HISTORY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION IN ALABAMA I

UNITED STATES BUREAU Of EDUCATION.

BULLETIN, 1915, NO. 12

,

WHOLE NUMBER 637

HISTORY OF

PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION

IN ALABAMA

I

By STEPHEN B. WEEKS

OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION

WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1915

ADDITIONAL COPIES

THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM T11 SUPERINTENDENT Or DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 20 CENTS 1'E11 COPY

In The same series:

Bulletin 1912, No. 27. History of Public School EduostIon in Arkansas. In preparation:

History of Public School Education In Tennessee.

, '2,90 9

ktAN 11 19i5

CONTENTS.

^ (e,

1915 12 -23

Letter of transmittal ('hapter I.- Evolution of the State

Growth.of population of Alabama, 1800-1910 First centers of American settlement The lines of travel and the influence of roads on settlement The distribution of incoming settlers Chapter 11.-Private schools before the CivilViiar Schools supported from private sourcesSchools supported in part out of public funds Chapter 111.-Administration of the sixteenth sections, 1819-1914 The laws of the thirties and the failure of the State bank Judge Porter's bill in 1847-48 Proposed comnlidation, 1852-53 Transfer of trumagement to State superintendent, 1854 Auditor Reynolds's strictures, 1869 The law of 1881 lays foundation of a State fund The act of 1899 and the case of Alabama r. Schmidt

tags. 5 7 9

11 12

14 16

17 23 26 27 30 33 35 36

4 38

39

Principal of the sixteenth sectidls fund, 1851 and 1912.

41

Chapter 1V.-The rise of public schools in Mobile.,1826-1865

42

Public schools reorganized, 1852..

44

Development, 1853-1865

45

('hapter V.-The experimental period in the organization of a State system.

1819-1854

48

The laws of 1839-40

49f

Messages of Gov. Chapman and Gov. Collier in 1849 -t 'It. The house report of 1851-52

Gen. Perry's reminiscences

Chapter VI.- O.ganization of the public-school system, 1854-4856 Meek's report on education The act of February 15, 1854 W. F'. Perry chosen firstsState superintendent . The course of study and textbooks The amended act of February 14, 1856

Chapter VII.-The work of the public schools, 1836 -1865 The condition of schodlliouses

Indifference of the people and weakness of the law a Equalization and distribution of the sixteenth-section fund The Alabama educational association and the educational press Gabriel B. Duval becomes the second superintendent The Civil War and after

Chapter VIII-Reconstruction in the public schools, 1865-1876 ' I. The intermediate period, 1865-1868 II. The old regime and the new, 1868-1876 The State board of education Reorganization and new legislation The contest for supremacy in Mobile

Income, misappropriations and investigations Conservatives in power, 1870; economy and reform

51 53 56 58 59 60 63 65 67 69

r-20 \ 71

74 76 77 80 84 84 87 88

89

90

93 96 .

3'

----4-----

uurrrzarria.

Chapter VIII.Recoustruction in the public schools, 1865-4876--Continued. Page.

III-. School legislation in 1872, 1873, and 1875

e -101 -

i

Law of December 14, 1872, practically suspends schools for 1873

Tho appeal of the State board of education; arrears

a

101 103

Act ef March 8. 1875, and .constitntioa of 1875 reduce school fund

110

-I

The general situation in 1874 -1876

,

111

CAapter IX.Reorganization and advance. 1876-1898

114

I. The constitution of 1875.

1 -14

II. The school tmdes pf 1877 and 1879

116

The admipistration.of Laroy F. Box, 1876-1880

118

111. Progrosl4n the eighties

119 W

The administration of Henry Clay Arnistrong,.1880- ISS-I

119

The administration of Solomon Palmer, J681-1890

120 ,

Rise of the special school district

122

Local taxation and the rise of city systems

T

123

IV. The Handley amendment anti after

,

The administration of John Gideon 'Parris. 1S90-189-1

The administration of John Orman Turner, 1894-1898

i4.*

,

127 127 131

'Chapter X.The awakening, 1898-1914.

.115

I. The beginning of a new era

135

The administration of John W. Abercrombie. 1898-1902..:. .....

? 136

II. The constitution of 1901

' 140

III..Contemporaneous conditions and Ili'ogress

. .., 142

The administration of Isaac W. Hill, 1902-1906

..

142

The administration of Harry C. Gunnels, 1906-1910; of Henry J. Wil-,

lingham, 1910-1913; and of William F. Feagin, 1913 to date

146

.Chapter ILMiscellaneous and supplementary agencies

155

I. Normal schools and other nobnal agencies

1'6,5'

II. City schools

III. Negro schools .

"..

IV. Rural ciationa

schoolhouses;

rural tolpervision and school improvement t

11M30-

162 168 ..

172

V. Rural school libraries and library organization

177

Ji District agricultural school4

178

f VII. Industrial education

182

-"VIII: The county high schools

189 .

Chapter X11. Looking from the past and into the future

.

18?

Puddle school statistics, 1855-1914

197

I. School population, teachers, property, and school year

197

II. Enrollment and attendance -

198

III. School revenues

199

IV. School expenditures

200

V. Tax valuation Addindum

202

Bibliography. ..

