in the future. By regaining control of the

Assembly and by successfully impeaching and convicting the

Governor, the Conservatives again became the dominating influence in North Carolina. ThiB resumption of power would culminate in the adoption of a new constitution in 1877.

During the first session of the Reform Legislature in

1370, the lawmakers were so Involved with the Impeachment proceedings against Governor Holden that they gave only passing attention to educational matters. Of the two educa­ tional acts which were passed, one reduced the salaries of state officers and the salary of the state superintendent of public instruction* The superintendent's annual salary

v r z z z r

^^Henderson, op. cit., p. 332. 100 waB reduced from $2*100 to $1500, his clerical help was re­ moved, and hie traveling allowance was discontinued. The other law was designed to protect what was left of the

Literary Fund, making It unlawful for the state board of education to lend any public fundB under their control unless bo authorized by the State Legislature. Both acts appear to have been part of a reaction against the mismanage­ ment and corruption of the Radical regime. ^

The 1872 and 1873 School Laws

At the second session of the Conservative Legislature, which opened In the fall of 1871, a new law designed to

Improve educational conditions waB passed. The act, known as "An Act to Consolidate the School Laws and Provide for a

System of Public Instruction,11 was enacted February 1 2 , 1 8 7 2 .

It repealed all previous legislation In conflict with any of its provisions.5°

The new law differed from that of 1369 in several respects. In addition to making more liberal provisions for schools support, the statute made Beveral policy and admin­ istrative changes. ^ Section 23 provided that if a school- house should be needed, the school fund should assume but

**^Knight, op. clt., pp. 2 *19-2 5 0 .

5°m . C. S. Noble, A History of the Public SchoolB of North Carolina, p. 358.

5^For a discussion of provisions for school support, see Chapter IV, "Economic Conditions and the Support of Public Education," p. 126. 101 half of the expense of either repairing an old house or building a new one. The other half was to be provided through contributions of citizens of the community. This article represented an apparent attempt to play upon the local public spirit to arouse support for the schools.

Whereas the law of 1869 failed to provide a central author­ ity In the counties, the law of 1872 made the county board of commissioners a county board of education. The chairman of the county board of commissioners was to be the chairman of the board of education. The county board was assigned such duties as supervising the county's school affairs, appointing county examiners, settling controversies involv­ ing boundaries of the districts, and enforcing the school law. The law also made provision for teacher training institutes and local teachers' associations.

Still another school law, designed to make more funds available to the schools, was passed in 1873• Unfortunately, neither the 1872 nor 1873 statutes provided adequate solu­ tions to the state's education problems; as a result, the schools continued to languish under the Conservatives

Conservative Efforts to Regain Complete Control of the State-

The 1373 law appears to have been the last signifi­ cant effort made under the 1869 Constitution to change the

^ North Carolina, Public Laws (1872), Ch. 189. 102 statutes to meet the educational needs of the time. Rela­ tively little attention had been given to education by the

Conservatives after their reassumption of control of the

Legislature in 1871 aB they continued their efforts to com­ pletely wrest control from the Republicans. Although their efforts to regain control in the state had begun seriously

In 1 8 7 0 - 7 1 with the Impeachment and trial of Governor

Holden, the Democratic bid for power was not completed until the 1868 Radical Constitution waB changed. Tfte Democrats attempted to alter it in a piecemeal fashion after 1870, but to get a thorough reform a state constitutional conven­ tion waB needed. To call such a convention required two- thirds concurrence of all members of the General Assembly.

Uie Democrats finally gained control of the necessary seats in 1874.53

A convention was approved by the Democrats, and it assembled September 5* 1875. The vote for convention can­ didates had been extremely close— 95*191 total vote for the

Republicans and 95,037 for the Democrats--, and because the political division waB so close, few radical changes were made in the Constitution. Several alterations were made, however, in Article I X which dealt with e d u c a t i o n . 54

53------Henderson, op. clt., p. 337.

54Ibid., p. 338. 103

Following are the most significant articles as they were amended:

Section 2. (added to the end of the former article) . . . and the children of the white race and the children of the colored race shall be taught in separate public schools; but there shall be no discrimination made in favor of, or to the prejudice of, either race.

Section k. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this State, and not otherwise appropriated by this State or the United States; also, all moneys, stocks, bonds and other property now belonging to any state fund for purposes of education; also the net proceeds at all sales of swamp lands belonging to the state, and all other grmhts, gifts or devises that have been or hereafter may be made to the State and not otherwise appropriated by the State or by the term of the grant, gift or devise, shall be paid into the State Treasury, and, to gather with so much of the ordinary revenue of the State as may be by law set apart for that purpose, shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing and maintaining in this State a system of free public schools and for no other uses for purposes whatever.

Section 3. All moneys, stocks, bonds and other property belonging to a county school fund; also, the net proceeds from the sale of estrays; also, the clear proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures, and of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of the penal or military lawB of the State; and all moneys which shall be paid by per­ sons, as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, shall belong to and remain in the several counties, and shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing and maintaining free public schools in the several counties of this State: Provided that the amount collected in each county shall be annually reported to the superintendent of public instruc­ t i o n . "

■^North Carolina, Constitution as Amended (1875), sees. 2, 4, 5. 104

In the election of 1876, Democratic candidate Vance won the governorship over Republican candidate 3ettle as the Democrats made a clean sweep of all state contests.

With the election, political Reconstruction came to an end

In North Carolina. The only visible reminder of that period of frustration was the presence of one "carpetbagger" and about a dozen Negroes In the General Assembly.^

, op. c l t ., p. 338* CHAPTER IV

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND THE SUPPORT

OP PUBLIC EDUCATION

Loss of the Literary Fund

The defeat of the Confederacy resulted In the loss of most of North Carolina's Literary Fund, the chief means of support of the prewar common school system. Since the establishment of the Fund in 1325, the Literary Board had followed a program of diversified investing, and by the end of 1365, the Fund was nominally valued at about $2,500,000.1

During the severe economic depression following the war, however, most of these holdings were lost.

At the end of the war, for example, the Literary

Board owned stock in the Bank of North Carolina and the

Bank of Cape Fear totaling $1,0^7,000. By the end of 1363, both of these banks had suspended operations and the stock was worthless. The Board also held stock in the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad and the Wilmington and Welden Rail­ road amounting to $600,000. The former railroad was declared bankrupt in 1368, and it would be years before any dividends could be paid by the latter. The Board also owned •" i------•‘‘Archibald Henderson, North Carolina, the Old North State and tte New, Vol. II, p. 323*

105 106

650 shares of stock In the Cape Pear Navigation Company nominally valued at $32,500; but this stock proved to be practically worthless and finally was sold for ten centB per share in May, 1 8 6 9 By 1868, the Fund had dwindled to the point were only $32,9B2.70 interest was realized for the entire year.^

Before the war, the Literary Fund had stimulated a growth in sentiment favoring local taxation for school pur­ poses, and nearly every county levied and collected a special tax to supplement the apportionment received from the Fund. This system of financing the public schools h proved to be popular and relatively efficient. What little remained of the Literary Fund after the war, however, was insufficient to maintain the public school system. Despite the fact that taxation for educational purposes had been generally accepted before the war, economic and Bocial cir­ cumstances had changed drastically since those days of affluence and security, and it was unlikely that the people would be willing to assume the burden of additional taxes.

2EdgarW. Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Education in the South, p. 52.

3Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, ldoM, p. 9*

^Knight, op. clt., pp. 16-17* 107

The Effect of the War on North Carolinatb Economy

North Carolina had suffered severely in the war.

Most of her economic resources were either destroyed or con­ fiscated. Railroads, factories, schools, homes, roads, churches and bridges were ruined or In need of repair, and the abolition of slavery had suddenly, wiped out an Invest­ ed ment of over $200,000,000. Bankruptcy was common, and dis­ couraged soldiers trudged home to face widespread destruc­ tion and poverty and to find that credit was almoBt impossible to obtain. Perhaps most Important was the serious shortage of energetic adult males, who were needed to undertake the difficult tasks of Intellectual and economic reconstruction.

After the war, the average North Carolinian soon became absorbed In the task of scratching a living from the charred land; his attention was by no means focused upon educational matterB. The benefits of public Bchools seemed very remote to him, and his dedication to taxation for school purposes quickly withered away. With the Literary

Fund nearly gone, the prospect of having to support school systems for both the whites and Negroes through taxation served to turn many people against the entire theory of public schools, it would be years before this reactionary

^Hugh T4 Lefler and Albert R. Newsome, North Carolina, p. 448. 108 attitude developed during Reconstruction would be overcome to the point where adequate support could be provided the public schools of North Carolina.

Early PoBtwar Optimism

Despite the overwhelming economic difficulties facing the state in 1365, many North Carolialans looked to the future determined to rebuild their farms and their businesses and to create a greater North Carolina out of the ashes of war. During the two year Interim between the end of the war and the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction, a feeling of optimism developed concerning economics, lhe state had a mild climate, available waterpower, cheap and plentiful labor and raw materials such as cotton and lumber.

It appeared as If the IngredientB were present for setting up light Industry to complement the traditional farming.

Slavery was gone, the plantation system was destroyed, and many people began to recognize the advantages of northern economic diversification. Leaders began to set their sights on the future and on a new and stronger North Carolina with diversified agriculture and manufacturing.

The North Carolina Advertiser of August 12, 1865, said concerning the future of the state: "We must keep pace with the giant strides of PROGRESS, and to do this we must cast aside every trammel and incumbrance that erewhile left 109 us loitering in the wake."^ Hope was apparent in an edi­ torial which appeared in the Raleigh Sentinel in late 1365*

It described the North's economic superiority over the

South and said:

How could it be otherwise when the disposition has been so universal to make nothing and purchase everything? The manufacturing system, we are con­ vinced, is the policy now to be depended upon to relieve our state of the evils that press upon her. . . . It can be made our greatest means of wealth and prosperity and, once rooted firmly among us, will flourish like a vigorous plant In its native soil.7

The postwar economic optimism, however, proved to be premature. A lack of capital and industrial know-how soon drove the state back into staple-crop agriculture. By 1867 the tone of the Raleigh Sentinel had changed from qptimism to despair. On April 27 of that year the Sentinel stated:

Bad as our condition was after the war, earnest and determined as the spirit of our people was to restore their broken fortune, and stirring as the business marts of the South seemed for awhile, we discover but little real Improvement in the condi­ tion of the people. . . . Thousands of men stand ready to embark in agriculture, mining, manufactur­ ing, and merchandise, but the means for the encouragement of enterprise cannot be had, while the rod of terror, treasured up in the wrathftof Congress, Is still suspended over our heads.0

Large-scale manufacturing did not develop in North

Carolina after the war aB many leaders had anticipated, but

°North Carolina Advertiser, August 12, 1865 .

^Lefler and Newsome, op. clt., p. ^75*

^Raleigh Sentinel, April 12, 1367• 110 small-scale manufacturing Boon approached prewar output.

The war had served to advertise and stimulate the use of tobacco products made from North Carolina "bright leaf," and tobacco production became profitable particularly In the

Durham region. By 1870 tobacco products were being manu­ factured at about two-thirds the prewar output. Turpentine and naval stores again became Important North Carolina products as they had been before the war. Cotton manufac­ turing developed rather rapidly also, and by 1S70 thirty- three cotton mills were producing at a greater rate than had Q the state's thirty-nine mills In i860.

Despite Reconstruction, the 1870's proved to be the real beginning of the Industrial Revolution in North

Carolina. Manufacturing was inaugurated on a rather modest scale, and the tobacco and cotton industries started during those years would ultimately significantly influence life In

North Carolina. Material wealth would increase as manufac­ turing developed; and, as people moved from the farm to the factory, cities grew and became centers of wealth, progress, and educational development.

Agriculture continued to be the chief means of sup­ port for most North Carolinians during Reconstruction, but wartime destruction hindered postwar farm production and expansion. There had been great loss of equipment and

^Lefler and Newsome, op. clt., pp. 479-481. Ill livestock, transportation was inadequate, cash and credit were difficult to obtain and the labor system had been com­ pletely upset by the freeing of the slaves. Although many handicaps were overcome and production of some crops matched prewar output by the early 1870's, the farmers suf­ fered from chronic economic depression, falling prices, shriveling Income, increasing expenses, and dwindling prestige

Corruption under the Radicals

The year 1868 marked the end of the Johnson plan for bringing the southern states back into the Union and ushered in the Congressional Plan for Reconstruction. The Republi­ cans who assumed control of North Carolina in 1868 ware to do little to Improve economic conditions In the state.

Instead, graft, corruption, and irresponsibility on the part of public officials became widespread.

Hie railroads seemed to provide the greatest oppor­ tunities for profiteering and corruption. Before the war, it had been a common practice for the government to extend aid to railroads through the sale of bonds. As a result of this aid, railroad expansion in North Carolina during the

1850's was extensive. After the war there was a lack of funds for repairing the railroads and developing new ones, and it seemed logical to many people that the tried and true

^ I b i d . r P* 490. 112 method of bond sales should be used again* The Republican- controlled Legislature of 1369 authorized the issue of

$27,850,000 in bonds ($17,660,000 actually were issued), the proceeds of which were to be used by various railroads to repair damaged tracks and to build new ones. Soon after the bondB were Issued it became evident that the state was sinking deeper into debt, and Conservatives began to level corruption charges against the government.

Investigations by the Bragg committee in 1870 and the Shipp committee in 1871 revealed that sizable commis­ sions had been paid by railroad officials or their lobbyists to members of the Legislature to assure passage of the railroad legislation. Although most members of the Legis­ lature do not seem to have been Involved in the bribes, corruption was widespread. Such men as Milton S* LittlefMd, a "carpetbagger" from New York, were directly responsible for most of the graft. Littlefield was hired by George W.

Swepson, a native North Carolinian who was president of the

WeBtem Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad, to win legislative votes for the railroad bonds. Littlefield, guaranteed 10 per cent of the amount obtained, plied the legislators with food, tobacco, drinks, and other favors, and influenced enough of them to assure passage of the bill.

Much of the $240,000 received by Littlefield was in turn paid to lawyers, legislators, railroad officials, and even a

Judge.11

J-ilbld., pp. 464-465. 113

North Carolina had never heen subjected to such cor­ ruption in government, and there was a natural public reaction against Oovernor Holden and the Republican admin­ istration. Unsold bonds were finally destroyed in 1371, but $13,313,000 was added to a state debt which had already reached $15,000,000. The only result was that the tax rate was increased; no significant efforts were made to improve the railroads. In 1880 the state government, under Demo­ cratic control, repudiated all of the special railroad bonds and prohibited state officials from honoring them unless a proposal for such action was approved by a refer­ endum to the people.12

In 1880 Oovernor T. W. Bickett reflected on the railroad bond scandal and said:

They [the bonds] are not the legitimate issue of a sovereign state, but the unseemly offspring of a band of cunning adventurers and irresponsible blacks, who descended upon a bleeding, poverty- stricken people, seized the sacred school fund of the state, bartered the children's hopes for a midnight debauch, stole everything In sight, and then attempted to sell all our generations into bondage.13

Economic Conditions and Their Effect on Fubllc Education

Postwar educational development in North Carolina paralleled economic developments rather closely. The economic optimism evident during the first several months after the

12Ibid., p. 465.

^Henderson, op. c l t ., p. 490. 114 war was accompanied by a similar feeling about education among school leaders. There were many reasons for this optimism: the public had willingly accepted the public school idea before the war; North Carolina clearly had developed the most successful school system in ante-bellum

South; many public schools had managed to continue operation throughout the war; and, although most of the Literary Fund was lost with the Confederacy, it had been Jealously guarded during the war and not a cent of it had been used even for the war effort. Calvin H. Wiley, in his 1865-66

Superintendent's Report reflected this optimism in these terms:

The feeling, universal among the people is, that the schools must not go down; and although they are told that the Literary Fund has been greatly reduced by the failure of the banks, and although they know themselves to be unable to pay taxes, yet they will not bring themselves to be­ lieve that the public schools will fail. This state of feeling is worth more to the cause of education than all the bank stock ever owned by the Literary Board; and surely our public authorities will not permit themselves to be appalled and paralysed by the least difficulty in the way of good systems of common schools.

Unfortunately, the feeling "that the schools must not go down? was neither universal nor even widespread during most of the Reconstruction years. Wiley had apparently mis­ calculated the importance of economics in the life of the

14Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lbt>5, PP. 24-25* 115 average citizen; and, as people became involved in the struggle to rebuild their homes and their lives, they developed an extreme apathy toward the support of education which would lead to the utter collapse of the public school system soon after the war. Not until 1863, when the state came under Radical Republican control, would serious efforts be made to revive the public schools.

Public School Support durJjig Presidential Reconstruction

Under the Presidential Plan for Reconstruction, the

North Carolina General Assembly met from February through the middle of March, and during that time considered Super­ intendent Wiley*s final report on the public schools. Wiley argued for continuing the schools and pointed out that the spirit of education was still present among the masses, in attempting to preserve the Literary Fund for school purposes, he maintained that if the state debt was so small that it could be paid by using the Literary Fund it was too minor to warrant such use of educational funds. On the other hand, he pointed out that if the debt was too large to be signifi­ cantly reduced by the fund, the money should not be taken from the schools. The Literary Fund at that time waB esti­ mated to be about $380,000, and Wiley suggested that it be used to maintain the schools for the next four years. He wanted to apportion the money directly to those districts in which schools were to be taught in the hope that a desire 116 for schools would be stimulated In backward areas. Wiley further suggested two possible plans for converting the stockB held by the Literary Fund, and recommended that 15 steps be taken to dispose of swamp lands owned by the Fund.

