MONOGl~APll S ON EDUCA TI ON IN THE UN ITELJ ST ATES
NI CHOLAS MURR AY 11 U TLl'. JI

Monograph No. 18

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO
13\'

BOOKER T. WA SHINGTON
/'rin cipal of tlz c Tu skegee In stitute, Tu skrgcc , Aliibama

NEW YORK -=· C IN C IN NAT I .:. CH I C AGO

AMERICAN

BOOK

COMPANY

EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES
A SERIES OF MONOGRAPHS

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDITED BY

NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER
Preside11 I nf Columbia U,,.iv ersity in the City of New York

I

1. EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRAT_ION.
SLOAN DKAl'EH,

A N DREW

Co mm iss io11er of Et!ucationfor the S tate of New York.

2. KIND ERGARTE N EDUCATION. Sus AN
3. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. WILLIAM

E.

Bww, Caze 11ov ia, New York.

T. HARRI S,

Sometime United S talq
~

Cv mmissivner tif Educa tion .

4. SECONDARY EDUCATION.

ELMER

ELLSWO RTH

BROW N,

United

Stales

Co mmissio11er nf l 'd ucation.

5. THE AMERICAN COLLEGE.

A NDREW FL EMING WEST,

Professor of Lati n

in Princeton U 11ii•ersity.

6. THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY.

EDWARD DELAVA N PERRY,

Jn y Professor

<if the Gree/,, La11g11agc a.ll(l Litcrat11rc i n Colu.mbia. University .

7. EDUCATION OF WOMEN .

M. CARF.V TH OMAS, President of Bryn Ma.n·r
College , Bry11 Maw r, Pennsylva11ia.
8. TRAINING OF TEACHERS. B. A. IIIN SDALE, So metime Prof e.<Sor of the
St ie11ce "'"l Art of T each ing i 11 th e U 11iversity of Michigan.
9. SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE

AND HYGIENE. _G ILBERT B.
/ 'r i11ripal of the IVill iam McKi11!cy High School, S t. L oll'ls, M1sso11rt.

M OR RI SON ,

10. PROFESSIO N AL EDUCATION.

JAM ES RussE LL PARSONS, J R., So metime
Director of the College a.11d H.i,~ h School D epnrtmmts, U11i1•ersity rif the S tale
of New York, Albany, New York.

11. SCIENTIFIC TECHNICAL, AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION. T. C.
12.
13.
14.
l~.

M>: ND l·:N HALI~, Sometime Prcside11t 1if the Technological Institute, Worcester, Mas sa ch us ells .
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. CHARLES W. DABNEY, President of the
Un i1·er sit.y rif C i11ci11 11 ati.
COMMERCIAL EDUCA TION. EDMUND J. JAME S, Presided nf the Unhiers il y
of Ill inois.
ART AND INDU STR I AL EDUCATION. I SAAC ED WARDS CLARKE, Wash·i11 gtu11, /J .C .
EDUCATION OF DEFECTIVES. EDWARD ELLIS ALLEN, Principal of the
Pe1111svlvania In st itu tion f or the I nstruction of the B lind , Overbrook, Pennsylva 111a.

16. SUMMER SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITY EXTENSION.

GEoR_c.E. E.

Associate l'rof essor of Soc iology i11 the U niversity of C hicago ; Prrn crpal
of C haut:wqun.
V1 NC icN T,

17. SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
T ELL ,

JAM ES MCK EEN C AT-

Pnifcssor of P syclrology i n Columbia Univers ity .

18. EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO.
Tu s~·e.c. ce

B ooK ER T. WA SHI NGTON,

Principal of tire

l 11sti:11:c , T uskegee, A labam.a. .

19. EDUCATION OF THE INDIAN.

WILLIAM N. HAii.MA NN , Head <if tlw De/wrlmcnl 1if JI is/or y and ]'ltilosophy of Educa tion, Cleveland Normal Tra111111g
Sclrool, Clc1•cla11d, Ohio.

20. EDUCATION THROUGH THE AGENCY OF THE SEVERAL RELI G IOUS ORGANIZATIONS. DR. W . H. LARRABEE, Plainfield , New Jer sey.
COPYR IG HT, 1900, DY

J.

13. LYON COMPANY.

COPYRIGHT. 1910, BY AMERICAN BOOK COloJPANY.
W. f'.

I

INTRODUCTION

I could make no more fitting introduction to this monograph - dealing with a race which has grown from twenty
native Africans impor ted into the country as chattel slaves
in 1619, to fully 10,000,000
free men, entitled under the
fed eral constitution to all the rights, privileges and immunities of citizens of th e .United States, in 1899 ..:::_ than to
reproduce he re in part the eloquent remarks of President
'W illiam l\.IcKinley, mad e at Chicag o, O ctober 9, 1899, showing in th e fewes t possible words the national growth in population, in terr itory and in material wealth, a growth which
has no parallel in the various history of the human race,
only comprehending, as it does, a little more than a century
of national life. President McKinley said:
"On th e reverse side of the great seal of the United
States, au thori zed by congress, June 20, 1 782, and adopted
as th e seal of the United States of America after its formation under th e Federal constitution, is th e pyramid, signifying strength and duration.
"The eye over it and th e motto allude to th e many signal
interpositions of Providence in favor of the American cause.
The date underneath, 1 776, is that of the declaration of .
indepe nd ence, and the words under it signify th e beginning
of a new American era which commences from that date.
It is impossible to trace our history since, without fee ling
that the Providence which was with us in the beginning, has
continued to th e nati on His gracious interposition. \Vhen,
unhappily, we have been engaged in war H e has given us
the victory.
"Fortunate, indeed, that it can be said we have had no
clash of arms which has e nded in defeat, and no responsibility resulting from war is tainted with dishonor. In peace
we have been signally blessed, and our progress has gone

m

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

on unchecked and even increasing in the intervening years.
In boundless wealth of soil and mine and forest nature has
favored us, while all races of men of every nationality and
climate have contributed their good blood to make th e
nation what it is. From 3,929,214 in 1790 our population
has grown to upward of 62,000,000 in 1890, and our estimated population to-day made by the governors of the states
is 77,803,24i.
"We have gone from thirteen states to forty-fiv e. We
hav e ann exed every vari ety of territory, from th e coral reefs
and cocoanut groves of K ey West to the icy regi ons of
North ern Alaska - t erritory skirting the Atlantic, th e Gulf
of Mexico, the Pacific and the Arctic and th e islands of th e
Pacific and Carribean sea-and we have extended still further our jurisdiction to the faraway islands in the Pacific.
Our territory is more than four tim es larger than it was
wh en the treaty of peace was sig ned in 17 83. Our indu strial growth has bee n even more ph e nom~ nal than_ th at of
population or territory. Our wealth, estimated 111 I 790
at $462,000,000, has advanced to $65,000,000,000.
"Education has not been overlooked. The mental a nd
moral equipment of the youth upon whom will in the future
rest th e responsibilities of government have had the unce ~s­
ing care of the state and the nation. We expend ed m
1897- 98 in public education, open to all, $2?2,115;548; !or
secondary education, $23,474,683; and for higher eclucat1 ~ n
for th e sam e period, $30,307,902. The number of pu p il :;
e nroll ed in public schools in 1896-97 was 14,652,49 2, o r
more than 20 per cent of our population. Is this not a pillar of stre ngth to the republic?
" Our national cred it, often tried, has been ever uph eld.
It has no supe rior and no stain. The United States has
never re pudiated a national obligation either to its credito rs
or to humanity. It will not now begin to do eithe r. It
nev er struck a blow except for civilization, and has neve r
struck its colors. Has the pyramid lost any of its stre ng th?
Has the republic lost any of its virility? Has th e self-

ED UC ATI ON

or

TllE c-IEGRO

5

governing principle bee n weak e ned? Is there any present
menace to our stability and duration?
"These question s bring but one answer. The republic is
sturdier a nd stronge r than ever before. Governm ent by the
peo ple has been adva nced. Freedom und er th e flag is more
uni versal than wh e n th e Uni o n was form ed. Our steps ha\·e
bee n forward, not backward. From Plymouth Rock to th e
Philippines th e grand triumphant march of human liberty
has neve r r-aused. Fraternity and union are de eply imbeclded in th e hearts of th e American people. For half a century b efore th e civil war disunion was th e fear of men of all
section s. That wo rd has gone out of the American vocabulary. It is spoken now o nly as an hi storical memo ry. N orth,
south , eas t a nd wes t we re never so welded togeth er, and
whil e th e y may diffe r about inte rnal polici es th ey are all
for th e Union and the maintenance of the integrity of the
flag."
II DE VELOP ME N T OF POP U LAR EDU CATIO N

As th e early e fforts to educate th e N egroes of th e sixtee n
south ern sta tes, a ft e r th e war of th e re bellion , in 186 5,th ey Wf' re declared no lo nge r to be slaves, but human be ings
with so"Jb tn be ·3a,·cd and intellects to be cultiv a ted, to th e
encl that th ey mi g ht be th e better prepared t o di scha rge th e
seriou s obliga tions of manhood and citi ze nship, - a re intimately conn ected with th e de vel opm ent of th e common
school sys tem of N ew Eng land, it will be necessary here to
describe in as bri ef a mann e r as possibl e th e g ro,vth of popular educati o n in those states. If this principl e of pop ular
education had no t bee n so firmly rooted in th e heart an d
con scie nce of the peopl e of th e N ew Engl a nd states by th e
Pil g rim fath ers, th e history of edu cati o n of th e N egroes
would have been di stinctly differe nt and, pe rhaps, not 11uo::;ibl e at all. The spirit which actuate <l th ese sturdy pion c:;:.: rs
from the old world, who have blazed th e way for American
civil an<l religious liberty and the d eve lopme nt of a system
of popular education which has come to pe rm eat e th e e ntire
republic -forty-five mi g hty stat es, each sovereign in all

1

7

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

matters of its internal policy -was prophesied by Bishop
Berkeley, in th e lines that follow, which have e nd eared
th e ir author's memory to all lovers of education and liberty
in America:

earliest settlement of th e coloni es, throug h the p eriod of the
revolutionary war, and for some time after th e colonies had
achieved th eir indepe nd ence of Great Britain a nd es tablished th e Federal Union. During th is pe riod ma ny ac ademies a nd coll eges, notably H arvard and Yale, were founded,
to m eet the growing demand for highe r a nd more th oro ug h
education of th e people. But fr om 1810 to 1830 th ere was
a notable decline in th e character, exte nt and effic ie ncy of
the public school system in N ew England. Massachusetts
and C o nnecticut had always b ee n foremost in the maintenance of the system. As far back as 1647 a Massachusetts
statute "compell ed every township of 50 famili es to establish a public school for all children, and every town of 100
famili es t o set up a grammar school, where you th mi g ht be
fitted for Harvard college." This was the first law eve r
passed by which a self-gove rning community was au th orized
to offer th e elements of kn owledge t o all childre n and
youth. In 1683 eve ry tow n of 500 famili es was required to
sustain two g ramma r an d two writing (or element a ry)
schools. On thi s broad foundation th e o ri g inal people's
common scho ol of th e colo ny of l\fassachusetts Bay stood
durin g th e o ne hundred and thirty-e ig ht yea rs of colonial
life, until th e organizati o n of th e commonwealth of l\ Iassachuse tts, in 1 780.
"The support of th e common scho ol throu g h all th e
grades, includin g the univ ersity a t Cambridge, was in co rp orated in th e co n ~ tituti o n of 1 780.
By a co nstitu tio nal
amendme nt in 1855 it was ord ered that no public mo ney
should be used for th e support of th e schools of any religio us
sect."
The re was continuous developme nt of the public sc hool
system in N ew England in thi s direction up to 1834, " ·hen
the ge ne ral sch ool fund of Massachusetts was establi shed.
Dr. A. D. l\fayo, M. A., LL. D., among th e most reli able
and popular authorities on educati o nal subj ects in th e United
States, from whom I have quoted in the preced ing paragraphs, says further:
.

