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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

Learning and Working for Ourselves: Education and Economic
Development among the Georgia Freedman, 1864-1920

presented by

Morey Sandlis Lewis

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6/01 c:/ClRC/DaieDue.p65-p. 15

LEARNING AND WORKING FOR OURSELVES: EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE GEORGIA F REEDMEN, 1864-1920

By

Morey S. Lewis

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTERS OF ARTS
Department of History

2001

ABSTRACT

LEARNING AND WORKING FOR OURSELVES: EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AMONG THE GEORGIA FREEDMEN, 1864-1920

By
Morey S. Lewis
What means did ex-slaves employ to transform themselves into citizens who
created a viable community following the demise of slavery in Georgia? This thesis
contends that the establishment of public and private education for blacks along with
their participation in the market economy via wage labor, property acquisition, and
entrepreneurial ventures contributed to the transformation of ex-slaves into a community
of wage laborers, shop owners, and farmers in Georgia. It tests this thesis from the
liberation of slaves by General William Tecumseh Sherman in the Fall of 1864 to

the conclusion of the Progressive Era in 1920.

Copyright by
Morey S. Lewis
2001

Dedicated to my parents, Mr. Square S. Lewis and Mrs. Georgia M. Lewis. Their love
and support was instrumental in the completion of my thesis. Without question, they are
the most important people in my life.

iv

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER 1

Broken Bonds and Barren Lands ................................................................... 6
Early Origins of Freedmen’s Education in Georgia ............................................. 11
Freedmen’s Bureau Provides Support to Schools in Georgia ................................. 20
Black Support of Education and Schools in Georgia ........................................... 3O
Benevolent Associations Provide Support to Schools in Georgia ............................ 41
The Rise of Black Colleges in Georgia ........................................................... 54
Black Sharecroppers in Georgia ................................................................... 75
Black Entrepreneurs and Landowners in Georgia ............................................... 88
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 100
Appendix .............................................................................................. 105

PART I
INTRODUCTION
The winter of 1864 marked an important turning point in the lives of blacks in
Georgia. The arrival of Union troops led by General William Tecumseh Sherman
heralded the demise of slavery in Georgia. A young black girl in Savannah cried outwith

991

glee, “All de rebel gone to hell, Now par Sherman come. The comment expressed by
this young girl encapsulated the feelings of blacks in Savannah including those
throughout Georgia. The system of slavery, which had exacted a heavy toll on blacks,
had been shattered. No longer would blacks endure the physical and mental torture from
their former masters. A new day was dawning. The day of fieedom was at hand.

Though the shackles of slavery lay at their feet, the task of preparing the freedmen
for their new lives as citizens became the challenge of the day. Access to education of any
form had been forbidden during the reign of slavery. Throughout the South, legislators
enacted punitive measures for those who attempted to teach slaves. In spite of the legal
ramifications, brave individuals risked life and limb to provide lessons to slaves. Some
slave owners allowed certain slaves access to books. In such instances, these slaves were
the offspring of the slave owner and his black mistress. Regardless of the situation, those
who were afforded access to education would be better prepared for life after slavery.

Education would break the bonds on ignorance, which had held a vice-like grip on the

minds of slaves.

 

‘William A. Byrne, “Uncle Billy” Sherman Comes To Town: The Free Winter of Black
Savannah,” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 79 (Spring 1995) : 92.

While thousands of freedmen2 of all ages packed schoolrooms across Georgia,
other freedmen sought to use their labor power as a means of improving their lot.
While slavery denied them full control of their labor power, their new status as freedmen
afforded them control of their own bodies. Freedmen turned their attention to land
acquisition, entrepreneurial ventures, and wage labor. Throughout Georgia, freedmen
purchased land, started small businesses, and cultivated cropland. However, they faced
new challenges in their quest to become full-fledged participants in the new economy of
the South. The crop-lien system resembled a repackaged form of slavery. F reedmen
became entrapped within a web of debt and questionable business practices. Freedmen
would engage in battles with their employers over fair compensation for their labor. Both
men and women would threaten to leave their jobs if their wages were not increased.
Some employers took advantage of this situation by offering higher wages to attract new
workers, while others used physical intimidation and violence to control their employees.
In spite of these tactics, blacks continued in their quest to find the best wages in return for
their labor power. Although, thrust into a world of debt peonage, contracts, and labor
disputes, blacks continued in the struggle to transform themselves into productive
citizens.

For the Georgia fi'eedmen, Republican rule lasted only five years. The
gubernatorial inauguration of James Milton Smith, a Democrat and vocal critic of Radical

Reconstruction, on January 12, 1872, marked the return of Democrats to power following

 

”The term “freedmen” was used to describe the status of blacks following the conclusion of the
Civil War.

five years of Republican rule.2 The Democratic Party flexed its political muscle with the
re-election of Smith to a full four-year term in October 1872 at the expense of Dawson A,
Walker, a Republican, who was soundly trounced at the polls 104, 256 votes to 45, 812.3
Two years earlier a harbinger of the impeding demise of Republican rule manifested itself
in the inability of Bullock to prolong military rule. Moreover, Bullock was unable to
quell the attacks against freedmen during his administration. Bullock’s term of office
began on July 21, 1868 and ended with his resignation on October 23, 1871 .‘ Exactly
260 cases of attacks against freedmen were reported, averaging 17 per month during
military rule and 46 after the restoration of civilian authority.5 To make matter worse,
25,000 native Georgia Republicans were firmly opposed to any further reconstruction by
Congress.6
In such a hostile environment of former supporters opposed to additional reconstruction,
the departure of ex Governor Brown from the party and his inability to prolong military
rule, he faced the looming specter of popular elections in 1870, which spelled doom for
his administration.

On the local level, Democrats gained control of county seats. In Chatham,
Richmond, and Burke, three Democrafrc members took place in the House of the three

Radicals in each county elected in 1868. Democrats captured counties with two seats in

 

zRaimo, John and Robert Sobel, Eds, Biographical Dictionary of the Governors of the United
States: 1879-1978 Vol. 1 (Connecticut: Meckler Books, 1978), 302.

3 Ibid, 302.

‘Ibid, 301.

’Mildred C. Thompson, Reconstruction in Georgia: economic, social, political, 1865-18 72 (New
York: The Columbia University Press, 1915), 257

6 Ibid, 259.

the lower house as well was those with one seat in the lower house. Of the 86 members
elected to the house, 71 were Democrats. In the Senate, Democrats held 19 out of 22
seats.7

Despite this situation, Bullock was able to win a brief respite from the Democratic
onslaught. Acting under the bill for the reorganization of Georgia, Bullock called a
meeting of the legislature on January 10, 1870, to all members declared elected in 1868,
including blacks that had been expelled. Governor Bullock and General Terry decided the
question of eligibility under the Reorganization Act.8 Borrowing a tactic employed by
their conservative counterparts, Republicans seated the candidates who held the next
highest vote in the 1868 elections. Through this act of parliamentary manipulation, one
Republican replaced a Conservative in the Senate, and twenty-one new Republicans took
their places in the House. Furthermore, blacks that were expelled in 1868 were restored to
their seats. This act, also known as Terry’s Purge, gave Bullock strong Republican
majorities in both houses, and it appeared that his administration could proceed without
Democratic cumbrance.9

Bullock’s legislative tinkering and political maneuvering resulted produced
results. In February, the purged legislature ratified the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments. However, Bullock’s brief victory was short lived. As mentioned earlier,

Bullock’s scheme to prolong Radical rule failed and he faced popular elections in 1870.

 

7 Ibid, 270.
' Ibid, 262.
9Ibid, 265.

Democratic dominance continued well beyond the Reconstruction due to the
actions of Thomas Edward Watson. The native of Columbia County, Georgia was born
on September 5, 1856. A layer and ardent supporter of the agrarian community, Watson
launched his first offensive against the Democratic machine, which was controlled by a
cadre of industrials and capitalists. During his only tern as a member of the state
assembly in 1882, he waged an insurgent campaign against the industrialist-capitalist
wing, which control the Democratic party of Georgia.10 He returned to politics in 1904 as
a Populist candidate for President. His politics had changed with his character. He shifted
supporters among the factions within the Democratic party of Georgia to his advantage.
As dejected supporters withdrew their support they were immediately replaced with
recruits who were attracted to his campaigns against Catholics, Socialists, and blacks.”

Within this inhospitable political climate, blacks would come to rely upon
philanthropy, support from their fellow brethren and individual efforts to secure support
and funding for freedmen’s education in Georgia.

This study contends that freedmen in Georgia were able to transform themselves
into a community of self-sufficient, productive citizens through education along with
their participation in the market economy via wage labor, property acquisition, and
entrepreneurial ventures.

The first section of this study will explore the role of education in the

transformation of the Georgia fi'eedmen. The following questions will be addressed in the

 

l0Dumas Malone, ed., Dictionary of A merican Biography Supplement to Vol. 10 (New York:
Charles Scribner & sons, 1936), 549.
" Ibid, 550.

first section. Did schools for blacks exist in the antebellum Georgia? What was the role
of the fi'eedmen’s bureau in the education of blacks? What was the role of Northern
teachers in the education of the freedmen? Did freedmen attempt to create and control
their own schools? What factors led to the creation of black colleges and universities in
Georgia? What role did education serve in the preparation of blacks to become involved
in the market economy of Georgia? The second section of this study concentrates on the
involvement of blacks within the market economy of Georgia. The following questions
will be addressed in the second section: What were the early occupations held by blacks
in antebellum Georgia? Was there evidence of property ownership and entrepreneurial
ventures among blacks in Georgia? What obstacles did blacks face within the market
economy? Why was property ownership important to blacks?

The Georgia freedmen faced a difficult journey. With their newly won freedom,
they set out to establish viable communities. While the arrival of Sherman heralded their
freedom, their participation in the schoolrooms and marketplace heralded their arrival as
citizens in the daily life of Georgia.

r en B n B n L

In the spring of 1864, Ulysees S. Grant instructed General Sherman to neutralize
any remaining Confederate units and gain control of war resources throughout Georgia.3
The capture of the cities of Atlanta and Savannah would deal a crushing blow to the

Confederate forces. Georgia served as the breadbasket and munitions supplier for the

 

’ Harold H. Martin, Georgia: A Bicentennial History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
1977) , 105.

Confederate Army. Once Sherman had placed the city of Atlanta under Union control, he
could effectively terminate the flow of munitions and foodstuffs to rebel forces under the
command of Robert E. Lee in Virginia.4 With orders in hand, General Sherman set out to
complete his objective, the capture of Atlanta.

During the entire month of August, General Sherman unleashed an unrelenting
barrage of artillery fire upon the city of Atlanta. The city endured an entire month of
shelling by Union artillery batteries. On the second day of September 1864, Mayor John
Calhoun surrendered the city of Atlanta to General Sherman. Looters broke into
abandoned stores and warehouses in search of goods. While freedmen wandered the
streets, attempting to come to grips with their newfound freedom, others took part in the
pillage.s Once all citizens had been evacuated from the captured city, Sherman ordered
his men to destroy all stores, factories and public buildings in Atlanta.6 As the victorious
Union army departed for Savannah, light from the fires danced across the night sky of
Atlanta. Having met his first objective, Sherman’s forces fanned out across the heart of
Georgia leaving a wide path of destruction across the countryside. According to a soldier
who took part in the march to the city of Savannah the mission was

a glorious tramp right through the heart of
the state, [we] rioted and feasted on the country,
destroyed the railroads, in short found a rich and

over-flowing country filled with cattle, hogs, sheep,
and fowls, corn, meat,

 

‘ Tera W. Hunter, “Household workers in the Making”: Afro-American Women in Atlanta and
the New South, 1861 to 1920” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University 1990) , 25.

5 Harold H. Martin, Georgia: A Bicentennial History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
1977) , 106.

‘E. Merton Coulter, Georgia: A Short History (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
1974) , 343.

potatoes, and syrup, but left a barren waste for miles
on either side of the road, burnt millions of dollars
worth of property, wasted and destroyed all of the
eatables we couldn’t carry off and brought the war
to the doors of the Georgians so effectively. I guess
they will long remember the Yankees.7

On December 13‘”, Savannah had fallen into Union hands. The Union Navy aided
in the capture of the port city of Savannah. The successful operation had netted 150
heavy artillery pieces, munitions, railway cars, steamboats, and 25,000 bales of cotton.
Sherman’s pillage of Georgia exacted a heavy toll on its system of railroads with
approximately 200 miles of rails that had been torn from their crossties. Thousands of
cattle, sheep and hogs were consumed or destroyed by Union soldiers.8 Private property,
including homes and crops, were confiscated. Atlanta had been burned to the ground. A
soldier who belonged to the Second Engineering Battalion from Michigan best summed
up the aftermath of Sherman’s pillage of Georgia with the following words: “It is a dark
time for Georgia and long will she remember the time when Sherman’s Eighty Thousand
men marched through 300 miles of the finest portion of the South, but they have sowed

”9 The Union forces under the command

on the wind and now they reap of the whirlwind.
of General Sherman left Georgia in ruins. Citizens walked past piles of debris, crumbled

chimneys, charred frame dwellings, and twisted rails, which filled the streets.10 Though

 

7Harold H. Martin, Georgia: A Bicentennial History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
1977) , 107.

3Ibid., 109.

°Allen Campbell to John Campbell, 18 December 1864, Special Collections, Michigan State
University Archives and Special Collections, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

loTera W. Hunter, T 0 ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women 's Lives And Labors After The
Civil War. (Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997) , 22.

bearing the scars and wounds of a defeated foe, Georgia and its cities would be rebuilt.
Visitors to the city noted the spirit of resiliency, which was present in the citizens. As
noted the large number of masons, carpenters, and contractors who went about the
business of rebuilding the once proud city.”

While citizens tended to the daily business of hauling brick and mixing mortar,
another building project was taking place. Books and primers replaced hammers and
shovels as teachers provided instruction to freedmen. Lessons in grammar, history, and
arithmetic were provided on a daily basis. In 1865, teachers sent by the American
Missionary Association stumbled upon a small school led by two former slaves within
the basement of an old church.12 Clearly, blacks understood the importance of education.
They took the initiative to prepare themselves for their new lives as freedmen. Education
would provide the basic skills needed not only to survive but also to thrive. The steps
taken by these former slaves illustrate the importance of education and their attempt to
prepare their fellow comrades for their life as citizens.

The Georgia Freedmen faced a difficult journey. With their newly won fieedom
in hand, they began the task of creating a viable, self-sustaining community. However,
the classroom and the marketplace would be molded and forged into productive, self-
sufficient citizens. Faced with great opportunity and uncertainty, the Georgia freedmen

began their quest to create a community of wage laborers, shopkeepers, and landowners.

 

”Tera W. Hunter, “Household Workers in the Making: Afro-American Women in Atlanta and the
New South, 1861-1920.” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1990 ) 29.

I2Howard N. Rabinowitz , “Half a Loaf: The Shift from White to Black Teachers in the Negro
Schools of the Urban South, 1865-1890,” Journal of Southern History 40 (November 1974) :
567.

Through their efforts, future generations would enjoy the fruits of their labor. While the
arrival of General Sherman and the Union army heralded their fi'eedom, their arrival in
the schoolrooms and participation in the marketplace signaled their introduction into the

daily life of Georgia.

10

f r en’s c ti n ' r 'a

Prior to the arrival of General Sherman’s invasion force in 1864, members of the
free black community operated secret schools throughout the city. They went to great
lengths to shield their schools from the general public. In 1829, the Georgia legislature
prohibited any individual from teaching reading or writing skills to blacks.” Those who
continued to provide instruction to blacks did so under penalty of law. Members of the
free black community established schools in Savannah. One such individual who
provided instruction hailed from the Caribbean. “Jules Fromontin, a native of Santo
Domingo, established a school in 1818. Although the state banned the practice of
providing instruction to blacks in 1829, he continued to hold classes in secret locations
throughout the Seaport City of Savannah.” Moreover, the work of Fromontin did not go
unnoticed. Historian W.E.B. Dubois has credited Fromontin with laying the foundation
for public education in Georgia.16 During his twenty-six years of teaching, Fromontin
provided basic lessons in reading and writing to countless blacks in Savannah. Surely, if
officials would have found Mr. Fromontin, he may have been punished to the fullest
extent allowed by law. His service to the black community of Savannah was invaluable.
He was planting seeds in fertile minds that would later develop into a community of
citizens who were able to fend for themselves.

While Mr. F romontin taught pupils basic lessons in reading and writing, another
black man opened a school for music and the performing arts in Savannah. In 1854,

James Porter migrated from nearby Charleston, South Carolina. “Upon his arrival in

 

" Whittington B. Johnson, “Free Blacks in Antebellum Savannah: An Economic Profile,” The
Georgia Historical Quarterly 64 (1980) : 425.

‘5 Ibid.

11

Savannah, he openly offered lessons in voice, piano, and violin. Though in direct
violation of the state law, officials refrained from punishing Mr. Porter.”l7 Perhaps, the
work of Mr. Porter was not considered as a threat to the officials who governed the port
city.

Black women within the community also provided instruction to their fellow
comrades within Savannah. “During the 1850’s Mrs. Mary Woodhouse, a free woman,
provided basic lessons to twenty five students which was comprised of free blacks and
slaves with the assistance of her daughter, Mary Jane Woodhouse. After two years, her
students would then transfer to another school where they would receive an upper level
elementary education.”18 From the evidence presented, one could infer that the work
done by Mrs. Woodhouse resembled an early form of kindergarten. Also, it is important
to note that her pupils were the offspring of both free blacks and slaves. It is truly
remarkable that Mrs. Woodhouse was able to provide basic instruction to such young
pupils under such adverse conditions; for she too may have been punished for violating
the state law which prohibited individuals from providing blacks with basic lessons in
reading and writing.

Mrs. Catherine Deveaux is another excellent example of a flee black woman who
was able to operate her school in total secrecy. “During the 1840’s, Mrs. Deveaux held
classes for young black females in Savannah. She then passed control of the school to

her daughter, Jane Deveaux who provided instruction to her female pupils for almost

 

'6 William Edward Dubois, Black Reconstruction in America (New York: Russell & Russell,
1963) , 644.

l7Whittington B. Johnson, “Free Blacks in Antebellum Savannah: An Economic Profile,”
The Georgia Historical Quarterly 64 (1980) : 425

‘3 Whittington B. Johnson, “ Free African-American Women in Savannah, 1800-1860: Affluence
and Autonomy Amid Adversity,” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 96 (1992) : 278.

12

thirty years until 1864 when Union soldiers stumbled upon her school during the invasion
of Savannah.”19 Mrs. Deveaux was not only able to operate the school in total secrecy but
was fortunate that her daughter sought to continue her mother’s work as a teacher.

In response to the occupation of Savannah by Union forces during the winter of
1864, leaders within the black community moved swiftly to establish organizations
designed to meet the educational needs of their former enslaved brethren. Although flee
blacks had established secret schools forty six years before the arrival of General
Sherman, they now faced the task of erecting an educational system capable of meeting
the needs of hundreds of newly fleed slaves and pre—existing flee blacks who actively
sought instruction.

The days following Sherman’s invasion and occupation of Savannah were marked
by great celebration. Blacks offered their thanks to the General and his soldiers who had
liberated them flom the bonds of slavery. In December of 1864, an important meeting
was held in the sanctuary of the First African Baptist Church a few days after the
invasion. At the conclusion of the meeting, the religious leaders had agreed to form the
Savannah Education Association (SEA), complete with funding provided by flee blacks
to start a school for black children.20 The SEA consisted of pastors and a committee of
nine executives oversaw executive boards flom churches within Savannah and its
operations.21 Blacks in Savannah established the SEA without assistance flom the local

government. They were correct in taking the initiative to establish the SEA because the

 

'9 Ibid.

20William A. Byme, “Uncle Billy Sherman Comes To Town: The Free Winter of Black
Savannah,” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 79 (Spring 1995) : 99.

