Part 2

The Bureau found many schools in localities which had been within the lines of the Union armies, and these, with the others established by its agency, were placed under more systematic supervision. In some States, schools were carried on entirely by aid of the funds of the Bureau, but it had the coöperation and assistance of various religious and benevolent societies. On July 1, 1866, Mr. Alvord, Inspector of Schools and Finances, reported 975 schools in fifteen States and the District, 1,405 teachers, and 90,778 scholars. He mentioned as worthy of note a change of sentiment among better classes in regard to freedmen’s schools, and that the schools were steadily gaining in numbers, attainments, and general influence. On January 17, 1867, General Howard reports to the Secretary of War $115,261.56 as used for schools, and the Quartermaster’s Department as still rendering valuable help. Education “was carried on vigorously during the year,” a better feeling prevailing, and 150,000 freedmen and children “occupied earnestly in the study of books.” The taxes, which had been levied for schools in Louisiana, under the administration of T. W. Conway, had been discontinued, but $500,000 were asked for schools and asylums. In 1867, the Government appointed Generals Steedman and Fullerton as Inspectors, and from General Howard’s vehement reply to their report—which the War Department declines to permit an inspection of—it appears that their criticisms were decidedly unfavorable. Civilians in the Bureau were now displaced by army officers. In July, 1869, Mr. Alvord mentions decided progress in educational returns, increasing thirst for knowledge, greater public favor, and the establishment of 39 training schools for teachers, with 3,377 pupils. Four months later, General Howard says “hostility to schools and teachers has in great measure ceased.” He reported the cost of the Bureau at $13,029,816, and earnestly recommended “the national legislature” to establish a general system of free schools, “furnishing to all children of a suitable age such instruction in the rudiments of learning as would fit them to discharge intelligently the duties of free American citizens.” Solicitor Whiting had previously recommended that the head of the Freedmen’s Bureau should be a cabinet officer, but this was not granted, and the Bureau was finally discontinued—its affairs being transferred to the War Department by Act of Congress, June 10, 1872. It is apparent from the reports of Sprague, Assistant Commissioner in Florida, and of Alvord in 1867 and 1870, that the agents of the Bureau sometimes used their official position and influence for organizing the freedmen for party politics and to control elections. A full history of the Freedmen’s Bureau would furnish an interesting chapter in negro education, but a report from Inspector Shriver on October 3, 1873, says the Department has “no means of verifying the amount of retained bounty fund;” and on December 4, 1873, the Department complains of “the incomplete and disordered condition of the records of the late Bureau.” (See Ex. Doc. No. 10, 43d Con., 1st Ses., and Ho. Mis. Doc. No. 87, 42d Con., 3d Ses.)

That no injustice may be done to any one, the answer of the “Record and Pension Office, War Department,” May 21, 1894, to my application for statistics drawn from the records, is embodied in this paper. So far as the writer has been able to investigate, no equally full and official account has heretofore been given.

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“The following consolidated statement, prepared from records of Superintendents of Education of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, shows the number of schools, teachers, and pupils in each State, under control of said Bureau, and the amount expended for Schools, Asylums, construction and rental of school buildings, transportation of teachers, purchase of books, etc.:—

1865–1866.

Number of Schools 1,264 Number of Teachers 1,793 Number of Pupils 111,193

Amount Expended by Bureau $ 225,722 94 Received from Freedmen 18,500 00 Received from Benevolent Associations 83,200 00

1867.

Number of Schools 1,673 Number of Teachers 2,032 Number of Pupils 109,245

Amount Expended $ 415,330 00 From Freedmen 17,200 00 From Benevolent Associations 65,087 00

1868.

Number of Schools 1,739 Number of Teachers 2,104 Number of Pupils 102,562

Amount Expended $ 909,210 20 From Freedmen 42,130 00 From Benevolent Associations 154,736 50

1869.

Number of Schools 1,942 Number of Teachers 2,472 Number of Pupils 108,485

Amount Expended $ 591,267 56 From Freedmen 85,726 00 From Benevolent Associations 27,200 00

1870.