6

.

The Muse, d isgusted a l an age and clime
Barren of every g l orious th eme,
In d is tant l a nds n ow waits a b e tt e r tim e
Producing subjects wo r thy fame.
In ha ppy cl im es , where from the gen ial su n
And virgin- e arth such sce nes ensue,
The fo r ce o f art by Na tu re see m s ou t do ne,
And fanci ed beau ties by th e true;
In happy cl im es , the sea t o f innocence,
·wh e r e Nat ur e gu ides and virtu e rul es,
\Vh en m e n sh a ll n ot imp ose f or truth and sense
The p e dantry o f cour t s ancl sc h ools There shall b e su n g anoth e r i;o lde n age,
T h e ri se o f e mpire and of arts,
Th e g ood anti great inspiring ep ic rage,
Th e wi sest heads a n d noblest h ea r ts.

*

*

*

•·

•·

*

\ Vestward the cours e of E mpir e takes its way ;
Th e fir st four acts already past,
A fift h shall close the drama wit h the d a y.
Tim e's n obl es t offsp ring is th e las t. .

Our country is now divid ed into four distinct groups of
states- the N ew England, th e middle, the south ern and
western stat es - bu t it can of truth be said that all o f th em
h ave drawn the ir th eo ri es of edu cation, of theology a nd
~;tatesrnan ship, from th e te n st ates in th e mi dd le ancl N e w
En g land g roup, es pecially from th e latter. The sixtee n
states in th e south ern group h ave not profited so mu ch fr om
th! s source as th e ninetee n states in the central and western
group, but they h ave b ee n influenced in a very marke d way
since the war of th e rebelli o n, and are being more and more
influ enced now, by th e work of N e w E ngland me n and
women e ngaged in the active work of education among the
N egroes of the south ern st ates.
. .
The d evelopme nt of the common-school pnnc1ple k ept
pace with that of the popuhtion in N ew England fro m the

8

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

" It is plain from this brief record that the American common school was as practically organized in all essential
respects in l 83 7 as to-day, when th e state assumed additional responsibility by establishing th e first board o f education, of which Horace Mann became the first secretary.
Thi s fact disposes of th e statement, somew hat indust riou sly
propagated, that Horace Mann virtually created th e present
common school system of the country by his administration
of twelve years as secretary of the Massachuse tts board of •
education, from 1837 to 1849. There was, doubtless, amp le
need that Mann and his illustrious group of co-workers
sho uld accomplish the reformation of the public sch ools of
that day. But the foundation had been laid, and th e re was
no call for th e destruction of anything; only for th e return
to th e original habit of town supervision, additional legal
authorization of all that th e n existed, and especially the
waking of the people to th e call of the new time for the
m ore vital and generous support of their own system of
public ed ucation, reo rgani zed according to the improved
methods of a progressive age. In nothing was th e educational statesmanship of Horace M a nn more evident than in
his immed ia te grasp of th e solution, his estimate of the
points of attack, and his commanding influence over th e foremost public men and wise manipulation of th e legislature
of th e commonwealth during his entire administration."
The honors which belong to Horace Mann, as h ead of
th e educational system of Massachusetts, in awake ning
among th e people renewed interest in th eir common
schools, and in securing s uch legislation as was necessary to
place the system up o n an effective and assured foundation,
w e re shared by some of the best and ablest men in th e comm onwealth. The ir combined enthusiasm and labors aroused
popular inte rest in th e cause of public education throu g hout
th e N ew England and the middle states, which gradually
spread to the splendid states of the western group.
\Vhat Horace Mann accomplished in the public school
system of Massachusetts Henry Barnard accomplished in

•

9

perfecting the systems of Connecticut and Rhode Island,
both of which h e was instrume ntal in r eorganizing and perfecting. The great republic has produced no two me n
whose life work has wrought more for nati onal education,
and, th erefo re, for national strength, than that of Horace
Mann and H e nry Barnard .
But, stran ge ly e nough, little provision was made in thi s
great and far-reaching revival in th ese free states, from 1830
to 1860, for public school educati o n for the children of thos e
who were term ed in th ose days "free people of color,"
although th e anti-slavery co nt es t, which was to e nd in th e
war o f th e rebe lli o n, a nd its sequence of inestimable benefits to a ll th e people, the bondsman and th e free m a n, was
in its h e ight during thi s educational revival which was to
give new life a nd e ne rgy to the re public. The N egro's soc ial
and political statu s in the free states was of th e most unsatisfacto ry sort. In th e matter of education al and religious
instructi on h e had, in a large measure, t o shift for him self.
and in many localiti es, when h e did this, the ho odlum ele ment
o f the white population molested a nd terrori zed him at its
pleasure, in so m e in sta nces wrecking a nd destroying the
m 0Jes t sc ho o ls h e or his fri e nds had provided for hi s benefit. But what h e did for himself and what his fri e nd s did
for him in the matte r o f education during the tryin g years
preceding th e war of the rebellion, will be more ex tensi ve ly
re lated under the next heading of this monograph. \Vhat
relat ion the labors of Horace Mann and Henry Barnard sustained to the inaugurati o n of public ed ucati o n in the sixteen
southern st ates after th e war will be seen when we come to
treat of that phase of th e subject.
Ill EDUCATION OF NEGROES BEFORE 1660

It was the general policy of th e sixteen slave-holding
states of th e sout h :_o prohibit by fine, impri son ment and
whipping th e giving of instruction to blacks, mulattoes or
other descendants o f Afr ican parentage, and this prohibition
was ex te nd ed in most o f the slave states to "free persons of
color " as we ll as ~D sla-..-c:s.

: '.1

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EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

But it has been the general policy of the slave system in
all ages to keep the slaves in ignorance as the safest way to
perpetuate itself. In this respect th e American slave syste m followed th e beaten path of hi story, and thus furni sh ed
the strongest argument for its own undoing. The ig norance
of th e slave is always the best safeguard of th e system of
slavery, but no such th eo ry could long prevail in a democracy like ours. There were able and di stingui shed m e n'
among th e slaveholders themselves who rebelled ~gainst the
system and th e theories by which it sought to perpetuate
itself. Such southern men as Thomas Jefferson, H e nry
Clay, Cassius M. Clay, and hundreds of others, neve r became
reconcil ed to th e system of slavery and the degradation of
th e slave.
Th e general character of the laws enacted on this subject
by the slave states can be inf erred from the following law,
passed by th e state of Georgia in I 829 :
"If any slave, Negro, or free person of color, or any white
person shall teach any slave, Negro or free person of color
to read or write e ither written or printed characters, th e said
fre e person of color or slave shall be punished by fine and
whipping, at the discretion of the court; and if a white person so offend, he, she or they shall b~ punished with a fine
not exceeding $soo and imprisonment in the common jail, ·
at the discret ion of the court."
There were no laws in the slave code more rigidly
enforced than those prohibiting the g1v111g or rece1v111g
instruction by th e slaves or "free persons of color." And
yet in nearly all th e large cities of the southern states notably in Charleston, Savannah and N ew Orleans - there .
were what were styled "clandestine schools," where such
instruction was given. Those who maintained them and
those who patronized them were constantly watched and
often apprehended and "beaten with many stripes," but the
good work we nt on in some sort until I 860, when the war
that was to be "the beginning of the end" of the whole system of slavery, put a stop to all such effort for the time being.

Th ere is no more heroic chapter in history than that
which d eals with the persistence with which th e slaves and
"free persons of color" in th e slave states sought an<l
secured a measure of intellectual and reli gious instruction ;
for th ey were prohibited from preaching or receiving relig ious instruction except by written permit and wh en at leas t
five "white 1 m~ n of good reputation" were present at suc h
gat herings. But there has neve r been a tim e in th e hi story
of . mankind whe n repressive laws, howeve r rigidly e nforced,
could shut ou t th e li g ht of knowl edge or prevent co mmuni on
with the Supreme Ruler of th e uni ve rse by suc h as were
determined to share these noblest of human e nj oy ments.
Tru e, only a few·, a very few, of th e blacks and "free people
of color" were ab le to secure any appreciable mental
instruction; but the fact that so ma ny of th em sought it
diligently in defiance of fines and penalties is worthy of
notice a nd goes far towards explainin g th e ext rao rdinary
manner in which those people crowded into e \· ery sch oo l
t·hat was open ed to th em aft er th e war of th e reb ellion had
swep t away th e slave system and placed a ll th e childre n of th e
republic up on equality und er th e Federal constitution. Nor
was this yearn ing for m ental instructi o n spasmodic; thirtyfour years after the war all th e school houses, of whatever sort.
opened fo r these people are as crowded with anxious pupils as
were th e mod es t log sc ho ol hou ses planted by New England
men and women whil e th e soldi ers of th e disbanded ar mi es of
th e north and so uth were turning their faces ho me ward. A
race so imbu ed with a love of knowl edge, displayed in
slavery and become th e marvel of mankind in fre edo m, mu st
have rese rv ed for it some ho norable place in our nation al
life which God has not made plain to our und erstanding.
In His ow n good time He will mak e plain His plans and
purposes with regard to this people who were allow ed to
serve an apprenticeship of 250 years of slavery in a democratic republic.
In th e free states of the north very little more provision
was made, as la te as 1830, by th e stat e'. fe r th e educat ion of