2' Robert C. Morris, Reading, ‘Riting, and Reconstruction: The Education of F reedmen in the
South, [861-1870 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981) , 120.

13

local Chatham County Board of Education did not move to establish schools for blacks
until 1872.22

During its first year of operation, the SEA sprang into action by hiring local
teachers, supplying them with housing, and securing buildings for classroom instruction.
While members of the SEA attended to the daily business of providing education to black
pupils, the American Missionary Association” sent a representative to Georgia in the
hopes of assisting the SEA in its mission. Upon his arrival in 1865, Reverend W.T.
Richardson discovered that the black community of Savannah had founded the SEA,
amassed $730 and hired several local teachers. The SEA then moved to forge a working
partnership with the AMA." The SEA was then able to tap into the resources possessed
by the AMA. The SEA would provide schoolhouses and lodging for teachers. Also, the
AMA provided funding and teachers upon request. The relationship between the SBA and
the AMA illustrates the commitment of blacks to education. Instead of waiting for help to
arrive, the black community of Savannah created the SBA and then entered into
partnerships with established religious organizations such as the AMA. The primary
objective of the SEA was to provide the black community access to education.

Two years following the birth of the SEA, a new black-led organization emerged.
Founded in January 1866, the Georgia Educational Association (GEA) set out to

encourage blacks to establish and support schools in their respective counties. The

 

2’ John Blassingame, “Before The Ghetto: The Making Of The Black Community In Savannah,
Georgia, 1865-1880,” Journal of Social History 471.
2’ The American Missionary Association (AMA) was founded in 1846 as an abolition organization. The
group consisted of black and white clergymen from Congregational and Presbyterian churches. From its
headquarters in New York, the AMA provided teachers and funding to freedmen schools throughout the
South following the Civil War. The following books provide extensive information on the work of the
AMA in the South: Clara Merritt Deboer’s 111W and Joe M. Richardson’s Man

mm

14

following year, the GEA filed a report on the status of education among blacks in
Georgia. According to the report, 191 schools and 45 night schools were in operation.
Out of the 236 schools in operation, 96 received financial support from the surrounding
black commrmity. Amazingly, blacks owned 57 percent of the schools.” The efforts of
the GEA proved fruitful following its first year. They funded schools out of their own
pockets and purchased buildings, which were converted into schools. Blacks prized
education and used their resources at hand to insure that they would have access to
instruction in their respective commrmities.

The efforts of the state to establish a permanent public school system was
hampered by the lack of a consistent flow of funding, periods of legislative inactivity, and
the unwillingness to permit blacks and whites to receive instruction together. Such acts
would have violated the time-honored practice of racial separation. Moreover, whites
depended on the practice of racial separation to reinforce their ironclad belief in white
supremacy.

In 1866 the Georgia legislature moved to establish a permanent system of public
education. The public school bill, which was passed by the legislature, directed the state
to establish a fully operational school system, complete with a state superintendent, to
provide instruction to all white children. Before the act took effect in 1868, Congressional
Reconstruction neutralized any and all legislation enacted by the state legislature.26 The
action taken by the state legislature illustrated their deeply held belief in racial separation.

They were ready to use the power of the state to reinforce the social practice of racial

 

2‘Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association And
Southern Blacks, [861-1890 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 237.

2’ William Burghardt DuBois, Black Reconstruction In America (New York: Russell & Russell,
1963) , 645.

15

separation. Southerners sought to protect their time-honored practice of racial separation
by any means at their disposal.

During this period of inactivity, the citizens began to petition Governor Rufus
Bullock to establish public schools across the state. Bullock, the Reconstruction governor
and businessman, originally hailed flom Bethlehem, New York. His desire was to create a
stable political climate conducive to the attraction of Northern investors combined with a
strong base of support flom newly enflanchised black voters and working class whites
that shouldered the burden of post-war debt. This enabled Bullock to capture the
govemor’s seat on the 22 of July 1868. His administration was marked with charges of
corruption and political instability. Although the expulsion of black members flom the
Georgia Assembly combined with the refusal by white legislators to ratify the Fifteenth
Amendment enabled him to briefly extend his position as governor. The ratification of
the Fifteenth Amendment and the reinstatement of black legislators to their seats in the
General Assembly in early 1870, no longer justified continued federal military
intervention, which Bullock relied upon to fortify his position as governor. In 1871,
fearing impeachment due to charges of selling pardons to convicted felons and profiting

27 However,

flom the sale of state bonds, Bullock resigned his post as governor.
Governor Bullock could only urge members of the legislature to pass the school bill. His
rock solid belief in education as a means of improving the quality of life of blacks led the

Governor to offer flee rail passes to any individual who established schools or provided

daily instruction to fleedmen within the state.28

 

2"Peter Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1987) , 153.

’7 Ibid., 908.

2"Russell Duncan, Entrepreneur for Equality (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994) , 61.

16

In 1866, the Georgia legislature took up the issue of public education under the
supervision of the federal government. Legislators moved to enact a new school bill,
which was to become a permanent fixture in the Georgia Constitution. The Reconstructed
Constitution of 1868 required the state to provide “a thorough system of education to be
forever flee to all children of the state, the details were to be worked out by the
Legislature.” 2’ Republican legislators moved to construct a means of funding for public
education. Funding for education would be derived flom a $1.00 poll tax paid by citizens
and a statewide tax on property.30 Revenues collected flom both of these sources were to
be used to fimd the daily operation of the public school system in Georgia.

Once again, additional time would pass until legislators chose to take up the issue
of establishing a permanent public school system. In 1870, State Senator Campbell
presented a bill to establish a statewide public school system complete with an extensive
description of funding formulas designed to provide revenue for daily operations.31 In
October of 1870, the public school bill became law.32 The Georgia Teachers’ Association
(GTA) proved the impetus for the enactment of the public school bill into law. The GTA
was comprised of white and black teachers who convened meetings in Atlanta. Their
objective was to construct a system of public education, which could be readily adopted
by the state.33 Through the efforts of the GTA and State Senator Campbell, all children

were given access to education statewide.

 

2"’William Burghardt DuBois, Black Reconstruction (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963) ,
65 l .

3° Peter Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1987) , 153.

31William Burghardt DuBois, Black Reconstruction (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963) ,
65 l .

32Henry Allen Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1967) , 55.

33William Burghardt DuBois, Black Reconstruction (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963) ,

l7

The first major problem faced by the public school system was the lack of state
firnding. During its first year of operation, the school system had incurred a debt of
$300,000 under the leadership of state superintendent JR. Lewis. As mentioned earlier,
school funding was to be derived flom poll tax revenue. However, the state failed to
collect poll taxes flom 1868 to 1870”. Governor Bullock suspended collection of the poll
tax during 1868 and 1870 as a means of encouraging poor whites and flee blacks to
vote.35 In his attempt to retain control of the executive branch, the Governor eliminated a
source of funding for public education. The lack of state funding for education left the
issue in the hands of local authorities. In 1869, local authorities in Jones County refirsed
to enact a tax in which the revenue would be used for education. However in 1867, local
officials in Early County and Columbia County funded their schools flom a 15 percent
tax, which was levied on their respective communities.36 In the absence of leadership
flom the state, each locality dealt with the issue of providing funding for local schools.

Following the loss of poll tax revenue, another potential source of funding was
eliminated as a result of the Civil War. F mm the outset, the state-owned Western and
Atlantic Railroad would contribute $100,000 for school operations. However, costly
repairs of the roadbed and rolling stock absorbed all income earned by the railroad in

1865.37

 

65 l .

3"Henry Allen Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1967) , 55.

3’Peter Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1987) , 154.

36 Ibid., 193

37Ibid., 154

18

In the summer of 1871, public schools opened their doors for the first time in
Georgia. The following year, $500,000 in state fimds was transferred flom the school
budget for other purposes. Due to lack of funding, school operations were suspended.38
The lack of a constant source of revenue combined with the diversion of existing funds,
dealt a serious blow to public education in Georgia. Though the situation appeared grim,
a new school commissioner would resurrect the public school system of Georgia.

In 1872, Gustavus J. Orr replaced J .R. Lewis as school commissioner. Upon his
recommendation, the Georgia legislature moved to enact the public school bill of 1872
into law. The following year, he secured funding flom the legislature. At the conclusion
of the year, Commissioner Orr had 1,379 schools for white children and 356 for black
children.39 Legislators who sought to preserve the lines of racial division in Georgia did
so through the addition of a clause within the public school law of 1872. The clause
required the creation of separate and equal facilities for white and black pupils.40 The
insertion of the clause illustrates the firm commitment of white Georgians to racial
separation. Nevertheless, the state of Georgia had finally created a permanent public
school system. Although black and white students were legally prohibited flom receiving

instruction within the same classroom, they had finally secured access to education.

 

3' William Burghardt DuBois, Black Reconstruction (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963), 651.

39Henry Allen Bullock, A History of Negro Education in The South (Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1967) , 55-56.

”William Burghardt Dubois Black Reconstruction (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963), 651.

19

Emerimen’s ngeau provides supmrt to Schools in Georgia

While groups such as the AMA and the SEA tended to the daily business of
providing education to the fleedmen, the general public largely ignored their work.
Once the North achieved victory of the rebellious South, citizens turned their attention to
the political and economic reintegration of the South into the Union. However, members
of prominent relief aid organizations centered in Boston advocated the creation of a
federal bureau to attend to the needs of freedmen not only in Georgia, but also throughout
the South. They had taken the heavy burden of fleedrnen’s relief on their shoulders. The
burden proved to be a financially taxing endeavor. Groups such as the AMA (American
Missionary Association) and the AFUC (American Freedmen’s Union Commission) had
relied upon the contributions of its members and pledges from wealthy individuals to
support their work throughout the South. Facing such a Herculean task, prominent
members of private relief aid organizations located in Boston sought to enlist the aid of
the federal government in their task of providing daily instruction to fleedmen. Their
chief objective was to secure the establishment of a Federal Bureau of Emancipation.38
With firm resolve, they sought out individuals who would champion their cause within
the walls of congress.

They found two individuals flom their home state of Massachusetts who would
take up their cause within the House of Representatives and the Senate. On January 12,

1863, Senator Henry Wilson presented a petition on behalf of the relief aid organizations,

which requested the formation of a bureau of emancipation. The following week,

 

38 Paul Skeels Pierce, The Freedmen’s Bureau: A Chapter In The History Of Reconstruction (New
York: Haskell House, 1971), 34.

20

representative T.D. Eliot presented a bill to establish a Bureau of Emancipation.” During
the next two years, the Bureau of Emancipation bill would be shuffled between senate
committees and serve as the flashpoint for numerous debates between supporters and
opponents of the Bureau of Emancipation bill.

On March 3, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed the Bureau of Emancipation
bill into law. Housed within the War Department, the bureau was staffed by army
officers. The President appointed the head commissioner of the bureau. An assistant
commander would be placed in each of the ten states that participated in the rebellion. In
exchange for his services, the bureau commissioner received a salary of $3,000 and
$50,000 in government bonds. His assistant commanders received a salary of $2,500 and
$20,000 in government bonds.40 With mandate in hand, the bureau set out to manage the
abandoned confederate lands and tend to the needs of the freedmen throughout the South.

Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, selected General Oliver Otis Howard to
serve as the only commissioner of the fleedmen’s bureau. General Oliver, a native of
Maine and former commander of the Army of Tennessee, became the head of a federal
agency charged with the job of creating a new way of life for fleedmen, most of whom
lived in the South as slaves.41 General Howard, born in Leeds, Maine, was the son of
immigrants flom Massachusetts who were attracted to the farmland, which lay to the west
of the Androscoggin River. His great grandfather, Captain Seth Howard, held the dual

distinction as founder of Leeds and as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.42 Following in

 

”Ibid., 34.

‘° Ibid., 44.

"William S. McFeeley, Yankee Stepfather: General 0.0. Howard and the F reedmen (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1968) , 20

”Ibid., 26

21

the footsteps of his great grandfather, General Howard was well accustomed to the harsh
brutalities and carnage of war as evidenced by his letters which detail the Union
campaign as it stretched through Georgia.43 On orders flom William Tecumseh Sherman,
General Howard led the Army of Tennessee in the march to the sea. The capture of Fort
McAllister on the coastal waters below Savannah by troops under Howard’s command
heralded the demise of the Confederacy in Georgia.44 The former breadbasket and
munitions dump of the Confederacy was placed under Union control. Once the harsh
business of war had been completed, Howard redirected his energies to answer the
question—“What shall we do with the Negro?”45

In response to the question, Howard permitted his assistant commanders and
agents to experiment with an assortment of varied assistance programs designed to solve
the larger question of how to integrate fleedmen into postwar society. Evidence of
paternalism and his interpretation of his duty as a moral obligation were present in his
rhetoric. Through his efforts, “America would be transformed into a nation which cares
for its children.” His task would also enable him to reconcile his desire to become a
preacher with his military service. He took great pride in the title “Christian Soldier”
which was recognized throughout the nation. The title enabled Howard to appeal to
religious and private aid societies for assistance, serve as a spokesman on the behalf of
the plight of fleedmen and to establish his work as moral necessity for the destitute of

every hue and shade.46

 

‘3 Ibid., 40.

Ibid, 43
‘5 Ibid., 84
“Ibid., 85.

22

General Howard chose Brigadier Rufirs Saxton to serve as assistant commander
of Georgia. The native of Massachusetts was charged with the responsibility of
supervising the work of the bureau in Georgia.41 With orders in hand, assistant
commander opened the main bureau office in Augusta, Georgia (see figurel) Saxton took
up the task of providing sustenance, clothing, and medical care to the fleedmen. In
addition, the bureau aided in the process of family reunification, assisted them in their
quest for education, and transported them to areas where farmers would pay their wages
in return for their labor power. In effect, the bureau aided blacks in their transition flom
slavery to fleedom.42

Agents and bureau officials turned their attention to collect information regarding
the population and condition of Georgia. Before their arrival, northern relief agencies
such as the AMA and AFU C Opened schools, provided teaching materials, and instructors
throughout the South. Their desire to provided instruction stemmed flom their firm
belief in education. The origins of the public schools can be traced back to the traditional
New England school system. From Massachusetts to Maine, single-room schoolhouses
dotted the landscape. Within these walls, mostly young female teachers provided basic
lessons in arithmetic, reading, and civics. Some schools were able to offer advanced
subjects.

Northemers prized education along with flee labor and the ballot. These three

elements represented the guardians of their liberty. Education served as the foundation of

 

’1 Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The F reedmen 's Bureau and the
Reconstruction of Georgia, [865-1870 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997) , 2.

‘2 Leon F. Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath 0f Slavery (New York: Alfled A
Knopf, 1979) , 382.

23

a virtuous citizenry, the bedrock of republicanism.43 Army officers who supported
fleedmen’s education became ideal candidates to fill vacancies within the State Bureau
offices. Commissioner Howard selected Colonel John Randolph Lewis to oversee
educational unit of the Georgia Bureau as the assistant inspector general for the Georgia
Bureau. In January 1867, Colonel John Randolph Lewis became assistant inspector
general for the Georgia Bureau. Two years earlier, Lewis had served in the same capacity
in Tennessee. He had become disenchanted over whites refusal to honor labor contracts
with blacks. Unlike his superiors, who firmly believed in the contract system of labor,
Lewis became convinced that the fleedmen must possess intelligence and education so
that they may be able to defend their rights.44

Once the war had ended, both Northemers and Southerners agreed that the
resurrection of the South’s agrarian based economy was crucial to the overall economic
health of the United States. The Northern factories and markets hungered for the cotton,
tobacco, and foodstuffs produced by the rich Southern soil. Planters in need of field
hands entered into labor contract with flee blacks. However, this new pool of flee labor
was subject to planters who refused to honor contracts and local officials who refused to
defend their rights. Though the system of slavery lay in ruin, individuals remained firm
in their belief of white supremacy. The contract had replaced the whip as the new means
of control over flee blacks. In response to this situation, Lewis worked to provide blacks
access to education. A literate workforce would be able to defend itself against the horde
of racist planters and indifferent local officials. They could avoid entering into contracts

with planters who refuse to provide financial compensation equal to their labor in the

 

”Paul A. Cimbala, Under The Guardianship Of A Nation: The Freedmen ’3 Bureau and the
Reconstruction of Georgia, [865-1870 ( Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997) , 14.

24

fields. Education and control of their labor power formed the bedrock on which blacks
would construct a viable community in Georgia.

During the first year of operation, the bureau was financially unable to meet the
educational needs of the fleedmen. The initial legislation, which called for creation of the
freemen’s bureau, failed to provide funds for education related expenses. In addition, the
initial legislation made no provision for the education of fleedmen. Commissioner
Howard responded by diverting the rent collected flom confiscated and abandoned
property towards schoolhouse construction, books, and school firrniture.45 Though
legislators may have failed to address the educational needs of the fleedmen,
Commissioner Howard, by his own initiative, secured the necessary funding for
fleedmen’s education during the first year of bureau operations.

During the summer of 1866, Congress took up the issue of the bureau’s inability
to meet the educational needs of the fleedmen. Congressmen received petitions flom
bureau officials and educational agencies that faced the daily challenges and financial
demands of freedmen’s education. On July 16,1866, the educational powers of the bureau
were expanded. Under conditions of the act, the bureau was permitted to work closely
with private aid agencies. Additional language within the acts, granted the commissioner
the power to lease buildings to private aid agencies, which were to be used as schools for
fleedmen. In response to the pleas for funding, congress appropriated $521,000 for
school related expenses. In addition, revenue collected flom the sale and lease of
confiscated confederate property was diverted towards fleedmen’s education. Ten months

later, Congress moved to provide additional funding for bureau schools. On May 2, 1867 ,

 

44 .
Ibld., 11.
”Paul Skeels Pierce, The F reedmen 's Bureau: A Chapter In The History Of Reconstruction

25

the department of education was established. Within the body of department of education
bill, an additional $500,000 was earmarked for the operation, purchase and maintenance
of bureau schools.“3

Through the efforts of bureau officers and private aid groups, the fleedmen’s
bureau was transformed flom an overwhelmed agency into a department capable of
meeting the demands of the day. Successive acts of congress increased the bureau’s
budget and charged its officers with the duty of funding freedmen’s education. A new
partnership was forged between the federal government and private aid organizations.
Groups such as the AMA and AFUC would petition the bureau for funds to purchase
buildings or to cover the daily operating expenses of existing schools. Within the local
bureau offices, funding requests were processed. Bureau officials relied upon first hand
accounts of bureau field agents and the work of existing relief agencies. Funding could
not be wasted on persons or groups of questionable stature.

Although General Rufus Saxton served as supervisor of the Georgia Bureau,
Brigadier Davis Tillson is recognized as the officer responsible for establishing the
Bureau’s presence throughout Georgia. The native of Rockland, Maine, Tillson was a
graduate of West Point, which was regarded as the preeminent military academy in the
United States. After his service as an artillery officer, Brigadier Tillson established the
first heavy artillery regiment composed entirely of black soldiers. Upon conclusion of his
military career, he took command of the Georgia Bureau on September 22, 1865.47

Tillson appointed the following individuals to serve as the first state superintendents: G.L

 

(New York: Haskell House, 1971) , 75.

‘6 Ibid. 76.

"Paul Cimbala, Under The Guardianship Of A Nation: The F reedmen 's Bureau and the
Reconstruction Of Georgia, [865-1870 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997) , 5.

26

Eberhart, 1865-67; Edmund A. Ware, 1867-68 and John R. Lewis 1868-1870. All of the
aforementioned individuals served brief terms and were charged with the task of
overseeing the daily operation of fleedmen’s schools throughout the state.48

Within the offices of the Georgia Bureau located in Augusta, assistant commander
Tillson received requests flom individuals on behalf of private aid groups in search of
funding to cover expenses related to fleedmen’s education. One particular request
regarding the repair of a school reached his desk. In October 1866, Reverend E.P. Smith
requested on behalf of the AMA, the sum of seven thousand four hundred dollars for the
repair of schools houses in Atlanta. Tillson responded by informing Reverend Smith that
the request could be approved as long as the AMA promised to provide education to all,
regardless of race."9 Tillson strove to insure that federal funds would not be used to
maintain the wall of separation between whites and blacks. Schools who sought to
educate all of Georgia’s youth would be entitled to funding provided by the bureau.

