Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1867-11-20
Education i'm the Southern
States.

7.
there Is a very valuable communica-
! tion upon Education IN the South. -
! 1t IS not possible to over-State the i'm
1 portance OF this subject in the present
condition OF the country; for, if il
/ were essential that the freedmen
! should be enfranchIsed which is indis-
. putable, 1t Is not less necessary that
/ they should be educated Moreover.
as their entranchisement came from
/ the tree states, so must their educa
/ tIon come. To abandon them to the
class which lately held them enslaved
winch Is the policy of the Demo.
cratic party-is not only to leave
them without any safeguards of civil
| rights, but it is TO condemn them to
! hopeles ignorance. ........
| The article, of which we speak. tru.
/ ly state the situation of the country.
! IN this respect. at the beginning of the
| rebellion. OF the 5000, 600 Southern
whites in 1860 only 100000 owned
I slaves, and only 10000 of these own
ers had more than ten slaves each
/ Other small Slave-owners and a few
I hundred thousand merchants and pro
/ iessIonal men of some wealth were
the adherents of the great slayehold-
I ers who controlled the 1000. 600 poor
whites and 100000 blacks. Thus
/ 100000 men owning the land and
capital and monopolizing the edu-
cation III their section,ruled IL 900
! 600 lahorers with little property or
education. and, by the abiect subser
vlence OF the Democratic party of the
! Northern States, governed the Union
/ The two chief methods, bv which
! the despotism at the South Was main
tanned, were the Encouragement of
education, both among the poor whites
and the blacks, and the fostering of
/ prejudice and hatred between. these
/ two classes. The free schools of the
/ South educated one in every thirteen
Of the population; the free States
/ one in every four and four-ffths. The
! slave States also especially oncour-
+ aged the high-priced academies, which
only the children Of the oligarchv at
/ tended. From the las: census it an
pears that Alabama gave about $50
! 600 to colleges and academies which
We're untaXed. and no endowment to
the public schools. Virginia did not
! tax her higher academies and colleges
/ which was a good thing but She
gave only 81, ,446 to her public schools.
/ The fourteen slave states, excluding
! Delaware and including Missouri
which in 1850 was fast ceasing to be
slave States and contributed S4l SO
! OF the whole amount-gave oulvS / So
! % in endowmeuts to free schools
This tells the story The alphabet is
an Abolitionist. If you would keep
/ people enslaved, refuse TO teach them
I to read. When the British Reform
! Bin passed, Mir Robert Lowe. who
had strenuously opposed it, said, Bit
/ terly: And. now. Mr.. Speaker. let
us entreat our masters to learn their
| letters, showing that he, at least.
knew that the whole people had not
/ been taught them
/ The despotlc spirit, which instructive
/ djslikes free schools. also sought to
exclude books and newspapers except
! Tor the arlStocracv. It actually pro
/ posed Southern literaturc;" for the
/ literature Of all modern Chri.tcndom
was Inccndiary to slavery 1t struck
/ also at the tongue. II abhorr-d free
| speech. 1t knew that knowledge is
/ power.and it trembled. The article.
/ Of which we are speaking, traces the
means by which mutual hostility was
! lntiamed between the poor whites and
/ the blacks. But nothing could save
/ the slave region from Chris tianitv. a
real democracy. and the nineteenth
century; and the war has resulted
/ In the emancipation Of 100000 ef
/ deceived Democracy from the rule of
the aristocracy.' But the danger Of
| the Southern section Is in the still.
pernicious influence Of the former ar
/ lstocracy. 1t ruled through ignorance,
I from which spring hatred and preiu-
dice; and, If we can strike at that ig-
! norance, we wound the tap-root OF all
/ the national sorrow and suffering
/ This Is our great duty. 1t must be,
under the cIrcums tauces, simultaneous
. and cooperative with political action
Our author gives most striking and
interesting facts upon the present con
4 dltIon OF the movement for the educa-
tion Of the Nreedmen. The chief su-
/ periutending agency is the Freedmen :
Bureau. On the first day Of January
1867, there were .49G schools, l.737
teachers, and 95,lG7 colored, and 40
white, scholars actually III school, be
sides those studying elsewhere
= Many OF my pupils, writes teach
er in southern Virginia, teach white
children at home who are too preiu-
diced 10 come to our school" The
colored people are wholly alive to the
Importance Of the work In Georgia
they have organized l75 private
schools. IN 1860. within an area Of
20 miles around Chattanooga. there
were no schools Of any kind whatever.
Now Chattanooga has six colored
schools besides others, and there are
numerous others in the neigIborhood.
Near Corinth, in Mississippi, All old
gentleman SAYS: " Nv little contra
bands have been picking up bullets on
the battlefield. and have sent them TO
me TO buy spelling books" The re-
ports Of the capacity. as well as the
ardor. OF the new scholars. are most
encouraging.