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EDU CATI O N OF THE NEGRO

the Negro population than by the slave states. There was
no prohibition by the state against such instru ction, but
there was a ve ry pronounced popular sentime nt aga inst it,
wh en prosecuted by b e nevol ent corpo rations and individu a ls.
In r 833 th e Conn ecticut leg islature enacte d th e fo ll owin g
black law, for the purpose of suppressin g a "sch ool for
colo re d misses " which Miss Prudence Crandall had bee n
fo ri:ed t o open in self-defe nse, at Cante rbury:
"'vVh ereas, attempts have b ee n made to establi.sh lite ra ry
instituti o ns in thi s s tate for the instruction of col ored p ~ r­
son s belo ng ing to othe r states and countri es, whi ch woul d
tend t o th e great increase of the colored populatio n of th e
stat e, and th erefore to th e injury of th e people ; th ere fo re,
"Be it e nacted, etc., that no pe rson shall set up o r establish in this state a ny school, academ y, or other lite ra ry in stituti o n for the in stru cti o n or educati o n of colo red pe rso ns,
who are no t inhabita nts of this state, o r ha rbor o r board,
for th e purpose of atte ndin g or being tau g ht or ins tru cted
in a ny such sch ool, academy or literary institutio n, a1iy colored p erso n wh o is not a n inhabitant of any t own in thi s
s tat e, without th e conse nt in writin g , first obta in ed, o f a
m ajority of the civil authority, and also th e selectmen of th e
town, in which such school, academy or institution is si t uated, e tc.
"And each and every pe rson who shall knowing ly do any
act forbidd e n as a foresa id, o r shall b e aiding or ass ist in g
th e rein, shall for the fir st offe nse forfe it and pay to th e
treas urer o f this state a fin e of $roo, and for th e seco nd
o ffense $ 200, a nd so d oubl e for every offense of whi ch he o r
she shall be co nvi ct ed; an d all informin g offi cers are required
t o make du e prese ntm e nt of all breach es of this act."
The cau se of thi s law was th e accepta nce by Mi ss Crandall of a youn g col o red g irl into her select school for youn g
ladi es. Th e pa rents of the white stude nts ins isted upo n th e
di smi ssal o f Mis~ H a rri s, th e bone of contenti o n, but Mi ss
Cra nd all refus ed to do so, wh e n th e white stud e nts were
with d rawn. Miss Crandall th en a nn ounced that she would

EDU CATI ON OF T HE NE GRO

13

open he r school for "young ladies and little misses of color."
The peopl e of Cante rbury protested against this course, and
persecuted legally and othe rwise Miss Crandall and her 2 0
pupils. When th ey found that they could not intimida te
th e brave woma n th e legislature was app ealed to, a nd th e law
I have quoted was enacted. Under it Miss Crandall was
arrested a nd pl aced in th e co mmon j a il. The fo ll owing day
she was ba iled o ut by R ev. Samu el J. May and others. The
case was tried three tim es in th e inferi o r courts, and was
arg ued o n ap peal befor e the court of errors, Jul y 2 2, 1 834.
The co urt rese rv ed its d ecis ion a nd has not yet re nd e red it.
Se vera l a tt empts were m ade to burn Miss Cra ndall's house,
and fin all y, Septemb e r 9, 1834, abo ut 12 o'clock at ni g ht,
"her ho use was assaulted by a numb er of pe rso ns with
heavy clul Js and iro n ba rs, a nd windows were d as hed to
pi eces.' Th e school wo rk was abandon ed after this up on
th e ad vice of R ev. Mr. May a nd o th er fri e nds. The obnoxious la w was repealed in 1838.
All thi s so und s rath er odd wh e n it i s remembe re d that th e
citi ze ns of no sta te in th e re publi c have co ntributed as ma ny
of th ei r so ns a nd da ug ht ers to th e e du cati o nal wo rk a mo ng
th e N eg ro es of th e so uth si nce th e war, with th e poss ible
except ion of Massach usetts, as C o nn ecti cut, a nd th at t wo of
her citize ns, J o hn F . Sl ater and Dani el H a nd , co ntributed
each the prin cely s um of o ne millio n doll a rs for th e ed ucati on of th e Neg ro es of th e so uth e rn states. S urely tlfr; ;:i ll
in d i cate ~; o ne o f th e most remark ab le revolution s in th e publi c op ini o n of a sta te of whi ch we have any reco rd.
S ch ools establi shed for th e edu cati o n of N egro yo uth were
assaul ted a nd wrec ked in o th er free states, but th e good wo rk
stead il y progressed. P r iva te schools spran g up in a ll the mid dl e a nd New E ng la nd states, Penn sylv a ni a, N e w York a nd
Massac h usetts leadin g in th e wo rk, th e ir white citize ns co ntributin g la rgely to th e ir suppo rt. The re we re many of
these schools, so me of th em of sple ndi d cha racte r, in Boston, Prov idenc e, New Yo rk, Phil adelphi a, \V as!1ingto n and
'Will ia ms' Hi s t o ry o f th e Negro r ac e , vo l. I V, p . 156 .

14

15

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

Cincinnati. They were gradually absorbed into the public
school system, and none of them now exist in an indepe ndent character, except the Institute for colored youth at Philadelphia, Lincoln university, in Chester county, and Avery
institute at Allegheny City, all in Pennsylvania.
In 1837 Richard Humphreys left $10,000 by will, with
which the Institute for colored youth was started, thirty
members of the Society of Friends forming th emselves into
an association for the purpose of carrying out th e wishes
and plans of Mr. Humphreys. A remarkabl e feature of the
constitution adopted by the trustees, in view of the present
con s ideration of the subject by those concerned in Negro
education, is th e following preamble:
" We believe that the most successful method of elevating
the moral and intellectual character of the descendants of
Africa, as well as of improving their social condition, is to
extend to them the benefits of a good education, and to
instruct them in the knowl edge of some useful trade or business, whereby they may be enabled to obtain a comfortable
livelihood by their own industry; and through these means
to prepare them for fulfilling the various duties of dom es tic
and social life with reputation and fidelity, as good citizens
and freemen."
The measure of progress which has been made in public
opinion and in the educational status of the N egro race in
the middle and New England states can easily be estimated
by the fact that as recently as 1830 no N egro could matriculate in any of the coll eges and other schools of this splendid
group of states, and that now not one of them is closed
against a black person, except Girard college at Philadelphia, whose founder made a perpetual discrimination against
people of African descent in devising his benefaction; that
Negro children stand on the same footing with white children in all public school benefits; that the separate school
system has broken down entirely in the N ew England states
and is gradually breaking down in the middle states, N ew
Jersey and Pennsylvania being the only states in the latter

group which still cling to the principle; and that in many
of the public schools of both groups of states Negro teachers are employed and stand upon the same footing as
white teachers. Ind eed, Miss Maria L. Baldwin, an accomplished black woman, is principal of the Agassiz school, at
Cambridge, Mass., and in the large corps of teach ers
under her, not one of them, I believe, is a member of her
own race.
All this is a very long stride from the condition of the
public mind in the middl e and N e w Eng land states when
N eg ro children were not allowed to attend any public school
or college and wh e n a reputable white woman was persecuted, jail ed and her property destroyed, in 1834, for accepting a young colored woman into her select school. This
remarkabl e change in public sentiment argues well for th e
future of the Negro race and for the republic, which for
more than a century has agonized over this rac e probl em,
and is still anxious about it in the sixteen southern states,
wh ere a larg e majority of the Negroes reside and will, in all
probability, continue to reside for all time to com e.
IV

l'UDLI C SC HOOL EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH AFTER THE WAR

Dr. A. D . Mayo, M. A., LLD., one of the best authorities on ed ucational ma tters in the United States, says that
"it is still a favorite theory of a class of the represe nt ati\· es
of th e hi g he r uni ve rsity and coll ege education to proclaim
the invari abl e leg itimate desce nt of th e secondary and e Ye n
elementary sc hooling of the people always and eYe rywh ere
from this fountain head," the southern states, and that, "in
one se nse, this assertion is 'founded on fact.'" Dut, althou g h
most of th e southern states we re committed to th e th eo ry
of public educati o n, th e system of slavery stood in th e \\·ay
of th e d eve lo pme nt of the th eo ry. Popular e ducat ion and
slavery, like oil and water, will not mix. The educational
energy of the south expanded rather along acad emic and
collegiate than common school lines. Th e sla\'c-holdirw
"'
aris tocrary dre w the social line against the poor \rhites .:cs

16

7

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF TI-IE 1\EGRO

well as the slave blacks, a~d while dooming the latter to
mental darkness by stringent laws, rigidly enforced, th e same
result was accomplished in the case of the former by the
steady development of the old English theory of academy
education, chartered for the most part by th e state but supported almost wholly by their patrons, and th erefore inaccessible to the children of the poor whites. It was du e to thi s
fact that so very large a percentage of the southern white
population fi g ured in the first census after the war of th e
rebellion as illiterate and so figure to a large extent eve n
to-day, twenty-nine years after the be neficent operation of
the public school system in all of the states of the south.
If the south, because of the existence of th e slave system
more than anything else, drifted away from the theory of
public school ed ucation, prior to 1860, it has nobly rectifiec
its mistake since 1870. Upon this point Dr. Mayo says,
speaking of Virginia, which has always set the pace for her
sister states of th e south - and especially in the matter of
e ducation, under the leade rship of Dr. W. H. Ruffner (from
1870 to 1882 ), who has been appropriately styled the Horace
Mann of th e south :
" But th e condition of th e educational destitution 111 which
the state found itself in 1865, in the hour of its dire extremity, was the logical result of the narrow English policy it
has pursued in this as in other directions; and, in 1870, the
cry went up, from th e sea sands to th e most distant recesses
of th e western mountains, for the establishment of the
American people's common school.
"In nothing has the really superior class of Virginia more
notably declared its soundness, persistence, and capacity to
hold fast to a great idea than in the way in which it stood
by th e ed ucati onal ideas of Jefferson through the one hundred turbulent years from the outbreak of the war of the
revolution to the inauguration of the people's common
school in 1870."
As it was with Virginia, so it was with the other southern
states. A re vival was begun in public or common school

ed ucation, in 1870, which is still in progress, such as swept
over New England and th e middl e states from 1830 to 1860.
Broke n in fortun e and bowed with defeat in a great civil
war, the south pulled itself together as a giant rouses from
slumber and shak es himself and began to lay the basis of a
new caree r a nd a new prosperity in a condition of freedom
of all the people and in th e ,,.,· iciest diffusion of education
amon g the citizens throu g h th e m edi um of the common
school~.
Perhaps no people in hi story ever showed a more
superb public sp irit and self-sacrifice under trying circumstances than the people of the sout h have displayed in the
gradual bu ii cling up of th eir public school system upon th e
ruins of th e ar istocratic academy system. The work had to
be cl one from th e ground up, from the organi zat io n of the
working force to the building of the school houses and the
marshal ling of the young h osts. The work has requi red
in the aggregate, perhaps, th e raising by ta xation of
$sr4,922,268, $100,000,000 havin g been expended in maintaining the separate sc hools for the Negro race. Th is must
be rega rd ed as a marvelous show ing when the im poverished
condition in which the war le ft th e sou th in 1865 is considerecl. Uut it is a safe, if a tim e-honored saying, that" wh ere
th ere is a will th ere is a way." Th e sout he rn p eople found
a way because they had a will to do it; and it is not too
much t o claim that th e indu strial prosperity which the sou th
is now e nj oy ing is intimately connected with th e effo rt and
money expe nded in popular education since 1870.
The stat isti cal tables will show more eloquen tly th an could
be done by words th e growth of th e public sc hool system in
th e southern states since 1870. These tabl es are furnished
at th e conclusion of the m onograph, togeth er with other
tabl es showin g the growth in other directions in secondary,
academic, collegiate and industrial education.
It is interesting to note that the total enrollment of the
sixtee n southern states and th e District of Columbia for the
year I 896- 97 was 5,398,076, the numb er of N egro children
b ei ng 1,460,084; the number of white children 3,937,992.

