The Freedmen's Bureau and the Education of African Americans in Virginia from 1865--1871
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2013 A union of church and state: The Freedmen's Bureau and the education of African Americans in Virginia from 1865--1871 Aaron Jason Butler College of William & Mary - School of Education Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, African History Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, and the Other Education Commons Recommended Citation Butler, Aaron Jason, "A union of church and state: The Freedmen's Bureau and the education of African Americans in Virginia from 1865--1871" (2013). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539618383. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-0k2t-pw52 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU AND THE EDUCATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN VIRGINIA FROM 1865-1871 A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Aaron Jason Butler May 2013 Copyright © 2013 by Aaron J. Butler All rights reserved A UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU AND THE EDUCATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN VIRGINIA FROM 1865-1871 By Aaron Jason Butler Approved May 2013 by Janies W. Beers, Ph.D. Chairperson of Doctoral Committee C ast's A m * Carol S. Beers, Ph.D. Dorothy E. Finnegan, Ph.D. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1.Introduction: Purpose of Study................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2. A Historical Examination of Public Education in Virginia: 1607-1861.........7 Colonial Virginia....................................................................................................... 11 Virginia after the American Revolution..................................................................21 Nat Turner Rebellion and African American Education......................................27 The American Civil War.............................................................................................30 Chapter 3.The Organization of the Freedmen Bureau’s Educational Division in Virginia................................................................................................40 Chapter 4.The Organizational Partners of the Freedmen’s Bureau.................................. 55 Evangelical Protestants..................................................................................56 Liberal Protestants..........................................................................................74 Secular Aid Associations...............................................................................81 The Freedmen................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 5.Hampton University and Virginia Union University: The Higher Education Legacy of the Freedmen Aid Relief Associations in Virginia......................... 91 Chapter 6.The Union Dissolves: The Dismantling of the Freedmen’s Bureau 101 Chapter 7.Conclusion........................................................................................................110 TABLES AND APPENDICES 3.1 Freedmen Bureau Assistant Commissioners of Southern States, 1865....................44 App. List of Virginia Freedmen Schools and Sponsoring Benevolent Aid Societies... 121 V Preface In 2003, the Virginia Department of Education authorized a committee of 11 teachers, from different counties in the commonwealth, to compile a history of public education for the state of Virginia. The committee drafted a historical document that provided a chronological account of the major events and happenings in public education in Virginia from 1607 to 2003. An examination of the committee’s document revealed that the committee provided minimal coverage of the history of Virginia’s African American population, specifically during the Antebellum (1830s-1860s) and Reconstruction (1865-1871) eras. The most dynamic and critical era in the history of public education for Virginia’s African American population, 1865-1870, was completely omitted from the document. The post-Civil-War era was a critical time period in both United States and Virginia educational history because it witnessed the development of the first public grammar, secondary, and higher education institutions for southern African Americans through the efforts of the federal government and Northern religious and secular organizations. While there were private efforts to educate Virginia’s African Americans, most notably through the efforts of the Bray Associates in the mid-to late 1700s and Quaker missionaries from Pennsylvania during the 18lh and early 19th centuries, the state of Virginia did not furnish a modem concept of public education for any of its citizens, including African Americans, until after the American Civil War. The story of the people and organizations that worked together to establish the first schools for African Americans in Virginia was left untold. In addition to understanding the rise of public education for Virginia’s African American citizens, the post-Civil War era is critical for understanding the establishment of a primary and secondary public education system for all of Virginia’s children. Prior to the passage of Virginia’s Underwood Constitution of 1869, a comprehensive public education system did not exist in Virginia. The Literary Fund, first established in 1796, through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson and expanded by Governor John Tyler in 1809, helped to provide funds for higher education institutions and scholarships for indigent Caucasian children to attend private academies. The Literary Fund was an early attempt at providing educational opportunities for students, but it failed to create a state-wide public education system that was open to all citizens. This dissertation researches the actions of the federal government, specifically the Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees, and Abandoned Lands, the work of benevolent and freedmen aid societies of the North, the actions of African American freedmen, and the legislative work of the Virginia General Assembly to establish a public education system for African Americans in Virginia following the American Civil War. This manuscript uses the official governmental reports from the commissioners and officials of the Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees, and Abandoned Lands, the minutes and records from various freedmen benevolent aid societies, minutes from the Virginia Constitution Convention of 1867-1868, and a variety of additional primary and secondary sources to provide an account of how Virginia’s African American population gained access to publicly funded education following the American Civil War. The story of public education for African Americans in Virginia tends to be incomplete without the documents and voices of Virginia’s Caucasian citizens with regards to their attitudes toward the establishment of freedmen schools. Insight into the views of Caucasian citizens from, 1865-1870, have emerged through the accounts and diary entries of northern missionaries, teachers, former slaves, and the monthly teacher reports submitted to the Freedmen’s Bureau. The written records and reports indicate that the majority of Virginia’s Caucasian population was hostile toward the education movement and used violence and force to intimate and block the efforts of aid societies and former slaves. It is difficult to recreate the full story of African American education in Virginia without the primary and secondary sources from Virginia’s Caucasian citizens living during the 1860s-1870s. This dissertation uses the different historical documents available to provide a picture into this part of Virginia’s history that was omitted from the official report sanctioned by the Virginia Department of Education in 2003. ABBREVIATIONS ABHMS American Baptist Home Mission Society AMA American Missionary Association NEFAS New England Freedmen’s Aid Relief Society NFRA National Freedmen’s Relief Aid Association of New York FFA Friends’ Freedmen Association CAEF Committee for the Aid and Elevation of the Freedmen HBCUs Historically Black Colleges and Universities ix A UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU AND THE EDUCATION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN VIRGINIA FROM 1865-1871 ABSTRACT In 2003, the Virginia Department of Education authorized a committee of 11 teachers to write a report detailing Virginia’s public education history. The committee drafted a document that provided a chronological account of the major developments in public education in Virginia from 1607 to 2003. The document provided minimal coverage of the history of Virginia’s African American population, specifically during the Antebellum (1830s-1860s) and Reconstruction (1865-1871) eras. The history of public education for Virginia’s African American population, 1865-1870, was completely omitted from the document. The post-Civil- War era was a critical time period in both United States and Virginia educational history because it witnessed the development of the first public grammar, secondary, and higher education institutions for southern African Americans through the