Although Wiley was in favor of using the principal of the Literary Fund for as long as it lasted, he felt a large permanent school fund was no longer desirable. He argued that the Fund should be used to bridge the coming years of poverty, but that In the future public schools should be supported by taxes. If the Literary Fund could carry the schools through the next four years, the people of

North Carolina would willingly pay sufficient taxes to support the schools In the future. He proposed that

$200,000 of the Fund should be expended annually, with

$75,000 of it going to the teachers. Wiley's plan for pro­ viding good schools for the first few years after the war, thereby building up sentiment favoring public education and school taxes, was basically the same plan used a few years later by the Peabody Board in aiding communities to establish schools.1 6

The 1865-66 Legislature and School Support

Unfortunately, the Legislature paid little heed to

Wiley's suggestions. With statewide poverty and political

I5lbld.,p. 31-

l6Ibld. 117 uncertainty pressing upon the legislators, they passed an

education bill which was clearly detrimental to the public

schools. This law abolished the office of the treasurer of

the Literary Fund and the office of superintendent of public

instruction, thereby removing the dynamic Wiley from his

position of leadership. The law also permitted the justices

of county courts to lay and collect taxes for school support

at their discretion, and permitted the county Bchool commun­

ities to support subscription schools if the teacherB

qualified to instruct in the common schools. All money, stocks, bonds and funds of the Literary Fund were placed in

the public treasury for safe keeping.*7

Many legislators believed at that time that it was

impossible to support a system of public schools because of

the loss of most of the Literary Fund and the presence of

widespread poverty. Others felt that the public schools

were more vital to the public welfare than at any other time

in the history of North Carolina. Efforts were made by

supporters of the schools to continue them by raising funds

through appropriations or by borrowing, and finally the

House passed a bill by a vote of forty-nine to forty author­

izing the annual appropriation of $75*000 for school support.

This bill was defeated in the Senate by a twenty-three to

fourteen vote. It does not appear, however, as if this bill

^North Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 9* sec. 2 . 118

was defeated because of hostility to public education, for at the same session $7*000 was appropriated to the Univer- s ity of North Carolina to help It through a financial

crisis. It seems more likely that the bill was defeated

because no acceptable plan of school support was presented

to the legislators and they could see no way In which the

schools could be maintained without Increased taxation.

It appeared unlikely to the lawmakers that the poverty

stricken citizens of North Carolina could afford to pay additional taxes at that time.-1-0

pie 1866-67 Legislature and School Support

As mentioned in Chapter III, the 1 8 6 6 -6 7Legislature, made up mainly of former Whigs, passed two acts which were more in keeping with the prewar attitude toward the public

schools. One act outlined the responsibilities of county

superintendents and local trustees, while the other was

concerned with the financing of public schools. The latter

act authorized towns and cities to establish public schools

systems supported by corporation taxes and required any

town which set up public schools under this act to set aside

for educational purposes any funds which could ^e spared

from other sources. In addition to powers of corporation

taxation, the towns and cities were authorized to levy for

^Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education In North Carolina, pp. 222-223. 119 school support a poll tax not exceeding $2.00 on each white

Inhabitant over the age of twenty-one. Primary schools were to be established first, and schools of higher grades 19 were to be provided if additional funds were available. J

These two acts represented the hopes of the supporters of

North Carolina public schools who felt as did Wiley that

the schools should be maintained at all costs. Hiey re­

flected a determination on the part of many to continue the public schools in a time of extreme confusion.

The year 1367 brought an end to Presidential Recon­

struction, and in November, 1867, a convention was called

for the purpose of revising the state constitution to meet

the demands of the Congressional Plan for Reconstruction.

The convention, comprising an overwhelming number of Radicals

and only a scattering of Conservatives, proposed a constitu­

tion that was ultimately ratified in April, 1368.

Public School Support during Radical Reconstruetion

The 1868 Constitution

As far as constitutional provisions for the support

of public schools were concerned, the 1868 constitution

proved to be superior to any previous arrangement. Section

two of Article IX stated the following:

Tfte General Assembly at its first session under this constitution, shall provide by taxa­ tion and other wise for a general and uniform

19lbld., ppT 224-225. 120

system of public schools, wherein tuition shall be free of charge to all the children of the state between the ages of six and twenty-one years.20

Section four of Article IX provided:

The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this state and not otherwise specially appropriated by the United States or heretofore by this State; also, all moneys, stocks, bonds, and other prop­ erty now belonging to any fund for purposes of education; also, the net proceeds that may accrue to the state from sales of estrays, or from fines, penalties and forfeitures; also, the proceeds of all sales of the swamp lands belonging to the state; also, all money that shall be paid as an equivalent for examptlon from military duty; also, all grants, gifts, or devices that may hereafter be made to thlB state, and not otherwise appropriated by the grant, aid, or devise, shall be securely invested, and sacredly preserved as an irreducible educational fund, the annual Income of which, together with so much of the ordinary revenue of the state as may be necessary, shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing and perfecting in this state a system of free public schools, and for no other purpose or uses whatsoever.21

The 1869 School Law

The 1869 school law which grew out of the new consti­ tution was basically the same as ante-bellum legislation, but with reference to school support it was more mandatory and less discretionary than previous statutes. According to the new law, the net annual Income from the public school fund (the remainder of the Literary Fund) was to be ------North Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 9> sec. 2.

21Ibid., sec. 1 . 121 distributed among the counties of the state on the basis of school-age population. County commissioners were to levy and assess a tax to finance the purchase of school sites and the building of schoolhouses. Seventy-five per cent of the state and county capitation taxes were to be applied by the counties to echool support; and so that the schools would be assured of operating for the minimum four-month term called for In the constitution, the Legislature appro­ priated $100,000 out of the state treasury for school support. If any township lacked enough money to provide schools for the minimum term, the school committee of that township was to send the county commissioner an estimate of the additional funds required. A tax sufficient to bring In the amount of the estimate was to be levied on the township by the county commissioners concurrently with the county taxes. The school committee under the directions of the county commissioners was then to provide the schools In accordance with the 1369 law and to pay the expenses from 22 the funds raised by the special tax.

Although legislative provisions made for the public schools during Radical Reconstruction proved to be better than those of previous years, little was done to resell the schoolB to the public. The apathy which grew out of those difficult yearB persisted throughout Reconstruction and

22Knight, op. cit., pp. 235-236. 122

lingered on for the remainder of the nineteenth century.

Had the 1869 law been properly enforced, it le conceivable

that sufficient funds could have been raised and the

schools could have been operated with a measure of success.

This unfortunately was not the case.

In August, 1 8 6 9, S. S. Ashley, the first state super­

intendent under the 1869 school law, was hopeful about the

future of the public schools and felt that several schools

would be opened during the coming October and that many

communities would have Bchools by 1 8 7 0. He estimated that

funds available to the schools would total approximately

$3 0 0 ,0 0 0for the coming year and that additional aid would

be provided by the Peabody Board. By September, 1869*

however, Ashley's optimism had begun to fade. Taxes were extremely slow In coming in, and the townships were falling

to fulfill their obligations In establishing schools.

In his report for the 1369 school year, Ashley stated

that a total of $1 6 5,2 9 0 .5 0was appropriated among the

counties on the basis of school-age population, and that

this amounted to about fifty cents per school-age child.

However, this was a "paper appropriation" based upon the

assumption that $100,000 would be made available by the

Legislature. Not a cent of that appropriation would ever

reach the schools, and, in fact, not until 1899 would the

Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1059, P» 55 ■ 123 schools receive a legislative appropriation from the general treasury. Little money was to be realized from the capita­ tion taxes, and for the school year ending September 30,

1370, the total amount of taxes collected for the public schools was $136,0 7 6 .9 2 . It appears that only $3 8 ,981.86 of that amount was ever used for educational purposes.^4

There were several reasons why the school law of 1969 was not as successful in practice as it promised to be in theory. Funds simply were not available to meet the pro­ jected legislative appropriations; there was a tendency on the part of state officials to divert funds earmarked for education to other purposes; county commissioners often did not levy taxes for school operation even though they were required to do so by law; and, perhaps most significantly, there was a lack of public confidence in the government and in the public schools. General corruption and the railroad bond scandals of 1370 and 1871 had aroused public suspicion and contempt for the Republican administration, and many people transferred this attitude to their thinking on the public schools and the school law. Matters were further complicated by the fact that administration of the school law was the responsibility of the Superintendent of Public

Instruction, Reverend S. S. Ashley, a "carpetbagger" from

Massachusetts and an advocate of mixed schools, and his assistant J. W. Hood, a Negro "carpetbagger." Fear of mixed

2i|Knight7 op» cit., p. 242. 1 2 H

schools was especially strong in North Carolina, and anyone who supported Integration was almost unanimously opposed.

Popular distrust of Ashley and Hood led naturally to opposi­

tion to the law of 1369, and, in turn, seriously hindered

the rebuilding of the public school system.

The crushing blow to the 1869 school law, however, grew out of a controversy over the right of the county

commissioners to levy taxes for school support. In some

cases local officials did submit estimates of necessary expenses of the schools to the township trustees in accord­ ance with the 1869 law, but when the question of levying the school tax was voted upon by the public it nearly always defeated the tax overwhelmingly. The question arose whether

the county commissioners could levy a tax for school expenses even though the people had voted against it.

Although Section 25 of the 1869 school law implied that the

county commissioners did have the right to tax for school expenses, the 1363 state constitution stated the following:

No county, city, town or other municipal cor­ poration shall contract any debt, pledge its faith, or loan its credit, nor shall any tax be levied or collected by any officers of the same, except for the necessary expenses thereof, unless by a vote of a majority of the qualified voters therein.25

The question to be resolved was: Are the schools a

''necessary espense?" If they were considered to be so, the

2^North Carolina, Constitution (1868), Art. 7, sec. 7 . 125 tax for operating them for the minimum four month term

could be levied with or without the consent of the people.

If such expenses were considered unnecessary, the tax would have to be supported by a majority of the qualified voters.

Craven County provided the teBt case. The school commissioners In a township of that county submitted an estimate of the necessary expenses for 1870 to the trustees of the township. When submitted to the voters, the tax was defeated. The county commissioners began levying and col­ lecting taxes on property in the township despite the opposition of the majority of voters. When a complaint was filed claiming that the commissioners had violated the con­

stitution, the Judge ordered a temporary Injunction restrain­

ing the collection of taxes. The defendants claimed that

they had been following both the constitution and the school law of 1369, and that the schools were a necessary expense.

The lower court decided in favor of the commissioners; but

the case was appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court, and in 1871 the decision was reversed. In other words, it was established by the courts that the school tax was not a necessary expense under the constitution.2^

The decision seriously crippled the floundering school system. One clause of the constitution required that the schools be operated for a four-month term each year, while

^Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Educa­ tion in the South, p. 3b. 126 another section of the same constitution made school support dependent upon local approval. With economic conditions and

the popular attitude toward taxation as they were, the school

law was practically negated.

The 1872 School Law On February 12, 1872, a new school law was passed by

the Conservatives replacing the law of 1869* The 1872 law

was based upon the theory that taxation for school support

was not a type of charity, but the meeting of the state's

natural obligation to its youth. The new law differed from

the former largely in that it provided more liberally for

support. A levy of six and two-thirds cents per hundred

dollars was made on taxable property, and a special capita­

tion tax of thirty cents was established. It was clearly 27 stated that no county should levy additional school taxes.

The 1373 school law, passed February 26, 1873,

changed the school tax rate of six and two-thirds cents on

the hundred dollars on property and credits to eight and

one-third cents. The poll tax was increased from twenty

cents to twenty-five cents. The 1873 law also provided

that if the tax levied under this act should prove to be

Inadequate to maintain one or more schools in the township

for the minimum four-month period, the commissloners in

each county could levy a special tax annually so aB to

^Knight, op. clt., p. 37* 127 make up the deficiency; but this special tax had to first be submitted to the voters of the county (a provision which all but eliminated its effectiveness, since most people were still not willing to vote additional taxes for the schools.)

Another change made by the 1873 law was to repeal the section which provided for the distribution of school funds on the principle that those districts would be helped which helped themselves. Rather, funds were to be distributed by the county commissioner to the townships according to the number of children in each. The township school committees in turn were to apportion the funds among the schools In the township on the same baBls of school-age population*

All children, rich and poor alike, were to be admitted to the schools free from any tuition. Superintendent Mclver, a strong advocate of the "we'll help you if you'll help yourselves" clause, was deeply disappointed when it was re­ pealed. He felt that such a method of distribution would have helped to stimulate local initiative and would eventu­ ally have led to a greater acceptance of local taxes. His point of view seems to have been substantiated by the success of the Peabody Fund which operated on a fund- matching basis.29

•' nu M. C. S. Noble, A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina, pp. 365-3bb.

29Ibld., p. 3 6 6 . 128

Hie law also made changes regarding the employment and pay of teachers. The township committee was given the

power to employ and dismiss teachers and to determine the

salaries to be paid. First grade teachers were not to be

paid more than two dollars a day or forty dollars a month,

second grade teachers were not to receive more than a dollar

and a half a day, and third grade teachers were not to

receive more than a dollar a day.

Despite the laws of 1872 and 1873* the schools con­

tinued to lack sufficient funds. Hie sections authorizing

local taxation were vague and Indefinite, and the taxeB were

often not levied or collected. School funds were not always

kept separate from other public funds, and dishonest offi­

cials were accused of using them for non-educatlonal

purposes. Officials managing land given to school funds

often proved to be less Interested In education than they

were In personal profits.-^1

Although significant progress had been made before

the war In winning sentiment for school taxes, North

Carolinians, especially In rural areas, had been tradition­

ally opposed to taxation. They had been raised to suspect

any Improvements made at their expense for the public good,

and they reasoned that taxes were levied by a republican

government to defray Its expenses. Hierefore, a minimum of

3°lbld.

Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1 8 7 P» 22. 129 taxation reflected governmental efficiency. Many people were Btlll unwilling to accept the notion that supporting public schools was a rightful function of the government, and lingering economic difficulties assured widespread sup­ port of this reluctance. Although taxes were being accepted as a necessity elsewhere throughout the South,they were still considered unjust and oppressive in North Carolina.-^2

Conditions showed little Improvement by 1672, and

Superintendent Mclver's figures show that the school-age population for the 1872-73 school year was 343,603, with only 106,309 white children and 40,438 colored children enrolled. The average daily attendance for the whites was

7 0 ,8 7 2and for the Negroes was 26,958. The average school 33 term was about two and one-half months. During that year, a total of $83,022.76 was spent for education of white children and $27,256.14 for Negroes, and $17,333*30 was ^4 spent on schoolhouses.J

The revenue for the schools that year came chiefly from the 75 per cent share of county and state capitation taxes, as provided for in the constitution, the eight and one-third cent tax on $100 valuation of all property and

32peabody Board of Trustees, Peabody Proclamation, Vol. I, p. 407. 33Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, ld73, pp. 3-4.

3^North Carolina, Legal Document (1872-1873), No. 5, Table 3 . 130 the special capitation tax of twenty-five cents. According to Superintendent Mclver, all sources of school support allowed for only seventy-five cents per pupil and would be insufficient to support the schools for the required term.

Since taxes for additional school funds had to be approved by the voters of each county, and many countleB voted against the schools, they could rely only upon those fundB provided by state law. ^

An Increase in Sentiment Favoring Public Education By 1874 popular sentiment appeared to be shifting slowly in favor of public education. Much of the credit for this development must be given to the Peabody Fund.

The Trustees of the Peabody Fund had been donating money to North Carolina Bchools since 1868 with the understanding that appropriations would be matched by the local communi­ ties, and most schools aided by the Fund were gaining much attention and respect. In addition, the Trustees paid the expenses of the State Teachers' Association, aided normal schools and contributed funds to help support the state educational Journal. In 1868 North Carolina received

$2,700 from the Fund, and by 187^ the appropriation had

Increased to $16,150 which was distributed to about forty- five towns and districts. As pre-school sentiment developed

^Knight, op. clt., p. 43. 131 several cities and towns throughout the state assumed control of public schools which previously had been supported by private subscriptions. Such arrangements *vere made in

Wilmington, the largest city in the state, and in Newbern, og Washington, Beaufort and Smlthfield.

"Hie 1874 and 1875 Superintendent's Reports bear out the fact that gradual but constant educational progress was being made. According to the figures given for 1874,

$593,387*64 was spent on educating 127,716 pupils out of a total school-age population of 431,770. In 1875 approxi­ mately the same amount of money was spent to educate 149,167 pupils out of a total school-age population of 443,5 5 8.

Summary

Reconstruction came to an end in North Carolina in

1876 when the Conservatives regained complete control of the state government. One must view the educational legacy of

the Radical regime with mixed feelings. In many respects

Radical policies had hindered educational development, but with regard to support for education, Reconstruction provi­ sions were far better than those of ante-bellum days. Ifte

1868 constitution and Reconstruction school laws tended to correct the permissive and discretionary nature of previous

3&Ibid., pp. 44-45.

^Annual Reports, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 107*4-1Q?5. 132 legislation. Such changes made in methods of school sup­ port were undoubtedly the moBt lasting and beneficial con­ tributions made during this period. Unfortunately, however, economic conditions and improper enforcement of the statutes during Reconstruction prevented most schools from receiving sufficient funds to allow their successful operation. CHAPTER V

THE RACE PROBLEM AND NEGRO EDUCATION

DURING RECONSTRUCTION

The Confederacy collapsed early In 1 8 6 5t and General

John MeA. Schofield took command of North Carolina on

April 2 9. He Immediately took steps to restore peace and

order in the state by declaring a cessation of hostilities and the emancipation of the slaves. With the freeing of

350.000 Negroes, North Carolina suddenly faced an extremely

critical period of social and economic adjustment.* Uncom­ pensated emancipation completely upset the plantation system

and the economy and placed responsibilities upon the freed-

men for which they were almost totally unprepared. The question immediately arose whether the freedmen would con­

tinue to work, obey the laws, and respect the whites, or

whether they would refuse to work, commit crimes, challenge

white control of southern civilization, and precipitate a

race war. No one really knew whether the Negroes and the

650.000 whites in North Carolina could live peacefully side

by side in freedom. 2

------t------Hugh Talmage Lefler and Albert Ray Newsome, North Carolina, p. 4^*9.