Number of Schools 1,900 Number of Teachers 2,376 Number of Pupils 108,135

Amount Expended $ 480,737 82 From Freedmen 17,187 00 From Benevolent Associations 4,240 00

“This statement or statistical table is made up from the reports of the Superintendents of Education of the several States under the control of the Bureau from 1865 to 1870, when government aid to the freedmen’s schools was withdrawn. It embraces the number of schools established or maintained, the number of teachers employed, the number of pupils, and the amount expended for school purposes in each State and the District of Columbia. The expenditures also include the amounts contributed by the Bureau for the construction and maintenance of asylums for the freedmen, which cannot be separated from the totals given.

“The table is based upon the reports of the School Superintendents, and has been prepared with great care. The results thus obtained, however, differ in some material respects from the figures given by the Commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau in his annual reports. These discrepancies, which this Department is unable to reconcile or explain, will be seen by a comparison of the table with the following statement made from the reports of the Commissioner:

1866.

Number of Schools 975 Number of Teachers 1,405 Number of Pupils 90,778

_Disbursements for School Purposes._

By the Bureau $ 123,659 39 By the Benevolent Associations 82,200 00 By the Freedmen 18,500 00 ——————————— Total $224,359 39

1867.

Number of Schools 1,839 Number of Teachers 2,087 Number of Pupils 111,442

_Disbursements for School Purposes._

By the Bureau $ 531,345 48 By the Benevolent Associations 65,087 01 By the Freedmen 17,200 00 ——————————— Total $613,632 49

1868.

Number of Schools 1,831 Number of Teachers 2,295 Number of Pupils 104,327

_Disbursements for School Purposes._

By the Bureau $ 965,896 67 By Benevolent Associations 700,000 00 By the Freedmen [est’d] 360,000 00 ————————————— Total $2,025,896 67

1869.

Number of Schools 2,118 Number of Teachers 2,455 Number of Pupils 114,522

_Disbursements for School Purposes._

By the Bureau $ 924,182 16 By Benevolent Associations 365,000 00 By the Freedmen [est’d] 190,000 00 ————————————— Total $1,479,182 16

1870.

Number of Schools 2,677 Number of Teachers 3,300 Number of Pupils 149,581

_Disbursements for School Purposes._

By the Bureau $ 976,853 29 By Benevolent Associations 360,000 00 By the Freedmen [est’d] 200,000 00 ————————————— Total $1,536,853 29

“It has been found impracticable to ascertain the amounts expended by the Freedmen’s Bureau for Howard and Fisk Universities and the schools at Hampton, Atlanta, and New Orleans, the items of expenditure for these schools not being separated in the reports from the gross expenditures for school purposes.”

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A committee of investigation upon General Howard’s use of the Bureau for his pecuniary aggrandizement were divided in opinion, but a large majority exonerated him from censure and commended him for the excellent performance of difficult duties. An equally strong and unanimous verdict of approval was rendered by a Court of Inquiry, General Sherman presiding, which was convened under an Act of Congress, February 13, 1874.

V. It has been stated that the Bureau was authorized to act in coöperation with benevolent or religious societies in the education of the negroes. A number of these organizations had done good service before the establishment of the Bureau and continued their work afterwards. The teachers earliest in the field were from the American Missionary Association, Western Freedmen’s Aid Commission, American Baptist Home Mission Society, and the Society of Friends. After the surrender of Vicksburg and the occupation of Natchez, others were sent by the United Presbyterians, Reformed Presbyterians, United Brethren in Christ, Northwestern Freedmen’s Aid Commission, and the National Freedmen’s Aid Association. The first colored school in Vicksburg was started in 1863 by the United Brethren in the basement of a Methodist church.

The American Missionary Association was the chief body, apart from the Government, in the great enterprise of meeting the needs of the negroes. It did not relinquish its philanthropic work because army officers and the Federal Government were working along the same line. Up to 1866 its receipts were swollen by “the aid of the Free Will Baptists, the Wesleyans, the Congregationalists, and friends in Great Britain.” From Great Britain it is estimated that “a million of dollars in money and clothing were contributed through various channels for the freedmen.” The third decade of the Association, 1867–1876, was a marked era in its financial history. The Freedmen’s Bureau turned over a large sum, which could be expended only in buildings. A congressional report says that between December, 1866, and May, 1870, the Association received $243,753.22. Since the Association took on a more distinctive and separate denominational character, because of the withdrawal of other denominations into organizations of their own, it, along with its church work, has prosecuted, with unabated energy and marked success, its educational work among the negroes. It has now under its control or support—

Chartered Institutions 6 Normal Schools 29 Common Schools 43

TOTALS.