'1

I

18

EDUCATION OF THE N EGRO

The estimated number of children in the south from 5 to l 8
years of age was 8,625,770, of which 2,816,340 or 32.65 pe r
cent were childre n of the Negro race, and 5,809,430 o r 67.35
per cent were white childre n. The numbe r of N egro childre n
enrolled was 5 r.84 p er cent of the Negro population and
67. 79 of th e white population. ·when the relati ve soc ial and
material condition of the form er is contrasted with that o f
the latter it must be admitted that th e childre n of th e
'
form er slaves are treading closely upon th e heels of th e
childre n of the former master class in th e pursuit of knowledge as furnished in th e public school system.
During the year 1896- 97 it is estimated that $31, 144,80 1
was expended in public school education in the sixtee n
southe rn states and the District of Columbia, of which, it is
estimated, $6,575 ,000 was expended upon th e N egro scho ols.
Since 1870 it is estimated that $514,922, 26 8 have been
expended in the maintenance of the public sch ool system of
the southern states, and that at least $100,000,000 have bee n
expended for the maintenance of the separate public schools
for N egroes. The total expenditure for each year a nd the
aggregate for the twenty-seven years, as well as the common
school enrollment of white and colored childre n for eac h
year since r 8 76 are shown in table 2 at the e nd of th e
monograph.
The significance of the facts contained in the two for egoing paragraphs will b e appreciated by Europeans as well
as Americans. The fact that 2,816,340 children of form e r
slaves were in regular attendance in the public schools of the
late slave-holding states of the south for the year 1 896-97,
and that $6,575,000 was expended for their m a inte nanc e,
gathered entirely from public taxation and fund s for ed ucational purposes controll ed by the states, should be regard ed
as the strongest arguments that could be presented t o
Americans or to foreigners to prove that the race problem
in the United States is in satisfactory process of solution.
That there is grave doubt at home and abroad upon this
subject I freely acknowledge; but judging entirely from

EDU CATI ON OF T II E NEGRO

suc h facts as are here recited, and from obse rvation in th e
black belt covering a period of e ig htee n years, I a m free to
say I have no doubts whatever as to the ultimate o utco me.
Th e people of th e southern states, the old slave-holding class,
have no t only accepted in good faith th e e ducati o nal burden
p laced upon th em, in th e addition of 8,000,000 of peopl e t o
t heir citi ze nship, but th ey have discharged that burden in a
way that must co mmand th e a dmirat io n of th e wo rld.
That my own people are discharging th e ir part of th e obligation is shown in the statistics of school attendance I have
give n, and in th e further fact that it is es timate d th ey have
amassed since the ir emancipation $300,000,000 of taxable
property. vVhile this may seem small as a t axah le \·alu e as
co mp ared to th e agg regate of taxab le values in th e southe rn
s ta tes, it is large, indeed, when th e poverty of th e N eg ro
race in 1865, with all the advantages and disadvantages of
slave ed ucation and traditi o n to co ntend with , a re co nside recl. When a race starts empty-handed in th e serio'..ls business 6f life, what it inclines to and amasses in a g ive n period
is valu ab le almost wholly as a criterion up o n whi ch to base
a reaso nable d eduction as to its ultimate future.
In all matters affecting my race and its future in th e
Un ited States, I indul ge an optimism which I enclea\·or t o
kee p within th e bounds of reaso nable hopefuln ess. I have
this faith because of th e facts in th e s itu at io n, because I
have faith in the possibilities of my race and in th e hum a nit y
a nd self-interest of my white fellow-citize ns, not o nly of the
so uth, but of th e north and the west as well, a nd b ecause "
as a hi sto rical fact social revolution5 seld om if eve r go hackwards. The N egro race is compell ed to go forward in the
social scale because it is surro und ed by forc es which \Yill not
pe rmit it to go backwards without crushin g th e life out of
it, as th ey crushed th e life out of the unass imil abl e abori g inal India n races of N orth America. In this matter of stati st ics I have presented, it is clearly to be seen that the
N egro race, in its desire for American education, possesses
th e prime element of ass imilati o n into th e warp and woof of

20

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

[912

American life, and if its desire for the Christian religion be
add ed we have the three prime elements of homogenous
citizenship as defined by Prof. Aldrini, viz. : Habitat, language and religion.
It seems well to me to say this much, adduced from the
statistics of common school education in the late slave s tates
of the sixteen southern states and the District of Columbia,
where the bulk of th e N egro people reside, as a logical conclusion in a problematical situ ation, concerning which many
wise m en are disposed to indulge a pessimism which confuses them as well as those who have to deal imm ediately
with the perplexing condition of affairs. I submit that the
common school statistics of th e southern states leave no
room for doubt as to the ultimate well-being of the N egrocs
residing in those states.
V GROUND WORK EDUCATION IN THE SOUTH

In the preceding chapter the ex traordinary development
of the public school system of the sixteen southern states
and the Di strict of Columbia has been hastily record ed
from 1870 to 1896- 97. It is a record worthy of th e proud
people who made it,- people who have from th e found~tion
of the republic been resourceful, co urageo us, self-reliant;
rising always equal to any emergency presented in th e ir new
and trying circumstances, surround ed on every side, as th:y
were, by a vast undeveloped te rritory, and by a hostile
Indian population, and fatally handicapped by a syste m of
African slavery, which proved a mill stone about the neck of
the people until it was finally abolished, amid the smoke and
flam e and death of a hundred battles, in 1865. There are
none so niggardly as to deny to the southern people .the ~u~l
m easure of credit which th ey deserve for the splendid spmt
with which th ey put aside their prejudices of more than two
centuries against popular common school ed~cat.ion on .the
one hand, and their equally prescriptive prejudice agamst
the education of the Negro race under any circumstances on
the other. Few if any people in the various history of man-

913]
1

EDUCATION OF TIIE NEG RO

21

kind have so completely overcome tw o such prejudices. ·· On
this point Dr. Mayo says:
"A lm ost o ne hundred years ago you ng Tho mas J e ff erson
drew up a sc heme fo r th e education o f th e people of Vir·
ginia, whi ch, had it bee n adopted, woul<l have changed th e
histo r y of th at and of eve ry southern stat e and th e nati on .
H e prop osed to emancipate th e slaves a nd fit th em, by in dustrial training, for freed om ; to establi sh a free sch ool for
every white chil d in eve ry d istrict of th e colony; to supp ort
an acad emy for boys within a day's horseback ride o f every
man in th e O ld Dominio n, a nd to crown all with a uni,·ersity, un sectaria n in relig ion, electiv e in its curriculum, teac hing every thin g necessary for a gen tl ema n to know. Thi s
plan rece i,·ed th e indorseme nt of many of the most emi nent
men of th e day, and exalts the fame of J efferson as an ed ucator e ve n hi g her than hi s reputation as a states man. "
All th at J e ffe rson dreamed and outlin ed for th e peo pl e of
Virginia and of th e south has· been more than acco mpl ished
for both races in Virgi ni a a nd in th e sou th. The possibilities of a co mm o n school, coll egiate a nd industrial edu ca tion
hav e bee n place d in easy reach of all th e peo ple, an d th e
peopl e are justifying the spl e ndid fait h of the Sage of l\ To nti cello by th e ea rn es tn ess with which th ey are taking ad va ntage of the oppo rtuniti es provid ed for th em by th e stat es
and a munificent Christian philanthropy- a philanthropy
which has give n fully $40,000,000 of m o ney and thousands
of devoted me n and wom e n teache rs to illumin ate th e me ntal darkn ess gc nerate<l by th e system of slavery. Surely no
bette r mo num ent than thi s philanthropy could be e rec ted to
perpetu a te th e me mory of Horace Mann and Henry Barnard, in relig htin g th e fires of popular education in th e middl e and N ew E ng land states, for without their labors a nd
sacrifices in this cau se that philanthropy would not have
been possible. Truly,
"God moves in a n1y s t e ri o u~ way
His wonders t o pe r for m ;
He plants his foots t eps in the sea
And rid es up on the storm. "

.22

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

But the public school system of the southern states had to
have other and more substantial foundation than was offered
at th e close of the war of th e rebellion, in 186 5, by the
academy and college system which had been fostered and
cleveloped as b es t adapted to a social condition whose corne r stone was the slave system. \Vithout this foundation,
firmly and wisely laid in th e fateful years from 186 5 to 1870,
by the initiative of the Fede ral government, magnificently
sustained by the phil~nthropy and missionary consecration
of th e people of the · New England and middl e states, the
res ults which we have secured in the public school syste m of the south from 1870 to the present time would not
have been possible. All th e facts in th e situation sustain
this view.
It is creditable to the people of the New England and
middl e states that th ey, who had been e ngag ed for four
years in a Titanic warfare with th e ir brethre n of the southern states, should e nter the southern states in the person of
their sons and daughters, and with a voluntary gift of
$40,000,000, or more, to plant common schools a nd academies and colleges, in the devastation wrought by the civil
war, upon th e sites where the slave auction block had stoo<l
for 250 years, thereby lifting the glorious torch of knowledae
in th e dense me ntal darkness with which th e slave syso
t em had sought to h edge its power; nor is it less cre<litable
that th e so uth ern people accepted this assistance and builded
upon it a public school system which promises to equal that
in any of the other sections of the republic.
In anticipation of the condition of affairs that would arise
wh en hostiliti es sh ould cease, as early as th e spring o f 186 5,
before the war was over, an act was passed by congress providing for the relief of the destitute of the south. The act
was entitl ed "an act to establish a bureau for the relief of
fre ed men and re fugees." May 20, 1865, Major-General 0 .
0. Howard was appointed co mmiss ioner of the Freedmen's
bureau. General Howard,- who founded the instituti o n
which bears his name at Washington and gave it a princely

endowment,'-" gave," says th e historian Williams, "-great
atte nti o n to th e subject of education; and after planting
schools for th e freed me n throughout a g reater portion of
th e so u th, in 1870, five yea rs a ft e r the work was begun, h e
mad e a report. It was full of interest. In five years th ere
wer e 4239 sc hools es tabli shed, 9,307 teachers e mpl oyed, and
247,333 pupils in struc ted. In 1868 th e average attendance
was 89.396, but in 1870 it was 9 r,J98, or 79 3-4 pe r cent of
th e total numbe r e nroll ed. Th e emancipated peo pl e sustain ed 1324 sc hools th e mselves, and ow ned 592 school
buildings. The I'reedmen's bureau furni shed 654 buildings
for sc hool purposes."+.
In 1879, according to th e sa me authority," th e re were 74
high and normal sc hools, with 8, 147 studen ts, and 61 inte rmedia te sc hools, with 1,750 stude nts in atte ndan ce. In
doing thi s g reat work,- for buildings, repairs, teachers, e tc.,
-$1,002,896.07 was expe nd ed. Of this sum the freedmen
raised $200,000. This was conclusive proof that emancipation was no mistake."
Mr. \Villiams says furth er (p. 393) that it appears from
the reports of the Freedmen's bureau th a t the earliest school
for freedom was ope ned by the America n missionary association, at Fortress Monroe, Va., September, 1861, and before
the close of the war H ampto n a nd Norfolk were leadi ng
points where ed ucati o nal ope rations were conducted; but
after th e cessation of hostiliti es t eachers were sent from th e
north e rn states and sc hool s for fr eedmen were opened in all
parts of th e south. During the five years of its operations
the bureau mad e a total expend iture of $6,513,955.55. No
mon ey was eve r more wisely or bene ficently expended.
While a goodly portion of it was expended in food and
clothing, and the like, for th e de stitute freedmen, by far the
most of it went into school houses and into th e salaries of
school teach ers, and finally became the basis if not the
inspirati o n of th e public scho ol system of the southern
states ; it certainly did become the inspiration and th e
1

Hi story of the Negro race , p. 385.