2Ibid. 133 134

The Effect of Freedom on the Negroes

During the war a few slaves had run away from their masters, but most had remained faithful and continued to work on the plantations throughout the conflict. Newly won freedom affected the Negroes in various ways. Many had no choice but to remain on the plantations and continue to work for former masters for wages or as sharecroppers. Some left their masters and made arrangements to work for other landowners, or went to army camps and nearby towns expecting to be cared for. Others merely wandered from place to place enjoying their new status of freedom. To many Negroes free­ dom from slavery meant freedom from work, and they exercised their new privileges by stealing and by being Insolent to the whites at every opportunity. As the freedmen suffered from hunger, sickness and encounters with the law, however, most of them came to realize that if they were to fit into the new social order they would have to settle down and work for white landowners for wages or for s h a r e s . 3

On October 2, 1865> a group of prominent Negroes met in Raleigh and adopted an address for presentation to the constitutional convention then in session and to the

Legislature which was to meet the next November. In the address the Negroes requested the passage of laws which

3Ibld., p. 450. 135 would be helpful to them in their new condition of freedom, and asked that their children be given educational oppor­ tunities so that they could develop into useful and effec­ tive citizens. In response to the address, the convention adopted a resolution directing Provisional Governor Holden to appoint a three man commission to study the question and report to the Legislature at the coming session. B. F.

Moore, one of the state's outstanding lawyers, W. S. Mason, h and R. S. Donnell were appointed to serve on the committee.

The committee's report, submitted January 22, 1366, provided the basis for the writing of the notorious North Carolina

"Black Code."

North Carolina Denied Readmission to the Union

North Carolina had met the president's requirements for readmission to the Union and seemed to be ready to resume its position as a loyal state and to begin the dif­ ficult task of solving the race problem when Congress con­ vened in December, 1865- To the consternation of the southerners, the Radicals in Congress had gained enough strength to block effectively the Presidential plan for

Reconstruction, and they refused to seat the southern senators and representatives. At thlB point the North

**M. C. S. Noble, A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina, pp. 271-272* 136

Carolina Legislature played directly into the hands of the

Radicals by enacting the "Black Code," defining the legal rights of Negroes.

The North Carolina "Black Code"

The Moore-Mason-Donnell report upon which the "Black

Code" was based tended to reflect the current feelings of most North Carolina whites concerning Negro rights, but when the Qeneral Assembly followed the committee's suggestion and adopted a code defining the legal rights of the freedmen, the action drew the wrath of the Radicals. Whereas the North

Carolinians felt such a code was necessary to protect the rights of both Negroes and whites, the Radicals viewed it as being an attempt to keep the Freedmen in continued sub­ jugation. The Radicals used the North Carolina "Black Code" and similar codes adopted by other southern states to arouse public support for their plancf vindictive Recon­ struction. Among its provisions the North Carolina code declared:

That Negroes, and their issue, even where one ancestor in each succeeding generation to the fourth inclusive is white, shall be deemed persons of color.

All persons of color who are now inhabitants of this state shall be entitled to the same privileges, and are subjects to the same burthens and disabili­ ties, as by the laws of the State were conferred on, or were attached to, free persons of color, prior to the ordinance of emancipation except as the same may be changed by law. Persons of color shall be entitled to all the privileges of white persons in the mode of proseouting, defending, continuing! removing and transferring their suits at law and equity; and likewise to the same mode of trial by Jury, and all the privileges appertaining thereto. And in all proceedings in equity by or against them, their answer shall have the same force and effect in all respectB as the answer of white persons.

In all cases of apprenticeship of persons of color . . . the master shall be bound to discharge the s^me duties to them as to white apprentices*

Although the code did not extend suffrage to the

Negroes and did not give them equal legal rights with the whites in all respect, it did bear evidence of the beginning of a change in public opinion towards just treatment of the freedmen. The move to provide apprenticeship for Negroes on the same basis as for whites seems to Indicate that many native whites recognized the necessity of educating the

Negroes so that they could eventually assume the responsl* billtleB of full citizenship.

The movement to establish public schools In North

Carolina had been very slow because of the many obstacles that had to be overcome, but Noble points out that most of those obstacles had practically disappeared by the end of the war.^ Noble felt that the move by the whites to provide

Negro apprenticeship was an indication that public schools

^North Carolina, Public Laws (1866), Vol. X, p. 9 9.

^Noble, op* clt., p. 275. 138 for Negroes would have developed naturally as had public schools for the whites. He said:

If history repeats itself, it is reasonable to believe that a people who for generations had fought Illiteracy as a menace to good citizenship, would have soon moved from the compulsory educa­ tion of the destitute colored apprentices to the free public education of all colored children in colored public schools, especially since those children on reaching their majority were to become voting citizens at the polls in every election. Hence the first step towardB Negro education was taken by North Carolinians themselves In the legislature of 1863-6 6, when the education of indigent colored orphans was provided for.'

Noble*8 opinions appear to have been borne out to

some extent during the first few months after the war when a healthy attitude seemed to be developing among the whites

toward Negro education. Many people began to realize that educating the Negroes was a social, economic, and political necessity. In his final report on the public schools in

1863, Superintendent Wiley made a plea for continuancecf

the schools for the benefit of both races. He wrote:

A new race of free men now enter the lists in Intellectual competition with those who have been the ruling class; and while we will all rejoice to see, thoBe people rising in the moral scale, it will be a reproach to the Whites to be out-stripped by them. The colored people will naturally have more aid and sympathy from abroad to educate their children than the whites; and we may, also, expect a considerable immigration, and a much more mixed condition of society than formerly. If, then, we would preserve the free spirit, and the free institutions of the past: if we would maintain that conservation which formerly distinguished and

^Ibid. 139 blessed us, we must use greater exertions to establish and keep up pervading moral agencies. Hie welfare of all classes and races demands this* There will be Infused Into the body politic, an Immense amount of Ignorance, now left to the con­ trol of moral power; and if we would not be Bub- merged by the waves let In upon us, we must dig and ditch and drain with an energy and skill here­ tofore unknown among us. If we will do this those new floods will prove a source of Increased fruit­ fulness, and of more enduring prosperity: if we do not, we will be drowned.°

Educational Efforts, 1865-1869 As we have seen, the public school system in North Carolina collapsed with the fall of the Confederacy, and instruction was suspended from 1865 to 1 8 6 9. During those years, however, education was not entirely overlooked.

Hiose whites who could afford private tutors or could send their children to private schools did so, while the educa­ tional needs of the Negro received attention from many quarters. Soon after the war efforts were made by native

North Carolinians to educate the freedmen through appren­ ticeship, private Bchools,and volunteer teaching, but these efforts came to a standstill as northern agencies invaded the Btate and assumed the responsibility of educating the freedmen. Among the most active of the religious and humanitar­ ian agencies and churches which attempted to provide schools for the freedmen were the Friends Association for the Relief

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public In­ struction, North Carolina, itx>5, P» 2 140 of Colored Freedmen, TSie American Missionary Association,

The New England Freedmen1s Aid Society, The Protestant

Episcopal Freedmen*b Mission, and Ihe Presbyterian Board.

Probably the best known of all the agencies designed to help the Negroes was the Freedmen*s Bureau, established by the United States government on March 3* 1 8 6 5 The educa­ tional efforts of these organizations will be discussed In greater detail in the following chapter.

The Attitude of the Negro Toward Education

It soon became obvious that the Negroes realized that the social prestige, economic position, and political power of the whites lay In their superior education, and the freedmen felt if they could come by this training they would

Immediately be equal to the whites In all fields. As a result, freedmen welcomed with enthusiasm the opportunity to obtain an education, and Negroes of all ages flocked to the schools provided them by northerners.* 0 Harriet Beecher

Stowe wrote in the North American Review; "They rushed not to the grog-shop but to the school room— they cried for the spelling book as for bread, and pleaded for teachers as a necessary of life." 11 The desire of the freedmen to be

^Hugh TaImage Lefler (ed.), North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries, p. 328. 10Henry Lee Swint, Wie Northern Teacher in the South 1862-1870i p. 71* 11Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Ttie Education of Freedmen, " North American Review, Vol. CXZVII (June, 1879)t P« 6 1 3. 141 educated Is even more clearly shown in the following report submitted by J. W. Alvord, Superintendent of Schools for the

Freedman's Bureau. He Btated:

A general desire for education is everywhere manifested. In some instances, as in Halifax County, very good schools were found taught and paid for by the colored people themselves. Said a gentleman to me, 'I constantly see in the streets and on the door-steps opposite my dwelling groups of little Negroes studying their spelling-books 11 Not only are individual seen at study, and under the most untoward circumstances, but in very many places I have found what I call 'native schools,' often rude and very Imperfect, but there they are, a group, perhaps, of all ages, trying to learn. Some young man, aome woman, or old preachers, in cellar, or shed, or corner of a Negro meeting­ house, with the alphabet in hand, or a torn spell­ ing book, is their teacher. All are full of enthusiasm with the new knowledge the book is imparting to them. It is no Infrequent occurrence to witness in the same rooms, and persuing the same studies, the child and parent— youth and gray hairs— all eagerly grasping for that by which, obtained, they are intellScutally regenerated. As an evidence of the great interest manifested for acquiring knowledge, an Instance, probably never before equalled in the history of education, is to be found in one of the schools of this state, where side by side sat representatives of four generations in a direct line, viz.: a child six years old, her mother, grandmother, and great­ grandmother, the latter over seventy-five years of age. All commenced their alphabet together, and each one can read the Bible fluently* Night schools have met with gratifying success, and are eagerly sought for by those whose labors are of such a character as to prevent their attend­ ance during the day. Sunday schools have been established at many points where teachers reside. . . . It is evident much good has been accomplished by their establishment, and no estimate can be made of the beneficial results of their full development. 12

12Lefler, op. clt., pp. 328-329* 142

Negro Education during Radical Reconstruction

By 1867 the Presidential Plan of Reconstruction had been defeated by the Radicals in Congress, and from January

to March, 1868, the North Carolina constitutional conven­

tion met to alter the state's constitution to meet Radical requirements for readmission to the Union. As pointed out

in Chapter III, the race problem repeatedly thrust itself

upon the Beene during the conventlnn, and the color line was drawn in any discussion of any section in which social equality could be detected. The "carpetbagger" and

"scalawag" controlled convention adopted constitutional changes providing for public schools for all Negro and white children in the state between the ages of six and twenty-one years. Among its clauses the school law of 1369 provided

for separate but equal schools for the two races. Thus,

North Carolina was suddenly faced with the task of having to

provide public schools not only for her white children, but for the Negroes as well. In his 1863 report to the governor,

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ashley touched upon the financial difficulties the state facet in providing

schools for both races. He stated:

Your excellency's attention is invited to the fact,that Inasmuch as the Constitution of the State adds not less than 150,000 persons to the number heretofore considered as subjects for common school instruction, and makes provision for the free public school instruction of all the youth of the State, between the ages of six and twenty-one years, compulsory upon the state, that immediate 143

and liberal enactments and appropriations by the Oeneral Assembly are requisite.1’

The Freedmanfs Bureau terminated itB operations in

North Carolina on January 1, 1869, and as it and the northern benevolent societies withdrew their support of schools for

the freedmen, the whites faced with mixed feelings the

responsibility of educating the Negroes at public expense.

Some opposed Negro education as a result of the antagonism

created by the northern teachers who had come South. Many continued to accept the belief that the Negro was Inherently

Incapable of benefiting from education and that attempts to

teach him merely ruined his effectiveness as a worker. The

fact that only a matter of months before it had been illegal

to teach Negroes to read and write made it difficult for

some whites to accept the idea that the freedmen deserved

schools equal to those of the whites. Despite these feelings,

a sizable nucleus of white leaders oonsidered educating the

Negroes not only a legal and moral obligation but a social

necessity.

Early Attempts to Establish Public Schools

In compliance with the 1869 school law, effortB were made by many local communities during the 1869-70 school year to establish public schools for both whites and Negroes.

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, Iqoa, p. 10. 144

The 1870 State Superintendent's Report shows that about

14,000 Negro pupils were estimated to have been attending 14 North Carolina public schools that year. The following report, submitted by the Beaufort County School Examiner in

I8 7 0, reflects the limited progress made by the public schoolB during their first year under the 1869 law.

Whole number of public schools in the county-16— white 9> colored 7; 2nd grade 7, 3rd grade 9«

Number of applicants for certificates 39; men, white 2 3, colored 7; women, white 3, colored 1. All these applicants were approved.

Number of applicants under twenty years of age, 7* Questions and answers were oral and written.

Number of meetings held for the examination of teachers during the year, 5* Number of schools continued longer than four months, 2.

Number of school houses in the county-frame 1 5, log 5, total 20.

Number of school houses built during the year, 1 (log). Number of schools visited by the Examiner during the year 15; number of days spent in visiting and inspecting schools and school houses, 1 5*

Amount pd. County Examiner for service, $68.

Number of teachers who have kept the register required by law, 10.

Number of Registers on hand, 1 6.

I*1 Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1870* P* 2^* 145

Remarksi— In many districts, very little Interest has been manifested by the people generally, on account of the belief that the whole thing would be upset. We are burdened so heavily with taxation that I have consumed as little time as possible In establishing and visit­ ing schools, the object being this year to start the machinery. As the people understand more about it (the system) more Interest appears to be felt. I believe that the report of next year will show the schools in a much more prosperous condition. Ihe committees find some trouble in getting teachers on account of the difficulty thrown in the way of getting their pay. The colored people manifest much Interest In sending their children to school; and in a very few years there will be in Beaufort County quite a number of well educated colored young men.

(Signed) Jos. F. Latham County School Examiner1?

The Fear of Mixed Schools

During the 1870*s the fear of mixed schools was con­

stantly in the minds of North Carolinians. As indicated previously, the law of 1869 provided for the separation of the races in schools, but the state constitution said noth­

ing on the subject. Many people constantly feared and dreaded that some action would be taken by the federal government which would force integration in the Bchools.

Agitation in Congress for the Civil Rights Bill from 1871

to 1375 served to emphasize the threat. In the original draft of the Civil Rights Bill one clause prohibited separate

schools, but the measure was struck out largely through the

^ibld., pp. 23-24. 146

Influence of the Peabody Trustees. In 1874 Dr. Sears,

General Agent of the Peabody Fund, reported:

The prospects and hopes of the public systems of education In the South will receive a serious, if not fatal blow, from any legislation which should make such systems of education maintainable upon the scheme of 'mixed schools' as the organi­ zation requisite for such public education.15

At the height of the Civil Rights controversy, edu­ cation in North Carolina was sorely affected. Contracts for building new schoolhouses were held up, teachers con­

tracts were suspended, school officials resigned, and state legislation designed to improve the school system was delayed.

While the Civil Rights Bill was pending before the

Senate, Senator Merrlmon of North Carolina asked State

Superintendent Mclver his opinion concerning the probable effects on schools In North Carolina if the bill should become law. Mclver wrote on January 3 0, 187^:

No legislation in favor of mixed schools has ever been attempted in this state. Public senti­ ment on this subject is all one way. Opposition to mixed schools is so strong, that if people are free to choose between mixed schools and no schools, they will prefer the latter. The friends of edu­ cation would therefore deprecate and most sincerely deplore any congressional legislation which ftlght tend to force mixed schools upon the people.

lc>Peabody Board of Trustees, Proceedings of the Pea­ body Board of Trustees of the Peabody"Education Fund [137*0. Vol. I, p. ^Knight, op. clt., pp. 290-2 9 1.

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1 0 7 p. b**. 147

The Civil Rights Bill became law on March 1, 1875* guaranteeing equal rights to the Negro in public places such as inns, public conveyances, and theaters and forbid­ ding the exclusion of citizens from Jury duty because of r a c e . ^-9 Although the law as finally enacted did not touch upon segregation In the schools, the threat of mixed schools had clouded the thinking of many North Carolinians through­ out Reconstruction.

With the return of home rule in 1875* constitutional changes were made which eliminated the mixed school threat.

Section 2 of Article II of the 1875 North Carolina Constitu­

tion was made to read:

The General Assembly at its first session under this constitution shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of pub­ lic schools, wherein tuition shall be free of charge to all the children of the state between the ages of six and twenty^one years, and the children of the white race and the children of the colored race shall be taught in separate public schools; but there shall be no discrimination made in favor of, or to the prejudice of, either race. 20

Although the Radicals apparently intended to improve

the educational and social lot of the Negro by forcing his

acceptance in white schools, the Negroes themselves seemed

to be content to attend segregated schools. J. W. Hood, a

Negro who was later appointed Assistant Superintendent of

^^Richard B. Morris (ed.), Encyclopedia of American History, p. 251. 20North Carolina, Constitution (1375), Art. 9, sec. 2. 148

Public Instruction in 1868, argued in the constitutional convention against mixing the races in the schools. He stated the following:

There will undoubtedly be separate schools in this state wherever possible, because both parties will demand it. My experlenoe has been that the colored people in this state generally prefer colored preachers. As the whites are in the major­ ity in this state, the only way we can hope to have colored teachers is to have separate schools. And with all due respect to the noble self-sacrificing devotion that white teachers from the North have shown to the cause of the ignorant and despised colored people of the South— without detracting one iota from the amount of gratitude we owe them for that genuine philanthropy which has enabled them to bear up amid the contempt and ostracism that has been heaped upon them— I must be permitted to say that It Is Impossible for white teachers, educated ae they necessarily are in this country, to enter into the feelings of colored pupils as the colored teacher d es. I do not believe that It is good for our children to eat and drink dally the sentiment that they are naturally inferior to the whites, which they do in three-fourths of all the schools where they have white teachers. There are numbers of colored people who really think that they are naturally inferior to white people. Nothing tries me more than to hear a black man make this admission; and yet they cannot be expected to do otherwise, when they learn It aB they learn their letters, and it grows with their growth and strengthens with their strength. Taking this view of the case, I shall always do what I can to have colored teachers for colored schools. This will necessitate separate schools as a matter of course, wherever it is possible, not by written law, but by mutual consent and the law of interest.21

Hood's opinions appear to have been widely held among

the Negroes. The clamoring for mixed schools was not done

by the freedmen In North Carolina, but by northerners who

2^-Noble, op. cit., pp. 290-291. 149 failed to understand or appreciate the southern race

problem.

