The Lust for Learning Education and its Reforms

Public education continued becoming more popular States made grade schools –Accept fact government can not function without educated people –Tax supported elementary schools –Checked child labor –Provided free textbooks

Teacher training schools or “normal schools” expanded after the civil war from about 12 to 300 By 1900 there were 6,000 high schools Number of parochial schools increased with immigration in the 1880s and 1890s Kindergartens which were borrowed from the Germans became popular after gaining support

Chautauqua Movement (1874) –Public schools excluded adults –Resembled the lyceums, public lectures given by well known speakers and held in tents –In ,000 people enrolled in courses of home study

People began to see education as a birthright Crowded cities would bring about better educational facilities –Small one room schools would not be good enough for the growing number of students attending Success of schools seen –Illiteracy dropped from 20% in 1870 to 10.7% in 1900

Education for Black People And Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington “Foremost Champion of Black Education” 1881: headed the black and normal industrial school at Tuskegee, Alabama Taught useful trades so black students could gain self respect and economic security “Accomodationist” Strived for economic independence

George Washington Carver” Agricultural Chemist Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois –First to urn Ph.D. at Harvard of his race – demanded complete EQUALITY –National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (1910) George Washington Carver

The Hallowed Halls of Ivy: The growth of colleges and universities

New Opportunities  A college education, for everyone, seemed indispensable for success  Women’s colleges gained ground  Like Vassar  By 1900, every fourth college graduate was a woman  Black institutes blossomed in the South  Howard University, Washington D.C.  Hampton Institute, Virginia  Atlanta University, Georgia

The “Enlightened” Laws Morrill Act of 1862 –Provided a generous grant of the public lands to the states for support of education –These “land-grant colleges” eventually became state universities Bound themselves to provide certain services, such as military training Hatch Act of 1887 –Provided federal funds for the establishment of agricultural experiment stations

Private Philanthropy Richly supplemented federal grants –New industrial millionaires donated fortunes These philanthropists were cynically described as, “one who steals privately and gives publicly.” Money barons gave away almost $150 million –New private universities of high quality were opened, with the help of the philanthropists Cornell The University of Chicago

Specialized Institutions There was a sharp increase in professional and technical schools –Had modern laboratories where students could experiment Leading these specialized institutions was John Hopkins University –Maintained the nation’s first high-grade graduate school –Carried the Germanic tradition Before, Americans had to go to Germany for a graduate degree –Dr. Woodrow Wilson received his Ph.D. here 1.