Local bureau administrators drew upon firnds flom its operating budget to provide
financial support for fleedmen’s education across the State of Georgia. According to
local bureau records, the bureau provided the sum of two hundred thousand dollars in
support of fleedmen’s education flom 1865 to 1870. Over the course of five years of the
bureau’s operation in Georgia between 1865 and 1870, the Georgia bureau provided
$40,000 annually in support of fleedmen’s education. These firnds were used to cover the
following expenses incurred by freedmen’s schools: construction, maintenance, and daily

operations. Due to the financial expenditures made by the bureau, schools were opened

 

“Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love, Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 91

‘9 Paul A. Cimbala, Under The Guardianship Of A Nation: The F reedmen ’s Bureau and the
Reconstruction of Georgia, 1 865-18 70 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1997) , 116.

27

and operated in sixty towns within the state of Georgia.50 Clearly, the federal
expenditures towards fleedmen’s education completely eclipsed the half-hearted and
anemic attempts made by the state government; and rightly so, since state legislators who
were firmly wedded to their belief in white supremacy viewed education of the freedmen
as a threat to their superior status within Georgia. Free flom interference by state
legislators, bureau superintendent G. L. Eberhart and his agents tended to the daily
business of processing funding requests and collecting reports regarding the status of
schools attend by the fleedmen of Georgia. This group of dedicated officers worked
tirelessly in support of fleedmen’s education. Sadly, the massive expenditures by the
Georgia bureau contributed to its demise. Over the course of its five years in operation,
the financial demands exceeded the funds within the bureau’s budget.

From 1867 to 1870, bureau officials began to reduce bureau involvement in
freedmen’s education. The financial commitment to fleedmen’s education played a
major role in the reduction and eventual demise of the Georgia bureau. The first sign of
financial insolvency appeared during the overlapping terms of superintendents Eberhart
and Ware. In 1867, bureau funds earmarked for teacher’s salaries were exhausted. Within
the next two years, transportation and supply costs had exacted a heavy toll on the budget
of the Georgia office. In response to this situation, superintendents Ware and Lewis
applied the remaining funds towards schoolhouse repair. To cover further budget
shortfalls, the superintendents would permit private aid groups to rent the schoolhouses

for a nominal monthly fee.51

 

5° Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 91.
Ibid. 92.

28

The men of the Georgia bureau bore a heavy burden on their shoulders. They
were charged with the task of providing financial assistance in support of freedmen’s
education. They also provided the physical inflastructure in the form of confiscated
property and newly constructed school buildings. Private aid organizations such as the
AMA and the AFU C sent written requests for funding. Bureau officials would screen
numerous requests. Those deemed worthy of firnding would be approved.

In one particular instance, the misuse of bureau fimds led superintendent Lewis to
unleash a verbal tirade upon an AMA official who had used bureau funds to build a
mission home in place of a school.52

During the Summer of 1870, bureau activities began to wind down. In mid-July,
only a skeletal staff remained. Superintendent Lewis worked feverishly during the final
days of bureau office operations. He succeeded in completing repairs on school buildings
and transferred leases flom the bureau to the AMA.53 By working in close partnership
with private aid organizations, the Georgia bureau helped establish the rudimentary
foundation of the public school system. The partnership had resulted in the transfer of the
classical New England education to the Georgia fleedmen. Without question, the bureau
played a major role in the transformation of the ex-slaves of Georgia into literate

fleedmen ready to pursue their hopes and dreams.

 

”Ibid. 92.
”Ibid. 108.

29

Black Sumrt 9f Education and Schools in Georgia

While bureau agents and missionaries tended to the daily business of fleedmen’s
education, flee blacks contributed to their uplift via education. No longer barred by state
law, both young and old filled the schoolrooms. Students received daily reading, writing,
arithmetic, and history lessons. The rudimentary education received by blacks would
enable them to pursue their own interests and increase their participation in the greater
society.

As time passed, fleedmen began to fashion their own ideas regarding education.
Blacks viewed education as a means of protest against white authority as well as a
passport to places beyond their immediate surroundings. In the eyes of the Georgia
fleedmen, education represented individual and collective defiance to white authority and
as a means of ventming beyond the confines of the cotton plantation.54 Blacks viewed
the schoolhouse as a counterweight to the ideals of white supremacy, which remained
alive in the minds of a considerable segment of the southern white population. Also, their
exposure to education rekindled their need to explore the lands beyond the plantation
grounds. No longer subject to the evils of slavery blacks turned to education as a means
of self-improvement. The Georgia fleedmen, armed with the hard won fleedom filled
schoolrooms across the state. Education would play a key role in the transformation of
the fleedmen into a community of literate citizens. Within the black community, the
school represented the gateway to knowledge, independence, and a means to acquire the

skills required to fimction within postbellum Georgia.

 

“Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love, Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
l 8 73 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Pres, 1980) , 49.

3O

Observers of the situation noted how the Georgia fleedrnen craved for education.
In the words of a native black teacher, they begged for learning “as a thirsty man would
beg his neighbor for water.”55 The school served as an oasis to quench the fleedmen’s
thirst for education. Some blacks went to great lengths to meet the educational needs of
their children. In one instance, a young black woman traveled hundreds of miles so that
her son may attend school. Harriet Lynch Wright walked approximately two hundred
miles flom Cuthbert, Georgia to Atlanta with her three children so that her son Richard
could attend Storrs School.56 The action taken by Ms. Wright illustrates her deep
commitment to her son’s future. She embarked on a long trek to insure that her son would
have the opportunity to receive an education.

While Ms. Wright trekked across Georgia, a father worked an additional job to
fund his daughter’s education. In 1911, Albert Rivers, a self-employed farmer obtained a
position as a lurnberyard laborer. The additional income was needed so that his twelve-
year-old daughter, Eunice, could leave their home in J akin, Georgia to attend a school
located fifteen miles away in Fort Gaines, Georgia. She then went on to Tuskegee
Institute were she obtained a nursing degree in 1922.57 Rivers played an active role in his
daughter’s pursuit of a college degree. The investment made by Rivers was a wise
decision.

Across the state, blacks provided their labor power and financial resources to
establish schools in their communities. In the years following the Civil War, former field

bands who maintained the rice fields of Savarmah (see figure 2) offered their labor in

 

ss -
Ibid, 59.
“Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks, [861-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 39.

31

return for the establishment of a school in their community. Their counterparts in nearby
Brunswick were unanimous in their support of education (see figure 2). Meanwhile, their
comrades in southwestern Georgia sought to establish schools in their communities as
well. In the hopes of recruiting a teacher to provide instruction for their children, blacks
in Calhoun County offered a home and a salaried position to prospective candidates.58
Blacks in Thomas, Georgia held fund raising events to collect monies for school
construction. During the early years of Reconstruction, the men and women of Thomas
donated seventy dollars per month towards school operations. They also contributed three
hundred and fifty dollars per year to fund school construction. The profits made flom
bazaars, fairs and bake sales were earmarked for school construction and daily operation.
The financial support displayed by the blacks of Thomas, Georgia could be found in
other black communities as well. The state superintendent recognized their financial
support of education. Two years after the Civil War, records indicate that the Georgia
fleedmen had donated $3,500 per month toward school construction, compared to the
bureau’s monthly appropriation of $2,00059 From the evidence presented, blacks valued
education and used the financial resources within their communities to meet the costs of
school construction.

In addition to funding the construction of new schools, blacks owned schools and
helped pay expenses related to their daily operation. According to records kept by the

Georgia branch of the Freedrnen’s Bureau, blacks owned a significant number of schools

 

”Stephanie J. Shaw, What a Woman Ought To Be and To Do: Black Professional Women Workers
During the Jim Crow Era (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996) , 32.
”Henry Lee Swint, The Northern Teacher In The South, 1862-1870 (Tennessee: The Vanderbilt
Universi Pres, 1941) , 71.
9Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love, Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 62.

32

and were able to provide financial support to these schools. By the end of 1866, blacks
owned 57 school buildings and provided funding for the operation of 96 of the 127
schools in the state. By May 1867, contributions made by the fleedmen sustained 104
schools and teachers and 3,045 pupils.60 The records also reveal that blacks had planned
to build schools upon newly purchased parcels of land. In September 1867, the bureau
superintendent reported that freedmen had purchased land and planned to build schools
upon them.61 Blacks were firmly committed to the establishment of schools within their
communities. Through the use of their labor power and community based fund raising
events, blacks were able to build and support schools for their children.

However, the efforts by blacks to establish schools along with their desire to
select black teachers drew the attention of AMA field officials in Georgia. The AMA had
provided teachers, instructional materials and opened schools on the behalf of the
freedmen. Some AMA agents and officials firmly believed that blacks were unable to
provide instruction to their fellow brethren. Black teachers were often the targets of
unjustified criticism and prejudice by some AMA officials. In a caustic letter to the State
Superintendent, Edwin Cooley expressed his belief that a “Yankee girl could provide
better instruction to one hundred pupils better than three black teachers.’ Additional
letters revealed his prejudice against black teachers. While Cooley did begrudgingly
offer words of praise to a few black teachers, he stood firm in his belief that black

teachers were less competent than their white counterparts.62

 

6° Paul A. Cimbala, Under The Guardianship Of A Nation: The F reedmen '3 Bureau And The
Reconstruction Of Georgia, 1865-1877 (Athens: The University Of Georgia Press, 1997) , 110.

"George Bently, A History Of The F reedmen ’s Bureau (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1955) , 172.

‘2 Ibid, 123.

33

Cooley was not alone in his vitriolic attack against black teachers. In one instance
an official conducting a review of black teachers in Georgia offered an unflattering
report. While conducting an inspection of schools in 1869, Bureau inspector O.H Howard
noted that black teachers patterned themselves entirely after their white counterparts and
their students receive little if any instruction.63 Black led educational groups also drew
fire flom officials within northern benevolent associations. Following the capture of
Savannah by General Sherman in December 1864, the black clergymen of Savannah
established the Savannah Educational Association. The SEA immediately established
schools on the grounds of the former Bryan Slave Mart and the Oglethorpe Medical
College. Their nine-member committee was guided by the principle of “assistance
without control” and took pride in retaining absolute control of schools founded by the
SEA.64 While some members of benevolent associations respected the SEA’s firm
commitment to self-reliance and management of its own internal affairs, others held a
less favorable opinion of the black led association. AMA agent S.W. Magill believed that
the SEA would prove to be a great failure since its members did not enlist the aid of
white AMA agents and chose to manage the association by themselves. In his opinion,
the AMA should not become involved with the SEA as long as it maintained a posture of
“racial exclusiveness”.65 The SEA in no way posed a threat to the dominance of the
AMA in Georgia. However, the collective efforts displayed by blacks threatened to break
the bonds of paternalism between blacks and benevolent associations. Bureau agents,

administrators, and missionaries believed that they were best suited to the task of meeting

the educational needs of the fleedmen. They believed that slavery had rendered freedmen

 

63Ibid, 89.
6‘ Ibid, 120.

34

unable to transform themselves into literate citizens. Therefore, it became necessary that
benevolent associations should intervene on behalf of the fleedmen.

Although they were motivated by the best of intentions, they failed to recognize
that blacks had sought ways to improve their community through collective support.
During slavery, blacks established networks of support to aid their fellow brethren.

After the demise of slavery in Georgia, fleedmen formed churches, schools, and mutual
aid societies.66 No longer subject to the evils of slavery, blacks set out immediately to
establish institutions within their respective communities across the state. Blacks aspired
to create self-sustaining communities and were committed to administering their own
affairs. The schools provided an environment in which blacks could exert control and
shape young minds for their future roles within the community. Moreover, the schools
would come to represent an institution that would forever play an essential role in the
preparation of future black leadership. Fifteen years after blacks in Savannah had opened
the first schools, 96 percent of the black leaders attributed education as the key reason for
their elevation to leadership positions within the community?7

Blacks welcomed the arrival of northern teachers, yet they envisioned a future in
which blacks would attend schools operated by black administrators and receive
instruction flom black teachers. For example, some blacks had petitioned AMA agents to

provide black teachers for their schools.63 In 1865, a significant number of blacks taught

 

6’ Ibid, 121.

‘6 Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love, Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 61.

6 Donald L. Grant, The Way It Was In The South: The Black Experience in Georgia (New York:
Birch Lane Press, 1993) 223.

68Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks, [861-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) 246.

35

their fellow comrades. According to records kept by John W. Alvord, bureau inspector
of schools and finances, forty-three of the sixty-nine teachers in Georgia were black.69
The desire for black teachers would become the flashpoint of conflict between blacks and
benevolent associations.

AMA personnel firmly believed that they could provide the best teachers for
fleedmen. Their opposition to black teachers was based in their belief that blacks failed to
possess the skills required to provide instruction. Some AMA teachers were angered that
blacks would elect to bypass their offer of flee schooling and pay a dollar per month for
the services ofa black teacher for their children?" AMA officers failed to realize that
blacks sought to gain as much control over their lives and institutions as possible.

The ability to make decisions regarding the hiring of personnel represented another
milestone in their transformation flom slaves to citizens. Prior to their emancipation, they
were barred flom making their own decisions. No longer subject to the demands of their
masters, blacks sought to gain control over their own lives. The conflict between blacks
and benevolent associations can be best described as an attempt by blacks to make their
own decisions regarding the future of their community. Through control of personnel and
administrative matters, blacks would increase their ability to exert control over their own
lives. In turn, they would enjoy the same powers held by their white counterparts. In
spite of the situation, blacks would continue in the struggle to gain greater control over

their lives through the administration of school operations.

 

69Robert C. Morris, Reading, ‘Riting, and Reconstruction: The Education of F reedmen in the
South, [861-1870 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981) 43.

70Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and

Southern Blacks, [861-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 246.

36

In one particular case, blacks attempted to obtain control of a school flom the
AMA. In 1875, the black community of Macon, Georgia, voiced the displeasure over the
small number of black teachers employed at Lewis High. To rectify the situation, blacks
offered to assume responsibility for the maintenance of the school and collect money to
help pay teachers salaries. In return, the AMA would appoint a black principal and half of
the teachers.71 No evidence is presented regarding the response of the AMA to the offer
made by the black community in Macon. Nevertheless, their willingness to accept the
additional financial burden of school operation illustrates their commitment to obtaining
greater control of an institution that would play an essential role in the overall
improvement of the community. Control of the school translated into greater control over
their own lives.

In a bold move by the AMA, its officials selected a black candidate to fill the
vacancy created by the departure of a principal flom an AMA school in Randolph County
(see figure 1). Perhaps this was an attempt by AMA to avoid conflict with the black
community of Randolph. AMA missionaries following the close of the Civil War
established the Howard Normal School for fleedmen. Under the leadership of Fletcher
Hamilton Henderson, the school would be transformed into a college preparatory
institution and provide training in the industrial arts. Henderson was born a slave near
Newber'ry, South Carolina in 1857. As a teenager, he obtained a diploma flom the high
school department of the University of South Carolina. Motivated by his desire to assist
in the uplift of fleedmen through education, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree flom

Atlanta University.72

 

11 .
Ibrd, 247.
72Margery P. Dews, “F. H. Henderson and Howard Normal School” Georgia Historical Quarterly

37

During the mid-1880’s, Henderson initiated an aggressive program to expand the
curriculum of Howard to included industrial education for boys and girls. Boys enrolled
in courses pertaining to shop work and proper farming techniques. As for their female
counterparts, they were offered courses in sewing, cooking, and care of the infirm.73
The courses offered reflected the dominant view regarding the importance of industrial
education as a means of instilling the value of self-sufficiency among blacks. Booker T.
Washington was an ardent supporter of industrial education. His rock solid belief in the
industrial arts led many within the field of fleedmen’s education to insist upon the
inclusion of industrial education within the curriculum. However, the rapid
industrialization, which occurred prior to the Civil War, would render industrial
education useless. The large iron fumaces and spinning wheels driven by steam engines
replaced the small forgery of the town ironsmith and the foot powered spinning wheel.

In response to this unfortunate situation, Henderson placed great emphasis on
traditional studies. Students were required to take courses in algebra, geography,
anatomy, English grammar, history, chemistry, and natural philosophy.74 By the
early 1890’s, the improvement plan initiated by Henderson led to an increase in student
enrollment. This increase in enrollment added to the financial burden of Howard. To
rectify this situation, He was able to secure contributions flom the Slater Fund, the AMA
and the black members of the board of trustees for the school.75 In the absence of state
support, Henderson turned to benevolent associations, philanthropic organizations, and

members of the black community to provide financial aid for Howard.

 

63 (1979; : 253.
3115111, 254 .
7‘ Ibid, 256.
7’ Ibid, 255.

38

During the early 1900’s, Howard Normal School was acknowledged for its
service within the community. In 1916, a rural school agent gave a glowing report, which
cited the well-organized facilities, instructional materials, and its capable administrator.
Henderson had transformed Howard into a prestigious institution in southwest Georgia.
Students received rigorous instruction in the industrial arts and classical education. At
the conclusion of their studies, they would reap the fluits of their labor. Howard alumni
were often accepted into the college of their choice. 76 Howard had successfully
produced students of high caliber and intelligence. Henderson had proved himself as a
capable administrator during his tenure as principal of Howard. He was dedicated to the
overall improvement of Howard and was able to draw upon the financial resources of
benevolent associations and members of the black community to aid him in his goal to
transform the school into a reputable institution. Most of all, his tenure weakened the
preconceived notion that blacks were unfit to serve in administrative positions.

Prominent members within the black community used all means at their
disposal to insure that blacks would remain committed to strengthening the existing
school system. In 1919, local officials were considering the use of public funds for the
maintenance and repair of schools. Sol C. Johnson, editor of the Savannah Tribune
encouraged blacks to vote in support of the school bond referendum.77 Johnson used his
position as an editor to encourage blacks to show their support of education at the voting
booth. Two years later, he called upon blacks to cast their votes for a similar measure.

Johnson used newsprint to inform the black community regarding educational issues.

 

76 .
Ibrd, 259.
77 John M. Matthews, “Black Newspapermen and the Black Community in Georgia, 1890- 1930.
Georgia Historical Quarterly 68 (1984) : 372.

39

Approximately fifty years earlier, a former black council member and a religious leader
used their influence and powers of persuasion to secure schools and teachers for the black
community of Atlanta. After engaging in a pitched battle with the Board of City School
Commissioners, former councilman William Finch secured schools for blacks in 1872.
Six years later, during a meeting with the Atlanta Board of Education, Reverend Frank
Quarles petitioned the board to appoint competent black teachers to all black schools
within the city.78 While no evidence is presented regarding the outcome of the petition
made by Reverend Quarles, his attempt to secure teachers illustrates his commitment to
the improving the quality of instructors in the classroom. Students stood to benefit the
most flom competent instructors.

The Georgia fleedmen placed great importance on education. From the wiregrass
region to the rural southwest counties, blacks engaged in a host of activities to provide
financial support for schools and staff. Families sacrificed their earnings so that their
children may receive an education. In one case, a parent uprooted her family and traveled
hundreds of miles so that her son may attend a prestigious institution. Prominent
members of the black community used the means at their disposal to secure schools and
competent teachers. Blacks challenged the paternalism of the AMA. When given the
opportunity to provide leadership, blacks performed beyond expectations. Their
accomplishments were a testament to their dedication to the uplift of their fellow brethren
through education. Future generations would owe a debt of gratitude to the early

fleedmen who had contributed to the foundation of schools in Georgia

 

78Howard Rabinowitz, “ Half A Loaf: The Shift flom White to Black Teachers in the Negro
Schools of the Urban South, 1865-1890.” Journal of Southern History 40 (1974) : 575.