Problems Paced by Negro Schools

Throughout the Reconstruction Period the colored

public schools faced overwhelming difficulties. Since the schools provided for the whites were so poor, It stands to

reason that relatively little progress was made in Negro

education. The few school houses available for the freed- men were normally In extremely poor repair, textbooks and

supplies were often non-existent, and qualified Negro

teachers were scarce. £. F. Sanderson, the School Examiner

of Jones County, reported in 1870:

The demand for teachers is so great that due regard for efficiency cannot be had. I find that colored applicants are very much wanting in fit­ ness for teaching, but, when they pass a tolerably fair examination in orthography, reading, writing and have some knowledge of arithmetic, I give them a certificate, for It is not expected that they should be adept in their studies. 22

Negro public schools were plagued with financial dif­

ficulties, throughout Reconstruction. Although they shared

the educational funds made available through government

appropriations, the Peabody Fund, and local taxes, these

sources did not provide enough money adequately to support

public schools for both races.

Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Canlina, 1B7Q, P. 5%. 150

By 1875 the Negro school population of North Carolina totaled 172,485. Of this number, 31 per cent or 54,5 6 5

Negroes between the ages of six and twenty-one years were enrolled In public schools.^3 in his 1876 State Superin­ tendent's Repcrt, the final report of the Reconstruction

Period, Superintendent John Pool Indicated that the state had 1,371 Negro public schools and 715 certified colored teachers. That year a total of $113,444.00 was spent on oh public schools for the Negro. Ihese figures bear out the fact that limited advancements were made in Negro education during the Reconstruction even though the quality of that education was generally low and many areas failed to provide

Negro schools of any kind.

Summary

By the end of Reconstruction moftt whites had finally accepted the right of the Negro to a free education but attitudes developed during the period influenced the quality and nature of that education for years to come. Ashmore summarized his thinking on the Reconstruction Period as follows:

Reconstruction, with Its high-riding Negro hopes and Its white despair, Its occupation troops and its missionaries, its political chaos and its economic privation, lasted for varying periods In the southern states, but it was over in all of them by 1877 when the last Federal troops were

23gdgardW. Knight, The Influence of Reconstruction on Education in the South, p. 47* 24Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, ia?o, p. 3> withdrawn. Out of that unsettled era emerged the rudiments of the public education system which still serves the South, and the traditions that have kept It segregated through the years. The principle of universal education written Into the Reconstruction constitutions survived when the southern whites returned to power, but everywhere the laws were changed to provide that the two races were to be educated separately.25

Providing for the education of the Negro seemed to be a natural and logical outgrowth of emancipation, but many North Carolinians considered educational efforts by the northern agencies as unwarranted Interference with local matters. Unfortunately, Indiscreet criticisms of southern life made by representatives of those agencies, and the failure to seek the cooperation of local white leaders had created an unfavorable attitude toward public education for the Negro. Many of the whites developed the opinion that the responsibility for educating the colored segment of the population lay more with the federal government and private philanthropy than with the local citizens. This belief and the dedication of the whites to segregated schools were parts of what Edgar W. Knight has referred to as the "heritage of evil left by Reconstruction." This heritage was to become more and more an accepted part of southern thinking during the decades following Reconstruction.

7^------■'Harry S. Ashmore, The Negro and the Schools, p. 9. CHAPTER VI

WORK OP ORGANIZATIONS

Ironically, during the four years interim between the end of the war and the reopening of the public schools in 1369, the Negroes, who had been denied the right to attend schools before the war, were to have greater educa­ tional opportunities than many whites. White families who could afford It sent their children to private schools or hired tutors to give them private instruction, and some white children attended schools sponsored by northern agencies; but more often than not, children of average or poor white families received no formal schooling of any kind. On the other hand, education for Negroes received attention from many quarters. This fact grew out of the widely-held belief In the North that the southerners were a people devoid of Christian morals who would do everything

In their power to re-enslave the freedmen, the opinion that the South was a mission field ripe for Christian invasion, and the presumption that the only way to "northemlze" southern culture was to educate the Negro.

152 153 Educational Efforts by Northern Organizations

Numerous northern benevolent organizations were formed for the purpose of opening freedmen schools In the

South. Because of the temporary nature of many of the groups, their tendency to unite and separate, their frequent changes of officers, and their various areas of Interest, it is difficult to establish the exact number of agencies that actually existed.^ One historian, Julius H. Pannelee, esti­ mates that at least seventy-nine groups operated throughout o the South. Although the schools established by these agencies were not in fact public schools, the work done by the northern teachers who migrated to the South to conduct the institutions created reactions among the white south­ erners that profoundly affected their thinking toward Negro education. Because of this relationship, a discussion of the various organizations which operated in North Carolina is included.

The Freedmen's Bureau

One of the most active and influential agencies designed to aid the freedmen was the Bureau of Refugees,

Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, more commonly known as the

1Henry Lee Swint, The Northern Teacher in the South, 1862-1870* p. 10. A Julius N. Parmelee, "Freedman's Aid Societies, l8 6l- 1871," U. S. Department of Interior Bulletin, No. 38 (1 9 1 6), 299-300. 15^

Freedmen1s Bureau. The Bureau was created March 3* 1865» as a result of public demands In the North, inspired by officials of the Freedmen*s Aid Societies, that something be done to help the freedmen adjust to their new condition •a of freedom. Originally, the Bureau provided services such as supervising labor contracts for the Negroes and providing

them with medical care, but by an act of July 16, 1366, the

Bureau was empowered to sell or lease property which had belonged to the Confederate government and use the proceeds

to set up schools for the freedmen. Thus, the agency became involved in the movement to provide schools for the former slaves.

The educational work of the Bureau was normally

carried out through cooperation with not hern benevolent

societies. It was a common arrangement for the aid associ­

ations to choose teachers and to pay them a salary, while

the Freedman's Bureau provided them with transportation to

the South and furnished them with living quarters and

occasionally board.5

General Oliver Otis Howard, a graduate of Bowdoln

College and West Point, and a former commander of the Army

of the Tennessee, was appointed conxnissloner of the Freedman's

3swlnt, op. cit., p. 5«

^Ibid.

5Ibid., p. 6. 155 Bureau at its founding and served in that position until c the Bureau suspended operations. The Reverend John W.

Alvord became General Superintendent of the Education

Division, with headquarters located in Washington, D.C.

It was his task to gather information, encourage the estab­ lishment of new schools, locate living quarters for Bureau 7 teachers, and oversee the entire operation. The Reverend

P. A. Flske,of Massachusetts, was appointed Superintendent of Educational Work of the Bureau for the state of North

Carolina.^

These three gentlemen had a burning desire to improve the lot of the Negro, and they approached their task with great dedication and zeal. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm at times tended to cloud their perspective as they viewed conditions in the South. This is demonstrated by a state­ ment made by General Howard in his autobiography concerning prewar education in North Carolina. He wrote:

It is a wonderful thing to recall that North Carolina had never had before that time [1366] a free school syBtem even for white pupils, and

^William Preston Vaughn, "The Sectional Conflict in Southern Public Education" [unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Dept, of History, Ohio State University), p. 32.

7Luther P. Jackson, "The Educational Efforts of the Freedmen*s Bureau and the Freedmen's Aid Societies in South Carolina," Journal of Negro History, Vol. VIII (1923)* pp. 1-40. Q Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, p. 243. 156

there were then no publications In the State devoted to popular education. The death of slavery unfolded the wings of knowledge for both white and black to brighten the future of the •Old North State.

As indicated earlier in this dissertation, North

Carolina had established the most effective public school system in the South before the war and had begun the publi­ cation of an educational Journal. The inaccuracies of

Howard's observation thus are obvious. Such statements made by Bureau officials, despite their sincerity, did little to endear the organization to southern whites. The Bureau operated in North Carolina until January 1, 1 869, and during its existence it organized cooperatively with the benevolent societies a total of ^31 schools with ^39 teachers and more than 20,000 Negro pupils.10

Re1lg1oas Qroups ana Benevolent Societies

Of the many religious denominations that organized schools in North Carolina, the Quakers were one of the most active. The Baltimore Association of Friends especially became interested in the North Carolina Friends at the end of the Civil War because of the suffering and great loss of property experienced by their southern brethren. Many North

901iver Otis Howard, Autobiography of 0. 0. Howard, Vol. II, p. 338. 10Hugh T. Lefler and Albert R. Newsome, North Carolina, p. 451. 157 Carolina Quakers mere prepared to leave their charred home state and move West, but because of the influence of the

Baltimore group most decided to remain and rebuild their lives in North Carolina. The Baltimore Association aided in the establishment of agricultural societies, the development of a model farm, and the opening of several schools.11

In 1365 the Baltimore group appointed John Scott ae superintendent to oversee its educational efforts in the

South. In his first annual report, submitted in 1366,

Scott stated the following:

On the first survey of the field there were found to be nearly twenty schools already in operation, which were scattered pretty generally over the limits of the Yearly Meeting. The schools were started by Monthly Meetings or by families of Friends under promise of aid from the Baltimore Association. Most of them were in very inferior houses with little or no furniture at all suitable for a school house. In some instances we accepted the responsibility of paying the teachers, and in others we left them in the hands, either of the Monthly Meeting, or the individuals who employed them, with the understanding, that such as were not able to pay their schooling, were to receive aid from us. In the course of the Winter and Spring we employed ten more teachers. We had thus alittle over thirty schools. We paid the salaries of the teachers in seventeen of these and gave more or less aid to all the others. Omitting three of the schools, which were very small and received but little attention from us, there was in attendance, in all, 940 children.12 n ------Zora Klain, Quaker Contributions to Education in North Carolina, p. 26ot

12Ibid., p. 251. 158

According to terms established by the Baltimore

Friends, the North Carolinians were to furnish schoolhouses when possible, board the teachers, and provide them with fuel. Tuition was to be free to Quakers, and those who 1^ were not members of the church were to pay $1*00 a month*

By 1869 the Baltimore Association had established for white children a total of forty-four schools with sixty-five

teachers, and an enrollment of more than 3*000. These

schools were located in Guilford, Yadkin, Iredell, Randolph,

Alamance, Orange, Wayne, Northampton, and Perquimans

Counties, and had an average term of more than six months*

Between 18 6 5 -1 8 6 9 the Baltimore group built a total of

thirty-two new school buildings throughout North Carolina.

The Friends not only established and maintained

schools for white pupils, but also made efforts to aid the

freedmen. Figures show that in 1866 the different Quaker

organizations had charge of or assisted in teaching twenty Negro schools with a total enrollment of l,l6 5 * 15 in 1869

Assistant State Superintendent of Public Instruction J. W.

Hood traveled throughout North Carolina on an inspection

tour of the schools being provided for the freedmen. Ihe

13Ibid., p. 253*

^Knight, op. clt., pp. 242-243*

l^Klain, op. clt., p. 317* following report reflects his satisfaction with efforts made by the PrlendB:

The Friends were doing an outstanding job of educating the freedmen. This was done unselfishly with no attempt to advance the Interests of their denomination. Although the Bible Is read In the schools, It Is done without comment. Teachers must care for moral as well as In­ tellectual training, and they are chosed without regard to sex, sect, section, nativity, or com* plexlon. Temperence societies are also here.1®

Other prominent denominations that sponsored schools for the North Carolina freedmen were the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians. Hood reported In 1869 that the Protes­ tant Episcopal Freedmen's Mission had "good schools" In

Raleigh, Newbem, Wilmington, and in Fayetteville.1? The

Committee on Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church sponsored strictly parochial schools, and were reported In 1869 as

"doing a good job . . . supported by the Bureau."1® The

Presbyterians at that time had schools In Mecklenburg,

Cabarrus, Rowan, Iredell, Davie, Davidson, and Qullford

Counties, and one in the city of Wilmington.*9 By 1875 the

Annual Report of the Presbyterian Committee on Freedmen, reported that the state had thirty-nine schools for the

Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1869, p. 2l.

17Ibid. 160 freedmen! with sixty-five teachers, and a total of 3j776 pupils .2®

Probably the moBt important church-sponsored group engaged in missionary and educational work in North

Carolina was the American Missionary Association. The

A.M.A. was an outgrowth of the Armistad Committee which had been formed in 1839 in Syracuse, New York, to aid a group of slaves who had killed the master of the slaver "Armistad."

After the slaves had been liberated by the courts, the com­ mittee remained intact and engaged in anti-slavery agitation.

In 1346 the A.M.A. was organized by the committee.2^

Although the group claimed to be non-sectarian, its teachers were expected to belong to some religious denom­ ination, and many of its leaders were Congregationalists.

In 1865 that denomination formally accepted the A.M.A. as 22 its agency through which to aid the freedmen. The A.M.A. felt that the education of the freedmen should be based primarily on religion, and it selected teachers who were committed "to point souls to the Lamb of 0od."23

------Sixth Annual Report of the Presbyterian Committee on Missions for Freedmen, to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., May, 1376, p. 6.

2^Swint, op. clt.. p. 11.

22Ibld., p. 13.

23Ibid., p. 39. 161

Hood pointed out in his 1368 report that the "A.M.A. was especially active [In North Carolina] and not only supplied teachers, but erected buildings for and with the M2ii freedmen. The Assistant Superintendent's report

Included the following rather interesting description of the work being conducted by the A.M.A.:

All the schools in Carteret County, are under the American Missionary Association. The most Important of these is the school at Beaufort. This school (including the regular session, the afternoon and night school) numbers four hundred and twenty-five pupils. There are five teachers, a superintendent and a matron. The school is well graded and classed. Besides the regular session, each teacher has a class of adults In the after­ noon and at night. The building is large and commodious, Including a teachers home. The site is owned by the colored people, and the building was erected by them, assisted by the Association. The property Is held by a board of colored trustees. I consider Beaufort one of our most highly favored towns. Having a permanent school building, not controlled in the Interest of any particular denomination.25

An Interesting highlight 1b the fact that the freed­ men at most A.M.A. sponsored schools formed temperance societies. Hood evaluated the efforts of the groups in theBe terms:

The amount of good thus effected can scarcely be imagined. The members pledge themselves to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, tobacco in every form, and all vulgar and profane language. Very many children who had indulged in the use of ------55------Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, p. l7»

g5lbld., pp. 19-20 162

tobacco and snuff, have given them up entirely. In some of these schoolg^I did not find half a dozen that used either.

Among the other outside agencies that helped through­ out the years to provide schools for the youth of North

Carolina were the Soldier's Memorial Society of Boston, the

Unitarian Association, the New England Freedman's Relief

Association and the New York National Freedmen*s Relief

Association.27 In his 1869 report, Hood presented the following statistics summarizing educational efforts made by the various benevolent agencies functioning at that time:

TABI£ 3

NUMBER OF NEQRO SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, AND PUPILS IN NORTH CAROLINA, 1369

Agencies Schools Teachers Pupils A.M.A. and Freedman's Union 19 68 2,840 Friends Societies 29 40 2,425 Eplsoopallan Commission 6 11 600 Presbyterian Church 16 21 1,100 Private Schools 82 84 4,861 Total 152 224 11,826 Source: Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lbt>9, p. 17*

The Northern Teachers

In considering the work of the northern humanitarian agencies, the question Immediately arises why hundreds of northern school teachers were willing-even eager— to go

gbIbld., p. 21.

27Knight, op. clt., pp. 242-243. 163

Into the war-torn South to teach the ignorant freedmen.

Research suggests that many motivating factors were involved.

Some teachers, for example, went South for financial reasons.

Although they were not paid particularly well, the salary was reasonable, especially for someone who may have Just experienced business failure in the North. In 1866 the different societies fixed the minimum monthly salary for

teachers at $35*00, and the New England Society paid Borne of 28 Its teachers as much as $1,000 per year. Other teachers went South for personal reasons— the challenge and excite­ ment offered by a new venture, the desire to leave the past

behind and start a new life, etc.; but the chief motivating

factor appears to have been a deep religious and huraanl- 29 tarian interest.

Many of the teachers had been abolitionists and nearly

all were profoundly religious. They considered themselves

to be on a modern-day crusade, armed with the primer and

poised to wipe out ignorance and oppression in the heathen

South. The American Missionary Association made it clear

that its teachers were expected to "be fired with missionary

zeal," and an officer of the organization stated in 1366

that the war was ended, but "the work of Christianity waB

Just commencing. We might withdraw our swords, but we should MU " ~~ Swint, op. clt., p. 5^.

29Ibid., P* 35* 164

send spelling books and Bibles to the front. The military might be disbanded, but the missionaries should organize."3°

Unfortunately, the humanitarianism and love of indi­

vidual rightB as professed by the teachers normally was not

extended to the southerners. Linda Slaughter, one of the

teachers who was sent South, wrote her opinion of the

"invasion”: The army of blue-coated heroes who had inarched down to battle with so lofty a courage was suc­ ceeded by the army of 'Yankee school Mams,' armed with the Bible and spelling-book, who Invaded the South In as genuine a spirit of heroism as the grand army of pioneers who had led the way. . .

Characteristics of the Freedmen*s Schools

Despite the many difficulties faced by teachers of

the freedmen's schools, and despite the fact that their

activities and attitude aroused the resentment of local

whites, many did manage to provide a measure of training for the Negroes. The schools were held in barracks, barns,

basements, courthouses, churches, and in the open air, and

although the schools often lacked supplies or equipment of

any kind, the teachers did the best they could with facili­

ties at hand.32

3°ibld.,~p. 36. 31 Linda Warfel Slaughter, The Freedmen of the South, p.110.

32Swint, op. clt., p. 79* 165

The typical freedmen*a school usually held morning and afternoon sessions from two to three hours In length with classes being opened with prayer, scripture reading and the 33 singing of hymns, and perhaps a patriotic song or two. ^

The general curriculum Included geography, physical and political; spelling, with definition; oral and written arithmetic; and singing.^ Texts used were those popular In schools In the North: "The National Series," Smith's

Arithmetic and Qrammar, Mitchell's geography, Webster's

Speller, Montelth's Geography, Davis and Hutton's Arithmetic,

Quackenbois* Primary Arithmetic and Primary grammar,

McSuffey's Readers, and Martlndale's United States History.35

The following account of examination day at Miss

Thorpe's school in Warrenton bears out the success of her teaching efforts: The 'distinguished' visitors were two state sen­ ators, the Superintendent and Assistant Superin­ tendent of the Freedmen's Bureau, the State's Educa­ tion Superintendent, and our Northern visitors. The exercise commenced by the whole school reciting In concert a scripture text for each letter In the alphabet. Then first came the lowest classes In reading, spelling and geography; they did well and the questions did not confuse them. For Instance one of ray boys said that Africa was a peninsula. Mr. Ashley (State Superintendent) told him about the Suez Canal which makes Africa surrounded by

33george Newcomb, National Freedmen, Vol. II, 1 (January 15# 1666), p. 11.