23

24

EDUCATION OF TH E NEGRO

EDUCATION OF TIIE NEGRO

foundation of the 178 schools for secondary and higher education which exist to-day independently of the public school
system or of state control, although many of them are
recipients of state assistance.
·w hile the Federal government was planting these schools
among the freedm e n, the people of the middle an cl N cw
England states were sending thousands of dollars into the
south and sending an army of devoted men and women to
back up and carry forward th e educational work among th e
freed people. In the extent of it, it was and it continues
to be the most striking example of Christian brotherhood
and berievolence in the annals of mankind. Through the
agency of the Federal government and northern philanthropy,
schools for the freed peopl e were planted everywhere, and
grew and prospe red, and continue to grow and prosper, as
such schools never have done before.
\:Vriting on this subj ect in the South ern workman (January, 1898), the organ of the Hampton institute, T. Thomas
Fortune said:
"It is true that the public and private interest which
aroused the north especially, to the importance of lifting
into the glorious sunli g ht of knowl edge th e great mass of
Afro-Americans who had so long stumbled and fallen and
grovelled in the darkn ess of ignorance and supe rstition
and immorality, with which the institution of slave ry was
compelled to hedge itself about in order to insure existe nce,
has no parallel in the history of mankind. \/Ve seek in vain
for philanthropy so instant and generous and continuous,
and for missionary spirit so nobl e and capable and selfsacri ficing, as that which answered the Macedonian cry that
came out of the log cabins of the south,

an army as heroic as ever we nt forth under the standard of
the cross to ' redeem the human mind from error.' No
wealth could have purchased the service and the sacrifice
th ey und erto ok for God and humanity, and no memorial of
affection or granite shaft can eve r ad equately commemorate
th e ir works. Th ere are some services and sacrifices which it
is impossible to re ward. These evangels went into a hostile
country, armed with Puritan faith and New England culture,
and by sing le ness of purpose and gentle ness of character
disarm ed th e prejudice of the whites and won the respe ct
and confide nce of the suspicious blacks, who had bee n educated in th e school of slavery to distrust all Greeks, even
those bearing g ifts. But in th e progress of time all this
was changed, and prejudice and suspicion were transformed
~nto respect and confidence.
"\Vhat have been the results? After thirty years of
effort there are 25,615 Afro-American teachers in the
schools of the south, where th ere was hardly one wh e n th e
work began ; some 4,000 men have b ee n prepared, in part or
in wh ole, for th e work of the Christian ministry, and a complete revoluti o n has been effected in the mental and moral
character o f Afro-American preachers, a service which no
one can estimate who is not intimately informed of the tremendous inAue nce which these preachers exercise everywhere over th e masses of their race ; the professions of law
and medicine have been so far supplied that one or more
representatives are to be found in every large community of
the south, as well as in the north and west, graduates for the
most part of the schools of the south ; and all over th e
south I have found men engaged in trade occupations whose
intell ects and characters were shaped for the battle of life
by the New England pioneers who took up the work where
th e ir soldi e r brothe rs laid it down at the close of the war.
But th e influ e nce of these teachers upon the character, the
home !ife, of the thousands who are neither teaching, preaching nor engaged in professional or commercial pursuits, but
are devoted to the making of domestic comfort and happi-

"''When the war drums throbbed n o l onger, and the battle flag s were furled,
In the parliament of man, th e fed e rati o n of the world .' "

"And what a herculean task was theirs! The New England men and women who we nt into the waste places of the
south, following closely upon the heels of the warlike host
that stacked their arms at Appomattox court house, formed

EDU CATIO N OF THE N EGRO

ness for their husbands and children, in properly tra111111g
the future citize ns of the republic, was one of th e most
necessary and far-reaching that was exercised, and th e one
which to-day holds out the promise for the best res ults in
the years to come."
It was these New England men and women who labo red
all over th e sou th from r 86 5 to r 8 70 who made possible th e
splendid public school results so eloque ntly depicted in th e
statistica l tables g iven at the end of this monograph. Their
labors did not e nd in the fi eld of primary ed ucation in 1870;
th e y remained at th e ir posts until th ey had prepared the
25,000 N egro es nec essary to take th eir places. "Wh en shall
th e ir glory fad e ?" And eve n unt o to-day hundreds o f th e m
are laboring in some one of the 169 schools of seco ndary
and higher education maintained for the freed p eople.
VI BEQUESTS FOR SO UTHER N EDUCAT ION

In th e inaug urati o n a nd develop me nt of th e educational
work in th e southern states and th e District of Columbia
there have been other potential agencies than those already
enumerated. It has been shown that th e Federal government, ope ratin g through the Freedmen's bureau, o f which
Major-Ge neral 0. 0. Howard was commissioner, betw ee n
1865 and 1870 es tablish ed 4,239 schools, employin g 9,307
teach ers, with an e nrollment of 247,333 pupils, at a total
expense of $ r ,002,896.07, of whi ch th e freedmen th ems elves
raise d $200,000; that th e American missionary association,
founded in l 846, was a mo ng th e first age ncies to enter th e
southern educational work, as it has since bee n th e mos t
active and effective ; and that th e southern states, from
I 870, wh e n th ey assumed control of the common school sysem, to 1896-97, spent in primary education, $514,922,268, of
which at least $ 100,000,000 was d evo ted to the free education of th e slaves. These e normous expenditures (see tabl e
2) were largely supplemented by private b enevol e nce, est imated at a total of $40,000,000, much of which we nt into
primary school buildings and education, the buildings 111

EJJU CATJOt; O F T!I E r\EGRO

most instan ces having been g radually relinquished to th e
states.
As th e A me rica n mi ss io na ry assoc iati on was among the
first t o e nt er th e southern school '.vork, it is proper to g ive
it a co nspicu ous place in thi s monograp h. The ex te nt of its
ope rati o ns in the so uth ern fi eld ca n be inferred from the
fifty-third an nu al report of th e e xecut ive co mmittee (Se ptembe r 30, 1899). From this repo rt it app ears th a t the
association has in th e sou th e rn ed uc:itio nal work of seco nda rv a nd hi p·he r ed ucation 5 charte red institutio ns, 45 norm;! and g~acled sc hool:;, 26 co mm o n sc hoo ls, being 76
sc hools, with 4 r 4 in st ru ctors a nd 12,428 pupils. The rece ipts
fo r th e curre nt wo rk for th e year (1898- 99) were
$297,68 r. 98; expe nditures, $ 296,8 ro.84. Th e to tal receipts
for all pur poses for th e yea r we re $370,963-44, of \•: hi ch
$71,960.50 is cre dited to incom e from th e Dani el Hand
fund. Th e work of this assoc iati o n has bee n in estimabl e.
A t th e a nnu al mcc ti1w
o of th e Amer ican miss io nar)' associat ion, a t Prov ide nce, R. I. , October 23-25, l 888, it was
announ ced th at 1\ Ir. Dani el Hand, of Gu ilford , C onn ecticu t,
ha d g ive n th e assoc iat ion $ 1,000,894. 25, in trust, to be
known as th e " Dani el Hand educa ti onal fun d fo r co lo red
people," th e income of wh ich sha ll be used for th e purpose
of ed ucating needy a nd in d ige nt colored people of African
descent, residing , or who may hereaft e r res ide, in th e recen t
sla ve states of th e U nited States." In add iti o n to this
prin cely g ift 1\ fr. Hand provided that hi s resid uary es tate,
amountin g to the sum of $500,oo:::i, should be devo te d to
th e sa me purpose, t o be disbursed through th e association.
Mr. H anel made hi s \v ealth in th e so uth , where h e settl ed in
A ug usta, Ga., in l 8 18, a nd he, there fore, ha d an intimate
kn owle dge of th e educati o nal needs of th e e mancipated people. H e was a man o f devo ut natu re.
But the fund whi ch had th e most influence upon the development of th e primary and seco nd a ry education of the so uthe rn states was that o f $2,000,000 es tabli shed by G eo rge
Peabody, of Danvers, Mass. (the first g ift of_$ I ,000,000