40

VI A " vi rt olin r'a

Benevolent associations were key in the establishment of fleedmen’s schools
throughout the South. Groups such as the New York based American F reemen’s Union
Commission (AF UC) and the Boston based American Missionary Association (AMA)
provided teachers and funding for fleedmen’s education. Their membership consisted of
men and women whose adherence to their Christian beliefs led them to become active
participants in the uplift of fleedmen. Some organizations were the result of the
unification of many different groups into one body. For example, relief organizations
flom New England and the Midwest came together to form the American Freedmen’s
Aid Commission. On September 3 1846, the Union Missionary Society, the Committee
for West Indian Missions and the Western Evangelical Missionary Association united to
form the American Missionary Association as a means to voice their ardent opposition to
slavery.79 As time passed, these groups devoted their human and financial resources
towards the uplift of Southern blacks through education.

Following the end of the Civil War, a host of benevolent associations initiated
operations in Georgia. They concentrated their efforts in the urban centers of Atlanta,
Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. In January 1866, the New England
Freemen’s Aid Society opened flee schools for blacks in the city of Columbus (see figure
1). Teachers provided instruction for 115 students and held night classes for adults.
Teachers provided lessons in mathematic, reading, writing, and geography. To help
deflay the costs of school operations pupils offered a group contribution of $60. Although

classes were held in a windowless room within a black Methodist church, teachers gained

41

great satisfaction flom the progress made by their students. Sarah Chase, a young teacher
from Worcester, Massachusetts noted that her students strove to improve in every
direction and displayed an unquenchable eagerness to acquire knowledge.80

Benevolent associations employed men and women as teachers. However, the
majority of teachers were young, college educated women. Many of these women
received teaching degrees florn prestigious institutions in New England and the Midwest.
For example, graduates of Oberlin College could be found in schools throughout the
South. Both teachers and officers employed by private aid organizations were ardent
supporters of fleedmen’s education. Their objective was to establish the northern
common school system throughout the South. They believed that all black people should
possess the basic skills needed to become active participants within a democratic society.
Furthermore, their efforts would foster the intellectual and moral growth of responsible
citizens, who recognized their duty to God, country, family and self.81

Benevolent associations sought to transform the uneducated fleedmen into
literate, upright citizens. Teachers intertwined lessons of morality and thrift within the
curriculum. During the fall of 1877, a teacher in Macon, Georgia provided lessons in
good morals and gentle manners along with elementary algebra and English composition.
In another instance, a teacher went throughout the black community of Savannah
extolling the benefits of industry and tidiness. At the conclusion of the school day, Ms.

Cornelia A. Drake gave lectures in the homes of Savannah fleedmen regarding industry

 

79 Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Society And Southern
Blacks 1865-1890. (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , vii.

3° Alan Conway, The Reconstruction Of Georgia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1966) , 88.

3' Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 109.

42

and cleanliness.82 The values of thrift, morality and industry formed the bedrock of
Northern society. From New York to New England, citizens implemented these values
into their daily lives. Both teachers and agents of private aid groups sought to inculcate
these very same values into the minds of the Georgia freedmen.

In addition, bureau agents and northern teachers entered into an alliance to
disseminate a moral education and the protestant work ethic among the free blacks of
Georgia. During the first days following the end of the Civil War, a black man in
Augusta, recalled a speech given by northemers who had just arrived in town. They
encouraged freedmen to refrain from thievery, earn their own wages, and provide support
to their families.83

The political education of the freedmen was just as important as their daily
lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Northern teachers used songs and student led
discussions to reinforce student’s knowledge of key political figures and events. During
recess, students recited songs regarding Sherman’s march through Georgia and the
exploits of the zealous abolitionist John Brown who was killed at Harper’s Ferry,
Virginia. In 1869, students at a freedmen’s school in Andersonville, Georgia conducted a
debate on the expulsion of black representatives from the state legislature.84 In one
particular case, a Freedmen’s Bureau agent stationed in Albany, Georgia, expressed his

opinion that the political education of the freedmen should be the top priority of teachers.

 

82 Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks [865-1890. (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 44.

83 Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 28.

8‘ Henry Lee Swint, The Northern Teacher In The South, 1862-1870 (Nashville: Vanderbilt
University Press, 1941) , 82

43

According to the Bureau agent, informing the freedmen of their rights and privileges as
citizens is the most important duty of the school system.85

In 1865, private aid organizations set out to establish schools statewide to meet
the needs of one-half million black adults and children in Georgia.86 As mentioned
earlier, freedmen had taken the initiative to open and operate schools prior to the arrival
of private aid organizations. Upon their arrival in Georgia, missionaries and teachers
came across schools that were established by blacks. In the summer of 1865, AMA
teachers discovered a school established by Grandison Daniels and James Tate. Both men
were responsible for the opening of the first school for black children in Atlanta. The
school was later turned over to AMA control.87

Rivalries among benevolent associations posed a serious obstruction to the
establishment of a permanent school system in Georgia. The AMA, the AFU C and the
MFAS (Methodist Freedmen’s Aid Society) worked to avoid conflict with their rivals.88
To resolve this situation, each organization sought to establish a base of operations within
the seven major cities. The AMA used this tactic to secure exclusive control of Savannah,
Macon, and Atlanta, and agreed to share Augusta with the Baptists. The AFU C and
MFAS did not fare as well as their AMA counterparts. The city of Columbus was the sole
stronghold of the AFU C. Meanwhile, members of MFAS focused their attention upon the

medium sized towns of LaGrange and Waynesboro.89

 

‘5 Ibid, 88

8‘ Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 86.

8 John C. Inscoe, ed., Georgia in Black and White: Explorations in the Race Relations of a
Southern State, [865-1950 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1994) , 92.

88 Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Georgia Blacks, 1865-
1873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 88.

’9 Ibid, 90.

Once an association had firmly established itself within one or more cities, its
members could effectively establish schools and manage personnel. The need for
economy and the foundation of a school hierarchy were the two principal forces that led
the associations to establish themselves within the cities of Georgia. A smaller number of
teachers could provide instruction to a greater number of students. In some instances,
teachers stationed in rural areas provided instruction for classes of fewer than thirty
pupils. The concentration of teachers in the urban centers enabled the AMA and AFU C
bureaucrats to redirect funds towards school construction and to improve the overall
efficiency of school operations. In addition, by localizing their efforts within the urban
centers, they could establish a system of schools from elementary grades through
college.90 Though each relief agency aligned itself with a specific denomination, they all
sought to leave in place a permanent system of education to provide instruction and uplift
within the black community of Georgia.

The AMA, AFU C, and other northern benevolent associations provided
considerable funding towards the uplift of Southern blacks. From 1861 to 1889, Northern
relief groups provided approximately $21,000,000 to freedmen’s aid in the South.91
Northern groups bore the heavy burden of teacher’s salaries in Georgia.

Approximately $20,000 was paid out between the fall of 1865 and July 1866. From
October 1866 to July 1867, the AMA and the AFUC supported eighty teachers at a cost
of $42,000. Of these eighty teachers, the AMA sponsored sixty-five teachers while the
AFUC was only able to sponsor eight teachers. As the number of teachers increased the

costs of their support borne by the benevolent associations increased. From October 1867

 

9° Ibid, 89.

45

to July 1868, the AMA, AFUC and MFAS at a cost of $50,000 supported one hundred
twenty three teachers. Of these one hundred twenty three teachers, the AMA sponsored
one hundred four, seven were sponsored by the AFU C, and twelve were sponsored by
MFAS.92 From the evidence presented, it appears that the AMA was financially able to
provide additional teachers and bear the costs associated with their increase in number
when compared to the AF UC and MFAS.

To secure additional funding for freedmen’s education, benevolent associations
fostered good working relationships with officers of the Freedmen’s Bureau. This
partnership between the public and private sphere proved beneficial to private relief
groups. Records indicate that 50% of the $12,000,000 appropriated to the Bureau was
transferred to benevolent groups to be expended in support of freedmen’s schools.” The
public sphere represented by the Freedmen’s Bureau, provided transportation, confiscated
property, and funding for benevolent associations. The private sphere, represented by the
various benevolent associations, provided the teachers and instructional materials to
educate the freedmen. Both groups worked in concert to provide schools for blacks and to
leave in place a permanent statewide education system.

Although the benevolent associations were able to reap the financial benefits of
their partnership with the F reedmen’s Bureau, they still relied heavily upon the donations
of their members. The contributions would be placed into the operations budget, which

would be used to cover the costs of teacher’s salaries, building construction, building

 

9' Richard B. Drake, “Freedmen’s Aid Societies and Sectional Compromise.” The Journal of
Southern History 29 (1963) : 179.

92 Alan Conway, The Reconstruction of Georgia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1966) , 90.

93 Richard B Drake, “"Freedmen’s Aid Societies and Sectional Compromise,” Journal of Southern
History 29 (1963) : 177.

46

repair, and instructional materials. Also the attitude of the nation towards blacks, the
political climate, and the economy could have a serious impact on the work of
missionaries and teachers in the South.94 AMA officials had to take notice of the change
in attitudes among their Northern brethren. After conclusion of the Civil War, many
Northemers turned their attention to the political and economic reintegration of the South
into the Union. Leaders of benevolent organizations had to find a vehicle to
communicate to the importance of their work and the need for citizens to contribute to the
uplift of blacks through education.

In response to this situation, AMA officials created the American Missionary.
Founded in 1861, the newsletter proved to be a major source of income for the AMA.
According to AMA records, 50% of the association’s yearly income was derived from
sales of the American Missionary.95 The newsletter documented the successes and
struggles of AMA sponsored teachers and their students. In order to encourage readers to
donate funds to the AMA, administrators encouraged teachers to submit articles that
would stir the reader’s emotions. In one instance, an AMA administrator encouraged a
field worker to submit such a letter. George Whipple requested that a missionary submit
stories detailing the student progress, conversions to Christ, or acts of violence committed
against blacks by white Southerners.96

However, a considerable number of white Georgians resented the actions of the

benevolent associations. In their opinion, the Yankee ideal of social equality posed a

serious threat to the time honored practice of blacks deferring to whites. In one instance,

 

9‘ Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks, [865-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 92.

9’ Ibid, 94.

9‘ Ibid, 94.

47

a member of the religious community voiced his opposition to further involvement by
Northern teachers. In 1868, a Methodist minister agreed that blacks should be taught; but
he did not want blacks to receive instruction from a “Yankee or radical”?7 In the opinion
of white Georgians, the involvement of Northern teachers fostered the freedmen’s belief
in social equality, which posed a direct threat to white supremacy. To combat the
influence of Northern teachers, white Georgians believed that native whites were best
suited to teach blacks and to inform of their place within the racial caste system.

Opponents of freedmen’s education employed a host of methods to block the
development of freedmen’s schools in Georgia. Members of the Georgia branch of the
Klu Klux Klan targeted teachers and students. Throughout the hinterlands, Klansmen
attacked teachers without provocation. Teachers were shot, beaten, and threatened in the
counties of Warrenton, Andersonville, Macon, and Walton. In Walton County,
Klansmen burned the books of a black teacher and threatened to whip any black that sent
a child to school.98 Their goal was to neutralize the efforts by blacks to improve their
condition through education and to return the state to Democratic control.

In place of physical violence, some Georgians socially ostracized their northern
counterparts. Teachers in Bainbridge, Georgia, attended a white church, but no member
of the congregation ever spoke to them or acknowledged their presence.99
In spite of the actions of opponents to the work of the AMA and related organizations,

teachers continued to provide instruction to the Georgia freedmen. In one instance, a

 

97 Alan Conway, The Reconstruction of Georgia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1966) , 86.

98 Donald L. Grant The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia (New York:
Birch Lane Press, 1993) , 222.

99 Joe M Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks, [865-1890 ( Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 218.

48

Georgia school commissioner recognized the change in whites attitude towards their
work. In 1877, Gustavus Orr noted that southern whites who had taught blacks gained
satisfaction for their work. They firmly believed that their work would result in the
transformation of the freedmen into virtuous and peaceable citizens.100
Philanthropic organizations contributed to the establishment of schools and
colleges for blacks in Georgia. Affluent individuals who were active in a host of social
causes frmded these organizations. One such individual used a portion of his own wealth
to establish his own organization. On the 18th of February, George Peabody was born in
the south parish of Danvers, Massachusetts. His parents were of English extraction. ‘01
Orphaned at the age of sixteen, he and his uncle left New Hampshire by boat in May of
1812. Their destination was the Georgetown section of Washington, DC. At the age of
nineteen, Peabody was offered a partnership with a firm, which furnished capital for
businesses. The firrn’s owner, Mr. Elisha Riggs entrusted Peabody with the daily
operation of the firm due to his practical and astute management of affairs. He then
entered venture into the package delivery business. His offer to ship parcels to Baltimore
was well received by merchants and shippers thus resulting in his first successful venture
in parcel delivery. 102 Aside from his business prowess, Peabody expressed his opinion
that the future growth of the country relied upon the establishment of the New England
common school system among the immigrants who settled within the Mississippi

valley.103 Peabody’s vision would come to fruition through the creation of the Peabody

Fund. The scope of the fund would be increased to address the dearth of funding for

 

roo -
Ibid, 221.
'O’Curry, J .L.M, A Brief Sketch of George Peabody (New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969) ,

mIbid., 2

49

freedmen’s education. George Peabody, a philanthropist and resident of Georgia
established the Peabody Fund. The goal of the fund was to facilitate the establishment of
public schools within every southern state. Reverend Bamas Sears, the former secretary
of the Massachusetts Board of Education served as the fund’s chief administrator.101

During his term of service, Reverend Sears fused the economic and social control
arguments of Jacksonian period to further the goals of the Peabody Fund. Through his
use of analogies, Sears asserted that the education of the freedmen would result in
improved economic and social conditions among blacks in the South. He argued that
educated workers were more productive; that schools, like railroads, increased property
values; that education eradicated poverty and crime; that firnding of public schools was
far more effective than the same funding appropriated for prisons and private schools.102

Many schools struggled to cover the daily operation costs during their first year.
Maintenance, teacher’s salaries, and instructional materials devoured significant portions
of a school’s budget. Failure to secure funding, may have led to their closing or a
shortened school semester. In response to this situation, the Peabody Fund intervened on
behalf of the fledgling schools. In 1867, the fund provided $4,000 for freedmen’s schools
in Georgia, which had experienced financial hardships within their initial year of

operation.103 These schools would have closed prematurely if not for the financial support

provided by the Peabody Fund.

 

103 -
Ibld., 3.
'0' Peter Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South: Public Policy in Nineteenth Century
Georgia (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987) , 156.
”2 ”Ibid, 156.
'03 Henry Allan Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South: From 1619 to the Present
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967) , 128.

50

Once Sears had provided assistance to the endangered schools, he then launched a
campaign to provide funding for black schools statewide. In October 1868, 18 black
schools each received a grant package of $170. Two years later, the schools received
considerably larger grant packages. The Peabody Fund supplied $7,000 to the schools.104
The grant packages were used to provide instruction to 782 students and to cover
operation costs incurred by the schools. The financial support provided by the Peabody
Fund was instrumental in the establishment of schools for blacks in Georgia. Dr. Barnas
Sears worked tirelessly to achieve George Peabody’s goal of establishing public schools
in Georgia.

While the Peabody Fund sought to provide education to the Georgia freedmen,
female teachers began to voice their concerns regarding gender based salary inequities
and the refusal by men to appoint women to supervisory positions within benevolent
associations. In one instance, an AMA sponsored teacher opted to leave her position in
protest over the gender based salary gap. In December 1869, Anna Snowden, a native of
Connecticut resigned from her teaching position in Georgia. She cited the AMA’s policy
of paying women lower salaries than their male counterparts as the reason for her
resignation.105 In 1872, another teacher sent a letter to the New York office of the AMA
informing them of the massive salary gap and the unbearable workload shouldered by her
fellow sisters in the field. Amy Williams contended that the $800 annual salary received

by men far outpaced their annual salary of $135. She argued that women bore a

disproportionate amount of the workload when compared to the duties of their male

 

10‘ Peter Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South: Public Policy in Nineteenth Century
Georgia (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press) , 157.

'05 Jacqueline Jones, Soldiers of Light and Love: Northern Teachers and Southern Blacks, 1865-
I873 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980) , 105.

51

counterparts and superintendents. For Amy Williams, the “equal pay for equal work”
argument was supplanted by the fact that women performed more duties than their male
superiors.106

While Amy Williams railed against the salary inequity between men and women,
a colleague attacked the AMA policy that prevented women from serving as
superintendents. Julia Shearrnan worked for three years as a teacher in Georgia. During
her term of service, she became incensed over the inability of male superintendents to
perform their daily duties. She openly advocated the dismissal of ineffective
superintendents. Moreover, she declared that women should be allowed to serve as
superintendents.107 Julia Sherman offered a direct challenge to the male dominated
hierarchy. In response to her calls for reform, AMA officials responded by offering her
informal authority over its Augusta branch. She declined the offer and resigned from her
teaching position.108 Propelled by her strong sense of professionalism and a great dislike
of ineffective leadership, she sought to break down the gender barrier, which only served
to reinforce the position of men as being superior to women within the bureaucracy of the
AMA.

The contribution of the hundreds of “Yankee schoolrnarms”, agents, and
missionaries helped transform the freedmen into a community of citizens who went on to
establish a viable community in Georgia. Motivated by their religious convictions along
with their firm belief in education as a means of improving the condition of individuals,
missionaries and teachers set out to establish schools throughout Georgia. Schools

established by benevolent associations would eventually be turned over to local control.

 

‘°‘ Ibid, 105.
‘°’ Ibid, 105.

52

These schools formed the foundation of the southern public school system. Despite the
conflict between the male dominated hierarchy and the female rank and file, both worked
to provide moral, practical, and political education for blacks.

Though paternalism often tainted their best of intentions, their dedication to the
uplift of the Georgia freedmen through education will be forever noted within the annals
of American history. Future generations of blacks would owe a debt of gratitude to the
missionaries, agents, and teachers who laid the foundation for public education and

private black colleges in Georgia.

 

‘°‘ Ibid, 105.

53

The 's fBl k olle es' r 'a

Following the end of the Civil War, benevolent associations not only set out to lay
the foundation for the public school system but also sought to establish colleges for
blacks in Georgia. Missionaries, teachers, and philanthropic organizations contributed
large quantities of human and financial resources in the hopes of securing permanent
institutions of higher learning for blacks. A mass migration of blacks from the rural
regions to the urban centers occurred at the conclusion of the Civil War. For example,
thousands of blacks were drawn to the city of Atlanta. The boom in construction and the
massive influx of new arrivals created an environment conducive to the growth of the

102 Among the throngs of workmen, new arrivals, and businessmen,

entrepreneurial class.
missionaries sought to establish institutions of higher learning. Future generations
including members of the black professional class would owe a great debt to the founders
of higher education in Georgia.

Past, present and future generations of graduates from Spehnan College owe a
great debt of gratitude to Sophia B. Packard and Harriet G. Giles, who founded the
institution in Atlanta. Established in the basement of Friendship Baptist Church, the
school first opened its doors for 11 students on Monday, April 11, 1881. 103 It founders
were fireled by a deep desire to start a school exclusively for women and young girls.
Their desire to establish an institution of higher learning for women can be attributed to
their journey through the south where they observed students who attended colleges and

schools in Tennessee and Louisiana. The natives of New Salem, Massachusetts, visited

Fisk University, several colored elementary schools, and New Orleans University, a

 

mJohn C. Inscoe, ed., Georgia In Black and White: Explorations in the Race Relations of a
Southern State, [865-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1994) , 92.