^Nation, December 14, 1865, P- 746.

^Swint, op. clt., p. 81. 166

water, 'So how can it be a peninsula?1 Thomas replied that he was speaking of a natural division. Mr. Ashley tried to confuse him, but Thomas was so sure that he was right that Mr. Ashley smilingly told him of course he was correct in the matter. L's spelling class told which letters were aspir­ ants, vowels, sub vocals, etc. with the different sound of each; here also the gentlemen questioned closely, but the children were equal to all emer­ gencies. The first arithmetic class won high honors for Itself; It was examined in Reduction and Com­ pound Numbers. The children in third readers read beautifully in concert, but OhI if they could only have heard my pet geography class. I examined the children in outline maps of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and we penetrated every little nook and corner and told the people what was to be found there; and the little souls some not over ten years old pronounced beautifully even such words as Victoria Yanza, Tanganyika, etc., etc.,3©

Southern Reaction to Northern Educational Efforts White North Carolinians at first merely tolerated the

Yankee teachers who came into their state and were generally indifferent to the education being offered the freedmen. As the teachers became identified with the hated Radical Repub­ licans, however, the tolerance of the southerners turned to contempt, scorn, and social ostracism. In light of the attitude and activities of many of the northern teachers, the reaction of the native whites should have been entirely predictable. The teachers associated directly with the freedmen, out of school as well as in, and normally made no attempt to enlist the cooperation and aid of the local

3bMargaret Newbold Tharpe, "A Yankee Teacher in North Carolina," The North Carolina Historical Review, ed. Richard L. Morton, m luctober, 1953)* 572-573* 167 whites, iftey often made efforts to organize the freedmen politically, and many felt that the Negro "must be taught to recognize his friends,to support with his ballot the party of his friends, and to assume his place as the social and political equal of the southern white man."37

Political overtones are obvious in this typical lesson which was recited in one freedmen's school. The

teacher, a young lady from Massachusetts, asked the ques­ tions and the pupils responded in unison:

Q. Where were slaves first brought to this country? A. Virginia Q. When? A. 1620 [sic] Q. Who brought them? A. Dutchmen Q. Who came the same year to Plymouth, Massachusetts? A. Pilgrims Q. Did0they bring slaves? A* No 3o

The teachers at times appeared to deliberately rub salt into southern wounds by having their students sing

lustily such patriotic and anti-southern songs as "Hail

Columbia," "iSie Star Spangled Banner," and "John Brown's

Body*"39 At least one Bureau teacher from Ohio was known

to have marched the children of her school down the main street of a southern town on Independence Day— a day cele­ brated with understandable reticence in the South at that

STswint, op. clt., p. 82.

L. Pierce, "The Freedmen at Port Roya," Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XII (September, 1863), P* 306. ^Vaughn, op. clt., p. 5^* 168

time— singing at the top of their voiceB, "Hang Jeff Davis to a b o u t apple tree, throw Beauregard in the middle of the sea. . . . Many of the teachers seemed to delight in dropping caustic remarks, making clear their disdain for the South and southern culture, ftiey complained about the climate,

the Insects, the attitude of the southern whites, the food, and the houses requisitioned for their use. One teacher entered this bit of sarcasm in her diary:

We found a splendid house near the water and therefore pronounced healthful. It must be thoroughly cleaned, for the 'chivalry' look not to corners and cupboardB. They leave this to the poor despised 'mudsls' of the North.

After a period of time, the native whites quite naturally lashed back at the northern "Intruders." Common methods of ostracizing the Yankee teachers were to refuse

to accept them as roomers and to discourage their attending

the local churches. When northern teacherB first went to

Raleigh, not a single boarding houBe or private home would

accept them. Concerning this, the Raleigh agent of the

Freedmen's Bureau said: "When it was frankly stated to them

that these were young ladies from the North who were there

^ORalph Morrow, Northern Methodism and Reconstruc­ tion, p. 2 3 6.

l,1Susan Walker, "Journal of Miss SuBan Walker," Quarterly Publication of the Historical and Philosophical Society or Ohio, ed. Henry N* Sherwood, Vol. Vlt X January* March, 1912J, p. 93. 169 for the purpose of teaching colored schools, they turned 2 their locks on them."

Teachers throughout North Carolina were received

with coolness when they ventured to attend local worship

services. One teacher in Wilmington wrote:

"Even in the sancturary the hand of fellowship is not extended to us." Rather than being greeted with a cordial hand shake, they received the scornful cu*X of the lip, the brushing away of the dress for fear of contamination, the ralBlng of the finger to touch the black ribbon on the hat, thus telegraphing to each other, 'the nigger teachers have come.' "^3

Margaret fliarpe, a young teacher from Philadelphia who taught in a Freedmen*s school in Warrenton, North

Carolina, described her relationship with the local citi­

zens in a fetter to friends at home. She wrote:

You can't imagine how strange it seems never to speak to a white person, and have absolutely no social life, not one visitor. The Southern women will not notice us at all, and we will not allow the men to call on u b , though we have received several notes requesting permission to do so; we always reply that if they will bring either their mothers or sisters with them, we will be very glad to receive them.^

Even the poor whites viewed the northern teachers

with contempt. Miss Tharpe stated that "we have no claBs

in the North that corresponds with these poor whites. They

are miserable dirty creatures, literally clayeaters, 11st------Swint, op. clt., p. 97*

Z*3Ibld., p. 99*

^Tharpe, op. clt., p. 570. 170 less, shiftless, halfstarved, snuff saturated, but they look down on Yankees 111"^ It was a common occurrence for whites to harass the northern teachers by sitting outside the school and singing such verses as:

"Oh for a crack

at Old Oreely and BeecherI

Oh for a pop

at a Yankee School Teacher."

By the years 1867 and 1868, as the controversy between

President Johnson and the Radicals became more bitter, a stronger reaction against the northern teachers began to take shape in North Carolina. Until this time the feeling against

Negro education had been relatively mild, and the teachers had for the most part been exposed to nothing more severe than vocal harrassment and "the cold shoulder." As the native whites began to covet the Negro vote, however, they realized that the northern teachers were using unfair tactics to win this vote for the Republicans. Itiis political factor and the growing threat of mixed schoolB inspired the North

Carolinians to take more drastic and violent measures against the Yankee teachers.

During this period, the Ku Klux Klan and the Union

League stepped up their activities and rumorB ran rampant

‘t5Ibld., p. 5 8 1 .

^ I b i d . 171 of murder, violence and Incendiarism.^ Many teachers left their schools, soma suffered beatings, and others were MS coated with tar and cotton. It Is difficult to measure how much actual violence took place, however, since most of

the newspaper and magazine articles and editorials of the period were written from a strongly partisan point of view with public assumption in mind.

Typical editorials which reflected the Increasing

impatience with Yankee teachers appeared in the Wilmington,

North Carolina Dispatch. Statements such as the following

led to the arrest of the Dispatchfs editor:

This Southern land, it seems, will never escape the wrath of the Almighty, levelled at it because of the neglect to employ thoBe means which he had given, a lack of appreciation of which caused the defeat that we sustained in our effort to achieve independence. Curse after curse, like those which descended on the Egyptians, came spreading dismay through­ out our land. Military rule first, Freedman's Bureau insolence, Yankee impertinence, all have been upon us, and all have been borne with a very commendable patience. The worst of all the curses which we have been called upon to submit to, however, is the insup­ portable, Intolerable nuisance of the schoolmarms in our midst, teaching the infant 'idea how to shoot.' We had hoped that this pestilential race would give us the go-by. We could stand any thing else that was sent; but when the benevolent societies of Boston sent out emissaries, we felt that we should sink under this, the last, the worst of all our punishments for a criminal failure

**7swint, op. clt., p. 99*

**8Ibid. 172

to accomplish our own political salvation when the means were at hand.^9

Although the Ku Klux Klan did not hesitate to resort

to violence in dealing with Yankee teachers, less draBtlc steps usually proved effective. For example, one teacher for the American Missionary Association received the following note:

1st quarter, 8th Bloody moon--Ere the next quarter be gone! Unholy teacher of the blacks, begone, ere It Is too late! Punishment awaits you, and such horrors as no man ever underwent and lived. The cusped moon is full of wrath, and as Its horns fill the

Another Klan warning read:

You are a d e m aberlitlon puppy and scoundrel if We hear of your name in the papers again we will b u m your hellish house over your head cut your entrails out. The K K s are on your track and you will be in hell in four days if you don't mind yourself, mind that You don't go the Bame way the Q.W.A. went some night Yours in hell K K K?1

The violent reaction to the freedmen's schools and

their Yankee teachers which flared up during 1867-1368, had

------z m ------Freedmen's Record, Vol. Ill, No. 2 (February, 1867), p. 20.

5°American Missionary, Vol. XII, No. 8 (August, 1868), 183. ^Freedmen's Record, Vol. IV, No. 5 (May, 1868), p. 183. 173 begun to dwindle by 1869, and by 1870 active opposition to 52 the schools had practically ceased In North Carolina.

By that year, the Preedmenfs Bureau had terminated Its activity In the state, and many of the northern agencies began to withdraw their aid in deference to the newly-formed public school systems.

The value of the educational efforts of the benevolent societies Is difficult to assess. One Negro historian wrote that "the greatest boost given to Negro education dur­ ing Reconstruction came from the nothern missionary organi­ zations and local and state religious denominations of

N e g r o e s . "53 Dr. J. L. M. Curry gave a much less enthusiastic evaluation in 1900. He stated:

3fte education was unsettling, demoralizing, pandered to a wild frenzy for schooling as a quick method of reversing social and political conditions. Nothing could have been better or devised for delud­ ing the poor Negro and making him the tool, the slave of corrupt taskmasters. . . . But with delib­ erate purpose to subject the Southern States to Negro domination and secure the States permanently for partisan ends, the education adopted was con­ trary to all common sense, to human experience, to all noble purposes 1 The curriculum was for a people in the highest degree of civilization, the aptitude and capabilities of the Negro were wholly disregarded. . . .5**

^23wint, op. c l t ., p. 1 3 2 .

53William H. Brown, The Education and Economic Devel­ opment of the Negro In Virginia, p. Quoted from the Virginia School Report for 1880, pp. 129-13 1 .

5**Walter Fleming, A Documentary History of Reconstruc­ tion, Political, Military, Social, Educational and Tndustrial. I B M to 'Eha Prea.nF Tla«,A 7ol.^ r pp.~50t^5B9':------Perhaps the most objective appraisal was made by the historian Charles W. Dabney when he wrote that . although many of the teachers were devoted missionaries,

they confused the needs of the Negroes with the ideals and feelingB of their own race, and drove a wedge between the races which made co-operation in education and racial adjust­ ment impossible for generations."55

Most of the northern organizations that sent teachers

South to establish schools for the freedmen did so in good faith and with the welfare of the ignorant Negroes in mind.

Unfortunately, however, many of the teachers considered the

South a great intellectual and moral wasteland and did not

conceal their opinion that they were on a noble conquest againBt the ignorant and barbaric southern culture. Their

lack of understanding of southern attitudes and Negro prob­

lems aroused disdain In the local whites, and contempt not

only for the northern teachers, but for the Negro schools

they were conducting. By their lack of understanding of

Negro-white relationships in the South and their clumsy

efforts to bring about immediate equality, the northern

teachers tended to thwart the purpose of the benevolent

societies and hindered the growth of native sentiment

55charles W. Dabney, Universal Education in the South, Vol. I, p. 101. 175 friendly to establishing colored schools at public expense .56

The Peabody Fund

Without doubt, the Peabody fund was the greatest boon to public education in North Carolina during the dif­ ficult years following the Civil War. The Fund was created by George A. Peabody, a native of Massachusetts, who had spent the last thirty years of his life in London where he had amassed a huge fortune. He became concerned with the postwar plight of the South, and decided the best thing he could do to assist the southerners on the road to recovery was to encourage education in that section. On February 7*

1867, Peabody announced his original gift of $1,000,000 and

the creation of a trust to handle the Fund. In July, 1869, he presented a second $1 ,0 0 0 ,000.57

Peabody*s generosity and his deep' concern for the welfare of the southerners is reflected in his statement made at the Issuance of his original $1,000,000 gift. He referred to "the educational needs of those portions of our beloved and common country which have suffered from the destructive ravages, and not less disastrous consequences

5&M. C. S. Noble, A HlBtory of the Public Schools of North Carolina, p. 305*

5?Knight, op.clt., pp. 271-272. 176 of civil war."5® He then continued to express his feelings about the Fund:

I feel most deeply, therefore, that it is the duty and the privilege of the more favored and wealthy portions of our nation to assist those who are less fortunate; and with the wish to discharge, so far as I am able, my own responsibility in this matter, as well as to gratify my desire to aid those to whom I am bound by so many ties of attachment and regard, I give to you, gentlemen, most of whom have been my personal and especial friends, the sum of one million dollars, to be by you and your successors held in trust, and the Income thereof used and applied in your discretion for the pro­ motion and encouragement of intellectual, moral or industrial education among the young of the more destitute portions of the southern and south­ western portions of our Union; my purpose being that the benefits Intended shall be distributed amont the entire population, without other dis­ tinction than their needs and the opportunities of usefulness to them.59

Peabody named sixteen prominent men as trustees of the Fund, and on March 19, 1367, this group adopted the following resolutions:

1. Resolved. That for the present, the promo­ tion of primary, or common school education, by such means or agencies as now exist or may need to be created, be the leading object of the board in the use of the fund placed at its disposal.

2* Resolved. That in aid of the above general design, and as promotlve of the same, the board will have in view the furtherance of Normal school education for the preparation of teachers, as well as by the endowment of scholarships In existing southern institutions as by the establishing of Normal schools, and the aiding of such Normal schools as may be in operation in the southern and

^Peabody Educational Fund, Proceedings of the Board of Trustees (March, 1867)» P* 48. 59Ibid., p. 1. 177

southwestern states; Including such measures as may be feasible and as experience shall dictate to be expedient, for the promotion of education in the application of science to the industrial pursuits of human life.

3* Resolved* That a general agent of the highest qualifications be appointed to the board, to whom shall be entrusted, under an executive committee, the whole charge of carrying out the designs of Mr. Peabody in his great gift, under such resolutions and Instructions as the board shall from time to time adopt.

In accordance with the final resolution, Rev. Dr.

Barnas Sears, president of Brown University, Providence,

Rhode Island, was offered the appointment as General

Agent of the Fund. He accepted the position on March 30,

1867, and served in that capacity for a total of thirteen y e a r s . ^1 It seems doubtful that any other man could have brought to the position the experience, training and resourcefulness possessed by Sears. His service to the

Fund was truly outstanding.

According to Peabody*s directions, the Fund was to remain intact for thirty years, and it was to be neither expended nor increased by accumulated Interest. The method of using the annual revenue and final disposition of the endowment were left to the discretion of the trustees.

frOlbid. pp. **-6 .

6 lKnight, op. clt., p. 273*

^2Edgar W. Knight, "Tlie Peabody Fund and Its Early Operation in North Carolina," The South Atlantic Quarterly, Vol. XIV, No. 2 (April, 1915), P. 173

As was recognized by the board, the most immediate educational need In the South was in the field of elemen­ tary education, and it was decided early to give assistance only to public schools. The policy of the trustees was to cooperate with state authorities so as to provide the most practical and economic assistance possible, but to avoid distributing funds on the basis of charity. It was learned before the war in several southern states that the distri­ bution of funds on the basis of charity bred Inefficiency, wastefulness and poor public morale, so it was decided to appropriate funds according to the degree that communities would help themselves. The trustees abided by this concept

throughout the existence of the Fund; as a result, community effort and interest in education tended to develop wherever Peabody schools existed. ^ The trustees clearly stipulated that aid would be

extended only to free public schools, and that colored as well as white schools could qualify for assistance. In

North Carolina the Board planned to concentrate its efforts

on schools in a few large towns in the hope that good schools

there would influence the surrounding community. The amount

of money given a community depended largely on the number of

children to be taught and the amount of money raised

^Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina. P. 275. 179 locally.^ Schools receiving funds were expected to have an enrollment of not less than 100 pupils and a teacher for every fifty pupils, and were required to operate for ten months per year with a minimum 85 per cent regular attend­ ance. The following scale waB usually adhered to in issuing funds to qualifying schools:

$300 for 100 pupils S^50 for 150 pupils s600 for 200 pupils $800 for 250 pupils $1,000 for 300 pupils°5

The local community was expected to grade the schools, pay current expenses, and to provide at least twice, and iBually three times, as much financial support as they re­ ceived from the Fund. At the time of this report, colored schools usually received two-thirds of the amounts listed above

North Carolina was one of the first states to parti­ cipate in the distribution of the funds, and in 1868

$22,000 was made available to the state. However, because of the absence from North Carolina of William A. Graham, the state's Peabody trustee who was very familiar with the educational needs there, and the general lack of Interest in

Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1371/ P» 13•

65Ibld.

66Ibld., p. 3. 180 the public schools, only $2,700 of that sum reached North

Carolina Schools.^

By 1869 the new school law had been passed, and the

Peabody Fund in turn became more useful. Communities throughout the state began to meet the requirements estab­ lished by the Peabody Board, and to receive funds to aid their operation. Largely as a result of the Fund and the efforts of the trustees, popular sentiment in favor of pub­ lic schools began to develop in many towns. In 1871, for example, it was reported that the city of Wilmington had assumed the support and control of the free schools pre­ viously sustained by contributions. The action taken by

Wilmington resulted from arrangements made with the

Peabody Board. In January, 1871* Barnas Sears wrote the mayor of Wilmington:

I beg leave to say, that if the city govern­ ment will adopt the free schools, and maintain them as public free schools for the residue of the year, paying $1,000 toward their support, the trustees of the Peabody Education Fund will pay an equal sum for the same purpose, with the under­ standing, that the whole length of the school be not less than ten months, and that the remaining $50 0 , necessary to make up the sum of $2 ,500, the estimated cost of carrying on the^achools, be obtained from some other quarter.6)45

In 1872 the State Superintendent's Annual Report

Included numerous responses to the Peabody Fund. The

^Knight, "The Peabody Fund and Its Early Operation in North Carolina," p. 6 .

