HENRY RUFFNER, 19TH CENTURY EDUCATOR Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Britt, Samuel Skinner, 1921- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 12:18:32 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290173 This dissertation has been 62-6573 microfilmed exactly as received BRITT, Jr., Samuel Skinner, 1921— HENRY RUFFNER, 19TH CENTURY EDUCATOR. University of Arizona, Ed.D., 1962 Education, history University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan HENRY RUFFNER, 19TH CENTURY EDUCATOR by Samuel S. Britt, Jr. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the COLLEGE OP EDUCATION In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1962 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Samuel S. Britt. Jr. entitled Henry Ruffrmr, IQth Century 'Rriu nr be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of Dor,tor nf Erinnntlnn K Tko/L-, ** ^SislserjB&tionr Director Date After inspection of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* ^^ 1 /c ~ m,Lt /<-/ <J, -- ) L z_ e, /n / — 4- <5' /-'-yv *This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted ill partial • • fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library® Brief quotations from this dissertation are allow­ able without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manu­ script in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED T / Foreword The development and Improvement of education pro­ ceed from what have been invented and adopted in the past. Understanding of the past is helpful in comprehending the patterns of the present and the modifications in the future must proceed from both. These assumptions underscore the importance of the history of education. Present day interpretation effects the future development of educational institutions and practices. A study of the contributions of individual educators to the history of education in this country gives both depth and scope to the exposition of educational history. Henry Ruffner was one such educator. The present study is concerned with an analysis of Ruffner's contributions to public education in Virginia, his relationship to the expanding ideas about education throughout the country and his contributions to evolving educational thought. lii Acknowledgment The author wishes to express hia grateful ap­ preciation to all who have assisted him in the preparation of this study. A special expression of gratitude is due Dr. Lloyd E. McCann, the sponsor of this study, for his patient assistance in carrying out the study and his suggestions In clarifying it, and to the author's Faculty Committee for their helpful comments on the final report* Thanks are due Dr. Pendleton Gaines, Dean of Continuing Education and the Summer Session, for valuable suggestions in planning the study, and to Miss Carolyn Stell, who typed the dissertation. iv Contents Foreword ill Acknowle dgment iv Chapter I Career of Henry Ruffner 1 Introduction The Ruffner Family Si Joseph Ruffner 7 David Ruffner 10 Henry Ruffner 12 Education 13 Appointment as Professor at Washington College 19 Curriculum Changes at Washington College 22 Administrative Duties and College Discipline 26 Control of the Collegiate Societies 29 Other Disciplinary Problems 3h President Marshall 37 Appointment as President of Washington College and Inaugural Address Resignation of Ruffner as kz President of Washington College 52 Travels aid Writings 56 Death 58 Summary 58 Chapter II The Public School Idea in Virginia 60 Introduction 60 Education in Colonial Virginia 61 The Parson Schools 68 Public Education 70 Jefferson's Educational Bill 70 First Virginia Educational Bill Separation Acts The Literary Fund 75 The Secular Sunday School Movement 75 Central College Opposition to Jefferson's Plan 11 • Ideas of Mercer and Jefferson Concerning Education 83 School Bill of 1818 85 School Bill of 1819 88 Public Sentiment Concerning Education 89 The District Free School Act of 1829 93 Public Education in the late 1820«s and I83O's 97 The Census of 18^0 and Public Education 98 Chapter III The Ruf fner Proposals 100 The Literary. Conventions 100 Ruffner1s Plan 106 The State Educational Convention of l8ij.l 119 Education Bill of l8l|.2 12k Teacher Training 12l|. State Education Convention of 181+5 125 The Three School Acts of l8i|.6 128 Interest in Public Education Declines 13ij- Summary 135 Chapter IV The Closing Yeara 347 Introduction llj.7 Public Education in Virginia Uj.8 Resignation 11^9 Travels and Writings 150 Death 153 Ruffner and the Slavery Controversy 153 Opposition to Slavery in Western Virginia I5i|. Opinions upon the Speech 159 Union Speech 160 Bibliography 16k •1 Chapter I Career of Henry Ruffner Public education in America did not spring, like Athena, full blown from any Zeus1 brow. It stems from many sources and is a result of the interaction of varied forces. No clearly defined national pattern has developed steadily and constantly. The emergent system of education 0 in America comes from many wellsprings. In fact, its great strength arises from this diversity. The free schools of New England and the educational provisions of the Northwest Ordinance are rightly considered to be significant precursors of our national educational development. Yet the contributions of both the free and parochial schools of the Middle Colonies are no less real. Educational events in the nineteenth century South and even in those territories which were to become the newest states of the Union, made themselves felt in the crystallizing national pattern. Thus the shape education was taking in Virginia, as well as in other states contributed to the entire national educational system. Public education in America today is the distillation of that which has been proven best and most successful in the individual states* But it 1 2 Is even more than that* Great individuals have also shaped the educational destiny of this country. Although Thomas Carlyle's dictum of history being largely the result of actions of great men may not be the entire truth, there is no gainsaying the effect of certain individuals as a powerful factor in forcing historical events. Social, political, economic and cultural factors are of course important also, but the influence of great individuals is not to be denied. Where would American education be without its Thomas Jeffersons, Horace Manns, Charles Eliots and John Deweys, and the host of lesser lights whose contributions, perhaps not as great as the educational giants mentioned, have nonetheless emblazoned and illumined our educational pathway? One of these distinguished educators, Henry Ruffner of Virginia, is the subject of this present study. Ruffner, a mathematics teacher, college president and educational philosopher, found himself in a nineteenth century Virginia sharply divided along sectional lines. Although numerically smaller, the wealthy landowners of the Tidewater dominated and controlled the Virginia legis­ lature during the first half of the century. The small farmers of the Valley and Trans-montane West were unable to make their voices heard in state councils. Along with the growing clamor in western Virginia for universal man- 3 hood suffrage, equalization of representation, local govern­ ment reforms and internal improvements, was an increasing demand for public education, Henry Ruffner was a leader in formulating these western proposals for educating all the people. Even his earlier fellow Virginian, Jefferson, had envisioned a scheme of public education, designed along European lines, which would train only the intellectually elite. Not so with Ruffnerc His detailed plan of 181^1 was for the education of all Virginians. The proposal of Ruffner in l8i|l offered a detailed plan for the establishment of a public school system in Virginia. This plan of Ruffner's was in fact the basis of the actual establishment in 1870 of Virginia's first such system. This dissertation attempts to examine in some de­ tail the life of its author, Henry Ruffner and the plan of l8ij.l which he devised. A work of this kind is valuable because it gives depth and breadth to the study of the history of education. This is possible in this instance because the private papers of the Ruffner family, on deposit at the Montreat College Library, Montreat, North Carolina were accessible to the writer. In addition to the family papers, other pertinent manuscripts, as well as newspapers, magazines, articles, and secondary sources dealing with the subject were available* k Introduction People too often accept great developments In his­ tory without giving due consideration to their background. When one does take the time to look back over the history of a development, usually the names of only a few well- known individuals are recorded in the pages of history.