54

Methodist institution. At the conclusion of their trip, both women agreed to engage in a
joint effort to establish a school in the south for young women in the South.104

On April 1, 1881, Ms. Packard and Ms. Giles arrived in Atlanta. They met with an
individual who would prove to be a staunch ally in their quest to start a school for young
women and girls in the South. Reverend Frank Quarles, pastor of the Friendship Baptist
Church was regarded as the most influential black clergyman in the state. Pastor Quarles
earned his reputation as a leader in the civil, religious, and educational life of his fellow
black Georgians fi'om his service as a leader in the relocation of the Augusta Institute to
Atlanta in 1879.105 During a meeting with Miss Packard and Miss Giles, Pastor Quarles,
who was deeply troubled by the state’s disregard of education for black women, pledged
his support to their cause. Using the power of the pulpit, Pastor Quarles enlisted the
financial support of his congregation. He also circulated pamphlets among fellow clergy
who attended the state Baptist convention. These pamphlets described the purpose,
course of study and opening date of the fledgling institution.106

Sadly, the founders of Spelrnan were dealt a devastating blow when their most
ardent supporter succumbed to pneumonia. While in Boston during the month of
November, he spearheaded a campaign to secure ftmds for the construction of school
buildings for the fledgling institution. It is during this time when he became ill. Pastor
Quarles died in New York at the home of his son on December 3, 1881.107 This was not

the first hardship faced by Miss Packard and Miss Giles. They were targets of criticism

by members of the Women’s American Baptist Home Misson Society (WABHMS).

 

103Florence Matilda Read, The Story of Spelman College (Atlanta, Georgia, 1961) , 50.
lo‘rbid, 36.
”Ibid., 42.
106Ibid., 45.

55

Subjected to delayed votes, concerns about their age, lack of funding, and the opinion
that the task itself proved to be too great for women to bear, the future founders of
Spehnan continued to make their case to the WABHMS.108 On March 10, 1881, after a
series of votes and procedural motions, Miss Packard and Miss Giles were to establish a
school in Atlanta.109 Among the male dominated world of private relief organizations,
the Freedmen’s Bureau, and fellow members of the WABHMS who were critical of their
venture, Miss Packard and Miss Giles endured the criticisms, delays and hardships. Their
dream of establishing a school for young women had become a reality.

When compared to the established institutions in the Northeast and Midwest, the
early black universities were far outmatched in terms of curriculum, enrolhnent, and
endowment from private organizations and individuals. The early schools were designed
to address the immediate educational needs of the Georgia freedmen. In time, these
schools would be transformed into colleges and universities, which would resemble those
found in the Northeast and Midwest.

The AMA dominated missionary fieldwork in Georgia. The association
established schools in Savannah, Macon, and Atlanta. This association provided two
individuals who would establish a major institution of higher learning for blacks in
Atlanta. Through the efforts of Frederick Ayer and Edmund Asa Ware, they would
transform a small school founded by freedmen into Atlanta University. The origins of

Atlanta University can be traced back to a small school located on Jenkins street.

 

”hour, 47.
“Ibid., 36.
“Ibid., 39.

56

J arnes Tate and Grandison Daniels started the school and provided instruction for the
neighborhood youth during the Civil War.‘03

In the Fall of 1865, Reverend Frederick Ayer and his wife Elizabeth arrived in
Atlanta. These natives of Bell Prairie, Minnesota became heavily involved in providing
instruction for the Atlanta freedmen. In 1866, they had successfully managed three
primary schools for seven hundred students. 103 After his initial stint as a teacher and
administrator, Reverend Ayer placed the Jenkins Street School under AMA control.
Additional classroom space was required due to the increase in student enrolhnent.
To rectify this situation, the AMA provided $310 for the purchase of an abandoned
railroad boxcar on Ellis Street. Additional purchases of buildings would soon follow.
While Ayers supervised the purchase of additional structures, Edmund Asa Ware secured
legal recognition of the fledgling institution. On December 22, 1837, Ware was born in
North Wrentham, Massachusetts. Ware was the descendant of Robert Ware who came to
the colony at Massachusetts Bay from England as early as 1642. In 1866, Ware arrived in
Georgia under the auspices of the American Missionary Association as superintendent of
schools for the Atlanta district.104 Fueled by his rock solid faith in the mental and spiritual
capacities of black students, Ware, the licensed preacher and superintendent of education
for Georgia sought to secure legal recognition of the institution from the state.105 In
1867, Ware, a Yale alumnus obtained a charter from the Supreme Court of Georgia.“

Within two years of their arrival in Georgia, Ayer and Ware increased the size of the

 

'°3Ibid., 92.
"”Russell Duncan, Entrepreneur For Equality. Governor Rufus Bullock, Commerce, and Race in
Post Civil War Georgia (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1994), 61.
Malone, ed., Dictionary of Amencan Biography Vol. 10 (New York: Charles Scribner &
sons, 1964) , 446.
'° Ibid, 447
10‘Henry Allan Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South From I 619 to the Present

57

Atlanta University and succeeded in obtaining recognition by the state of its existence as
an institution of higher learning.

During the early years, Atlanta University functioned as a college preparatory
program. In 1869, students enrolled in the academic courses offered by Atlanta
University. By 1872, the institution produced fifteen graduates and was scheduled to
initiate their college coursework. Although their instructors were concerned that their
students had not read an adequate amount of Greek and Latin to gain admission to the
prestigious New England schools, they had read more than what would be required in
southern and western schools.105 Despite the concerns of their instructors, they had
prepared the first class of graduates. Although they had achieved the modern day
equivalent of a high school diploma, these students were trailblazers. They represented
the first of many waves of future alumni who would benefit from the education they
received from Atlanta University.

While missionaries and teachers continued their work, the legislature
appropriated a substantial amount of funding for the fledgling university. In 1870, the
Georgia General Assembly allocated $8,000 for a school for blacks. The assembly
provided the exact amount of firnding for Franklin University. Located in Athens,
Franklin was reserved for whites and would eventually become the University of
Georgia. However, William McKinley, a white Democratic state senator viewed the
policy as a means to appease the blacks and radicals in order for Franklin to remain an all

white institution.106

 

(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967) , 32.

l 5 Joe M. Richardson, Christian Reconstruction: The American Missionary Association and
Southern Blacks, 1861-1890 (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1986) , 134.

'ooPetcr Wallenstein, From Slave South to New South: Public policy in 19’” Century Georgia

58

Senator McKinley was correct in his assessment of the policy enacted by the
Georgia General Assembly. Henry McNeal Turner, a black Republican state
representative confirmed that the policy was the result of an agreement between black
Republicans and white Democrats that blacks would not demand access to Franklin as
long as the State provides $8,000 annually to Atlanta University.107 Whites could no
longer bar blacks from obtaining an education. However, they could erect separate
institutions to retain separation between blacks and whites. Black legislators were well
aware that the policy was firmly rooted in racial separation. Nevertheless, black
legislators seized the opportunity to secure funding for a fledgling institution that would
benefit their constituents. In effect, funding for Atlanta University would take precedence
over social equality and integration.

In 1872, the recapture of the Georgia General Assembly by Democrats dealt a
serious blow to Atlanta University. Democrats had wrestled control of the govemorship
from the Republican General Rufiis Saxton, gained control of the General Assembly, and
dominated the Congressional delegation. Failing to see the need to address the concerns
of black voters, the Democrats, also known as “Redeemers” discontinued the practice of
appropriating funds for Atlanta University.108 The recapture of the state capital by the
Democrats heralded the end of progressive policies enacted by Republicans. In spite of
this situation, a new battle would be waged over a source of funding provided by the
federal government. Advocates of freedmen’s education sought to obtain a share of the
federal funding provided by the Morrill Act of 1862. However, they would have to

contend with the trustees of the University of Georgia.

 

(Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987) , 163.
'°’ Ibid, 164.

59

Under the provisions of the Monill Act, the Congress would convert 270,000
acres of western land into a fund for the establishment of an agricultural college.
To insure that blacks would benefit from the act, a provision was added which required
states to use a portion of the funds for freedmen education.109 However, Governor Smith
wanted to turn over the entire find to the University of Georgia. Edmund Asa Ware
informed the board of trustees and the Governor that unless they were prepared to admit
blacks into the agricultural wing of the University of Georgia, their attempt to turn over
the entire grant to the university would violate the provision, which guaranteed a portion
of the funds for freedmen’s education. ”0 After taking the political ramifications into
consideration, an agreement was reached among the interested parties. In 1874, the state
legislature agreed to hand over complete control of the Morrill Act to the University of
Georgia. In return the state legislature would resume the practice of contributing $8,000
per year to Atlanta University.111 In addition, Atlanta University would receive half of the
interest accrued under the Morrill Act.112 The agreement enabled the University of
Georgia to obtain complete control of the grant; meanwhile, the legislature shielded itself
from federal inquires regarding the dispensation of flmds for freedmen’s education; and
avoid the wrath of black legislators and their constituents.

Without the involvement of Reverend Ware and former state representative
Turner, Atlanta University could have been placed in serious financial straits through the

loss of funding. While Reverend Ware spoke to the conscious of elected officials,

 

mlbid, 163.

'“lbid, 161.

"° Ibid, 164.

”'lbid, 164.

”2 Harold E. Davis, Henry Grady 's New South: Atlanta, A Brave and Beautrfirl City (Tuscaloosa:
The University of Alabama Press, 1990) , 140.

60

representative Turner engaged in the daily business of state politics to achieve the
maximum benefit for his constituents. Both individuals were firmly committed to
retaining financial support for Atlanta University.

While the state institutions held firm to the practice of segregation, blacks and
whites engaged in daily social interaction within the confines of Atlanta University.
In fact, the sons and daughters of white professors attended the private institution.
In 1887, Governor Gordon notified the legislature that whites were receiving instruction
alongside blacks, in response to this situation; a state representative immediately
proposed legislation barring the dispensation of funding to Atlanta University.
State representative W.C Glenn of Dalton presented a bill to eliminate all state funding

”3 The passage of the bill would deal a serious blow to

and to punish the teachers.
Atlanta University.

The institution received funding from a host of sources. According to financial
records, $16,000 came from tuition and fees, $8,000 from the state, and $8,000 from
northern benefactors.114 The loss of state funding would seriously hamper the ability of
the university to provide instruction. Without question, the Governor and representative
sought to end the enrollment of whites at Atlanta University. The bill offered by
representative Glenn illustrated the desire to maintain the wall of separation between
whites and blacks.

In response to the situation, blacks lashed out against the pending legislation

offered by Glenn. Blacks voiced their opposition to the Glenn bill through religious and

secular publications. In one church bulletin blacks were angered that their tax dollars

 

“3 Ibid, 140.
“4 Ibid, 140.

61

were used to fund the Georgia Institute of Technology, yet their children were barred
fiom entering the school. Meanwhile, John H. Deveaux, editor of the Savannah Tribune
called the Glenn bill an unconstitutional monstrosity.115 Blacks were fervent in their
opposition to the attempt by state officials to eliminate funding for Atlanta University. In
spite of the proposed legislation offered by state representative Glenn, Atlanta University
continued to offer admission to whites. As a result, the state turned over the sum of
$8,000 to the Industrial College for Negroes in Savannah. The segregated school was
created by the state to receive a portion of the funds provided under the Monill Act.116
Upon learning of the action taken by the state, faculty members and administrative
officials launched a fund raising campaign to replace the loss of funding provided by the
Morrill Act. Horace Bumstead, a professor and financial officer traveled to the North in
the hopes of making up the $8,000 shortfall in their operating budget. In 1888, the chief
administrative officer joined in the efforts to secure funding for the university.117

While state legislators could no longer deny funding for freedmen’s education,
they could rescind funding if a school permitted whites to receive instruction alongside
their black counterparts. These legislators sought to retain barriers between blacks and
whites. For example, the compromise between Democrats and Republicans illustrates the
means to which white legislators would employ to maintain the wall of separation
between the races. In a bold move, state legislators diverted the funds to a segregated
institution established exclusively for blacks in Savannah. By doing so, they had met the
key provision of the Morrill Act, which required the State to provide for freedmen’s

education. In effect, they continued to provide support for education, but the funds were

 

“’lbid, 141.
”‘Ibid, 141.

62

reserved for institutions that adhered to the practice of racial separation. The practice of
racial inclusion led to the loss of state support for Atlanta University.

During the 1880’s, a great emphasis was placed on industrial education.
Black colleges and universities established industrial departments alongside the
traditional departments associated with the liberal arts and physical sciences.
In 1879, Atlanta University required all girls in the higher normal department to receive
instruction in sewing, cooking, and nursing.118 Meanwhile, their male counterparts at
nearby Clark University received training in the labor-intensive vocational arts.
In 1885, the students had built five heavy wagons, two funeral wagons, and fired bricks
in the kilns located in the industrial shops of Clark University.‘ ‘9

General Samuel Chapman Armstrong was an early advocate of industrial
education. The son of protestant missionaries, Samuel Chapman Armstrong was born on
the island of Maui, Hawaii on January 30, 1839. He firmly believed that manual training
should be adopted into the curriculum to instill responsibility and to emphasize the
dignity of human labor. General Howard of the Freedmen’s Bureau sent Armstrong a
graduate of Williams College and former brigadier general to Hampton, Virginia in
March 1866 to supervise bands of freedmen who assembled near Fort Monroe.120
Armstrong envisioned a future in which blacks would take their rightfirl place among the
industrial workforce and possess moral and Christian principles. In fact, an early black

college was patterned after Armstrong’s model. In 1867, the AMA established Hampton

 

“7 Ibid, 141.
"8 Willard Range, The Rise And Progress 0f Negro Colleges In Georgia, 1865-1949 (Athens: The
Universi of Georgia Press, 1951) , 70.
'9 Ibid, 71.
I20Ainsworth R. Spofford, ed., The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography Vol. 1 (New
York: James T. White & Company, 1898) , 436.

63

Institute. Located in Hampton, Virginia, the institution was based upon Armstrong’s
manual labor school model.120

Armstrong had cultured good relations among those who shared his vision of the
future. In fact, during a visit to New York in 1867, a prominent member of the business
community became convinced that industrial education would play a crucial role in the
success of his venture into Southern railroads. William Henry Baldwin, Jr., viewed black
laborers as essential to the efficient operation of his railroad. Industrial education would
provide blacks with the skills and trades required by employers. He was also convinced
that the future prosperity of the South would hinge upon the productive ability and labor
power possessed by the black community.121

In response to the situation, schools rushed to set up industrial departments.
In some cases, the departments offered no more than courses in carpentry and sewing.
Administrators used these departments as a means of securing additional cash
contributions from charitable organizations.122 A rift began to form between the liberal
arts schools and those who incorporated industrial education as a part of their curriculum.
For example, schools, which taught students various trades, received a greater share of
support from Northern interests than those who chose to adhere to the traditional liberal
arts curriculum.123

Spurred by their own interests in the spread of industrial education, individuals

encouraged blacks to refrain from politics and focus on their chosen vocation.

 

mHenry Allan Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South, F mm 1619 to the Present
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967) , 32.

‘ 1Ibid, 100.

‘22 Ibid, 102.

123 Willard Range, The Rise and Progress of Negro Colleges in Georgia, 1865—1949 (Athens: The
University of Georgia Press, 1951) , 74.

64

In a message to the freedmen, Baldwin, a railroad financier, instructed blacks to avoid or
leave politics alone; live moral lives; and be aware that it is a mistake to be educated
beyond your environment.124 At face value, the message encourages blacks to embrace
the work ethic and morality. However, Baldwin supported education that would
transform blacks into skilled tradesmen and literate laborers. He failed to see the need for
blacks to receive education beyond the instruction provided by vocational schools.
Approximately thirty years later, a prominent black leader echoed the sentiments
expressed by Baldwin. In 1895, directors invited Booker T. Washington to speak during
the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta. Washington urged blacks to temporarily suspend
their push for political power, civil rights, and higher education of black youth.
He encouraged his fellow comrades to “make the best of their immediate situation, learn
the dignity of labor, and the rest of man’s blessings shall follow.”125 Washington’s
message was well received by the majority of white Southerners. Many of who shared
Washington’s position that blacks best hope for advancement would come through
obtaining a trade, tilling the land, or working in a foundry. For Baldwin, Washington, and
other like-minded individuals, they viewed industrial education as the primary means of
uplift for blacks in the South. White southemers approved of industrial education because
it reinforced their notions of blacks being best suited for labor-intensive tasks.
As for northemers, they supported industrial education because it seemed practical and
mirrored their commitment to the advancement of commerce and materialism.126
Opponents launched a counteroffensive to blunt the advance led by supporters of

the industrial school movement. This group consisted of New England schoolteachers,

 

‘2‘ Ibid, 102.
‘2’Ibid, 73.

65

missionary officials, college presidents, students and academicians. Unlike the advocates
for industrial education, missionaries believed that literacy took precedence over
industrial education. In fact, teachers used the classical academic tradition adopted from
England as a template to establish the public school system and private colleges for
blacks in the South.127

In one instance, a prominent member of the American Baptist Home Missionary
Society (ABHMS) voiced his support for education as a means of encouraging the
development of black intellectual leadership. From 1893 to 1902, Henry L. Morehouse
served as executive secretary of the ABHMS. Morehouse espoused the belief that the
black race would achieve greater progress through the creation of a gifted intelligentsia,
and he worked tirelessly to insure that blacks would enjoy access to higher education.
He shared Dubois’ vision of a black “talented ten ” that would provide leadership for
their fellow brethren.128 He was highly critical of the manual training model instituted at
Hampton Institute. Morehouse argued that the Hampton model eroded the democratic
rights of blacks by assuming that they were destined for a subordinate industrial role in
the southern economy.129 To Morehouse, industrial education was not the sole means to
transform the freedmen into a viable community capable of governing its own affairs.
The leadership could only be prepared through the rigorous coursework provided by the
traditional liberal arts cuniculum. Industrial education maximized the labor power of

blacks, yet it failed to address the intellectual needs of blacks and blocked the

 

”6 Ibid, 70.

127 Henry Alan Bullock, A History of Negro Education in the South, From 1619 to the Present
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967) , 161.

1 James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 (Chapel Hill: The
Universi of North Carolina Press, 1988) , 69.

’9 Ibid, 68.

66

development of a cadre of black leaders who would champion the rights and concerns of
their fellow brethren in Georgia.

College presidents joined in the battle to preserve the classical New England style
of education offered to southern blacks. George Sale, president of Morehouse College
voiced his opposition to the exclusive practice of industrial education among blacks.
During a meeting convened by the white led Georgia State Teacher’s Association, he
objected to the notion that the education of the black race should be exclusively or
distinctly industrial. Also, he argued that blacks valued classical education as much as
their white counterparts.130

While the debate between the two factions continued, a federal official argued
that blacks would benefit the most fi'om an educational program that encompassed liberal
arts and vocational training. In June 1892, Commissioner of Education, William T. Harris
published an article in the Atlantic Monthly, which called for blacks to receive instruction
in the industrial and liberal arts. He firmly believed that nothing less than a combined
industrial and liberal education would elevate southern blacks. Moreover, he urged blacks
to master laborsaving machinery and skills to flee themselves from backbreaking tasks
and to make full use of their brainpower.131 Clearly, Commissioner Harris had moved
beyond the notion that only one form of education could meet the needs of blacks.

