Frederick Douglass was one of the most important historical figures during the Reconstruction Era. Originally a slave, Douglass became a freed man and one of the strongest abolitionists among black men at the time. To understand Douglass's championing of education, he will have to understand his backstory and the predicament he was in. Douglass was originally taught by his slave master's wife, but whenever the master found out about this he demanded his wife to stop (Frazer 97). Douglass, however, thirsty for knowledge; kept finding ways to read and write. Douglass learned how to further read by making friends with poor white boys. These boys very may have given him books or newspapers after befriending or doing them favors. Douglass learned to write from learning four letters in a the Durgin shipyard for crafting boats. From there Douglass would challenge his white boys to "who knew the most letters." This way he learned more letters in time. Eventually he read from a book known as the Columbian Orator changed his view entirely.
Upon reading the Columbian Orator, Douglass learned of the troubled past of black slaves and how they originated from Africa. Douglass later blamed himself for reading this as he grew angered by what he had read. He blamed the white men for robbing his black ancestors from a peaceful heritage into captivity. After all this and while still enslaved, he would have hold a secret night school to teach fellow slaves how to read and write (Urban 121). Douglass saw a multitude of reasons why literacy was important to the slave culture. He primarily say education as a way to fight back against his white oppressors. Slave masters had long feared slaves with knowledge, and it's not hard to see why. If a slave was educated he would have more likely found his way to freedom or fought back against the slave master. Douglass believed education was the primal way to find a way to freedom and best preserve the black slaves. Another side reason why he valued literacy was cultural transmission. With this cultural learning it would be much easier to integrate into white society in the future. Both these ideas hold true today. Consider immigrants - they are taught English and take necessary classes to prepare themselves for life in America. This is the most basic form of cultural transmission and really a class like ETE 115 is a way of cultural learning by learning about these past events. The other idea that education will lead to freedom and defeat tyranny still holds true today. There are many historical examples leading up to today, and this truth will never change.
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The end goal of Catherine Beecher's Board of National Public Education and Calvin Stowe were to advance a society in the newly forming American Midwest that would advocate a school reform like the Eastern United States had been seeing. Stowe and Beecher had different visions for how they wanted to accomplish schooling, but they shared a common interest in further developing the school kids in order, propriety, and education. Beecher and the Board of Public National Public Education encouraged to send women westward to teach in the developing midwestern schools. Although against social standards, there were a lack of teachers, and the women would be those chosen to reap the benefits. The women would gain an occupation and individaul freedom to move west while the school kids were taught by teachers with "motherly instincts." This is still similar in modern schooling in the way that many teachers in the classroom are women.
On the other hand, Calvin Stowe was a Whig from Ohio (Urban 90.) After traveling to Prussia to study their schooling systems, he desired to work a similar schooling system into Ohio. The Prussian schools he visited were very border-like in manner. The students were taught a multitude of subjects and focused on areas that taught order, discipline, and religion. At these schools housing expenses were cut by nearly one-third and materials were not as hardly wasted compared to the standard American household. Stowe visited a school for common kids and another school particularly for poor children. The settings resembled those of a religious, private college. What Stowe liked the most was the religious teachings, great faculty, and exercises for opportunity. However, what truly stood out to Stowe and what he would like to have seen in Ohio society was the element of removed sectarian bigotry (Frazer 83.) Although his goal did not pass, he still was a powerful force in Ohio. The Prussian school system I would say is somewhat relateble to the private schools in America. There is the focus on religion and develpoing the characters of the students. Horace Mann was an early school reformer in Massachusetts who strived to better the common school system. He wished to see the common school grow toward working for the wealthy, common folk, nonsectarian peoples, and object teaching. Mann was a Protestant Republican who held very nonsectarian moral views. He believed that teaching Christian values should not be completely secular, and he thought that the assimilation of groups with different moral creeds and values into the common school system should not be enforced to a narrow, dogmatic Protestant view (Urban 93). This made him very unpopular with the Catholic minority in Massachusetts. However, their lack of organization and reperesentation resulted in little voicing for them. Furthermore, Mann stood out from his belief in object teaching to connect the leaner to the teacher. He was inspired by Heinrich Pestalozzi.
In his twelfth annual report, Mann contemplated how education was the ultimate protector of society and was the way of defeating the slavery, greed, violence, and hate that was invading America (Frazer 46). Mann believed the common school was the best way for the common folk and working class to find a balance of skill for success in life. Going to the common school would avoid class divisions like Europe. He called this a "balance wheel." As of the wealthy, Mann argued they would want intelligent employers who knew their jobs. He stressed if they did not support education then the economy would be overrun by idiots. Lastly, Mann supported the idea of taxation in which the entire commonwealth had a duty to support the growth of education. After reading the sources from Webster, Rush, and Jefferson; I would have to call the women's education opportunities severely lacking. Main schooling opportunities were first given to white males since they were property owners and functioning citizens. Everyone else was of less consideration including the women. There was talk of passing bills to educate the women but nothing was taken seriously. Jefferson wanted girls to attend school for free in his General Diffusion Bill (Frazier 21), but he also seldom considered women in his view of citizenship (Frazier 17). Rush wanted to fully educate woman in his plan known as "Republican Motherhood" (Frazier 18.) He saw that educating women would prepare them for in turn educating their sons for future citizenship and taking an active part in the husband's entertainment (Frazier 25).
From a woman's standpoint, not all accepted the unfair culture. They wanted fair opportunity and wanted a chance to learn for themselves. This time period saw it's share of early American feminism. Individuals such as Abigail Adams, Judith Sargent Murray, and Mercy Warren spoke out their opinions (Urban 76). They questioned the educational standards at the time and the male gender role as being the only available to for advanced education. However, I imagine some wives and women were just as happy not being educated. Some probably saw it as their traditional role and duty to the household to stay behind as men were schooled. |
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