Schools 78 Instructors 389 Pupils 12,609

PUPILS CLASSIFIED.

Theological 47 Collegiate 57 College Preparatory 192 Normal 1,091 Grammar 2,378 Intermediate 3,692 Primary 5,152

Some of these schools are not specially for negroes. It would be unjust not to give the Association much credit for Atlanta University and for Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute, which are not included in the above recapitulation, as the latter stands easily first among all the institutions designed for negro development, both for influence and usefulness. During the war and for a time afterwards, the school work of the Association was necessarily primary and transitional, but it grew into larger proportions, with higher standards, and its normal and industrial work deserves special mention and commendation. From 1860 to October 1, 1893, its expenditures in the South for freedmen, directly and indirectly, including church extension as well as education, have been $11,610,000.

VI. In 1866 was organized “The Freedmen’s Aid and Southern Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.” Under that compact, powerful, well-disciplined, enthusiastic organization, more than $6,000,000 have been expended in the work of education of negroes. Dr. Hartzell said, before the World’s Congress in Chicago, that Wilberforce University, at Xenia, Ohio, was established in 1857 as a college for colored people, and “continues to be the chief educational centre of African Methodism in the United States.” He reports, as under various branches of Methodism, 65 institutions of learning for colored people, 388 teachers, 10,100 students, $1,905,150 of property, and $652,500 of endowment. Among these is Meharry Medical College of high standard and excellent discipline, with dental and pharmaceutical departments as well as medical. Near 200 students have been graduated. The School of Mechanic Arts in Central Tennessee College, under the management of Professor Sedgwick, has a fine outfit, and has turned out telescopes and other instruments, which command a ready and remunerative market in this and other countries.

VII. On April 16, 1862, slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia. By November, 13,000 refugees had collected at Washington, Alexandria, Hampton, and Norfolk. Under an unparalleled exigency, instant action was necessary. The lack of educational privileges led Christian societies to engage in educational work, at least in the rudiments of learning, for the benefit of these people, who were eager to be instructed. Even where education had not previously been a part of the functions of certain organizations, the imperative need of the liberated left no option as to duty. With the assistance of the Baptist Free Mission Society and of the Baptist Home Mission Society, schools were established in Alexandria as early as January 1, 1862, and were multiplied through succeeding years. After Appomattox, the Baptist Home Mission Society was formally and deliberately committed to the education of the blacks, giving itself largely to the training of teachers and preachers. In May, 1892, the Society had, under its management, 24 schools with 216 instructors, 4,861 pupils, of whom 1,756 were preparing to teach, school property worth $750,000 and endowment funds of $156,000. Probably, not less than 50,000 have attended the various schools. Since 1860, $2,451,859.65 have been expended for the benefit of the negroes. The Superintendent of Education says: “The aggregate amount appropriated for the salaries of teachers from the time the Society commenced its work until January, 1883, was:—District of Columbia, $59,243.57; Virginia, $65,254.44; North Carolina, $41,788.90; South Carolina, $29,683.71; Florida, $3,164.16; Georgia, $26,963.21; Alabama, $4,960.37; Mississippi, $6,611.05; Louisiana, $39,168.25; Texas, $2,272.18; Arkansas, $150; Tennessee, $57,898.86; Kentucky, $1,092.54; Missouri, $300. The following gives the aggregate amount appropriated for teachers and for all other purposes such as land, buildings, etc., from January, 1883, to January, 1893:—District of Columbia, $103,110.01; Virginia, $193,974.08; North Carolina, $142,861.95; South Carolina, $137,157.79; Florida, $55,923.96; Georgia, $314,061.48; Alabama, $35,405.86; Mississippi, $86,019.70; Louisiana, $33,720.93; Texas, $131,225.27; Arkansas, $13,206.20; Tennessee, $164,514.05; Kentucky, $49,798.56; Missouri, $6,543.13. Until January, 1883, the appropriations for teachers and for lands, buildings, etc., were kept as separate items. I have already given the appropriations for the teachers up to that date. For grounds and buildings, $421,119.50 were appropriated.” In connection with the Spelman Seminary and the Male School in Atlanta, there has been established, under intelligent and discriminating rules, a first class training department for teachers. A new commodious structure well adapted to the purpose, costing $55,000, was opened in December. At Spelman there is an admirable training school for nurses, where the pupils have hospital practice. Shaw University at Raleigh has the flourishing Leonard Medical School and a well equipped pharmacy.