Annual Report, ibid., p. 14. 181 following was from Sraithville, North Carolina:

There are here a school of nearly 170 pupils with three teachers, and a colored school of 100 with two teachers. Hie former receives the sum of $450 and the latter $2 0 0 . Our schools are in a most prosperous condi­ tion. The farmers from the surrounding country board their children in town that they may have the benefit of these schools. The aid you have rendered is highly appreciated. But for the schools assisted by you, many must have grown up among us in vice and ignorance. More than 100 children have been taught to read and write who, but for these schoolB, never would have known a letter. 9

After the $2,700 appropriation of 1868, the amounts received by North Carolina tended to Increase throughout

Reconstruction. Appropriations made through 1376 were:

1869— $6 ,350 ; 1870— $7,650; 1871— $8,750; 1872— $8,250;

1873— $9 ,7 5 0 ; 1874— $1 4 ,300 ; 1875— $16,9 0 0 ; 1376— $8,050 J °

The success of the Peabody Fund results from many factors. Not the least of these was the unquestioned honesty and sincerity of Barnas Sears, Chief Agent of the

Fund, and the members of the Board of Trustees. There appears to be no evidence that these men ever wavered from

the high standards originally set for the operation of the

Fund. In 1876, North Carolina State Superintendent of

Public Instruction John Pool received the following letter

from Sears, outlining Pool's responsibilities in meeting

&^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, ld7*-, P« 57» 7°Charles Lee Smith, History of Education in North Carolina, p. 173* 182

Fund requirements. Sears' suggestions reflect the stark honesty and strictness with which he administered the Fund:

1. Make all your engagements with public school officers only.

2. Listen to no request that we should alter our terms.

3. Forward to me no application which you do not fully approve and indorse.

4. Assist no school which will cease to exist, when we cease to help it.

5. Accept no private school which propose.t to become a public school for the time being only.

6 . Give the preference to good and efficient schools.

7. Let all your engagements be for the future, and make no promises for past services.

8 . Always keep in view the improvement of the state system of public schools.

9. If it seems expedient, you can diminish, but not increase, the published rates of assistance.

10. Specify in every instance the amount you recommend to be given.

11. Different schools cannot be counted together to make up the requisite number. Different grades of the same school may be counted together.

12. Money appropriated to one school cannot be given to another school; nor can money that is forfeited be transferred. It must remain unpaid.

13* All engagements authorized by me should be made in writing. Oral promises and reported con­ versations between you and the applicants cannot be recognized, Tliey only lead to misunderstandings. 183

14. No school officer Is to charge a commis­ sion for receiving and paying out money from the Peabody Fund. If the Treasurer of a school board demands a certain per cent for what passes through his hands, the money can be paid to the chairman.'1

The work of the Peabody Fund provided one of the few bright spots in North Carolina public education during

Reconstruction. Between 1868 and 1377* a total of $87,600 was donated to the state; ard largely as a result of the

Peabody trustee's insistence that communities "help them­ selves," between $175,000 and $262,000 was raised by local taxation for school purposes.By the end of Reconstruc­ tion, the North Carolina public schools 3 till faced a dif­ ficult uphill battle before they would reach a respectable level of effectiveness. The fact, however, that the system did not collapse completely during the period is due largely to the work of the Peabody Fund.

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, I870, PP. 15-lb.

?2Knight, ibid., p. 13* CHAPTER VII

EFFORTS OF LEADERS

One of the greatest hindrances to the development of

public education In North Carolina during Reconstruction

was a lack of strong educational leadership. As we have

seen, the Impressive growth of public schools in the state

prior to the war was due largely to the untiring efforts of

Calvin H. Wiley. Unfortunately, another man of Wiley's

ability, personal magnetism, enthusiasm and dedication was not to appear on the North Carolina educational scene until

well after Reconstruction was completed.

Suspension of State Superintendent Wiley

Opposition to Wiley began to develop in the spring

of 1866 when the North Carolina General Assembly convened

for the first time under the Presidential Plan for Recon­

struction. Antagonism toward the superintendent seemed to grow out of his report concerning Literary Fund swamp lands

in the eastern part of the state. In that report Wiley

wro te:

The original estimate of the amount of these lands was 1 ,500,000 acres; but they have never been all surveyed, and in fact it is not known where all of them are situated. The land system has been defective, and losses have occurred, not for 184 185

the want of care and Intelligence In the members of the Literary Board, but for the want of a more energetic plan of supervision. The State has greatly overlooked this important resource; and valuable bodies of land have been lost by occu­ pants under color of title, by neglect In taking proper steps to secure and authenticate reverted titles, and by the want of surveys, and of definite and known boundaries.1

Many legislators from eastern North Carolina were highly offended by Wiley's remarks and felt they were suggestive of gross negligence. One offended gentleman remarked that the office of state superintendent was an unnecessary expense. He said that for years a salary had been paid to Wiley, a man of no use on "God Almighty's earth, and the state was unable to pay a salary to a man who merely wrote long essays and drew interminable bills. "2 Such a strong indictment of Wiley is baffling when one considers the impressive services he had performed for his state, but in the days of turmoil and confusion following the war, thinking was often based on emotions rather than on reason and common sense.

Ttiat spring the Assembly abolished the office of state superintendent of public instruction and thereby removed Calvin Wiley from active participation in North

Caidlna educational matters. In his final superintendent's

1Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lbo^^lBbb, p. 3X.

2Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, p. 223. 186 report for 1865-1366, Wiley made a parting observation con­ cerning the value of education and the continuing of public schools. Unfortunately, his comments were heeded neither by the legislators nor by the new set of educators who were to assume the responsibility for administering the public schools. Wiley wrote:

Ignorance begets a love of ignorance and indol­ ence; it is the fruitful parent of prejudice, selfishness and narrow views. When we lose our intelligence, we lose the appreciation of it, and the energy to preserve it.3

As North Carolina passed through Reconstruction,

Wiley's foresight became obvious. Both leaders and citizens of the state lost sight of the value of education, and, as

Wiley feared, this ignorance bred "a love of ignorance."

The willingness and energy to sacrifice for the cause of public education soon withered and for a time all but died.

When Wiley left office in 1866 he severed his official ties with the public school system, but he still remained active. In 1369 he was appointed general agent of the American Bible Society for eastern and middle Tennessee.

In 187^ he returned to North Carolina and took a similar position with the Bible Society at Winston.^ In 1872 and again in 1876 he was asked to be a Conservative candidate

^Annual Report, op. clt., p. 28.

^Samuel A. Ashe, Stephen B. Weaks, and Charles L. Van Nappen, Biographical History of North Carolina, Vol. II, p. 3*40. 187 for superintendent of public instruction, but he refused because he waB involved in religious work and because he was not interested in the position since it was a political appointment. He did remain active in local educational matters, writing and speaking for the public school cause in Winston. When public schools were established there, he served as chairman of the city's school board until his death on January 11, 1887 *

Abolishing the office of state superintendent of public instruction in 1366 and falling to persuade Calvin

Wiley to seek reappointment to the state superintendency proved to De two among the many tragedies of the Reconstruc­ tion Period. At the time of his dismissal, Wiley had been only forty-seven years old. At that time, he was familiar with all phases of North Carolina public education; he understood more clearly than any other man the difficulties to be faced by the schools; and he knew from experience how those difficulties could be met and overcome. Above all, he had won the confidence of the people not only in himself but in the public schools. It seems likely that Calvin

Wiley, better than any other man, could have led the public schools back to their prewar efficiency during the difficult years of Reconstruction. Unfortunately, Wiley's successors ------c------•^Edgar W. Knight. One Hundred Years of Public Educa- tion in North Carolina, North Carolina £ducatlon7 Vol. II, No. 6 (February, 1936), p . 196. 188 possessed neither his dedication nor his ability, and, largely as a result, public education in North Carolina was to suffer for years to come.

Efforts of Wiley’s Successors

S . S . Ashley

The Reverend Samuel Stanford Ashley became the first superintendent of public instruction under the school law of

I8 6 9 . AsliLey, an agent of the American Missionary Associ­ ation, had come to North Carolina from Massachusetts in

I865 to direct a Negro school at Wilmington. He became active in Republican politics in New Hanover County and was one of three men elected as a delegate to the state consti­ tutional convention in 1868. At the convention he became involved with the adoption of the article on education; and as a reward for his efforts, he was chosen by the Republi­ cans to head the state school syBtem.^

Although Ashley was an earnest minister of consider­ able ability, he was narrow minded and full of prejudices which made him unconscious of the feelings and desires of other people. The widespread rumor that he was of Negro descent and the fact that he favored mixed schools cost him the support he might have received from the North

Carolina whites. The noted North Carolina historian,

C. S. Noble, A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina, p. 311* 189

J. 0. De Roulhac Hamilton, has referred to Ashley as "one

of the moat unpleasant carpetbaggers."7

Ashley's Job included preparing, organizing, and administering a system of public schools for the state.

The taBk would have been difficult for a man acceptable to

the public and familiar with the educational problems of

North Carolina, For Ashley, a newcomer in the state who

was generally despised by the native whites, the task was

overwhelming. His annual reports indicate his honest

efforts to launch a new system of public schools, but too many factors worked agdinst him to allow his achieving

significant success.

In his final report for the 1870-1871 school year,

Ashley complained that suitable teachers were not available

and that those people who did attempt to teach were under­

paid. He also lamented the fact that too many different

textbooks were in use throughout the state. The report

indicated that 31*093 pupils were reported attending public schools during that year.® Ashley's inability to inspire

local officials to perform their assigned duties was indi­

cated in 1 8 7 0 when one-third of all county commissioners

Q. de Roulhac Hamilton, Reconstruction in North Carolina, p. 611.

®Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1870-1Q71, P» 1 3 * 190 failed to return forms to the superintendent's office reporting educational conditions in their districts.9

After Ashley's salary was reduced in September, l871> he resigned his position as superintendent and accepted an appointment at Straight University for Negroes in New

Orleans. Despite any good intentions Ashley may have had, his questionable character, his tendency to antagonize the native whites and his consuming concern for the welfare of the Negro were more harmful than beneficial in furthering the cause of public education. At a time when dynamic leadership was needed, Ashley proved incapable of providing it.

Alexander Mclver

Alexander Mclver, a former professor of mathematics at the University of North Carolina, followed Ashley as state superintendent in September, 1871* Mclver, a typical

North Carolina Scot, was scrupulously honest and could not be pressured into acting against his principles.^-0 Although he was an able man, well-read in educational literature, and was considered to have high personal integrity, he lacked the qualities of leadership required in those trying years. He was unpopular because he belonged to the Republican party and because he had been on the University of North Carolina

9lbid., p. 3 0 .

lOHamilton, op. clt., pp. 625-627* 191 faculty that had failed miserably in its attempt to rejuvenate that institution under the Republicans. Despite these factors, it appears that Mclver may well have been the most suitable Republican available for the superintendency. ^

While serving as state superintendent, from 1871 to

187^, Mclver did all he could to build the schools; but, lacking support of the Conservatives, he found it difficult to make any progress. During his term, however, several teachers' institutes were established, a state educational convention was held in Raleigh in 1 3 7 3 , and county teachers' associations were organized under the 1872 school law.

The following extract from Mclver's 1872 report reveals some of his thinking about public education:

The school houses should be the best school houses in the state. They should be the ornament and point of attraction of every school district in the state. The public school teachers should be the best teachers in the state. A teacher's certificate should be made to indicate with certainty: 1st, that the holder is of good moral character; 2nd, that he is familiar with all the branches required to be taught in the public schools; 3rd, that he has been trained to teach and is in all respects fitted for his profession. The system itself should be thorough, practical, and adapted to the wants of the state,

11Noble, op. clt., p. 35^*

l^Knight, op. clt., pp. 25^-2 5 6 .

^Noble, op. clt., p. 362. 192

Instruction should be given in agriculture, in mechanic arts, and in all industrial pursuits. Children should be taught to make an honest living.

Although these objectives generally were not realized during Mclver's term in office, by the end of that period conditions had begun to improve. In 107*1* of a total school-age population of 36 9 ,9 6 0 , an aggregate of 17^,003 pupils were enrolled in public schools. That year, 2,873

teachers were examined and approved, and a total of

$2 9 7 *59** *85 was spent by the state on public schools.^5

Mclver evaluated the educational accomplishments made during his period of service with guarded optimism:

I think that public sentiment is becoming more favorable to public education. The people in many counties are organizing educational associ­ ations and are taking more Interest in public schools than formerly. It may be that the progress of public opinion is not as rapid as might be desired, yet I think there is progress. If the schools could be bettercrganized and better conducted; if there could be a stricter supervi­ sion of them; if there could be a better scheme for educating and employing a better class of teachers; if there could be fewer schools and better schools, I think every obstacle in the way would disappear. There would be no complaint about taxes if the law would provide the right kind of schools.16

Although Mclver had not aroused a great deal of enthusiasm for public education during his three years in

1^Ibid., pp. 362-3 6 3 .

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, Ic37**-l875, PP• 3-^ •

■^Noble, op. cit. f pp. 368-369. 193 office, his performance of duties was generally sound. The state superintendency remained a political appointment, however, and Mclver's membership in the Republican Party precluded his reappointment after the Democrats returned to power.

Stephen D. Pool

Mclver was succeeded by Stephen D. Pool, a Democrat on November 19, 1 3 7 ^ Hard times continued throughout

Pool's term, and, despite Mclver's optimism, Pool found people throughout the state apathetic toward education.

The schools continued to suffer from the Ashley period, and

Pool could do little more than Mclver to rekindle public interest in education.

Stephen Pool served as superintendent until June,

1876, when it was learned to the dismay of the Democrats that he had used Peabody Fund money to buy himself a house and lot in Raleigh. The charge that Pool had taken funds illegally was a severe blow both to the Democrats and to the public schools. On June 10, 1376, in a letter to

General William R. Cox, chairman of the State Democratic

Committee, Pool admitted his guilt and announced that he 18 had submitted his resignation to Governor Brogden.

During Pool's brief term in office he made no significant

17I b i d ., p. 375.

l8Ibld., pp. 376-377. 19^ contributions to the public school cause, and his dishon­ esty in office stood as a black mark against the public school movement it3elf.

John Pool

On July 1, 1876, Republican Governor Brogden appointed John Pool, a cousin of Stephen D. Pool, as the new superintendent of public instruction.^ John Pool has been variously described as a man of conspicuous ability, a party man "out of a job," a Washington lawyer with hardly a client, a man with no background as an educator, and a strict Republican in need of a salary.20 He served as superintendent until January, 1377> when the Democrats again resumed full control of public affairs in the state.

Obviously John Pool's term had been too brief to permit his making a lasting mark on North Carolina education, but his unsavory reputation did nothing to enhance that of the state superintendency.

During the eight and one-half years of Radical

Reconstruction, the North Carolina public school system had been led by four men--Ashley, Mclver, Stephen D. Pool and

John Pool— none of whom completed a full four year term of office. Unfortunately, all of these men lacked one or more of the qualities of leadership needed during the

i9Ibid., p. 378.

20Ibid. 195 Reconstruction Period. What North Carolina needed was a leader who possessed strategic ability, the persuasive powers of a polished public speaker, a thorough knowledge of North Carolina's educational problems, and the skill "to lead men out of the bad humor they were in and unite them in an enthusiastic support of public schools in every nook and corner of the state."21 The fact that such a man did not appear on the scene is in no way surprising--the supply of such paragons must always fall far short of the demand, but it explains in part North Carolina's postwar educational lag.

Educational Leadership by government Officials

The lack of capable leaders dedicated to the cause of public education showed up not only in the ranks of educators but also in the state government. All the gover­ nors and many of the legislators of the period spoke of public education in glowing terms, but most failed to sup­ port their oral convictions with actions or votes supporting public school measures. Governor Jonathan Worth, for example, one of the more capable Reconstruction governors, who served from December, 1865, to July, 1868, said the following in his inaugural address:

Our University and Public Schools, institu­ tions which the constitution wisely enjoins it on us to sustain, have felt the blighting effects

21lbid., ~ 35^. 196

of war. . . . During the past five years, educa­ tion has been sadly neglected. Whatever may be our pecuniary distresses, our youth must be educated. We must sustain our Institutions of learning.22

But the legislators failed to heed Worth's advice;

In fact, measures passed by the Assembly In 1866 proved harmful to the public schools. Although the governor claimed to be devoted to the public schools and dedicated to the education of the state's youth, he was unable or unwilling to prevent suspension of public school instruction.

Governor William W. Holden, Worth's Republican successor, who was inaugurated on July 4, 1863, declared in his inaugural address that the Legislature should adhere to the constitutional injunction regarding public schools.

He professed to feel that public schools, normal schools, high schools and colleges should be established as soon as possible and that they should be liberally supported by the public treasury.23 He, too, failed to support his words with forceful action, and the public schools continued to stagnate during his term in office. Such was roughly the case throughout the entire Reconstruction Period.

All this is not to say that no educational efforts were trade by sincere and talented individuals during

Reconstruction. Such people as Plato Durham, John W.

22 Ibld., p. 2 7 6 .

23Ibld., pp. 311-312. Graham, Braxton Craven, and Kemp P. Battle at the state level, a3 well as countless others at the local level, made laudable attempts to Improve the public schools. Unfor­ tunately, however, no one leader or group of leaders capable of rallying the public to the cause of public education appeared on the scene during the entire period.