EDUCATION OF THE NEG RO

[920

ED UCATI ON OF TII E NEG RO

being made February 7, 1867, th e second $1,000,000 b eing
April 9, 186 7. H e had bee n g round ed in the common
added July l, 1869). In addition, $1,100,000 in bonds,
sch ool th eo ri es o f Horace Mann and H e nry Barnard a nd in
indorsed by Mississi p pi, and $384,000 Florida bonds were
th e work of hi g he r edu cation as pres ident of a g reat unigive n to th e trustees appointed to administe r th e tru st, but
ve rs ity. H e was emin e ntly fitt ed, the re fore, to do inu ch
these bonds we re ultimately repudiated b y Miss issippi and
t owa rds s hap in g th e public school system of th e south ern
Fl orida, althou g h b o th of the m we re be ne fi ciari es of th e
sta tes.
tru st,- Mississippi by $86, 8 78 and Florida by $6 7,375 , from
Dr. J. L. l\'I. Curry, th e prese nt abl e ge neral ag ent of th e
1868 to 1897. The g ene ral purposes of th e trust, as Mr.
fund, says of Dr. S ears (who di ed Jul y 6, 1880) , in his" HisP eabody stated it, in his le tter to the si xtee n tru stees d esigtory of th e P eab od y fun d " ( page 6 7) :
nated by him, were that "the income the reof sh ould be
"Th e hi g h es t co mme nd a ti o n of hi s work is to be found
appli e d in your discretion for the promotion and e ncouragein th e persuas ive, po tential influ e nce he exerted in behalf
m e nt of intellectual, moral or industrial education o f the
of popul ar edu ca ti o n. S chool sup e rint ende nts bo re th e ir
young of the more destitute p orti ons of th e south ern a nd
st ro ng and chee rful testimo ny to hi s ra re in s ig ht into th e
southwestern states of our uni on ; my purpose be ing th at
edu cati ona l needs o f th e so uth, a nd to hi s influ e nce in stimthe b e nefits intended shall be di stributed amo ng th e e ntire
ulatin g to p ro pe r a nd wise ac ti o n."
popul a tion, with o ut o the r di stinction than their needs and
Dr. Curry succeeded Dr. Sears F eb ruary 2, 188 1, a nd
th e opportunities of usefulness to the m."
with th e exce pti o n of three years, wh e n he was mini ste r
Mr. P eabody laid the found ati on of his imme nse fortune
plenipo tent iary a nd e nv oy ex trao rdin ary to Spain, he has
in G eorg etown, D . C., a nd Baltimore, from 18 12 to 1837.
bee n th e wor kin g fo rce in shaping th e policy of th e fun d to
In th e latte r year he permane ntly settled in L ondo n, Eng- th e present tim e. D r. Curry,- himself a so uth e rn man. land, and began bu siness th ere, whe re his be nefactions learn ed, elo qu e nt, a n inde fa ti gable wo rke r, a nd passi o na tely
equall ed those he made in th e United States, of which devo ted to th e hi g hest educ a ti o nal id eas a nd to th e cause of
th e trust fund for educational purposes was the most consid- so uthe rn educati o n, as th e re prese nt ati ve of th e P eabo d y
erable, but by no means th e onl y one. Mr. P eabody started fund a nd th e S la te r fund, has do ne e qu all y as much as Dr.
life as a poor boy, but he had a natural genius for making Ruffn er and D r. S ears in shaping th e so uth ern edu cati o na l
mon ey, and, what is far rarer, as th e poor of London and our move me nt. In sp ea king of th e ge neral effects of th e fund ,
southern states can testify, a natural g enius for so d evoting Dr. Curry says (History of th e Peabody educa tion fund,
his wealth to public uses as to accomplish the m ost g ood.
p. 25) :
The trustees of the P eabod y fund, of whi ch th e Hon.
" The fund has bee n a mos t po tent agency in creating a nd
Robe rt C. Winthrop was chairman, we re p articularly for- ' prese rving a bo nd of peace and unity a nd frat ernity be twee n
tunate in securing as the first g eneral agent Dr. B. Sears, th e north a nd th e so uth. It in stituted a n e ra of g ood feelth e n president of Brown university. In 1848 Dr. Sears had ing ; for th e g ift, as Mr. \Ninth ro p said, 'was th e earli es t
succeeded Horace Mann as secre tary of the M assachusetts manifes tati o n of a spirit of reconciliati o n toward tho se fr om
board of education and as its executive age nt, and served in whom we had bee n so unh a ppily ali e nat ed an<l again st wh om
that capacity until 1855, when he was called to the presi- we of the north had been so rec ently arrayed in arms.' N o
dency of his alma mater. He was still president of Brown instrum e ntality has bee n so effec tive in th e south in promotuniversity whe n called to the work of the Peabody fund, ing concord, in restoring fellowship, in culti vating a broad

30

31

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

ED UC ATION OF 1 l! E !\EGRO

and generous patriotism, and apart from its direct connection with schools;, it has been an unspeakable blessing in
cementing th e bonds of a lately dissevered union."
From l 868 to l 897 the income of the fund amounted to
$2,478,527. r 3, of which $248,562.25 was expended in maintaining the Normal college for whites at Nashville, T enn. ,
and $398,690.88 for sch olarships at the same college. The
remainder was . expended in rendering aid to the needy
public schools of th e south and in stimulating normal and
industrial education for both races.
March 4, 1882, Mr. J ohn Fox Slater, of Norwich, Conn.,
created a trust fund of $ l,000,000, stating that the " ge neral object which I desire to have exclusively pursued is th e
uplifting of the lately emancipated population of the south e rn
states and th eir p os terity by conferring on th em the blessings of Christian education." H e d eclared in th e same relation : "The disabiliti es form erly suffered by th ese people
and their singular pati e nce and fidelity in the g reat crisis of
the nation, establi sh a just claim on the sympathy and good
will of human e and patriotic men. I cannot but fe el the
compassion that is du e in view of their prevailing ig norance
which exists by no fault of the irs."
"But it is not only for their own sakes," Mr. Slater said
further, " but also for th e safety of our common country, in
which they have b een invested with equal political rights,
and I am desirous to aid in providing them with th e means
of such education as shall tend to make the m good men and
good citizens - education in which the instructi o n of the
mind in th e common branches of secular learning shall be
associated with training in just notions of duty tow ard God
and man in the light of the Holy Scriptures."
The fund is administered by a trustee board, and like the
Peabody fund, composed of some of the most distinguished
citizens of the republic. The Slater fund is used almost
exclusively at the present time in promoting industrial education at a number of the largest institutions for colored
people.

These prin cely donations by three private citizens, agg regating a fund of $4,00o,ooo, hav e bee n suppleme nted by
million s of dollars more from private citizens which have
gone to th e building up of th e educati o nal waste places of
th e so uth, to which all of th e great church de nominati o ns
hav e co ntr ib ut ed, and sti ll contribute, mo re or less as orga nized bod ies. As th e outgro wth of all th e ben efactions a nd
e ff ort s in ce 1865 th e re a re now, according to Dr. ~.Iayo , 169
sc h ools o f seco ndar y and hi g her education in th e so uth e rn
states ma int a in ed for th e Negro peo pl e. Th ey are fed constantly by th e co mm o n sc hool s, and all th e agencies working toget he r a rc fas t re duci ng th e ig nora nc e bequeathed as
a te rri blc legacy by th e slave system to th e southern states.
'vV e shall sea rch hi sto ry in vain for a parallel to th e munifice nc e, th e C hri sti a n charity and th e pe rso nal sac rifice which
th e people of the g reat republic h ave co ntributed since 1865
to th e edu cat io n of th e lately e nslaved people of th e Negro
rac e.
VII PRESENT EDUCATIONAL STATUS

It was natura l and to have bee n expected, after th e N ew
En g la nd me n a nd wo me n ,d10 had g rad ua ted ou t of th e
white heat of the hi g h educa ti o nal e nthu s iasm created by
Horace l\I a nn, H e nry Barnard, Dr. Sears, and oth ers, fro m
1830 to 1860, had la id th e foundati o n o f the primary ed uca tion among th e ema ncipated peopl e of th e so uthern stat es,
th a t th ey wo uld th e n turn th e ir attention to th e seco nd ary
and hi g h er e du cation of th e same peo pl e. Th at is what
th ey dic..I. As fas t as th ey prepared yo un g me n a nd women
to tak e th e ir pl aces as sch ool teache rs (a nd at th e present
tim e th e re arc more than 25,000 such teac hin g in th e public
schools of th e so uth), th ese N ew E ng land men a nd wom e n
retired from th e fi eld as public school teach ers. They were
actuated almost wh olly by Christian mi ssionary spirit. Th ey
heard th e loud ".Macedonian cry" and respo nd ed to it \Yith
a devotion a nd self-sac rifice which will always remain o ne
of the most lumin ous and striking pages in missionary
effort.

•

32

33

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCA TIO N OF T H E l\EGRO

But there was another and a splendid work for the m to
do in laying the foundation of the secondary and hi g her
education as the necessary supplement of the primary
educational work. At the present time the re are 169 such
schools in th e sixteen southern states and the Distri ct of
Columbia. Som e of them are magnifice nt seats of learnin g ;
s uch, for exa mpl e, as Howard university, at \N ashington;
Atlanta university, at Atlant~; Fi sk university, at N ashvill e ; Wiley university, at Marshall, T exas, and th e like, so
that the southern state which has no such school of h igher
lea rning is poor indeed. A nd these schools were found ed,
for th e most part, and are ma intained in th e main by northe rn philanthropy-a philanthropy of which George Peabody, John F. Sl a ter and Daniel Hand are th e most striking
exampl es. The money value and the income of these
schools is set forth in tabl e 8 of the appendix; while th e
character, teach ers and students are set forth in tables 3 to 7
inclusive. Th e fact that the income of th ese l 69 schools in
1896-97 was $1 ,045,278, that $540,097 of it was derived
from unclassifi ed sources, that th e seve ral states and municipalties contributed $171,839, and that th e students paid in
tuition fees $141,262, shows that all the best forces of th e
republic- th e state, the Christian philanthropist and the
grateful bene ficiary- are all working ha rmoniously toget her
to prepare the children of th e form e r slaves for th e proper
and high duties of citizenship. The public school system,with 1,460,084 pupils enrolled of Negroes, in I 896- 97, as
against an enrollment of only 571,506 in l 876-77,- is a fixture and serves as a constant feeder of the 169 schools of
higher learning. Thus the whol e system, it will be see n, of
primary, secondary and higher education, is in harmonious
relationship and must grow stronger and stronger every
year.
It should not be overlooked, however, that besides the
splendid advantages offered the Negroes by these 169 schools
of higher learning, all of the colleges and universities of the
northern and western states are accessible to Negro students

who pref er th em, color distincti ons not being re c og niz~d or
tol e rated in th e ma nage ment of these schoo ls. The white
coll eges and universiti es of th e southern states, like th e
public sc hool syste m, are conducted rigidly upon lines of
race separation;: "
It was a natural d evelopme nt of th e educational e ffort in
th e sout hern stat es th a t wh e n the sc hools of seco nd ary a nd
high e r ed ucation had become fi xed facts that a desire should
hav e gro wn up for ot he r instituti o ns whose principal obj ec t
sh ould be th e indu stri al educat io n of such o f th e Negroes
as desire th a t sort o f ed ucati o n. Of late years industrial
sc h oo ls have sp run g up all over the south ern states, and
th ey are growing co nsta ntly in favor with th e masses,
beca use of th eir economic condition a nd th e growing
de man d fo r skill ed workmen in all avenues of indu stry.
In th e early days of the educational work of th e southern
states littl e stress was la id up on the industrial trainin g of
the peo ple. J'llental a nd m oral and religious trainin g \\·;:is
consid e red the all-important thin g. P erhap s it was.- to a
people who had dwe lt in m enta l, mo ral and reli g ious dark ness from 1620 t o 1865. Th ey needed th e grea t li g ht of
me ntal, m o ral and reli g ious truths as a firm and sure fou ndati o n up o n whi ch was to be built a structure of tec hni cal
education, out of which should natura lly grow the indu st ri a l
and commercial reh abi lita ti o n of th e peopl e, with out wh ich
th ere ca n be no character, no stre ngth, no prosperity in an
individu al o r a race. This principle was recog ni zed by th e
30 members of th e Society of Fri e nd s, who es tablish ed th e
Institute for colored youth at Philadelphia, in 1837, to which
refere nce has already been made.
Th e good Friends we re very mu ch in advance of th e ir
tim e, and a great ma ny good peo ple of both races have not
caught up with th e ir idea as yet. However, th ere has been a
very great and satisfactory awakening all over the republic
during th e past d ecade, among all races of the population,
as to th e vital importance of t echnical education. The fact
that r 3,58 r Negro students were rece iving industrial trai ning