VIII. The Presbyterian Church at the North, in May, 1865, adopted a deliverance in favor of special efforts in behalf of the “lately enslaved African race.” From the 28th annual report of the Board of Missions for Freedmen, it appears that, besides building churches, special exertions have been put forth “in establishing parochial schools, in planting academies and seminaries, in equipping and supporting a large and growing university.” The report mentions fifteen schools,—three in North Carolina, four in South Carolina, three in Arkansas, and one in each of the States of Texas, Mississippi, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. $1,280,000 have been spent. “In the high schools and parochial schools, we have (May, 1893) 10,520 students who are being daily moulded under Presbyterian educational influence.” The United Presbyterian Church reports for May, 1893, an enrollment in schools of 2,558. The Southern Presbyterians have a Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama, which was first opened in Tuskaloosa in 1877.

IX. The Episcopal Church, through the Commission on Church Work among the Colored People, during the seven years of its existence, 1887–1893, has expended $272,068, but the expenditure is fairly apportioned between ministerial and teaching purposes. The schools are parochial “with an element of industrial training,” and are located in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, but the “Reports” do not give the number of teachers and scholars. The Friends have some well conducted schools, notably the Schofield in Aiken, South Carolina. They have sustained over 100 schools and have spent $1,004,129. In the mission work of the Roman Catholic Church among the negroes, school work and church work are so blended that it has been very difficult to make a clear separation. Schools exist in Baltimore, Washington, and all the Southern States, but with how many teachers and pupils and at what cost the Report of the Commission for 1893 does not show. A few extracts are given. “We need,” says one, “all the help possible to cope with the Public Schools of Washington. In fact our school facilities are poor, and, unless we can do something to invite children to our Catholic Schools, many of them will lose their faith.” Another person writes: “Next year we shall have to exert all the influence in our power to hold our school. Within two doors of our school a large public school building is being erected; this new public school building will draw pupils away from the Catholic School, unless the latter be made equally efficient in its work.”

X. On February 6, 1867, George Peabody gave to certain gentlemen two million dollars in trust, to be used “for the promotion and encouragement of intellectual, moral, or industrial education among the young of the more destitute portions of the Southwestern States of our Union.” This gift embraced both races, and Dr. Barnas Sears was fortunately selected as the General Agent, to whom was committed practically the administration of the Trust. In his first report he remarked that, in many of the cities aided by the Fund, provision was made for the children of both races, but said that, as the subject of making equal provision for the education of both races was occupying public attention, he thought it the safer and wiser course not to set up schools on a precarious foundation, but to confine help to public schools and make efforts in all suitable ways to improve or have established State systems of education. Still, in some localities aid was judiciously given, and the United States Superintendent of Education for the negroes in North Carolina gave testimony that but for the Peabody aid many of the colored schools would be closed. “Our Superintendents have aided largely in distributing the Peabody Fund in nearly all the States.” “Great good has thereby been accomplished at very little added expense.” The Peabody Fund bent its energies and directed its policy towards securing the establishment of State systems of education which should make adequate and permanent provision for universal education. State authorities would have more power and general influence than individuals, or denominational or private corporations. They represent the whole people, are held to a strict accountability, protect “from the charge of sectarianism and from the liability of being overreached by interested parties.” State systems, besides, have a continuous life and are founded on the just principle that property is taxable for the maintenance of general education. The Fund now acts exclusively with State systems, and continues support to the negroes more efficiently through such agencies.

XI. Congress, by land grants since 1860, has furnished to the Southern States substantial aid in the work of Agricultural and Mechanical education. On March 2, 1867, the Bureau of Education was established for the collection and diffusion of information. This limited sphere of work has been so interpreted and cultivated that the Bureau, under its able Commissioners, especially under the leadership of that most accomplished American educator, Dr. W. T. Harris, has become one of the most efficient and intelligent educational agencies on the continent. To the general survey of the educational field and comparative exhibits of the position of the United States and other enlightened countries, have been added discussions by specialists, and papers on the various phases of educational life, produced by the incorporation of diverse races into our national life or citizenship. The Annual Reports and Circulars of Information contain a vast mass of facts and studies in reference to the colored people, and a digest and collaboration of them would give the most complete history that could be prepared.