The idea expressed by Commissioner Harris was put into practice by an alumnus
of Atlanta University. Richard R. Wright, Sr., a member of the first graduating class of
Atlanta University served as president of Georgia State Industrial College (Savannah

State). President Wright instituted a curriculum, which emphasized academics and

 

130 -
Ibrd, 69.
‘3 lHarvey Wish, “Negro Education and the Progressive Movement” Journal of Negro History

67

training in specific skilled trades. Under his leadership, Wright advocated higher literacy
training of black students and added courses in Greek and Latin to the Savannah State
curriculum.132 Like other fledgling institutions, Savannah State relied upon the financial
assistance provided by wealthy northemers and members of philanthropic organizations.
Such organizations would often send agents to review the curriculum of schools
who requested financial assistance from affluent northemers. The outcome of the review
would determine whether the school was deemed worthy of support. In 1900, William H.
Baldwin Jr. visited Savannah State. He concluded that the institution had overemphasized
acadenrics and had neglected its industrial department. Three years later, Baldwin’s
cousin, George J. Baldwin (president of the Savannah Electric Company) petitioned the
General Education Board on behalf of Savannah State. Baldwin, Jr., the former agent
who had given an unfavorable report of Savannah State had become the president of the
General Education Board. He then moved to reject the petition on the grounds that
Savannah State was too heavily influenced by Atlanta University, which stressed higher
education among the Negro race.133
Although President Wright failed to meet Baldwin’s demand for a greater
emphasis on industrial education, Reverend George Sale attempted to achieve a balance
between vocational and classical education at the Atlanta Baptist Seminary (Morehouse
College). During the mid-1890’s, Reverend Sale replaced Reverend Samuel Graves as
President of Atlanta Baptist Seminary. In his acceptance speech, Reverend Sale informed

the faculty and students that he aspired to improve the conditions of blacks through

 

49 (July 1964) : 184.

I32James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 (Chapel Hill: The
Universi of North Carolina Press, 1988) , 122.

3’ Ibid, 123.

68

intellectual and spiritual development, but also through the inculcation of proper
domestic habits.I34 Reverend Sale instituted a policy, which illustrated his support of
industrial education and the dignity of manual labor. Due to financial constraints,
Reverend Sale was unable to initiate the carpentry and shoemaking. In place of
vocational courses, be mandated that all students perform manual labor. In 1886, students
received eight cents per hour while they toiled in the laundry or printing shops of the
seminary. Students would use a portion of their earned income to pay for their room and
board.”5

The origins of Atlanta Baptist Seminary can be traced back to the birth of the
Augusta Institute. Founded in 1867, the goal of the institute was to educate the new
freedmen.'36 Due to the lack of available buildings, classes were held in the basement of
Springfield Baptist Church. The inaugural class consisted of forty students. Recognizing
the need for teachers and clergymen in the black community, Augusta Institute trained
students for their future careers as teachers and preachers. The institute functioned under
the auspices of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society (A.B.H.M.S).m

Under the leadership of his predecessor, Samuel Graves, Augusta Institute
relocated to Atlanta. To reflect its departure from Augusta, the school was renamed
Atlanta Baptist Seminary. Land was purchased and the first building was constructed at
the corner of Elliot and Hunter streets. The building would be known as Graves Hall.

During the tenure of Reverend Sale, the school received a college charter from the

 

134Addie Louise Joyner Butler, The Distinctive Black College: Talladega, Tuskegee and
Morehouse (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, 1977) , 105.
‘3‘ Ibid, 107.
’36 Jacqueline Anne Rouse, Lugenia Burns Hope, Black Southern Reformer (Athens: The
University of Georgia Press, 1989) , 26.
37 Addie Louise Joyner Butler, The Distinctive Black College: Talladega, Tuskegee and
Morehouse (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, 1977) , 102.

69

Superior Court of Fulton County in 1897. To reflect its new status as an institution of
higher learning, the school was renamed Atlanta Baptist College, becoming a permanent
fixture within the West Fair community. In 1913, the college took the name of its
primary benefactor and valued trustee, Henry L. Morehouse.138 Morehouse College
would serve as a training ground for firture black male instructors and clergymen.

Despite the actions taken by the General Education Board and the attempts by
college presidents to strike a balance between industrial and classical education,
industrial education would soon be supplanted by the classical liberal arts cuniculum.
Schools experienced difficulty bearing the costs associated with industrial education.
College presidents were forced to suspend or curtail vocational courses. This can be
attributed to the refusal by whites to increase firnding so that colleges could purchase the
tools and machinery required to operate a full fledged industrial educational program.139
During the 1890’s, President George Sale of Morehouse College suspended the addition
of carpentry, gardening, and shoemaking courses due to the absence of funding fi'om
wealthy northern philanthropists. In 1894, Atlanta University was forced to suspend
industrial education due to the lack of funds. Three years later, the school trustees voted
to eliminate agricultural education and sell the stock and tools.140

Moreover, graduates of the early industrial education programs were not
adequately prepared for their chosen vocation. Those fortunate to find jobs in the nearby

factories and mills were often terminated due to their lack of adequate training.141 The

 

'38 Jacqueline Anne Rouse, Lugenia Burns Hope, Black Southern Reformer (Athens: The
Universi of Georgia Press, 1989) , 26.

39 Willard Range, The Rise and Progress of Negro Colleges in Georgia, 1865-1949 (Athens: The
Universi of Georgia Press, 1951) , 74.

‘° Ibid, 75.

“‘ Ibid, 75.

70

failure by industrial education departments to prepare students left many to question the
effectiveness of industrial education. Many black students rose in opposition to industrial
education. They cared little for the intense physical exertion and endless redundancy
associated with manual training courses. In one case, college administrators at Clark
University suspended the recruitment of blacks into industrial education programs due to
the lack of interest by students. During the final years of the 1890’s, Clark University
failed to attract students to enroll into a mechanics course and promptly removed it from
the catalogue.142

While students voiced their opposition to industrial education, a prominent
member of the Atlanta University faculty penned a series of criticisms of industrial
education. Through The Souls of Black Folk, which he published in 1903, along with a
series of social studies detailing the lives of Afiican Americans, Dr. W.E.B Dubois
attacked industrial education on the grounds that it threatened to make “money changers”
out of men. Instead of focusing solely on commercial ventures, he believed that blacks
should pursue careers in industry and higher education. According to Dubois, some men
were fit to be blacksmiths and some were to be university men.143 For Dubois, the
advancement of the black community would require the contributions made by the skilled
laborer and the acaderrrician.

Du Bois questioned the notion of industrial education as the sole vehicle by which
freedmen could receive instruction. To the advocates of industrial education and their

associates who considered freedmen as no more than material resources to be trained in

 

"2 Ibid, 76.
"3 Ibid, 78.

71

the hopes of securing future dividends, Du Bois posed the following question: “Is not life
more than meat, and the body more than rainment?”144

As for the teacher training institutions of Fisk and Spelman, which were founded
in 1871 and 1896 respectively, he noted that their functions went beyond the process of
matriculating certified teachers. According to Du Bois, both institutions set out to
provide teachers but also a caliber of broad minded, cultured men and women, whose
task was to scatter civilization among a people whose ignorance was not simply of letters,
but of life itself.”5 Du Bois envisioned the fledgling black colleges and universities and
the incubators for the future cadre of professionals who would serve as the intellectual
and professional class among their fellow freedmen.

In response to this situation, black colleges and universities proceeded to expand
and improve their baccalaureate programs. Great strides were made in the improvement
in the study of chemistry and physics. For example, Atlanta University initiated an
aggressive program to initiate scientific research and expand its science cuniculum. In
1889, Professor Edgar H. Webster from Oberlin College began the first laboratory work
in chemistry and physics at Atlanta University. Due to the work initiated by Professor
Webster, Atlanta University was recognized as the first southern black college to conduct
laboratory research in the sciences.'“ Six years later, Atlanta University, offered students

a plethora of courses in the physical and natural sciences.”5 Through the efforts of the

administration and faculty of Atlanta University, black students were provided with new

 

l“William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, The Souls of Back Folk (Greenwich: Fawcett Press, 1961),
72.

145 -
Ibld., 74.
144 Willard Range, The Rise and Progress of Negro Colleges in Georgia: 1865-1849 (Athens: The
University of Georgia Press, 1951) , 86.
‘5 Ibid, 81.

72

avenues to pursue research and access to subjects that were once considered beyond their
comprehension.

From the beginning, black colleges and universities established normal schools.
The normal school served as a training ground for future elementary school teachers.
Due to the increase in state requirements for teacher’s certification and the failure of
students to pass requirements mandated by the city of Atlanta, the normal school of
Atlanta University was retooled to meet the new demands put forth by the state and local
government. In 1878, after several students failed to pass the city examinations for
teaching, the faculty immediately moved to improve the normal school department.146

In 1896, the state of Georgia increased the requirements for an individual to
receive a state teacher’s certificate. Prospective candidates had to possess a high school
diploma before they would be considered for certification. In turn, Atlanta University
followed suit and required students to possess a diploma as a prerequisite to admission to
the normal branch.147 After meeting the new requirements imposed by the state
department of education and the local school administration, the faculty of Atlanta
University focused their energies and resources to prepare students for their firture careers
as teachers.

The immediate beneficiaries of the improvements to the normal school
department were the urban and rural regions of Georgia. In 1910, three-quarters of all
Atlanta’s black teachers had obtained teaching certificates from prestigious Atlanta
University. Black women who made up the majority of the teaching population,

provided instruction to black children who attended neighborhood schools located within

 

‘“ Ibid, 79.
"7 Ibid, 79.

73

the city limits. Although the massive rebuilding projects and new opportunities had
attracted large number of blacks to the cities, those who remained in the rural areas
hungered for education. In one instance, an alumnus of Atlanta University opened a
school in the town of Athens for black children. Anne Smith resigned her teaching
position at the Knox Institute to open a school for children who had to perform seasonal
labor (harvesting and seafood processing) as well as those who lived outside of the
jurisdiction of the public school.148

From their humble beginnings, black colleges and universities sought to provide
uplift through education. Through the efforts of missionaries, benevolent associations,
and community support, these schools became the training ground for future clergymen,
teachers, and scientists. Despite the political maneuverings and attempts by private
individuals to relegate blacks to the position of semiskilled laborers, administrators and
faculty banded together to preserve the traditional liberal arts curriculum. Their efforts
resulted in the transformation of these fledgling schools into fully operational institutions
of higher learning. Present generations of graduates are forever bound to the sacrifice and
commitment shown by the early founders and supporters of black colleges and

universities in Georgia.

 

"8 Jacqueline Jones, Between Plantation and Ghetto: Black Women, Work, and the Family in the
Urban South: 1880-1919,Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, working paper no.7 9,
(Massachusetts: Wellesley College, 1981)

74

W
The crop-lien system was born out of the shambles of the Southern economy.

In Georgia, as in the rest of the South, sharecropping was born as the result of peculiar
economic conditions: concentration of landholding, insufficient capital; and a large pool
of impoverished, uneducated laborers of both races.148 These conditions provided the
environment in which northern cotton manufacturers and southern planters worked to
rebuild the agrarian base of the South. Textile mill owners in the North wanted the South
to continue to furnish tons of raw cotton for processing. However, the debt incurred by
planters posed a serious threat to the reawakening of the Southern agrarian based
economy. In 1865, planters owed four hundred and eighty million dollars, including
interest to their Northern creditors. This huge post-war debt incurred by planters severely
restricted their ability to obtain credit.149

Faced with the lack of available credit, planters were unable to purchase tools,
stock, or seeds. As a result, planters were forced to sell their land at prices far below their
original value or resort to the crop-lien system. The system required the planter to divide
the land into smaller parcels, which were referred to as shares. He would then enter into
contracts with freedmen who agreed to tend to the land in exchange for a percentage of
the crop yield during the harvest period. A store was provided so that sharecroppers

could purchase food, clothing, and miscellany. Each sharecropper could purchase goods

on credit furnished by the storeowner. At the end of harvest season, the sharecropper

 

l“‘Kenneth Coleman, ed., A History of Georgia (Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1991) ,
226.

I49Richard W. Griffin, “Problems of the Southern Cotton Planters After the Civil War,” Georgia
Historical Quarterly 39 (1955) : 106.

75

would settle his debt with the storeowner, which in some cases owned the land tilled by
the sharecropper.

Over a three-year period from 1867 to 1870, the forces of nature and the market
wreaked havoc on the crop-lien system in the South. The cotton crop failures of 1867,
were attributed to the financial ruin of planters, sharecroppers, merchants and creditors.
As a result, planters experienced greater difficulty in obtaining credit.

In the wake of the crop failure of 1867, many lending houses ceased operations
and planters were forced to plant crops of grain in place of cotton.150 Two years later, an
enormous cotton crop enabled the planters to financially rebound fi'om the massive crop
failure of 1867. However, this boom was short lived. Within a year the fluctuation in the
value of the dollar threw the price of cotton into a tailspin. In 1870, the massive
fluctuation in the value of the dollar caused many Northern merchants and Southern
planters to demand a return to payments in kind due to their desire to acquire a sound
basis for their cotton transactions.151

While planters struggled with unfavorable weather market and weather
conditions, new laws were being enacted to increase the ability of the merchant to extract
a greater share of profit at the expense of the landowner and the sharecropper.

The reconfiguration of the relationship among landowner, merchant, and sharecropper
occurred over a period of ten years, beginning in 1870 and ending in 1880.

Within the body of an article submitted to the US. Department of Labor, W.E.B. Dubois

explains how the merchant was able to increase his share of the crop yield.

 

15° Ibid, 109.
'5‘ Ibid, 111.

76

According to Dubois, Southern state legislatures enacted new laws, which
permitted the merchant to gain a greater share of the crop yield due to the sharecropper as
payment for his labor. Merchants were permitted by law to take out mortgages on the
future crop yield planted by the sharecroppers. This represented the second lien held by
the merchant. The goods credited to the sharecropper’s account, which was held by the
merchant, represented the first lien.‘52 In the event of a bountiful harvest, the
sharecropper would be able to pay off his debt to the merchant and receive a healthy
portion of the crop for personal consumption or resale.

Sharecroppers stood to lose a great deal of their share of the crop yield due to
weather conditions and market forces. Sharecroppers worked under such conditions,
which could result in their financial ruin. The crop-lien system was perfectly suited for
the growth of cotton, yet the system prevented blacks fiom engaging in crop
diversification and provided merchants with a constant supply of bonus income earned
from the liens placed on the sharecropper’s portion of the crop yield and the debt accrued
as the result of making purchases from the local store who extended lines of credit to the

153 The crop-lien system required a great expenditure of labor power from

sharecropper.
the sharecropper and provided the merchant with a disproportioned amount of profit at
the expense of the blacks that toiled in the cotton fields of Georgia. Blacks were
subjected to the fluctuations in the market price of cotton and weather conditions.

At times, blacks would reap the benefits of a bumper crop; yet, they could also find

themselves deep in debt due to poor weather or fluctuations in the market.

 

1”US Department of Labor Bulletin, The Negro Landowner of Georgia. (Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office, 1901) , 668.
"3 Ibid, 669.

77

Fraudulent business practices combined with questionable accounting methods used by
the planter and merchant would siphon off profits rightly earned by blacks that planted,
maintained, and harvested the labor-intensive crop.

The most debilitating effect of the crop-lien system is that it prevented blacks
from engaging in crop diversification. Unlike soybeans or corn, cotton extracted a
considerable amount of nutrients from the soil. Proper agricultural management dictated
that a farmer should leave his field fallow for a season until the soil could naturally
replenish itself after the cotton crop has been harvested. During this period of inactivity,
blacks could have grown other crops for consumption or profit. However, due to the
demands of Northern processors and markets for the cash crop, planters rushed headlong
into cotton planting and harvesting. Planters and Northemers shared interest in the
resurrection of the Southern agrarian based economy. The first step taken to restore the
agrarian south was the institution of the crop lien system and the mass cultivation of
cotton destined for Northern factories and consumers.

Planters experienced great difficulty in obtaining the services of blacks as field
hands and sharecroppers. From 1865 to 1876, outside forces contributed to the
reconfiguration of the relationship between the planters and freedmen. Immigration, the
Freedmen’s Bureau, low wages, and emancipation were the forces, which contributed to
the replacement of the former master-slave relationship with the new planter-wage
laborer relationship.

From the outset, the Freedmen’s Bureau acted as both a hindrance and a coercive
force in the quest of the planter to obtain the labor power of blacks. In the hopes of

reducing vagrancy and idleness among the freedmen, General Tillson directed Georgia

78

bureau agents under his command to make contracts with planters for recalcitrant blacks
who failed to enter into contracts for themselves.154 While planters surely appreciated the
attempts by Bureau agents to provide them with workers, reports of rumors allegedly
spread by Bureau agents hampered planters efforts to secure additional manpower.

Upon their return to the South, planters noted that blacks had begun the practice
of cultivating cropland for the production of cotton and com. Reports began to surface
that local Bureau agents had spread stories among the black populace that the returning
planters planned to confiscate half of their crop yield for their own personal gain and
consumption.”5 Blacks had begun to exercise their ability to act as individual participants
in the market economy. No longer subject to the involuntary servitude, blacks began to
test the limits of their newly won emancipation. Their initial venture into the cultivation
of cropland illustrates their desire to obtain total control over their labor power and
exercise their right to choice within the market. In effect, they worked to become active,
semi-autonomous participants in the agrarian economy of the South.

While blacks cultivated their cropland, the Bureau took steps to counter the
unfounded rumors of an impeding takeover of blacks cropland by planters.

If these rumors were allowed to persist, the planter would find it increasingly difficult to
secure farm workers by contract. Bureau agents informed blacks that the rumors were
false and encouraged blacks to return to their employers.156 To combat idleness and
foster self-sufficiency, bureau agents encouraged blacks to enter into contract with their

former masters. In their view, the economic revival of the agrarian South relied upon the

 

'5‘ George R. Bently, A History of the F reedmen ’3 Bureau (Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1955) , 84.

'5’ Richard w. Griffin, “Problenrs of the Southern Cotton Planters After the Civil War,” Georgia
Historical Quarterly 39 (1955) : 113.

79

ability of the planter to secure enough farm workers under contract. Also, Northemers
from processing plants and former union officers sought to revive cotton production in
the south.157 The steps taken by the Bureau illustrates their commitment to fostering the
transformation of the freedmen into wage laborers while assisting the planter in their
quest to secure farm laborers. Through the efforts of the Bureau agents, both planters and
northern transplants would be able to secure blacks to contracts as field laborers.

In the interests of obtaining workers, planters had to compete with their fellow
planters in the market. As mentioned earlier, some blacks were failed to receive proper
compensation due to questionable business practices instituted by planters and merchants.
To rectify this situation, General Tillson of the Georgia Bureau arbitrarily set wages for
field hands. Planters of middle and upper Georgia were required to offer between 12 and
13 dollars per month; while their counterparts along the coast and southwest offered field
hands 15 dollars per month. In one bold stroke, General Tillson had instituted a
minimum wage scale for blacks.158 Such action illustrated how the Bureau acted not only
as a facilitator for fieedmen’s education but also as an advocate and active participant on
the behalf of freedmen in regards to wages.

The establishment of a minimum wage for black laborers marked a watershed in
reconstruction history. The act legitimized blacks as wage laborers. They shared this
newfound status with their white northern counterparts. In effect, they had made the
transition from involuntary laborers to wage laborers. However, the arbitrary act of

General Tillson placed a new burden upon the backs of planters. Instead of permitting

 

1”Ibid, 114.

"7 Ibid, 106.

”3 George R. Bently, A History of the F reedmen ’s Bureau (Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1955) , 129.

80

market forces to dictate the price of labor and wages, the Bureau set the price of labor for
the market. Planters were unable to shoulder the minimum wage scale established by the
head of the Georgia Bureau. Already burdened by the debt accrued during the Civil War,
planters were unable to honor Bureau approved contracts and wage rates. While planters
struggled to meet the Bureau sanctioned wage scale, rumors of blacks losing their status
as freedmen after signing contracts with planters began to surface.”9 The unilateral
imposition of the wage scale combined with the constant flow of unfounded rumors made
the task of securing laborers difficult for the planters. As for the fi'eedmen, they were
flee to work for themselves or provide their services to the employer who offered the best
contract. The reconfiguration of the planter-wage laborer relationship enabled blaclm to
gain control of their labor power combined with Tillson’s introduction of the wage scale
transformed the freedmen into wage laborers.

