The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-20

-
Caroline, have declaimed against taxes,
thus laying the foundation OF our misfOr-
! tunes / WIS misfortune for us that
, the quarrel with the Colonial king hap
pened to turn on the question Of taxation
so great was the dread Of taxation that
was instilled into us.
The other educational force Of the COM
mon people was the pulpit. Parts of the
people were strongly inclined to an edu-
cational kind Of religion, and our his
torians tell us Of great camp meetings
and Icvivals that swept over whole cOun-
tries, continued for weeks, and threw
many people into frances.
More men lost their easons from reli-
gious troubles than from any other single
cause, except the lonely overwork Of wo-
men, The latest book written and pub
lshed in the State that / have happen
ed to see, is the autobiography Of a nOta-
BILE religious maniac whom knew in my
boyhood. The more primitive and violent
forms of faith took deep hold on the
people often fas is usually the case), with
out affecting their conduct at all.
But not only was the preacher
mighty man in our life,, but
there was in the old days a
type OF preacher who was an heroic
mantle man who had all the qualities
and the endurance Of the pioneer. He was
ready alike any day to face the hardships
of the wilderness or to stand in the pre-
sence Of the Almighty. l doubt if we
have ever produced any men as great as
our pioneer preachers. They were cast
/ into so large a mould, they dealt so direct
ly with Fundamental emotions of men
and with some of the great facts of the
spiritual life, that they almost ranged
themselves with the giants. had rather
, known one of these men than all the poll
: teal and military heroes that we have
since bred.
i The politician has been the greater pop
ular hero but the preacher has had much
! the greater influence. For a century he
i was by far our greatest mantle man
| Of the greatest original power and Of the
F., strongest character. He inherited the
heroic qualities of the pioneers, he led
life at once serene and active. He,
too, was a primary sort of character
very genuine, stalwart, fearless. If our
! traditions over-rate the political charac-
tiers that We have produced, they as
greatly under-rate the preachers.
Now let us see what these two powers
! that have ruled us did for the education of )
the masses. The first conception of edu-
cation was the aristocratic conception,
and the first system was controlled by
! those who held by political power: it was
the old system Of class education. 1t did
not touch the masses of the people. They
had no part in it. They grew up with the
idea that education was special privil-
ege: they did not aspire to it, did not
believe that it was attainable, and at last
they came to believe even that it was
not desira BILE, certainly that it was not
necessary. They remained illiterate, neg
lected, forgotten. There was no sub |
stantial progress in broadening educa- F,
tional opportunities in North Carolina |
from the time OF the colony till the begin |
ming of the civil war, except the notewor !
thy and noble work that was done just !
before the war to develop public school |
system. 1t was notable and noteworthy |
effort which gives us good reason to hold |
those who made it-chief among whom |
was Calvin II. Wiley-in grateful remem- !
brance.
Their philosophy of social well-being |
and social growth was modelled on the !
Democratic philosophy of Jefferson.
commend to you most earnestly as
Of the first Importance a thorough study |
of our social beginnings and develop |
uleHl-uOI AWAY DIS IL HIS Dteu ueSCIlU-
ed by our historians, but from original |
sources. You will clear your minds of the |
hazy exaggerations that we get from
tradition. Many traditional heroes will |
disappear, and many whose names have |
been forgotten, or are seldom heard, will |
re-appear as real heroes. Among these |
will be the group of men who strove for |
ty years or more to establish public |
school system. But their schemes like |
JeffersOn's own great scheme, was |
doomed to wait to later time for its de- |
velopment.
Later than the aristocratic system of /
education and overlapping it, came the
church system. In establishing and de- /
velOping this, the preachers did valiant |
service. They were colporteurs and car
rled religious books to the people. The
churches esta blished, besides preparatory
schools for boys and girls, three schools
for men which grew into colleges. AT
first they were established for the educa-
ton of preachers, but they fast broadened
their field of labor and became schools |
of general culture, and most admirable |
service they have done. The denomin-
atiOnal education movement was much
broader in its benefits than the old aris-
tocratic educational movement had been,
for these colleges were open to the COM
mon people and they proclaimed the de-
STABILITY Of general education. Still they
were class institutions; each was the
school Of the sect. Universal education,
universal free education was not on their |
The forgotten and neglected
man was now-in many cases-remember-
ed by his church, especially if he were
of emotional temperament and felt call
ed to preach. The way towards general
education, was broadening, but the very
Of education was yet class
conception. 1t was provided less for its
own sake than for the sake of the church.
The forgotten man remained forgotten.
The aristOcratic scheme of education had