.

SO2

203

INDEX

..

'"07

tk.

, torER 01' TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BtREAU OF EDUCATION,

Washington; February 19, 1915. SIR: I submit heltewith for publicationas a bulletin of the Bureau of Education a brief account of thetirogress of education in the State of Alabama. This is the second in the series of brief histories of education insome of the States of the Union which this bureau is having

prepared by and under the direction of Dr. Stephen B. Weeks, of this bureau, for the purpose of providing accurate information for the future historian, and the still more important purpose of helping

those who are now working for.the improvement of education in the I

States, Its set forth in my letter transmitting the manuscript of

Bulletin, 191,2, No. 27. Respectfully submitted.

The SECRETARY

INTERIOR.

Commissioner.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

eHFwtniloehtoT,nnircchreyohonefucJhcre.toeth;WemihaosanipulbsdislliulrenyMelrglcaehwrent.aiiisvWmnsweh.,dieelrnslfeiSoratdoouwmmpantpFcu.ckr.mJeinFotseioehizrwdaeonegnulenHissndto.q,gofPutefhAehwtesihltlaipiletobihrpSnaestmssth,a;eaaotnHenftdkoNSuBsnrtoi.aiminrJtmmegoaihnsantnuyhlgpeWchSeopacr.uimrhneArottp;eoebasnMleridaraer-t--s. hpbtbcpOheaoiraeswonmortmetwokepsfrsnibhrytoili,sotee,feLfot..rtspfLt.ahhiunhe.neDtdiDspttSh.Mhavr,te.peeadrOrCet.hiyerrwIuieswsarseactrnuionaytdpdocreCaeirocWlrkosoiafnonlffl.lotberetHwcremhnetalieidedalodledtn,eSntgsfhrtteaouiseaanrg.otdmlmdgefoieteatndwhshrneteehniuSpoissottasnuaocrrstborite,1igmjfpew8ifstncie7uhcatan3p.eilnlt,e,edmroiainMffatnrcnttaerlehu.erunecslTddychsiherniegoivnpgramtevtsvsia,mleceseraattethnnMoaeydedfr.

6

HISTORY. OF PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION IN ALABAMA.

Chapter I.

EVOLUTION OF THE STATE.

The territory included within the present State of Alabama lies between 30? 13' and 35? north latitude and between 84? 51' and 88? 31' west longitude. It has a total land and water area of 51,998 square miles, and was first visited by De Narvaez and later explored by De Soto (1540); but the Spaniards made no attempi at settlement and for more than a hundred years there was no other visit to the territory by white men. Then came La Salle, with his idea of a French empire extending through the heart of North America, the Mississippi to be the main artery of commerce, and a chain of forts to connect Canada and Louisiana (1682). Under the impetus of this idea came the settlenient at Biloxi in 1699 and that at Twenty-seven Milo Bluff, on Mobile River in 1702. In ,1711 this latter settlement was moved to the present site of Mobile. This removal marks the real beginning of European settlement in that section of the United States, and Mobile was for years the center of French'opposit.ion to the westward thrust of the English-speaking peoples from Georgia and the Carolinas.

It should be noted that the Spaniards never formally surrendered their claims to the country now represented by the State of Alabama, but included it within the ill-defined boundaries of Florida, and that the English made a similar claith to it as a part of their province of.Carolana, "the east of Carolana joining to the west of Carolini" according to Coxe, who wa's the leading exponent of the Eng1M contentioA; but the French remained in actual possession of the soil till the peace of 1"aris in 1763, by the_ terms of which Canada and all of that pall of Louis.&na east of the Mississippi River, with the exception of the island of Orleans, was ceded to England, and the city of New Orleans with all of Louisiana west of the river to Spain. By these cessions France was ,forced out of the Continent of North America, and the visions of. La Salle's American empire vanished.

7

8

MIMIC _SCHOOL EDUCATION IN ALADAMA.

By a treaty of 1762 East and West. Florida had been ceded by Spain

to England in exchange for Havana, and the English flag then

waved over all the territory of _North America east of the Mississippi except the city of New Orleans.

In reorganizing the territory of West Florida the English in 1767

extended its boundary northward to the line of 32? 28', about the

latitude of the present city. of Montgomery. The' territory north of

32? 28' was included'in the English province of Illinois. During the

American Revoltition, Bernardo Galvez, Spanish governor of Louis-

iana, captured both Pensacola and Mobile, and by the treaty of Versailles in 1783 the Flor;das were retroceded to Spain by.England,

which at the same/hue acknowledged the southern boundary of the United States to run awn to 31?, thus ignoring her own boundary

of West Florida and bequeathing a bone\ of contention to the United States and Spain. This territory remained a subject. of dispute till 1795, when under the Jay treaty Spain acknowledged the American

contention for 31?, -although it was not till 1798 that the Spanish

colonial cfliciala were forced to yield recognition of the treaty. By the Federal act of April 7; 1798, a ttvritoriat government was elltab-

lished for the MissiSSippi Territory then embraced between 31' and

32? 28', of like charactei in all respects to that over the Northwest.

Territory,'save as to the last ordinance (slavery). A commission was provi ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download