Within the pages of the Atlanta Constitution, the planter-wage laborer relationship
was addressed. In January 1870, two stories were printed which provided some insight
into the nature of the relationship between the planters and black farm workers. The first
story details the relationship between planters and farm workers in Macon, Georgia.
According to published reports, the Macon freedmen engaged in the process of contract
negotiations with their employers from the following year. Blacks were noted for their
disposition towards industrious ventures and negotiated contracts on their own terms.
They paid off their debts and signed new contracts with planters. Also, observers noted

their air of confidence and cheerfirl attitude as they prepared for the new planting

 

1”Richard W. Griffin, “Problems of the Southern Cotton Planters After the Civil War,” Georgia
Historical Quarterly 39 (1955) : 114.

81

season.‘60 Perhaps the bumper crop of 1869 provided an economic windfall, which
benefited planters and farm workers. The bumper crop may have provided the means to
which blacks could negotiate contracts that were beneficial to their needs and concerns.
Perhaps planters who reaped them initial financial benefits were receptive to black’s
demands and agreed to terms, which would benefit their workforce.

A brief history of Macon during the antebellum period may provide some insight
into the factors, which may have shaped the planter-laborer relationship. During the
1830’s, Macon relied upon the labor of free and enslaved blacks to provide the necessary
labor power to drive the town’s agrarian based economy. Located in the heart of Georgia,
the agrarian based economy of Macon relied upon the labor power provided by free and
enslaved blacks. A private insurance company, which recognized the value of black
laborers and cotton, initiated the practice of providing riverboat insurance policies. As
early as 1831, the Macon Insurance Company provided insurance for riverboats manned
by black crewmen who transported cotton downriver. City officials used public funds to
hire black ironsnriths and laborers to repair bridges. Revenue for the city’s coffers was
collected by taxes levied upon free and enslaved blacks.161

This brief review of the early history of Macon provides evidence that black labor
was highly valued and played a significant role in the public and private sector. Here
exists a community of slave and wage laborers in the Antebellum South who actively
participated in the agrarian based economy.

Perhaps this early involvement of blacks established them as a reliable source of labor

power, which planters could draw upon following the Civil War. From the evidence

 

"50 Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta) , 7 January 1870.

82

presented, it appears that the bumper crop of 1869 positively influenced relations
between planters and black farm hands. The reader is cautioned that the report is given
from the perspective of an observer and not a black worker. A true picture of relations
between planters and black field workers can only be obtained through further
examination of additional sources so that a clearer picture of the planter-field laborer
relationship can be developed.

On the other hand, white farmers in Augusta were hard pressed to find black farm
workers who were prepared to sign labor contracts. Tardiness and absenteeism were the
most common complaints voiced by the planters. Observers of the situation noted that
blacks were engaging in activities beyond the cotton fields and cropland. In a report
published within the Atlanta Constitution, an observer noted that blacks participated in
holiday celebrations and became involved in politics. Also, blacks purchased farm stock
and tools to tend to their own parcels of land. Planters hoped that the situation would
improve so that they could secure blacks to labor contracts.162 Blacks were exerting their
ability to engage in entrepreneurial, recreational, and political activities. While no
evidence is presented regarding the nature and scale of entrepreneurial ventures of blacks
in Augusta, they acted as autonomous units outside of the control of the planters.
Economic success was measured in terms of independence. What was sought was an
economic existence that was free as possible from the control of the white planter.163

Within the market economy and no longer bound to slavery, blacks were free to hire out

their labor or work for themselves. While the planters measured success in terms of crop

 

“"James H. Stone, “Economic Conditions in Macon, Georgia in the 1830’s,” Georgia Historical
Quarterly 54 (1970) : 211
"2 Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta), 1 January 1870.

83

yield, blacks measured success in terms of their ability to maximize the productivity of
their individual plots of land.

Aside fi'om tending to their individual parcels of land, freedmen from across the
state actively engaged in the process of negotiating with planters in the hopes of securing
contractual terms that would provide the best returns. Freedmen from the urban and rural
regions of Georgia learned to bargain over terms of employment and to play prospective
employers off against each other. However, not all farmers embraced the process of
negotiation with former slaves. In fact, one farmer voiced his displeasure over his
inability to meet the wages demanded by free black laborers. In 1866, Howell Cobb Jr.,
informed his father of his frustration due to the freedmen’s demands for high wages.
According to Mr. Cobb, fi'eedmen would not consider an offer less than one hundred and
fifty dollars a year, in cash including housing, clothing and food.164 In one particular
instance, a freed black from Macon encouraged his fellow comrades in Monroe County to
withhold their services in the hopes of driving up wages.” Such tactics employed by
blacks further illustrate their awareness of the new market conditions and their
willingness to secure the best contractual terms given the situation at hand. As for their
prospective employers, they had to contend with a workforce free to choose the employer
of their choice. Those unaccustomed to bargaining contractual terms with their former
slaves experienced great difficulty in securing laborers.

However, for those freedmen who cherished their independence, they harbored

deep reservations about a labor system largely based upon cash wages. They rejected the

 

'63 Thomas F. Armstrong, “From Task Labor to Free Labor: The Transition Along Georgia’s Rice
Coast, 1820-1880,” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 64 (1980) : 440.

'“Joseph P. Reidy, From Slavery To Agrarian Capitalism In The Cotton Plantation South:
Central Georgia, 1800-1880. (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1992) , 148.

84

notion of a wage laborer as a virtual automaton, devoid of his own free will and
unquestiongly obedient to the employer. F reedmen sought alternative means of
compensation to wage labor. The practice of share wages was very popular among the
field hands of Monroe County, Georgia. Share wages permitted freedmen to enter into a
contract with a planter in which the workers agree on a predetermined share of what they
produced and then distributed the earned income among themselves. In 1866, the
majority of field hands in Monroe County labored under this contractual agreement for
33 percent of the crop yield. Black farm workers also engaged in the practice of share
tenancy. This alternative to share tenancy required the landowner to supply only the land,
house, and in most cases the fuel. As for the tenant, it was his responsibility to acquire
implements and provisions for his dependents. Rent was paid in the form of a rent equal
to the value of one third of the corn and one third of the cotton harvested.166
To take advantage of the situation, freedmen engaged in contract wage labor, share
wages, and a combination of the two systems of compensation.166

Freedmen also engaged in subsistence agriculture to provide nourishment for
themselves and their families, as well as a means to enjoy recreational activities.
Specifically, it enabled them to take days off they sought to fish or hunt when their
pantries were stocked with food and, when the opportunity presented itself, they would

167

opt for seasonal employment on nearby plantations. The choices exercised by blacks

in the labor market exemplify their desire to labor on the most agreeable of terms.

 

“”Ibid, 148.

l6"Roger L. Ransom and Richard Sutch, One Kind Of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of
Emancipation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977) , 90.

166Ibid., 148.

’67Ibid., 150.

85

While they did engage in wage labor, they refused to rely upon wage labor as their sole
means of income. For the freedmen, control of their labor power enabled them to work
and engage in recreation when they so desired. In effect, freedmen refused to become
wholly dependent upon a particular form of employment, namely wage labor; instead
they engaged in wage labor, shared wage labor, subsistence agriculture, or a combination
of all three forms of labor.

Although the contract stipulated enumerated the freedmen’s rights,
responsibilities, and compensation, many laborers remained firmly committed to their
own ideas about how and when they should work. While the majority of fi'eedmen were
signed to contracts, which required them to work a six-day week, many of them refused
to work for their employer on Saturdays and Sundays, in favor of tending to their own
crops and performing household chores. In one particular case, a confrontation between
a Georgia freedman and his employer arose due to the laborer’s refirsal to work on
Sunday as was stipulated within the contract. The laborer asserted that he had to tend to
his own business, thus reliving him of his duties to his employer on Sundays. However, a
local Bureau agent and his employer informed the freedman of the terms of the contract,
which required him to labor on Sundays and that he should immediately return to work.
In response, the freedman, in a defiant tone informed his employer that he ‘Vvould
promise nothing and agree to nothing.” ’68 While no evidence is given regarding the
freedmen’s return to his employer, it is clear that the freedman held a different

interpretation of the nature of his contractual obligations. The employer and Bureau

 

'68 Leon F. Litwack, Been In the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (New York: Alfi'ed A.
Knopf Press, 1979) , 417.

86

agent argued in favor of strict adherence to the contract, meanwhile the fi'eedmen
countered with the assertion that he required time to deal with his own matters.
This battle was played out daily between employers and free laborers throughout
Georgia. Freedmen would challenge their employer’s ironclad notion of contract labor
and seek to redefine the relationship between themselves and their employers as a means
of acquiring time outside of work to tend to their own concerns.

Across the farmland of Georgia, farmers and laborers engaged in the daily process
of negotiation and renegotiation of contract labor. While planters viewed the contract as a
means of securing labor and reestablishing control of free black laborers, blacks openly
contested the conditions of the contract and sought to secure concessions fiom their
employer such as personal time to conduct business apart from their place of
employment. Although blacks openly embraced their new status as free laborers, they
were well aware that total dependence on wage labor would amount to “wage slavery”.
To avoid this unenviable situation, blacks engaged in a combination of wage labor,
shared wages, and subsistence agriculture. This enabled blacks to act as active
participants in the labor market while retaining a considerable degree of freedom. Their
interpretation of the nature of contractual labor translated into their ability to set aside
time for recreational exploits or personal matters. Under the watchful eye of Bureau
agents, former masters and freedmen engaged in the daily practice of negotiation in the
labor market. While planters struggle to come to terms with the ascendancy of free labor,
freedmen sought to define free labor on their own terms in the hopes of retaining the
ability to control their own bodies. The contract would serve, as the new battleground for

control of labor became the new objective of planters and laborers in the South.

87

Black Entrepreneuls Ed Landomnm in Georgia

At the conclusion of the Civil War, thousands of blacks throughout the rural
regions of the South migrated to the fledgling urban centers in the South. No longer
bound to the plantation by slavery, freedmen sought to locate lost family members or to
secure employment in the rising cities within the South. This migration did not go
unnoticed by whites. In 1866, a white physician noted the factors that attracted blacks to
Atlanta, Georgia. According to the doctor, blacks were drawn to the city because of j obs
and the vibrant nightlife where blacks could socially interact with their fellow
comrades.169 The unnamed physician was correct in his initial assessment regarding the
attractive job market found in the Southern urban centers. The diverse urban economy of
Atlanta provided the ideal environment in which blacks established their new
households.170 Du Bois made note of the industries and stores, which dotted the
landscape of Atlanta. The hills were crowned with factories and her sh0ps were filled
with products crafted by those with great skill and ambition.171 Yet, Dubois noted that
many had replaced the pursuit of higher aims with the pursuit of material wealth. In fact,
Du bois warned that the dream of material wealth might become the touchstone of
material wealth as the touchstone of all success.172

Despite Du Bois’ caveat, the postwar economic recovery and rebuilding of

Atlanta attracted thousands of blacks from the rural areas of Georgia. Freedmen

encountered an economy in the midst of a rapid recovery fueled by the great push

 

'69 Leon F. Litwack, Been In The Storm So Long: The Aftermath 0f Slavery (New York: Alfred A.
Knopf Press, 1979) , 432.

”O'Tera W. Hunter, T 0 ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women 's Lives And Labors After The
Civil War (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997) , 25.

‘7 William Edward Burghardt Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (Greenwich, Fawcett Press, 1961),

'7’lbid, 60.

88

towards modernization and jobs in the industrial sector. Blacks found employment in the
numerous local industries, which produced a host of goods for local and national
consumption. Consumer items such as clothing, cornmeal, firrniture, and cabinets were
manufactured in local shops by black workers and shipped by rail to Northern marketsm
The economic recovery of Atlanta was tied to the construction and railroad industry.
Both sectors sought manual laborers, skilled and semi-skilled tradesmen for immediate
employment. For example, the construction industry employed numerous blacks in
Atlanta. For example, skilled freedmen and artisans benefited greatly from the massive
rebuilding projects in Atlanta. During the postbellum era, blacks plied their skills in the
construction trades as painters, carpenters, and brick masons.I72

In addition to their service as laborers and craftsmen in the rebuilding of Atlanta,
blacks found employment within the railroad industry. Their daily activities included
snow removal fi'om the rails, track maintenance, and the routine yet hazardous task of
coupling and uncoupling railcars in the railyards.173 These men would find little trouble
finding work in the railroad industry. The Union had inflicted heavy damage on the
railroads of the former Confederacy. These railroads, which had transported a cotton,
foodstuffs, and finished products to markets for consumption in Northern and European
markets via steamship, were destroyed by members of Union engineering battalions and
other associated units under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman. Georgia’s
railroads were not spared from the carnage inflicted by the Union Army during General
Tecumseh’s march through Georgia. In the closing months of 1864, The Georgia

Railroad and Banking Company (GRBC) lost valuable capital assets in the form of

 

”‘Ihid., 25
”2 Ibid., 25.

89

maintenance shops, depots, and railway bridges. Union soldiers under the command of
General Sherman carved a path of destruction from Atlanta to the Oconee River. No
GRBC property along the route from Atlanta to the Oconee River was left unscathed.174
The war itself had exacted a heavy financial toll on the GRBC. Of the 2.8 million
dollars in lost buildings and Confederate bonds, former slaves valued at 95,214.24 were
factored in as lost property of the GRBC.175 No longer considered company property,
former slaves were free to find other employment or work for their former owners of the
shattered GRBC. No longer bound to serve as laborers, freedmen could ply their skills
and seek the best wages. Post-war Atlanta was in the midst of a massive rebuilding
campaign. Opportunities abounded in the construction of buildings and railroad lines.
While their male comrades plied their skills and labor power towards the
rebuilding of Atlanta, women applied their labor power to a myriad of jobs available after
the Civil War. As for some black women who were unable to secure work as a maid or
laundress, they sought employment in the seafood processing industry. Black women in
Warsaw, Georgia preferred to shuck oysters because it offered them higher wages with

176 In the processing plants,

shorter hours of service and greater personal freedom.
women outnumbered men. Also, their ability to process large quantities of oysters
translated into higher wages. In fact, women with more experience earned more than

their male counterparts. Wages were determined by the workers’ ability and the size of

the oysters. Men earned a daily wage between forty cents to four dollars, while women

 

173 -
Ibrd.,25
174 James F. Doster, “The Georgia Railroad & Banking Company In the Reconstruction Era,”
Georgia Historical Quarterly 48 (1964) : l.
”5 Ibid., 2.
"6 Jacqueline Jones, Between Plantation and Ghetto: Black Women Work, and the Family in the
Urban South: I880-1915 (Massachusetts: Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, 1981) , 30.

90

averaged five or six dollars per week. Black women preferred this labor to domestic
service because they could set their own pace with a modicum of white supervision and
earn a few dollars more than they could by meeting the endless demands of a white
housewife. 177

No longer bound to slavery, black women when possible, avoided occupations
which circumscribed their freedom and failed to provide ample wages in return for their
labor power. Black women who resided in the seacoast towns of Georgia sought
employment in oyster houses whenever possible. Such employment was the ideal
alternative to domestic labor.

Meanwhile, black women employed in cotton mills and as washerwomen took
action to improve their working conditions. Against the backdrop of strikes initiated by
railroad workers in reaction to wage reductions by their employers, black women sought
to turn back the similar tide, which had occurred within their respective occupations.
Prior to the Great Strike of 1877178 and the Atlanta Cotton Exposition, black
washerwomen had begun to organize. Members of the rank and file accepted a uniform
rate of pay and two years later instituted protective associations. In the summer of 1881,
the efforts had cuhninated in their full-scale mobilization.179 The local church served as
the incubator for the washerwomen’s movement in Atlanta. In fact, the Washerwomen’s
Association of Atlanta was organized through and enjoyed the support of the local black

church community. Members of this organization struck for a wage of one dollar for

 

177Jones, Between Plantation, 49.

'78 See David O. Stowell, Streets, Railroads and the Great Strike of I 87 7 (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1999) and Philip S. Foner, The Great Labor Uprising of l 87 7 (New York: Monad Press,
1977)

179 Tera W. Hunter, “Household workers in the Making: Afro-American Women in Atlanta and
the New South, 1861-1920” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1990) , 171.

91

every pound of wash. Members also actively recruited others to augment their exiting
ranks.'80

The action taken by the black laundresses of Atlanta indicates their willingness to
challenge the status quo and withhold their labor power until they were justly
compensated. Though many of their forbearers and distant relatives may have performed
the same tasks for white mistresses during the antebellum period, these women of the late
nineteenth century chose to engage in collective action and refuse to labor under
conditions in which their employer fails to provide suitable compensation. Although the
strike by washerwomen was brought to and end by requiring women to purchase licenses
and the detainment of prominent strike leaders, the black laundresses sent a strong
warning to white Atlanta that they would repel any attempt by their employers to treat
them like chattel. Also, it impressed upon the black community the severity of its
economic vulnerability and political impotence.181 Yet in still, the actions of the Atlanta
washerwomen demonstrated their ability to construct a collective and coherent response
in the hopes of securing better wages and working conditions.

Aside from the collective action of the Atlanta washerwomen, their male and
female counterparts in the port city of Savannah were employed in all aspects of the
transportation industry, peddled seafood, and operated their own storefronts. From its
early origins, Savannah has functioned as a major seaport on the lower Atlantic coast.
Ships destined for ports along the upper east coast, England, and the Caribbean would
often arrive in Savannah for repairs, supplies, or to load or unload cargo. Following the

Civil War, the port city regained prominence as the major center for maritime commerce

 

‘8‘) Jones, Between Plantation, 60.
'8‘ Ibid., 61.

92

on the lower Atlantic coast of Georgia. During the antebellum period blacks played an
integral role in the economy of Savannah, which was fireled by the production of cotton
transportation, and maritime related industries. '82 They continued in the tradition
established by their comrades in the antebellum period and offered their labor power in
return for wages in postwar Savannah. Blacks entered all aspects of transportation in
Savannah and faired well. Blacks monopolized the hauling of goods in Savannah. In
1900, 518 black draymen outnumbered their white counterparts. They also held a
majority in the railroad industry. The number of blacks employed by the railroad was
909 as compared to 373 whites.183

The location of Savannah on the Atlantic Coast provided an economically diverse
environment in which blacks could choose from a host of occupations. Some ventured
into sail making and peddled seafood on the crowded streets. By 1877, Frank Thompson,
had become well known and patronized by fellow Savannahians because of his ability to
craft sails. The streets were often clogged with blacks that sold oysters and fish. Taking
advantage of the opportunities afforded to them by the vibrant economy, black women
engaged in significant entrepreneurial ventures. By 1870, Lizette Scott, a seamstress had
cultured a clientele of blacks and whites because of her high quality work. She amassed
property valued at $1,400. Meanwhile, Susan Sheftall, a washer women and maid
amassed $2,100 in property!" These women used their skills to produce products and
provide services, which were in great demand. Their efforts had resulted in nurturing a

strong clientele, which patronized their respective establishments. These self-employed

 

182See Whittington B. Johnson, “Free Blacks in Antebellum Savannah: An Economic Profile,”
Georgia Historical Quarterly 64 (1980): 419-429.

"3 Robert E. Perdue, The Negro in Savannah: 1865-1900 (New York: Exposition Press, 1973),
116.