-----------~·-··--·

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

in schools of the south, in 1896-97 (see table 7), speaks volumes, as compared to the 2, 108 who vve re receiving collegiate
education (see table 3), and the 2,4 IO who were rece iving
classical instruction (see tabl e 4), and the l,3 l I who were
taking the professional course (see table 6) in th e same
year; making a total of 5,829 taking the hig her ed ucati on,
or 7, 752 fevve r than were t aki ng the industrial course.
I nd eecl, the growth of th e industrial theory of ed ucation
among Negroes in the past decade has not only been
phe nome nal but it is by all odds th e most encouraging fact
in a situation not without its discouraging features.
It is a rare compliment to one of th e wisest and best of
th e New England men who e ngaged in the southern educational work that his th eory of industrial training has taken
such a firm root in a rich soil. This good and wise man
was G e neral Samuel Chapman Armstrong. While other
m e n and women were devoting th emselves to the necessary
work of founding schools of seco ndary and higher education for the fre ed people, General Armstrong, in l 868, busied
himself in founding and developing th e Hampton normal
and agricultural institute at H ampton, Va., which, says th e
historian of the work, "beginning in 1868 with two teachers
and 15 stude nts in the old barracks left by th e civil war, the
Hampton school has grown, until at the beginning o f the
prese nt year (1899) there were on th e grounds 1,000 students. Of these 135 are Indian s, represe nting te n states
and territories. Of th e 80 officers, teachers and assistants,
about one-half are in the indust rial departments. Instead
of th e old barracks there are now fifty-five buildings."
The H ampton normal and agricultural institute is without doubt at th e presen t tim e th e cente r of all that is best,
wisest and most permanent in the educational development
of th e black man in th e south. It is by far th e largest and
most important seat of learning in the country for the
development of the N egro. It has a large property now
valued at over half a million of dollars, and has in constant
operation all the industries by which the colored peopl e find

it necessary to make a living. Under the wise supervision
of Dr. H. B. Frissell, th e successor of General Armstrong,
this institution is constantly growing, broadening and deepening its influ e nc e among the people. The work of the
Hampton in stitute has not only resulted in turnin g the a ttenti o n of th e Negro population to th e importa1 ce of indu stri a l
education, but has had a marked influence 1n shaping the
education of th e white south in the same direction.
It was th e constant aim of General Armstrong to educate
the head, th e hear t and th e hand of th e student, to make
strong school t eac hers and skilled mechanics and agriculturali sts, and his aims have been amply justified by results.
General Armstrong was born of missio nary parents in
Hawaii. He was educated in this country. He was a
soldi er in th e war for th e preservation of the union and commanded a reg im en t of black soldiers. His was a pious and
lovab le nature which delighted to do the Master's work by
reac hin g out th e hand of assistance to the lowest and most
nee dy of th e !\·l as te r's children.
Out of th :: H a mp ton institute has grown th e Tu skegee
normal and industrial institute, located at Tuskegee, Ala.,
in th e black belt of the south. The Tuskegee institute has
grown from a log cabin to a n institution possessing 42 buildings with 2,300 acres of land, 88 instructors and about a
thousand students. It g ives instruction in about twenty-six
different indu stri es, in addition to giving training in academic and religious branches. A large numb er of graduates
of Tuskegee are turn ed out every year and are at work in
various porti o ns of th e south as t eachers in class rooms,
instructors in agricultural, mechanical and domestic pursuits.
Ouite
a number of these bo-raduates and students cultivate
their own farms or man their own industrial establishments.
The property owned by the Tuskegee normal and industrial
institute is valued at $300,000, and the buildings have been
very largely built by th e labor of the students themselves.
One rather uniqu e feature of the Tuskegee normal and
industrial institute is that the institution is wholly officered

34

35

-. -"!."'

EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO

by members of the Negro race. Aside from Hampton, Tuskegee is one of the largest and most important centers of
education in the south, especially in the direction of industrial developme nt.
The work of the Hampton institute and Tuskegee is not
only proving itself valuable in showing the rank and file of
the colored people how to lift themselves up, but it is equally
important in winning the friendship and co-operation of the
southern white people. The influence of the young men
and women turned out from these two institutions, as well as
from other institutions, is gradually softening the prejudice
against the education of the Negro, and in many striking
instances bring ing about the active co-operation and help
of the southern white man in the direction of elevating the
Negro.
There have been many other schools than the Tuskegee
institute found ed on the Hampton idea, and the numbe r is
increasing every year. N early all the southern states are
now maintaining industrial schools not only for the blacks
but for the whites as well, for the education that is good
and necessary for the black is equally so for the white boy.
From the facts and conclusions set forth, hastily withal,
in this monograph it will readily be seen that from the educational point of view the Negro race has, since 1865, t ake n
full advantage of its splendid opportunities, and that the
present affords splendid promise that the future, which so
many dread, will, in the providence of God, take care of
itself.

37

EDUCATION OF TIIE NEGRO

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.... COW+:>- W

..,. Q\ oo.,i::. W

en C0..0 Vl ..._, ~ W .... 00 .... ..0 """ O'JU\ ~

o .... ..o
/""I

~

w c.n .... o....,

°' - . . ,

-

W

,... W

Q\W

0

0

V\ '1

0.
- ·

"c

:x:

t'1

z

t'1

Cl

:;i:l

0

r__,
\Q "

(.,.>

~

~n

.i::. ....
...0 Q Q'\ CO aJ Q -...J 00 Cl'J...0 W ~ 00 M Q .J:l.. U'\ """ ... WU'\ .f;:io Vl C0 00~
U\

-

~

I ..
~

n -

U'\

"'1

...,

;;:·
.....
~
;:;·

~

,,.~

°'

OO U'\

%

a"X

?

0

b

~

-:=1

....r 0 W ~
oo.i:.. ...o...., a-"""'.....,.+::- w

-...J COO' -

......
l:

I
I c.,,-·

-z

0

...;:...

0

~

0.

--

t!t

Q

"

00 .... 00...0 ........ ~ Vl
0 U'\ V\ Q'\ .... ~ 00""-.J 0 .i::. Vl 0 •
.,i::. W N U'\ U\ 0\..0 -0 N U\ Q'l..0 W W 0 t.l +. -0 t-l 0 O" •

;:

~

()

t>l

tl

c:
(l
>
...,

0

'°

TABLE 3- Teachers and students in institutions for the colored race in 1896-97

'.>;

L.....;

STUDENTS

TllACHIUtS

0

0

~
STATE

ELEMENT ARY

-;<

~

~

Total. . . ...... ... .

I

CO LLBGIATR

I

.e . . . .
"
"
. "' ,.. 3. ~~~~~
. I
I ~ I I ~~~~
I.I I " I
z
""
- · - · - - - - -!- - -

A

•labama . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.rkansas .. . .. . .... . ..
)ela ware . . . . . . . . . . . .
>istrict of Columbia..
·1ori<la . .. . ... . . . . .. . .
;eorgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
llin ois . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ndiana.... . .. . ......
~entucky . .... . . . . . . .
.ouisiana..... . . .. . ..
faryland . .......... . .
fiss issippi. . ..... . ... .
fiss o uri.. . ... . . . . . . .
few J crsey.. . .. .... ..
forth Caro lina .......
lhio.. . . .. .. . .. . ......
'ennsylvania. . . . . . .
outh Carolina . . . . . . .
ennessee. . .. . ... ....
exas .. . . ... . . . . ... . .
"irginia.......... . . ..
Vest Virginia..... . ..

SECONDARY

'O

13
8
I

4
5
20
I
2
7
6
6
9
5
I
23
2
3
12
14
IO
14
3

I04
20
3
8S
10
7I
I
8
34
48
8
42
17
3
84
I4
I7
48
49
40
70
II

~---:;;;

III
29
o
3I
IS
I53
I
IO
40
50
20
52
I6
5
90
9
8
75
101
59
123
IO
1008

0

~

-;;

~

21s
I 131
I 427
2 5S8 1 223
I 008
49
S93
696
I 289
2S3
2IO
1 ....... ....... . .....
24
6
II6
I44
I48
292
408
S90
2S
2so
329
579
67
96
224
I 354
2 4I6
3 770
629 I 049
2 . . ... . . . ... . . . . .. .. . .
I6
24
I8
26
27
53
35
50
74
453
784
I 237
466
586
98
841
I I93
2 034
I86
ISI
28
60
183
243
93
186
94
4I5
S6I
976
s20
334
33
236
247
483
I7I
218
8
II
7
18
I7
16
I74
983
I 66I
2 644
672
860
23
71
79
150
82
97
25
III
i56
267
236
I37
I23
r 202
I 270
2 472
4IO
524
150
I 772
2 272
4 044
570
601
99
568
I 006
1 574
349
440
193
I 458
I 745
3 203
433
941
21
94
III
205 I 84
105

~~1~

~

-;

I 526

~

I

~

2 231
38
I2
so
463
23
7
30
30
IO
2
12
998
342
82
424
I63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I 678
I74
I6
I90
40
o
o
o
85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I 052
98
So
I78
367
49
21
70
279
IO
o
IO
854
I05
72
I77
389
5
o
5
33
o
o
o
I 532
20I
60
26I
179
47
IS
62
373
48
o
48
934
I4
3
17
1 171
193
179
372
789
84
31
II5
1 374
85
2
87
18q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28091 169;1s 259 II5 203

TOTAL

2 I08

2 392
869
34
894
317
2 I57
16
6I
r .J
1 076
I63
I 040
412
28
I 856
200
395
1 626
2 535
1 001
1 976
178

2 447
9I3
8
820
425
3 481
24
77
I 450
l 39S
369
967
465
23
2 58I
I9I
293
1 797
3 052
I 477
2 688
216

~o 243 ~S

IS9

~

~
4 839
I 782
42
I 7I4
742
5 638
40
138
2 467
2 471
S32
2 007
877
51
4 437
391
688

t'1
tl

c:
n
>
j

0

z

0

'"rj

...,
:x:
t'1

z

t'1

Cl

:;<l

0

3 423

5 s87
478
4 664
394

2

45 402
'.>;

"'

~

TABLE 4- Class£jicat£on of colored students, by courses of study, r896-97
STUJ'JltNTS IN SCJKHTJP'IC
COURSltS

STUDKNTS

lN CLASSICAL
COURSB.S

u

STATE

•~

5TUD&NTS IN BUSIN&SS

COURS&S

COURSU

•s
u

....
6
c::

u

•...

•

•::. - - - - - - - - -•'1 - - - - - -... - - -•'1 - - - - - - - •'1 - - - ...•
-----u

Alabama . ... .. ···············
Arkansas............. ... ·····
Delaware ...... .. ... ... .... ...
District of Columbia .. ... . ....
Florida . . ......... . .. . . .... .. .
Georgia ................. ... .. .
Illinois ... . ............ . ......
Indiana ... . ... ... .. .... .. .. ...
Kentucky ...... .. ... .... ..... .
Louisiana .. ... ........ .. .... .
Maryland ........... ....... .. ..
M!ssissippi ... .. ..............
M1ssoun .. . .. . ..... ....... . ..
New Jersey . ...... . ..... ......
North Carolina ....... .. . . ... ..
Ohio ..... .. ... . ..............
Pennsylvania .... . . ... .........
South Cuolina . . . .. ..... .. .. . .
Tennessee ......... . . ...... .. .
Texas ............. ..........
Virginia .. . ....... . ...........
West Virginia ........ .. . . . . ..

···· ······ ···

II
52
3
I29

3
29
0
2r8

12I
0
35
73
47
40
41
I9
0
175
I4
165
67
2I8
40
44
18

u

0

r..

Total. ....