Without that vital rallying force, the public school move­ ment tended to flounder throughout all of Reconstruction. CHAPTER VIII

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

North Carolina's school laws of 1869, 1372 and 1373 provided the legal framework for a successful system of public education, but most schools developed under those statutes were far from satisfactory, a fact that resulted from a variety of conditions

Teachers of the Reconstrutlon Period

Efforts to provide effective instruction were seriously hindered by a lack of competent and well-trained teachers. The shortage of suitable teachers was due largely to inadequate facilities for training teachers and to the low salaries and lack of prestige that characterized the teaching profession and that clearly revealed general public apathy toward education. The 1868 state constitution authorized the General Assembly "as soon as practicable, to establish and maintain, In connection with the University, a department of Normal instruction'^1 but State Superintend­ ent Ashley wrote in 1868 that "the condition of the Univer­ sity is such that it will not be practicable to carry this

-^North Carolina, Constitution, Art. 9> sec. 16.

193 199 p provision into execution for some time. Ashley realized the importance of normal schools and made the following plea for state supported teacher training:

The organization of a successful Free Public School System requires that immediate provision be made, for giving Normal Instruction to those youth of the state who desire to engage in school teaching. I would, therefore, suggest that the Board of Education be authorized to make arrange­ ments for affording Normal Instruction at the expense of the State, to such youth of both sexes as desire, and after proper examination shall be found fitted to qualify themselves as teachers of Public Free Schools; and that a sum, not to exceed $30,000, be appropriated by the General Assembly to enable the Board of Education to pro­ vide as aforesaid.3

Throughout his term Ashley continued to work for the establishment of normal schools. In 1070 he again attempted to convince members of the Legislature that professional training for teachers was one of the state's primary educational needs;

Teaching is in no respect less important than any other profession. The teacher must not only know what he attempts to teach, but must know how to impart his knowledge to others. It is not sufficient that the mechanic knows the names and use of hiB tools, but he must understand how to use them. It is not enough that the physician knows, and can enumerate, the names and quali­ ties of medicines, but he must understand how to administer them, and be able to direct others how to administer them. Hie preacher should not only be himself Indoctrinated, but he must be able to preach doctrine and Indoctrinate others. Why Bhould the teacher be an exception?. . . This learning from others is professional

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, ldt>9-b9 , p. 9 .

3ibid., pp. 9- 10. 200

training. Hiat a professional training is re­ quired for successful teaching* is the testimony of experienced and eminent educators the world over. . . . Without some provision for the training of teachers for public schools, North Carolina will be little benefitted by her system of public instruction.^

Professional Training for Teachers Despite persistent appeals by Ashley and succeeding superintendents, the state failed to provide teacher train­ ing institutions until 1377. Persons desiring professional training usually attended either private colleges offering normal Instruction or teachers' institutes.

Hie United States Commissioner of Education reported in 1873 that the Ellendale Teachers' Institute at Ellendale

Springs and the Willlston Academy and Normal School at

Wilmington were the only institutions in the state providing professional training for teacherB. Ellendale was sup­ ported by the Peabody Fund while Willlston was aided by the

American Missionary Association. In 1873 the two schools enrolled a total of ninety-eight students— forty-five men and fifty-three women.5 On September 28, 137**, the buildings of the Ellendale Institute burned, and the school

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruc­ tion, North Carolina, ld7Q-7i, PP* 12-13. 5 Report of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1872-73* P» 303* 201 was forced to suspend operations for the duration of

Reconstruction.6

In 187^ teachers' institutes sponsored by local boards of education or groups of interested citizens began attracting wide attention. Examples of these were the

Pineswood Teachers' Institute, The Asheboro Normal School and the Lexington Normal School. The Pineswood Institute, held in Davidson County, in 187^ enrolled forty-three stu­ dents at its one month session, while the Asheboro School enrolled seventy-five. That same year the Lexington Normal

School trained thirty-six whites and thirty-five Negroes.7

According to the U. S. Commissioner of Education, the only college offering normal instruction in 137^ was

Shaw University, a new Negro School in Raleigh. Shaw reportedly subscribed to three educational journals and had compiled a library of 1,100 volumes. Instruction in draw­ ing the vocal and instrumental music were listed as special features of the teacher training program.^ By 1376 Shaw

University reported that 180 students were enrolled in its

three-year normal course--one hundred men and eighty women.

The annual tuition charge was $1 6 .0 0 .^

^Report of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1873-7^* P* 303. ^Edgar W. Knight, Public School Education in North Carolina, p. 2 5 9 . Q Report of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1875-7 6, p. 300.

9lbid. 202

During the last few years of Reconstruction, in­ creased efforts were made by independent normal schools to provide teacher training courses. Some of these schools operating in 1875 were Bennett Seminary in Greensboro,

Ray's Normal Institute in Kernersville and the Tileston

Normal School in Wilmington. Bennett reported that fifteen men and twenty women were enrolled in its three-year course

* and that the annual tuition was $3.00. Ray's Institute offered a two year program; in 1376, thirty-four men and four women were enrolled. The annual tuition for this school was $23.00. Tileston's eight year course of study was pursued by five young women in 1375* This school was supported by Mrs. Mary Hemenway, of Boston, Massachusetts, who had purchased the land and built the schoolhouse at a cost of $30 ,000.10

Efforts were made to combine theory with practice at

the normal schools and institutes, and model schools were often established so teaching methods could be demonstrated by experienced instructors and practiced by students.

Lectures on such topics as "Discipline in the Schools,"

"Moral Aspects of Teaching," and "The Duty of the State to

Educate Her Children" were often delivered by prominent

North Carolina teachers and by noted educators from abroad.^-1

10Ibld., pp. 299-300.

ia-Knight, loc. cit. 203

The following dally schedule, used at the 1373 session of

the Ellendale Teachers1 Institute, gives some of the course

of study commonly pursued:

Order of Exerciseb Forenoon - Reading, Orthography, Orthoepy, Analysis, Composition and Punctuation, Writing, Oeography and Map Drawing. Afternoon- Vocal Music, Mental Arithmetic, Written Arithmetic, Elocution and General Closing Exercises.

In reporting to the stat£ superintendent In 1874j the director of the Ellendale Institute cfescrlbed many of the

schools1 activities. He wrote:

Reading and Elocution-The exercises In this department were peculiarly interesting and Instruc­ tive. Very few teachers were found, at first, to be good readers. Watson1s Elocution, Wiley's North Carolina Reader and Holbrooks1 Normal Methods were used as standards of Instruction. Orthography and Orthoepy - Daily exercises and black board a r m s were given in this department, using Webster's High School Dictionary as the standard. English Grammar - In this department there were drills m parsing, black board and general exer­ cises and discussions. The exercises In Geography were by lecture and black board exercises In map drawing. A beautiful set of wall maps purchased by the Instructor was of great service In this department. Arithmetic - Teachers are generally better qualified in this than In other branches. In the Improved methods of teaching arithmetic, however, they are sadly deficient. The habit so prevalent with teachers of depending entirely upon the verbatern [sic] rule of arithmetic has been almost entirely brolcen up. Robinson's Mental Arithmetic contributed much towards breaking up tfie habit of relying upon rules In all the operations of arithmetic, especially In percentage, in training

12Annpal”Report, State Superintendent of Public In­ struction, North Carolina. ltt7q-75. P« 204

to close and logical thinking, and in expediting calculations. It became the most interesting of all our exercises. Methods of Teaching - or the best manner of imparting instruetlonT accomplished every step in each department of study. Teachers were en­ couraged to exhibit and practice their methods of teaching. The excellent collection of teachers' manuals in the library of the Institute, is of great value to teachers. Vocal Music - was practiced daily as a class exercise, and in the closing exercises of each day.

Certification of Teachers

Teachers of the Reconstruction Period were not neces­ sarily college graduates or even graduates of a teachers' institute, but they were required to pass a test adminis­ tered by the county examiner. In 1373 Superintendent

Mclver cautioned the county examiners against "yielding to the idea that, If competent teachers cannot be found, certificates must be given to those who are not competent."

He pointed out that "... this is fatal to the success of the public schools. The law makes it a duty to give

'certificates to all applicants of sufficient moral and mental qualifications,' and no others. If the standard is made high, applicants will come up to it sooner or later.

Mclver suggested that a teacher's certificate should indicate with certainty:

(1) that the holder is of good moral character; (2) that he is familiar with all branches of study

^ ibld., p. 47- ^Report of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1872-73* P* 301. 205

named in hiB certificate; and (3) that he knows how to teach and how to govern a school and how to make and keep a school-register.1^

Depending upon the examiner, prospective teachers were required to write the exam, take it orally or do both.

Teaching certificates were issued for one year and were valid only in the county where the examination was taken.

The 1869 school law ordered that when practicable schools should be graded: primary schools were to be designated third grade; grammar schools, second grade; high schools, first grade. State requirements stipulated that teachers be certified only in the grades for which the had passed the examination. D

Examination requirements for certification at the three levels were:

Every applicant for a third-grade-certificate should stand an approved examination on the sounds of the marked letters, and in spelling, reading, and arithmetic. All the Bounds of each vowel, and the marks by which they are distinguished and words in which they occur, should be given by each applicant. Twenty or thirty words should be named, and the applicants required to spell them in writing. Every applicant who misspells more than 25 per cent of the words given, or who can­ not read Intelligently and fluently, and express the sense of what he reads by proper emphasis and Intonations of the voice, and write a good copy hand, or who cannot explain the elementary prin­ ciples of arithmetic, including fractions, or who does not know how tomake and keep a school register should be rejected.1?

^ I b l d . ^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lbbo-Q9j P» 32. ^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1372-73* PP* 14-15» 206

Applicants for the second-grade-certificates should In addition to the above, be examined in English grammar, political and physical geogra­ phy, map^drawing, English composition, and history. °

First-grade-certificates should require, in addition to the branches named for the lower grades, a knowledge of drawing, book-keeping, the rudiments of natural philosophy, chemistry, botany and astronomy.1^

In spite of the increasing number of normal schools and teachers* institutes during Reconstruction and the state's efforts to upgrade the teaching profession by requiring examinations for certification, the public schools continued to confront the problem of finding quali­ fied instructors. Some schools were forced to close because suitable teachers could not be found; others remained open by hiring inadequately prepared teachers. Problems created by the shortage of teachers were discussed in 1370 by E. F.

Sanderson, County School Examiner of Jones County:

The demand for teachers is so great that due regard for efficiency cannot be had. I find that colored applicants are very much wanting in fit­ ness for teaching, but, when they pass a tolerantly fair examination in orthography, reading, writing and have some knowledge of arithmetic, I give them a certificate, for it is not expected that they Bhould be adept in their studies, Uiose who have applied, are generally wanted in some particular localities. The white candidates also, some of them, do not pass as good an examination as I could desire.

~~ _lt*Report of the Commissioner, op. clt., p. 301.

19Ibid. 207

I have been governed in my examination some­ what by the requirement of the people, and in all cases by the good moral character of the appli­ cants. I have thought it would not do to be too stringent, for fear of driving applicants to other counties, where the examinations are not so stringent and thereby shorten my supply of teachers. . . . As soon as I can get my supply of teachers nearly made up, I shall require a grea£gr efficiency in the studies required by law.

Teachers1 Wages

Many qualified persons in North Carolina hesited to enter the teaching profession during Reconstruction because of the low wages. In 1870 a total of 1,400 public school teachers in North Carolina earned an average monthly salary of $20.31» The average school term through the state that year was approximately ten weeks.21

By 1875 the total number of teachers in the 3tate had risen to 2,5'jH (2,077 whites and 317 Negroes). First- grade teachers received an average monthly wage of $40.00] second-grade teachers received $30.00] and third-grade teachers received $20.00. The average school term remained approximately ten weeks.22Comparing North Carolina with other states] South Carolina public school teachers earned ------575------Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, IS7Q, p. 53*

21Ibld., p. 13* 22 Report of the Commissioner of Education, U. S. Bureau of Education, 1875-76, p. 2 9 6 . 208 an average of $29.73 per month and taught an average term of ninety days;2^ Mississippi teachers were paid an oh average of $39.87 per month for a one hundred day term;

Ohio teachers received an average of $48.00 per month and 2S taught a 155 day term. J

In I87O Superintendent Ashley recognized that out­

standing people would not enter teaching unless wageB were

improved. He said:

Unless adequate compension is afforded, properly qualified persons cannot be expected to engage in the work of teaching. It is a laborious occupa­ tion-one requiring skill, study, patience, and singleness of devotion, The ability and qualifi­ cations of a good teacher, ought to secure a fair, living remuneration, and will command It; they will command it in some other vocation if they fail in that of teaching. . . . So long as unre- munerative wages are proffered school teachers, only disqualified or partially qualified persons will engage in the work. If perchance a qualified person should be secured, his engagement will prove to be temporary rather than permanent--a stepping stone to some other profitable employ­ ment.

Ashley*s fears were realized as qualified people did

fail to enter the teaching profession. Not until 1900 did

teachers' salaries in North Carolina equal those paid before

the Civil War.

^ ibid., p. 3 6 1 .

2 ^lbld., p. 2 2 1 . 25lbid., p. 304.

2^Annual Report, op. clt., pp. 10-11. 209

The Public School Curriculum

The public school curriculum during Reconstruction was rather narrow by modern standards, but it was much more

extensive than that offered by most prewar schools. The

1369 school law prescribed the following course of study:

'Hilrd Grade— Charts, primers, 1st reader, 2nd reader, primary arithmetic, primary geography, writing on slate, and singing.

Second Grade--3rd reader, 4th reader, spelling and defining, spelling by writing, writing in books, intellectual arithmetic, written arithmetic, advanced geography, English grammar, history, physiology, map drawing, English composition, elocution, and singing.

First Grade— 4th reader, 5th reader, spelling by writing, advanced arithmetic, English grammar, algebra, natural philosophy, aBtronomy, chemistry, physical geography, botany, composition. elocution, map drawing, bookkeeping, and singing.2 '

Some of the city graded schools were successful in

offering the curriculum outlined by the state, but many

schools found it difficult to offer more than basic courses

in reading, writing and arithmetic. Expanding the curricu­

lum was difficult not only because teachers often were

unqualified, but also because textbooks were scarce.

Textbooks

The State Board of Education was empowered to recom­ mend textbooks to be used in the schools provided that no

sectarian or political works were suggested, but individual

2?Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lfcSbg, p. 3^. teachers usually selected their books subject to the approval of the school committee. There was no uniform­ ity in texts, and frequently there were a3 many different textbooks in a school as there were pupils. The lack of money and the difficulty of making books available to people in out of the way places made uniformity almost an

Impossibility. Some books such as Webster's "Blue Back" spelling book and Wiley's North Carolina Reader were especially popular and could be found in nearly all schools.

The Peabody Board occasionally distributed textbooks in cooperation with such publishing firms as A. S. Barnes

Publishing Company, D. Appleton and Company, Cowperthwait and Company and Sheldon and Company. Prom September, 1869* to September, 1870, the Peabody Board distributed more than

50,000 books throughout the South. Books received by North

Carolina Included: Webster's Elementary Reader; Cornell's

First Steps in Geography; Quackenbois' Primary Arithmetic;

Quackenbois' First Book in Grammar; Beer's Penmanship;

Monteith's United States History; and Jarvis' Physiology and Health.30

In forms completed annually by district school officials, the state superintendent usually asked, "What

2SReport of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1873-7** > P- 319-

c . S. Noble, A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina, p. 32**.

3°Knight, op. clt., pp. 277-273. 211

textbooks are used In your school?" These typical responses

to that question emphasize the lack of uniformity of texts:

"MoBtly Webster's Spelling Book," "Such as could be bought at the country store," "Promiscuous assortment," "Textbooks used, old and promiscuous," "Different kinds of textbooks,

too poor to buy," "No uniformity of textbooks," "Couldn't get list so used old ones," "Readers from Grier's Almanac

to Parker and rfatson," "Various textbooks were used as were

on hand, no uniformity," "Webster’s Elementary Speller,"

"Anything we could get," and "Webster's and books recommended

by the Board."31

Schoolhouses

Not only was there a great need for textbooks, but

also there existed a shortage of adequate schoolhouses. By

the end of the Civil War, most of North Carolina's school­

houses had either been destroyed or were in serious need of

repairs. Superintendent Ashley commented on the condition

of the state's schoolhouses in 1369:

The war left us not only damaged, but ruined. Most of the old schoolhouses are log shanties; often without doors, with entrances for light made by removing a log or two from the side, and (they are) destitute of furniture. In fact . . . there are whole counties and populous counties, too, which have no public schoolhouses. . . . We have, therefore, to build our schoolhouses In

3^Noble,loc. clt. 2X2

cities, towns and villages* At least $ 2 , 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 are needed to put us In possession of comfortable houses.32

In 1369 the state superintendent's report Indicated

that North Carolina had a total of 1,906 schoolhouses. Of

these, 683 were described as being in "bad condition."33

The better schoolhouses had dimensions of approximately 24 feet by 30 feet with a porch or a vestibule on the front and two windows on each side and in the rear. Some of the

better houses had belfries and flues for Btoves; poorer ones had no belfry and were heated with fireplaces.^ By 1876

the total number of public schoolhouses had increased only

to 2,304— 1,934 for whites and 1,371 for Negroes. That

year a total of $14,333*19 was spent on school buildings.35

Section 23 of the 1872 school law provided that, if

a district needed a schoolhouse, the school fund should

bear only half the expense of either repairing an old house

or building a new one. Hie other half was to be provided

through contributions of citizens of the community. In

other words, the community either had to assume half the

3zw. P. Credie, "Schoolhouses During the Century," North Carolina Education, Vol. II (February, 1936), p. 210.

^Annual Report, op. cit., p. 2. 3^credle, loc. cit. ^^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1370-77* P* z* 213 expense of either repairing an old house or building a new one. T^ie half half was to be provided throigh contribu­ tions of sltizen8 of the community. In other words, the community either had to assume half the expense of repair­ ing an old schoolhouse or building a new one, or not have a

"comfortable building.

The 1872 provision was an attempt by Mclver to arouse public spirit by "aiding those who aided themselves." The section was repealed in 1873, however, much to the superin­ tendent's disappointment. Mclver believed the act would eventually have served as a stimulus leading to the adoption of local taxes for school support.^7 After 1873 school funds were again apportioned by the county commissioners to the townships according to the number of children In each.

The township school committee In turn apportioned the money among the districts in the township.

In an attempt to stimulate construction of much- needed schoolhouseB, the North Carolina Legislature passed a law in 1869 requiring the state superintendent to publish suggestions on school architecture and to furnish copies to all school officers and teachersAs a result, the 1869

3^Noble, op. cit., p. 358.