93

women, through the application of their skills and labor power were able to carve out a
profitable niche in the economically diverse port city. These women were continuing in
the tradition of black women who had plied their skills as seamstresses, food peddlers,
and shop owners in antebellum Savannah and amassed considerable wealth and property
as indicated by local tax records.185
The entrepreneurial spirit exhibited by blacks was not confined to Savannah.
Throughout the state, blacks engaged in a host of entrepreneurial ventures. In Augusta,
Georgia, blacks profited handsomely from the sale of tinware.186 Thomas Goosby, born
of slave parents was a carpenter and farmhand. The native of Oglethorpe County moved
to Atlanta in 1866 and immediately secured employment as a carpenter. He received
$1.25 per day. He then was employed in the construction of the Kimball House. Twenty-
two years after his initial anival, Goosby had risen from a carpenter to the owner of a
grocery store. In fact, he and his son opened and operated a grocery store. According to
tax records, Goosby owned $6000 worth of real estate.187 Willis Smith also rose from
similar origins. He was born in Walton County in 1835. The slave carpenter seemed a
Webster’s spelling book and with the aid of an elderly man called Uncle George Peters
learned how to spell. After serving as an attendant to his owner during the Civil War,
Smith arrived in Atlanta in 1866. Four year later, Smith used his carpentry skills to build

bridges and homes in his adopted hometown. The former slave carpenter used his earning

to purchase a parcel of land. In 1881, he became a junior partner in a funeral parlor

 

'“ Ibid.,117.

"'5 See, Loren Schweninger, “Property Owning Free African-American Women In The South,”
Journal of Women ’s History 1 (Winter 1980): 13-44. Whittington B. Johnson, “Free African-American
Women in Savannah, 1800-1860: Affluence Amid Adversity,” 76 (Summer 1992): 260-285.

186Henderson H. Donald. The Negro Freedmen (New York: Henry Schuman, 1952) , 24.

”7 Mills Lane, ed., Standing Upon The Mouth Of A Volcano: New South Georgia (Savannah:
Beehive Press, 1993), 196.

94

operated by Mr. Harrison Coles.188 What is of particular interest is that both men went
beyond their initial occupations and sought out new opportunities. While their skills
were in demand due to the massive rebuilding project in postwar Atlanta, they took
advantage of opportunities outside of their original vocations. Also, both individuals
sought and acquired property.

At the conclusion of the war, blacks informed their emancipators that they sought
to acquire land as soon as possible. Black religious leaders who met with General
Sherman and Secretary of War Stanton, black religious leaders from the black
community of Savannah stated that land was the key to freedom. On January 12, 1865 a
spokesman for the religious delegation told Sherman and Staunton, that they wanted to be
placed on land until they were able to buy it, and make it their own. Soon after the
meeting, Sherman ordered his officer in charge to dispense possessory titles that
acknowledged their right to work the land and enjoy the fruits of their labor, but fell short
of conveying ownership.189

Although Special Field Orders, No. 15, designed to set aside confiscated
Confederate land along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia for freedmen had failed,
their desire for land did not wane. ‘90 Access to land preferably with titled ownership
offered subsistence, family security, control over both labor and its benefits, and

economic and political independence.191 Blacks desired to acquire full legal claim to

land, which was earlier denied to them by legal statues enacted by Southern legislatures.

 

188 -
lbld., 197.
'89 Paul A. Cimbala, “The Freedmen’s Bureau, the Freedmen, and Sherman’s Grant in
Reconstruction Georgia, 1865-1867,” The Journal of Southern History 55 (November 1989): 599.
‘°° Ibid., 597-632.

'9‘ Joseph P. Reidy, From Slavery T o Agrarian Capitalism In The Cotton Plantation South, 1800-
1880 (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1992) , 142.

95

No longer legally defined as property and barred by law, blacks sought to acquire parcels
of land. In fact, a financial entity created by the federal government would play an
instrumental role as blacks sought to acquire land in the postwar south.

On January 27, 1865 John V Alvord, a Congregationalist minister met with
approximately twenty philanthropists and members of the business community who
sought to establish a bank for the benefit of black soldiers. Their initial discussions
culminated in the signing of a bill by President Lincoln on March 3, 1865, which
authorized the establishment of a corporation to receive sums of money deposited by
persons and their descendents who were held in slavery in the United States.192 The
corporation became known as the Freedmen’s Savings Bank. Branches were established
throughout the south. Blacks who lived in Atlanta, Augusta, Macon and Savannah
patronized these branches in their respective cities. In 1875, an observer noted that
blacks in Augusta used their savings in the Freedmen’s Bank to purchase farmland and
homes. 193 Blacks embraced the notion of using the bank as a repository for their
earnings, which they would use to purchase land. They were also afforded the
opportunity to purchase federal treasure notes, stocks and bonds. Although the bank was
closed on July 28, 1874 due to poor financial management, it played an essential role in
fostering personal financial responsibility and as a repository for their earnings.

From 1873 to 1902, blacks increased their share of landownership in Georgia. The
total acreage increased from 58,000 acres in 1873 to 336,000 acres in 1902. This
amounted to a 600 percent increase in black landownership. The increase was achieved

through the purchase of land from white farm owners and buying unimproved lands.

 

‘92 Amett G. Lindsay, “The Negro In Banking ”Journal OfNegro History 14 (1929): 163.

96

Blacks capitalized on the fact that whites could only increase their share of the land by
purchasing new land. However, whites possessed the majority of land in cultivation. This
is made evident by the increase in the increase in total acreage owned by whites fiom
6,700,000 to 7,100,000.193 Although whites had owned more land in cultivation, they
had little room to increase their holdings. As for blacks, they were able to rapidly
increase their land holdings at a faster rate than their white counterparts.

Black landowners, who contributed to the rise in owned acreage, were initially
concentrated in two centers. The first center was located within the coastal counties and

194

extend eastward slightly into Wiregrass. The following counties were located in the

coastal county region in Georgia: Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and

Camden. '95

The second center was located in the southwestern comer of the state, which
bordered Alabama and Florida.196 In the antebellum period, the coastal county region
was home to the largest slaveholders, rice plantations, and the majority of its population
was blacks. However, emancipation brought the greatest disorganization to the region.
Amid the confusion and social upheaval, blacks exercised two methods to secure land.
They moved westward to counties where land was plentifirl, or remained to take
advantage of the reduced value of the rice land and purchased parcels of the former
plantations in Liberty and McIntosh.197

At the end of the war, land sales were numerous in Georgia. Farmers and large

landholders, who had been financially ruined, sought to reduce their holdings in order

 

'93 Hollis R. Lynch, The Urban Black Condition: A Documentary History, 1866-1871 (New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Conrpany, 1973), 6.

'93 Thomas Jackson Woofier, Jr., Negro Migration: Changes in Rural Organization and
Population of the Cotton Belt (New York: Negro Universities Press, 1920), 60.

'9‘ Ibid., 60.

'95 See figure 2.

‘96 Woofter, Negro Migration, 60.

97

that they may be cultivated more efficiently under the crop-lien system.198 Yet, blacks
still faced major challenges as they sought to acquire land. The right of black
landownership was a very contentious issue in the post-bellum period. Laws were passed
in many southern states limiting this right, or limiting the areas in which such purchases,
or even rentals could be made. These laws were known as the Black Codes. Rather than
expedite the slave’s transition to freedom or help him to realize his aspirations, the Black
Codes embodied in the law the widely held notion that he existed largely for the purpose
of raising crops for a white employer. Specific codes were enacted to prohibit blacks
from raising their own crops or purchasing land. Mississippi barred blacks fiom renting
or leasing any land outside towns or cities, leaving to local authorities any restrictions
they might wish to place on black ownership of real estate.199

In addition to the use of state power to limit access to land acquisition, blacks
were faced with limited avenues by which they could earn and save money to purchase
land along with white landowners who were unwilling to sell their land to blacks.200 To
discourage blacks from entering into occupations, which would afford them wages, they
could apply towards the purchase of real estate, the Black Codes restricted blacks from
becoming artisans, mechanics or shopkeepers. For example, the South Carolina code
prohibited a black person from entering any employment except agricultural labor or
domestic service unless he obtained a special license and a certification from a local

judge of his “skill and fitness” and good moral character. Such laws not only limited

 

"7 Ibid., 61.

‘9“ Ibid., 38.

'99 Leon F. Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The A ftermath of Slavery (New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1979) , 368

20° Robert H. Kinzer and Edward Sagarin, The Negro in American Business: The Conflict between
Separatism and Integration (New York: Greenberg Publisher, 1950), 81.

98

blacks employment opportunities, but also threatened to undermine the old free Negro
class, which had once dominated the skilled trades in places like Charleston.201

Despite these impediments, blacks were able to acquire property on which they
built homes or cultivated crops. Some blacks entered into agreements in which they
would make regular payments on a parcel of land. Upon receipt of the final payment,
they would become permanent owners of the land. For those who sought to till and own
their own land, they entered into such contractual agreements. As soon as they had
amassed sufficient funds, they would begin payment on farmland.202 Such purchases,
both outright and financed, had repercussions beyond the economic realm. In fact, their
purchase not only changed their economic relationship with whites; it affected the
psychological relationship with whites. Blacks used land purchases to liberate themselves
from economic dependence upon the whites, the earlier bonds between master and slave,
which the moral order of the slave regime was established, contributed to the dissolution
of such bonds.203

No longer wholly dependent on their owners for sustenance and housing, blacks
sought to become masters of their own property and to become self-sufficient. As for
whites, this sudden reordering of southern society, in which blacks could and often
sought to purchase land, heralded the demise of the old order. Black aspirations for land
ownership not only signaled their desire to become self-sufficient but also meant that
whites would have to face the fact that their former chattel would no longer adhere to the
master-slave relationship which had served as the foundation of the social order in the

south.

 

20‘ Litwack, Been in The Storm, 367.
202 Kinzer, The Negro, 81.

99

After the campaign of terror launched by the Klu Klux Klan and the political
troubles, which cuhninated in 1876 and halted any material advance, the agrarian-based
economy of Georgia began to rise in 1880. The cotton market was getting settled, the
labor market was adjusting itself to the new conditions, and thrifty blacks began to place
their earnings in savings accounts. In 1891 , blacks had acquired one million acres and
held total property to the value of more than fourteen million dollars. According to tax
records from fifty-six counties indicated that there were 8,065 black landowners in
Georgia. Collected in 1890, these records indicate that the average black landowner
possessed 70 areas of land.204

However, economic conditions, social unrest and disenfranchisement and a
decline in cotton prices would have an adverse effect on black landowners in Georgia. 205
Following the panic of 1892, followed by a rise in crime; then the movement toward the
disenfianchisement of blacks and the proscriptive laws; finally the decline in the price of
cotton all contributed to the fall in value of property owned from about fifteen million
dollars to less than thirteen million dollars in 1895.206

The economic, social and political factors, which contributed to the decline in
land values, did not diminish their deeds. In fact, the importance of the black landowner
can be measured beyond their economic impact on their respective communities. In 1920,
a study of black landowners in Greene and Macon counties revealed some very
interesting conclusions. Black landowners were highly visible members of the

community. They were able to secure credit and enjoyed the company of influential

 

203 -
Ibrd., 81.
20’ US. Department of Labor, The Negro Landowner In Georgia. (Washington, DC:
Government Printing Office, 1900), 670
”5 Ibid.,669.

100

members of the community. Seventy five percent of the landholders were males over the
age of fifty. They were also permanent fixtures in the commlmity. Located within the
black belt region, these men often served as mediators between whites and blacks. He
would speak upon the behalf of black defendants in court. They would also serve as
church officers, lodge leaders, and chairmen of school board committees. 207

Black landowners, both rural and urban, male and females with often no more
than the clothes on their backs, few possessions, little financial resources, and skills
obtained during their enslavement embarked on a lifelong quest to reconstruct their lives,
establish free communities, and to become self-sufficient. Those who took advantage of
the new opportunities afforded to them in postwar Georgia used their skills, thrift, and
desire for property to work tirelessly in the hopes of securing the deeds and title to
property. Despite the enactment of legal measures designed to restrict blacks fiom
owning property along with reluctant white landowners who refused to part with their
holdings, Georgia freedmen who desired to become landowners remained firmly affixed
to their goal of become owners of real estate. Through entrepreneurial ventures, thrift,

208, and took advantage of low land prices, amassed property

reliance on familial ties
during the postwar period. The sons and daughters of slaves who were once the property
of white plantation owners now sought to become the owners of land. The purpose of
obtaining property signified more than just the freedmen’s transformation from property
to the owner of property. The following statement of a sixty-year-old fi'eedrnan

illustrated the purpose of acquiring property to insure that one has a final resting place

 

2°° Ibid., 669.

207Wooltcr, 138.

20" Arthur F. Raper, Preface To Peasantry: A Tale Of Two Black Belt Counties (New York:
Antheneum, 1968) , 111.

101

secured by their own hands: “What’s do use of being free if you don’t own land enough

to be buried in? Might juss as well stay a slave all yo’ days.”209

 

20”Roger L. Ransom and Richard Sutch, One Kind of Freedom: The Economic Consequences of
Emancipation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977) , 81.

102

CONCLUSION

After the defeat of confederate Georgia, the freedmen emerged from the rubble
and began the process of transforming themselves into a body of literate, self-sufficient,
and productive citizens in the postwar period. The establishment of the public school
system and higher education for freedmen can be attributed to the joint efforts of
missionaries and teachers sponsored by northern relief organizations, Freedmen Bureau
officers and agents, northern philanthropists, and black educational associations. While
the funding, personnel, and instructional materials provided by the Freedmen’s Bureau
and private relief organization such as the AMA and AF UC were crucial to the
transformation of the ex-slaves into literate citizens through education; blacks themselves
took a proactive approach in their quest to become independent and literate freemen.

In the early days of the postwar period, blacks established educational
associations. Their members collected funds for the establishment and daily operation of
schools. For example, the SEA was founded to furnish schools for freedmen in Savannah.
Meanwhile, the GEA was formed to encourage blacks throughout the state to establish
schools in their respective localities. Black also enlisted the support of whites in their
quest to secure a permanent state education system. Black and white members of the
GTA provided the impetus behind the passage of the Georgia school bill of 1870 into
law. Also, local communities pooled their resources to fund schools in their respective
localities. Some black wage earners used their own funds to send their children to private
schools and fledgling colleges in Atlanta.

Blacks not only placed a high premium on education but also sought to use

education as a countermeasure against notions of white supremacy, which remained alive

103

in a considerable segment in the southern white population. Also, whenever the
opportunity presented itself, blacks sought to gain full operational control of schools.
While blacks appreciated the assistance provided by northern relief associations, they
were wary of individuals who sought to dictate to them and refrain from including them
in the decision making process. Having been liberated from the paternalism exhibited by
their masters, blacks scoffed at the prospect of being thrust into such a relationship with
northern white missionary agents, teachers, and administrators. Whenever possible,
blacks in the rural and urban areas, often requested black teachers, applied for
administrative positions and offered to purchase schools from private aid organizations.
In response to those who advocated industrial education as the sole means by
which blacks could improve their lot, they rejected this notion and worked to expand the
curriculum of early black colleges and universities to resemble traditional liberal arts
programs found in sister schools in the north. Blacks refused have their choices
circumscribed by those who deemed them unfit for courses in history, philosophy,
government, and the sciences. Although early black colleges and universities far fi'om
resembled those found in the north, black administrators worked tirelessly to add more
intellectual challenging courses to the existing body of courses. Some tired to balance
industrial education with the traditional liberal arts curriculum, while other sought to
supplant the industrial education component with more intellectually stimulating courses.
Such actions corresponded to the ideological shift away from Washington’s promotion of
industrial education to Dubois’ advocacy for the development of a cadre of black

leadership through rigorous study of the arts, literature, science, and philosophy.

104

Black administrators were aware that the changes, which took place in the
economy, rendered industrial education obsolete. Therefore, they had to reconfigure their
schools curriculums to reflect such change. Also, with the recapture of the state
legislature by former supporters of the Confederacy, administrators faced the specter of
reduced flmding for black colleges established by the state. Black administrators reduced
or eliminated industrial education, required student to work campus jobs to cover the
costs of their education, and aggressively seek funding from northern philanthropists.

Irrespective of class position, blacks sough greater control and autonomy over
education whenever possible. This is made evident by the fund raising activities of blacks
in southwest Georgia, prominent black newspaper editors who encouraged the rank and
file to support educational bond referendums in Savannah, black laborers who devoted
portions of their wages to insure that their children receive instruction, and black
administrators, who in the face of budget shortfalls, adopted measures to insure that their
students would continue to receive quality instruction and reap the benefits of an
intellectually challenging curriculum. From the urban centers to the remote rural regions,
blacks sought to establish, support, and control education. Through their efforts, early
black supporters of education provided the foundation for the training of black students
who would be groomed to assume positions of leadership as members of the black
professional class. Not only would the schoolhouse and the universities provide a cadre
of black leadership but they would also facilitate transformation of illiterate ex-slaves
into literate freedmen in Georgia.

Economic development would also play a major role in the uplift of the ex-slaves

in Georgia. Prior to their emancipation, the majority of blacks harvested, tilled, and

105

maintained the cotton fields and rice plantations of Georgia. Slave hiring was common in
the urban centers of Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah. Slave women frequently sold deserts,
fruits, and seafood as vendors on the streets of Savannah. Also, a small yet significant
nlunber of free blacks in Savannah used their familial ties with whites and their
entrepreneurial skills to establish profitable businesses and acquire considerable amounts
of property. Some used portions of their earnings to purchase family members to
reestablish kinship bonds. This group of hue blacks served as a buffer between whites
and the slave community.209

After the collapse of slavery, this community of fi'ee blacks lost their privileged
position and was thrust in with their former enslaved brethren. During the postwar
period, blacks engaged a host of exploits within the market economy of postwar Georgia.
Those attracted to the postwar rebuilding efforts, which took place in Atlanta, served as
draymen, brick masons, and railway maintenance workers. Meanwhile other fi'eedmen
entered less labor-intensive occupations. Both women and men entered into
entrepreneurial ventures. For example, a few black men and in Savannah and Atlanta,
who relied upon their skills as carpenters and seamstresses, became self employed,
reaped the benefits of culturing an interracial clientele for their goods, and use the
proceeds of their ventures to amass additional real estate and to extend themselves into
additional entrepreneurial ventures.

For those unable to engage in such ventures, they used their labor power as a
bargaining chip to extract the most favorable labor contracts and wages from their

employers. Recalcitrant white landowners often engaged with fiee black laborers over

stipulations within labor contracts. In response, to unrealistic demands made by white

 

209 See, Ira Berlin, Slaves Without Masters.

106

landowners, blacks often withheld their services, sought to renegotiate the terms of the
contract, sought alternative means of compensation through share wages, demanded
greater control over their labor time, and readily opted out of contract in search for better
wages and working conditions. The labor contract and the market economy became the
new battleground on which blacks and whites would engage in a daily struggle to define
and redefine the relationship between the landowner and laborer.

Without question, the schoolhouse and the market economy played a crucial role
in the transformation of ex-slaves into a viable literate, relatively self-sufficient
community of freedmen. More Irnportantly, their desire for greater autonomy and
eventually absolute control of their future, provided the impetus for their funding,
maintenance, and operation of schools and universities. Also, their increased participation
in the postwar market economy was crucial to its resurrection and enabled blacks to earn
wages and venture into entrepreneurial ventures and amass real estate. In the face of
black codes, reconstituted state legislatures unsympathetic to blacks concerns, and the
withdrawal of federal supervision and northern philanthropy, blacks pooled their
resources, increased their participation in the market economy and embarked on a long,

arduous, yet fruitful j oumey from bondsmen to freedmen.

107

Appendix
Figure 1 on page 109 is a map of counties and major cities of Georgia in 1868.

Figure 2 on page 110 is a map of coastal Georgia.

108

 

 

" 9
raw“ 6 n m-
we
.74 a o

OLINCH

DECATUR CHARLTON

Counties and Major Cities «Georgia in 1868

Source of Map: Elizabeth Studley Nathans, Losing the Peace: Georgia Republicans and
Reconstruction, 1865-1871 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Press, 1968), 2.

109

'7

‘~

 
  

SOUTH J
CAROLINA

    
 
  
 
 

  
 

CAMDEN

I

1’ m'
\-.., jelfersouton

’1

-A\_.\__ «914’
\.\ufi.~ St. Man
xi»:

 

FLORIDA .
Source of Map Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation (Athens:
University of Georgia Press, 1997

110

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