STUDBNTS IN !UlGLISH

u

•...

0

150
0

so
161
35
107
30
II
0
14
3
29
31
176
7
36
8

2
32
5

r4
Sr
3
347

....

u

0

I
38

r..

3
70
7

392
168
2

u

6

0

u

r..

0
0

6
0
0
49
0
0
0

15
7
0
IOI
0
0

2
IO

l

7

3
17

0

0

0

0
69
15
5
0
0
0
0

0
25
2
6
20
0
0
0
0

179

II6

889
397
2

497
229
0

9
7

·o
52

271
0
85
234
82
147
71
30
0
I89
17
194
98
394
47

So

46
0

68
0

II4
0

3
53
0
21
64
0
33
15
35
12
55
57
I4

I2
28
0
6
III
0
55
9
29
17
50
44
57

15
81
0
27
175
0
88
24
64
29
105

26

IOI

71

0

u

233
735
16

326
l 359

559
2 0<}4

24

to

70
330
57
129
IS
0
533
56
56
678
486
186
522

170
422
237
187
20
0
696
40
29
658
775
237
767

240
752
294
3I6
38
0
I 229
96
85
I 336
l 261
423
I 289

0

IO

l:Jl
tj

c
n
>
--l
.....
0

0

z

0

"l

--l

::i:

t"l

0
94

I7
II
30
0
0
0
0

z

t?1
0
:>:i
0

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - I 3I2

I

098

2 410

527

447

974

4 667

6 673

II 340

295

,...--,

'°

(,,>

t.J

TABLE S- Number of colored normal students and graduates £n 1896-<)7
l

STUDENTS lN NORMAL

!

COURSES

GRADUATB.S O F

HIGH

G RADUATES OF NORMAL

SCHOO L COU RSES

COURSES

GRADUATES

OP COLLlt-

GIA.Tit COURSES

STATE

-- - -:- - !- - -------'----- ----- -------------------------------- -~I
I
I
Abbama... . .... . ......................... . . .. . .. .. . ..
Arkansas ........... . ........ ... . .... . ..... .... ... ....
Delaware ..... .. .. ... ... .. . ...... .... . ........ .. ..... .
District of Columbia... .. ... . . .. . . . . .. .. .... .. . . ... . .
Florida.................. . ............................
(;ol)rgia .... ......... .... .... .. .... . . .. . .... . .... . · · · · ·

Female

Total

Male

828
103

669
61

I 497
I64

s

IO

18

7

4

II

75
I7
II4

79

154
27
354

27

53

85

IO
240

0

2

2

44

7I

IIS

0

0

~

I~

I~

f~,\':~~:·::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::1·· · ·0·
~~~its~~~~:::::: : ::::::::::::::::::::: : :::::::::::::::: ~;
M.ary land. . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mississippi. . . ..... .......... .. . ..... . . ... .. . .... .. .. ..
Missouri ... ... . .. ........ ... .. .. .. . ...................
New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N Orth Ca r olina. . .. .. ..................... . ...........
Ohio... . . ... ... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .
Pennsylvania........... . ............................ .
So uth· Carolina...... . ........ . .... ......... .. .........
Tennessee... . .. .. .... . . .. ... . . . .. . ... .. . .. . . . . . .. . . .
Texas... ... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .
Viq;inia....... . ....... . ............. ... ..............
West Virginia..... . .......... . ......... . ..... . . ... ....
Total ...... .. ....... . .....

I7
85
6I

o
221
29
54
102
266
137
108 76

1

~~

33
I56
57

2

;~

50
24I
II8

I4
II
I4
I4

Female\ Total

33.

19 ...
19
30
4
18
23
37

o

o

o

o

232
54
29
223
365
138
65
84

453
83
83
325
63I
275
I73
160

44
7

I4
20

s·

37
55
24
20
o

58
III
30
54
2

95
I66
54
74
2

C'

Male \Female Total

Male

Female

308
6

28I
7

589
13

2
3

26
7
3

36
3
41

62
IO
44

0

0

0

9

S

14

0

0

5..
2
3
2

0
o
o
o

1::::::

0
1

Total

2
4

o
0

~

~~

~~

I
24
6

II
26
S

12
50
II

I" .

2
3
2

o

o

o

o

o

o

33

36
12
6
43

69
I4
II
57
9I
38
125
I8

II
7
30
o
I6
5
3
o

2
3
o
o

13
IO
30
o
IS
6
3
o

27
S
I4
31
I4
36
9

6o
24
89
9

2

I
O
o

· ····· · ···· ······· ···· ·~~~ --;;-1~ a:;--;;~~----;; ~1~

~

TABLE 6 - Colored profess£onal students and graduates £n I 896-97

~

PltOP'ltSSIONAL STUD&NTS AND GRADUATES

STUDKNTS tN' PllOPUSIONAL COURS ES

Theology

STATE

Law
M

.

u

!l

~

I

"

=

!
"I"
--"'-1-'"'__ _0_
u

u

~

-

8

u
"O

ce

:S

0

1-::ii
__

U

II~

~
:s
-c

U

~

-o

_ <:.'
_
l _

Medicine

Dentistry

Pharmacy

"

cu

"

cu

~

~

""

"O

.
U

•:s

u

•
U

~

!j

-o

"O

~

:s

-o

=:'.!=:!
:s::?
:s
!:!
_0_ _r.:>__ __0___
_r.:>
__ __0___ _ r.:>
__

~ _ r.:>
__

M

~

U

~

-c

"O

Nurse training

.

U

cu

~

"'O

.,,

!j

=
::!
_0_
_r.:>
__

tr:I

t1

·· ·····~···~~~····~~····~~····~~····~~···~j· ···~~· ···~~· ····~· ···~~ · ····~ · ····~

,!abama . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . .

I07

25

132

I07

6

....•....•... .. ... · 1· . ........ . · 1· ........ ... ..... · 1

25 I

o

1

~

:~J~7c~~~~· ~·~i~~~i:~::::::::::::::: ~~~
:~~rri:i~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
llinois. . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ndiana . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . .
~en t ucky . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.ouisiana...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
faryland ...... .............. . .. ...
iississippi............... . . ....... .
1issouri...... . . . ... ... ..... . . .. . . .
I ew Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
fo rth Carolina....................
)hi o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . .
'e nnsyl vania ... .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
.outh Carolina.....................
:ennessee . . . ...... .. ... ..... . .... .
[exas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .
rirgi nia......... .......... .. .......
I/est Virginia......................
Total ..........................

.. ~54
o
o
13
38
2
S
4
o
II6
IS
48
so
22I
4
65
o

.... ;9· .. ~93 .. .~5~ .. .. ~~ ..... J..... ;· .... ; ·1· ... ; ..... ; .
o
o
o
S
o
S2
ci

o
6
o
o
36
o
9
2
o

1 ~--;;:;-

o
o
I3
43
2
57
4
o
122
15
48
86
221
13
67
o

o
o
13
o
2
S
4
o
43
13
48
47
36
4
65
o

o
o
o
o
2
1
o
o
7

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

I

II

2
o
3
6
o
o
o

l

16
o
l
I

8
o

-;;;- --;;1

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
3
o
o
o
2
o
o
o

o
o
o
38
o
o
o
o
SI
o
o
o
150
o
o
o

o
o
o
8
o
o
o
o
7
o
o
o
34
o
o
o

·1 · . . . ; ·

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
18
o
o
o

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
6
o
o
o

.... ;

.

39
o
o
o
S
o
52
o
o
6
o
o
36
o
9
2
o

. ... ;

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
8
o
o
o
4
o
o
o

I

II

o
o
o
II

o
o
o

cn
>
...,
.....

0

j

2
o
o
o
o
o
8
o
o
o
o
o
22
o
3
o
o

----'681~ ~ ~ --7I- -;;----;;----;-- ~ ~----;

z

0

"'1

...,
:r:
tr:I
z
tr:!

c;"J

""

0

;-;

'°

(.,.>

~

'°

TABLE 7-lndustrial training of colored students in 1896-97

(.,.>

Ul

L.......J
PUPILS RECJ::JVJNL' INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

. ........ ",..
"

STATE

u

::;;

.labarna . . ................ .
.rka n sas . ... . ... .. . . . ..... .
)ei a,vare . .. .. ... .. .. .... . .
listrict of Columbia . .... . . .
lorida . .. ...... . .. .. ..... .
rc o rgia . . . . . . . ............ .
llinois .......... . ........ .

I

II7
I32
34

988
I82
6
74

76
2SI

II 8

lSl

I

272

.0

2 105

314
40
225
194
I 523

STUDltNTS TRAINKD J.N JNDUSTRIAL BRANCHES

•

0
~

I

l!::

~c
~~
4.

.. . . . . . . . . . . ..• . . .
.011 isiana......... . ..... . ..
lary land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
!i " iss ippi.. ... .. . . . . . . . .. .
!i ssouri..... . ... . .... . ... .
few Jersey ................
forth Carolina..... . . ... . ..
lh i (). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ennsylvania .. .... .. .. ... .
ou th Ca rolina . . . . ... ... ...
'eilnessec.............. .. ..
'e x as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ir ginia . .. ... . ......... .. . .
Y'est Virginia.... . .........

20
394
48
360
65
28
442
83
28
667
142
42I
452
S9

Total. . .. . . .. . . ........ . /4 970

20I
433
207
432
140
23
I 116
133
88
I 042
416
693
91s
132

221
827
25s
792
20s
SI
l SS8
2I6
116
I 709
SS8
I I 14
I 367
191

~
~
U

I ..=
I ~·~
.....

CO

~ -"

·="'
~
]ll.

~ :;

tit

11'1

~

b(

~"
=~
:-.-

.5
-~
C:...

·=

~
~

I ~-"g-

'I.I ..

I .~~ ~
~

..

~ I
~

0.0

s

5
::
~

~
C/l

..

·=~
rn

·I - - - - - - \- - - - - - - - - - -- · - - - - - - - - - - - -

294
40
14
44
23

nd i ana .. . . ..•.... . ...... . .
~elltuck y

...
;>;-

I8
73
o
90

o
15
66
0
o
53
5
167
t2S
...

~~/ 1027

I

l9S

17

I7

17

8

29
20
88
68
165

0

0

0

0

4S
14

12
9

38
3

2

44

9

9

7

69
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200

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2 600
ryland .._............................ .
SOl>Slj.>p l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S lIO
200
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0
w Jer sey . . .. . . . . . .. .. . .. . . .
orth CHolina . . . . . . . ...... ..
24 464
hio... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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I6 I25
5 660
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I7 319
2 376
33 77 0
169
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18 567
IO 700
5 000
I6 820
2 9ro
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17 250
6 600
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2 350
29 659
I90
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I7 025
8 800
4 400
24 400
2 I59
75
I6 035
6 500
14 ooo

outh °Carolina ........ . .. . ....
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8475
5680
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47 538
I8 166
I7 330
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I 9 50
7 575
6 700
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r67 480
I7 400
II :;:23
Vest Virginia .. .. ...... .. ... . . _ 3 ~ -~ -2_600
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224 794 [ $203 73I

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236
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324 600
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