37lbld., P* 366.

Ibid.

39North Carolina, Laws (1869), Art. 3, sec. 32. 214 superintendent1 a report Included a series of plans for various types of buildings. This law was repealed In 1870. and It appears as If no other such bulletins or publications were provided until 1902.^° Tfte drawings Included In the

1869 report clearly reflect thinking of the times regarding schoolhbuse construction. The following plan is typical of these Included In Ashley's report:

* m VaiTifcvl*

■ju

c z i a 0 0 (i—ii—1 = □ □ ^ o □cnnn □ CZ1IZD C=!!=□ nnnn czmzi I nncu nzicu

a

w ------Cradle, op. cit., p. 210. 215

House No. 1 is a frame house, 24 x 24 feet from outside to outside, and 12 feet high to the square, with an arched celling. It has a vesti­ bule 15 x 13 1 /2 feet from outside to outside. The windows are hung on sash cords and axle pulleys, for convenience In ventilating the room. There is a floor register placed under the stove for the admission of fresh air. The main room will take in the platform for teacher's desk and four rows of double desks, which will accommodate 50 pupils. A bookcase can be fixed between the doors at the lower end of the room, with lock and key, for safe keeping of books, stationery, etc. The vestibule Is supplied with shelves and hat­ pins or books, waterbench and washstand.41

Signs of Professional Awakening In 1873

Educational conditions In North Carolina were deplor able in the early 1 8 7 0*s, but signs of quickening interest began to appear in the summer of 1873* In April the state board of education had adopted a resolution that a state education convention be held In Raleigh, July 9, 1873, for the purpose of recommending measures needed to Improve edu­ cation In the state. In response to the call the meeting was held In the Hall of the House of Representatives and continued in session for three days.^ 2 Delegates to the meeting Included representatives of the Democrat and Repub­ lican parties, the leading religious denominations and the prlnclpla educational institutions of the state. William

H. Battle was chosen president of the convention.^3

^Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, lbfe9, P* 3b* Annual Report, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina, 1073-74, p. *12. ^3Report of the Commissioner of Education, U.S. Bureau of Education, 1872-73, P- 305- 216

Reports were submitted on subjects of educational

Importance such as compulsory education, agricultural edu­

cation, normal schools, textbooks, educational Journalism,

school funds and taxation, higher education and Improved methods of teaching.^ Of the several resolutions adopted

by the convention, two were of particular Interest. One

recognized the condition of the public schools at that time.

It read;

Resolved, That the general educational Interests of this state are deplorable and alarming to a high degree, and are such as to require the noblest and most self-sacrificing efforts of every true son of North Carolina to relieve her from such serious embarrassment•^

OTie second Important resolution laid the groundwork

for a state educational association. It provided:

Resolved, That we do now proceed to form a State Educational Association and that any resi­ dent of the state may become a member by causing his name,-to be enrolled and paying a fee of one dollar. °

Forty-four members of the convention Immediately paid

the dollar fee to become charter members of the organization,

and William H. Battle was elected president. ^ Annual meet­

ings of the state association were held throughout the

remainder of Reconstruction; and, although the organization

^Knight, op. cit., p. 2 5 7* ^5Report of the Commissioner of Education, loc. cit.

^Annual Report, op. cit., p. 49*

^7ibid. 217 became dormant near the end of the period, It helped launch the much-needed campaign to rally support for public schools.

Educators In 187^ were encouraged by the establish­ ment of state educational conventions, the Increasing popu­ larity of teachers' Institutes, and the publication of the

"North Carolina Journal of Education." Unfortunately, these developments seemed to have little effect on Individual schools on the local level.

Dr. B. Craven made the following appraisal of the

North Carolina public schools in 1876 :

They are believed to have practically no common standard; no established relation and succession of studies; no uniformity in books; no tests of efficiency and no form of control competent and able either to discover defects or to correct abuses. To a very large extent change of teachers Is at least annual; generally each teacher con­ demns or repeats the work of his predecessor, with all the disadvantages of different and conflicting plans and with little substantial benefit. The amount of Instruction imparted by the public schools is small In proportion to the money ex­ pended, and by all available tests the quality is generally very inferior; and these defects seem to result more from want of organization, insufficient administration, and the entire absence of special superintendence than from all other causes combined.

^Noble, op. cit., p. 375.

^Report of the Commissioner of Education, U. S. Bureau of Education, 1875-76, p. 299* Dr. Craven's analysis could have been used to describe the public schools either in 1869* the beginning of

Radical Reconstruction, or in 1876, the end of the period.

years of Reconstruction had been without question a period of stagnation for public education in North Carolina. CHAPTER IX

CONCLUSIONS

Before the Civil War North Carolina had faced many difficulties in winning popular support for public educa­ tion. In the decade prior to the outbreak of hostilities, however, the public attitude was shifting in favor of public schools, Interest in education was rising sharply, people were beginning to accept the idea that the public schools were for everyone, the charity idea was dying out, and taxation for school purposes was being viewed as a neces­ sity. By 1861 North Carolina was considered by many people to have the finest public school system in the South.

During the Civil War the attention and energy of most citizens were consumed by the war effort, and there was a natural decline of Interest in education. Yet, many of the state's public schools remained open throughout the conflict— a fact that reflected creditably on the educa­ tional work done before the war.

Reconstruction would prove disastrous for North

Carolina public schools. The Civil War had transformed the prosperous and progressive North Carolina of i860 into a defeated and exhausted North Carolina in 1365* Thousands

219 220 of the state's best men ranging In age from sixteen to sixty had lost their lives, and numerous veterans who had survived the conflict returned home crippled or handicapped and broken in spirit. Civilians had become discouraged by the drudgery of war, widespread disease and the scarcity of food, clothing and medical supplies. Economic resources had seriously diminished, and millions of dollars worth of property had been ruined.

With people struggling to recover from wartimedestruc­

tion and misery and working to rebuild their homes and their

lives, little attention was given to public education. The state's school system collapsed completely early in 1866 when the State Legislature passed a law suspending the office of state superintendent of public instruction,

transferring the remainder of the Literary Fund to the general treasury, and leaving all matters of educational

concern to local citizens whose powers were permissive and discretionary. The Legislature's action,highly inconsistent with the former policies of the state's lawmaking bodies—

seemed to result chiefly from the bankrupt condition of the

state and the lawmakers' realization that people could ill afford additional taxes for school support. Not until the

Radicals had assumed control of the state government in

1868 were serious efforts made to reopen the public schools.

Shortly after the end of Presidential Reconstruction,

the newly elected "scalawag," "carpetbagger" and Negro 221 coalition that dominated Legislature attempted to rejuvenate the school system under the 1868 state constitution and

1869 school law. Although the new constitutional and legislative provisions were generally more sound than those of previous years, the Radicals met with discouraging re­ sults. The progressive attitude toward education which had been characteristic of ante-bellum North Carolina had been replaced by widespread indifference.

This unhealthy attitude toward the schools was founded in the dismal days Immediately following the war and appears to have been further cultivated in succeeding years by an interplay of complex social, economic and political factors. During Reconstruction the poverty stricken masses became insensitive to the state's educational needs. Some of the wealthy opposed the principle of public education and patronized private schools. The state political leaders failed to work vigorously for improvement of the schools and generally minimized educational backward­ ness. TSie state superintendents failed to provide effective leadership. Local management of the schools was inefficient and often based on politics. The reactionary state Supreme

Court undermined efforts to tax for school support. The threat of mixed schools resulted in turning many people against public education. A shortage of qualified teachers, schoolhouses and supplies limited the effectiveness of schools which did exist. 222

The apathy which results from these factors hindered the public schools in many ways. People refused to vote taxes for educational purposes. Capable people failed to enter the teaching profession. School laws were haphazardly enforced and school funds were often diverted to other uses.

Perhaps most significantly, the majority of citizens seemed entirely satisfied with the schools as they were, and very little public pressures was placed on local or state officials to improve education. During the period not a single instance was recorded of a political official in the state making even an objective evaluation of public educa­ tion, let alone anything resembling a crusade for its exten­ sion and improvement.

Although southern historians often tend to lay blame for the apathy of the period entirely at the feet of the

Radicals, this cannot be entirely Justified. The native Dem- crats as well as the Radicals had little success In combating the forces of ignorance, poverty, and prejudice underlying the popular indifference; in fact, the unprogressive educa­ tional policy of the Democrats after they regained control of the Legislature in 1371 seemed designed to please the tax-hating public.

By the end of Reconstruction the condition of the public schools had begun to improve largely because of the influence and efforts of the Peabody Fund, normal schools, 223 teachers' Institutes, and local and state teachers' organi­ zations. Public apathy still existed, however, and not until the economic revival of the 1090's and the rise of aggressive educational leaders such as Edwin A. Alderman and Charles D. Mclver did a true educational awakening occur in North Carolina.

The tragedy of Reconstruction in North Carolina lay not only in the grim struggle to which the public schools of that era were driven for sheer survival, but in the educational legacy of the period. Although public indif­ ference toward the schools has now been largely overcome, it continued into the twentieth century and cost numerous

North Carolina youths the benefit of proper schooling. Even today persisting educational problems centering around integration and taxation exist which have well-established historical precedents in the Reconstruction Period. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Andrews, Sidney. The South Since the War. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, idbb.

Child, Lydia Marla. The Freedman's Book. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, Id65^

Lefler, Hugh T. (ed.). North Carolina History as Told By Contemporaries. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1934.

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Annual Report of the Committee on Freedmen, 1876. Pittsburgh: mcMillln, 11576 • Tharpe, Margaret Newbold. "A Yankee Teacher in North Carolina," Edited by Richard L. Morton. The North Carolina Historical Review, XXX (October, 1953J*

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Newspapers

The Dispatch (Wilmington, N.C.).

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The American Missionary, X-XIV (1866-70).

"The Discipline of the School," North Carolina Journal of Education, I, 1 (September, l»t^)»

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Smith, Charles Lee. The History of Education in North Carolina. (Bureau of Education Circular of Information, No. 2, 1383.) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1888.

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Hillman, James E. "The History of Teacher Training," North Carolina Education, II, 6 (February, 1936).

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Jackson, Luther P. "The Educational Efforts of the Freed­ men 's Bureau and the Freedmen*s Aid Societies in South Carolina," Journal of Negro History, VIII (1923)*

Knight, Edgar W. "One Hundred Years of Public Education in North Carolina," North Carolina Education, II, 6 (February, 1936). 227 Knight, Edgar W. "The Peabody Fund and Its Early Operation in North Carolina', " The South Atlantic Quarterly, XIV, 2 (Spring, 1915T Phillips, G. B. "The Development of Graded Schools," North Carolina Education, II, 6 (February, 1936).

Stewart, Mary A.L. and Proctor, A. M. "School History Makers," North Carolina Education, II, 6 (February, 1 9 3 6).

General Works

Ashe, Samuel. History of North Carolina, Vol. II. Raleigh: Edwards and troughton Co., 1925*

Ashmore, Harry S. The Negro and the Schools. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 195^*

Brown, Hugh Victor. A HlBtory of the Education of Negroes in North Carolina. Raleigh: Irving Swain Press, Inc., l§bl. ■ Brown, William H. The Educational and Economic Development of the Negro In Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, TWT. Buck, Paul H. The Road to Reunion 1865-1900. Boston: Little, krown and Co., 1938.

Cooch, W. T. Culture in the South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Fress7 193^* Cubberly, Ellwood P. Public Education in the United States. Boston: Houghton-lrfirflln Co., 19l£« Dabney, Virginius. Liberalism In the South. Chapel Hill: University of foorth Carolina ^ress, 1932.

Dabney, Charles W. Universal Education in the South. Vols. I and II. Chapel rflli: The University o t Worth Carolina Press, 1936.

Davie, Maurice R. Negroes in American Society. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., I9 4 9. * Drake, William E. The American School in Transition. New York: Prentlce-Hall, Inc., 19^5• 223

Dunning, William A. Studies in Southern History and Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, isrr:—

Edwards, Newton, and Richey, Herman G. The School in the American Social Order. Cambridge, Massachusetts; The Riverside Press, 19^7• Gobbe1, Luther L. Church-State Relationships in Education in North Carolina Since 1776* burham, North Carolina: buke University Press, 193o*

Good, H. 0. A History of Western Education. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1951*

Hamilton, J. G. deRoulhac. Reconstruction in North Carolina. ("Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, " ecfited by the faculty of Political Science of Columbia University, Vol. LVIII, No. 141.) New York: Columbia University, 1914.

Henderson, Archibald. North Carolina the Old North State and the New. V o T T * m Chicago; Lewis Publishing Co., 1941.

Hesseltine, William B. and Smiley, David L. The South in American History. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, I9 6 0.

Johnson, Ouion G. Ante-Bellum North Carolina. Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina Press, 1937*

Knight, Edgar W. Education in the United States. Boston: Ginn and Co” 19^1.

The Influence of Reconstruction on Education in the South. Ne a Vork: Teachers College, Columbia Univer­ sity, 1913.

Public School Education in North Carolina. Bo b ton: ------Houghton-Mifflin 7o77"T913.------

1 9 2 ?Public - Education in the South. Boston: Ginn Se Co.,

Lefler, Hugh T., and Newsome, Albert R. North Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1955*. Morrow, Ralph E. Northern Methodism and Reconstruction. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1936. 229

Myrdal, Qunnar. An American Dilemma. Vol. II. New York: Harper and Bros., 194^.

Nlcholls, William H. Southern Tradition and Regional Progress. Chapel Mill: The University or North Carolina Press, i9 6 0.

Noble, M. C. S. A History of the Public Schools of North Carolina. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1930.

Padover, Saul K. Jefferson. New York: Mentor Books, 1953*

Pierce, Truman M., Klnchsloe, James B., Moore, R. Edgar, Drewry, Galen N., Carmichael, Bennie E. White and Negro School In the South. Englewood Cliffs, rtew Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1955•

Randall, J. 0. and Donald, David. The Divided Union. Boston: Little, Brown and CoTJ 19bl.

Raper, Charles Lee. The Church and Private Schools in North Carolina. Greensboro, riorth Carolina: Stone Printers, 1 8 9 8.

Simkins, Francis B. and Woody, Robert H. South Carolina During Reconstruction. Chapel Hill: The University of North "Carolina Press, 1932.

Simonini, R. C. Jr. Education In the South. (Institute of Southern Culture Lectures at Longwood College.) Farmville, Virginia: Longwood College, 1959*

Slaughter, Linda Warfel. The Freedmen of the South. Cincinnati: 1 8 6 9.

Smith, Charles Lee. The History of Education in North Carolina. Washington: Government Printing £>f£ice, T38ET---

Swift, Fletcher H. A History of Public Permanent Common School Funds in the' Uni tel "S tat esT'179,5-T9^'. New Vork: Henry HoTtTTCoV, Inc., 19liv

Swint, Henry Lee. The Northern Teacher in the South. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press, 19^1. Wheeler, Col. John H., Shuford, Magnolia McKay. Historical Sketches of North Carolina. New York: Frederick to. Hitchcock, 1925* 230

Woodson, Carter G. The Education of the Negro Prior to l86l. New York: 0* P. Putnam's Sons7 l9i5*

Woodward, C. Vann. Origins of the New South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State university Press, 1951•

Other Works

Ashe, Samuel A., Weaks, Stephen B., and Van Nappan, Charles L. Biographical History of North Carolina. Vol. II. Greensboro, North Carolina: bharles L. Van Nappan Publishers, 1905*

Coon, Charles L. The Beginnings of Public Education in North Carolina: A Documentary History. l7gO-lff**5« Vol. II. Raleigh: Edwards and Broughton Printing Col., 1908.

Fleming, Walter. A Documentary History of Reconstruction, Political, Military, Social, Religious, Educational and Industrial, ldo5'"to the Present (rime. Vol. II7 Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1^0 7 .

Hamblin, Charles Hunter. "Conflicting Forces in North Carolina Education." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Education, George Peabody College for Teachers, 1941.

Howard, Oliver Otis. Autobiography of Plover Otis Howard. Vol. II. New York: The Baker and Taylor Company, 1908. Klain, Zora. Quaker Contributions to Education In North Carolina. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 7 5 & T . ----

Knight, Edgar W. A Documentary History of Education in the South before ld6o. Vol. V. Educational Theories and Practices"! Chapel Hill: University o f North Carolina Press, 1953* "The Influence of the Civil War on Education in North Carolina," Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Session of the State tlterary and historical Associ­ ation of North Carolina! Raleigh: fedwards and Brough ton Printing Co., I9X0 .

, and Hall, Clifton L. Readings in American Educa­ tional History. New York: Appleton-Century-Crorts, Inc., 1951. £31

Morris, Richard B. (ed.)* Encyclopedia of American History. New York: Harper and Bros., 1961•

Peabody Board of Trustees. Proceedings of the Board of Trustees of the Peabody frund, I Llb6tl-73J> II ]137^-31]. Boston,' 18737 18dl. Southern Education Board. Proceedings of the Fifth Confer­ ence for Education In the South. Vol. I, Wo. £. Knoxville: Southern Bcfucation Board, 1902.

Stampp, Kenneth M. (ed.). The Causes of the Civil W&g* Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1^59*

Vaughn, William Preston. "The Sectional Conflict In Southern Public Education, 1365-1876." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1961. AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I, Morris Eugene GilHorn, was born In Bluffton,

Indiana, February 10, 1932. I received my secondary- school education In the public schools of Bluffton,

Indiana, and my undergraduate training at Heidelberg

College, Tiffin, Ohio, which granted me the Bachelor of

Arts degree in 1954* From 195^ to 1956 I served in the

United States Army as a Special Agent with the Counter

Intelligence Corps. From 1956 to 1959 I taught social studies at John Marshall High School, Cleveland, Ohio.

From the Ohio State University, I received the Master of

Arts degree in 1953. In October, 1959# I accepted the position as Instructor in the Department of Education at

the Ohio State University. I held this position for three years while completing the requirements for the Doctor of

Philosophy degree.

I have accepted a position as Assistant Professor of

Education at San Francisco State College.

232