[AFRICAN AMERICANS] [RECONSTRUCTION] [EDUCATION] Tourgee, Albion W.; Collins, Charles Terry

Education South with Valuable Statistics. Free Schools, Free Press, Free Speech, Free Ballot, Fair Court, and the Electric Light. Books for the People No. 9 [Cover Title]

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Educational Bureau, 1882.

pp [2], 23, [1], in original sewn wrappers, with ads for Cleveland businesses on verso of front wrapper and both sides of back wrapper. Fine. Includes two articles: "The Education of the Negro" by Tourgee and "Southern Education" by Collins. Albion Winegar Tourgee (1838-1905) was a white, Ohio-born attorney and Civil War veteran who in 1865 became a vocal advocate for racial equality in the South. He moved to North Carolina for health reasons in 1865, and three years later represented his county at the state constitutional convention. "His platform included equal political and civil rights for all citizens; ending property qualifications for jury duty and officeholding; popular election of all state officers, including judges; free public education; abolition of whipping posts, stocks, and branding for those convicted of crimes; judicial reform; and uniform taxation. In good part because of his leadership, these reforms and a homestead exemption, protecting a modest amount of real and personal property from creditors, were written into the North Carolina constitution" (DNB). He later served as a judge, wrote novels exploring the challenges of Reconstruction, and founded the National Citizens’ Rights Association, an organization devoted to equality for African-Americans. Here he traces the progress of education among African-Americans since the end of the Civil War, considers the many challenges to improvement, and advocates for "using the power and revenue of the Government to aid and protect education at the South, both of white and colored illiterates." Collins provides plentiful statistics to support his argument that support for the schools in southern states has been "utterly insufficient" and Federal spending is needed, for "education alone can give genuine liberty." One copy located in OCLC (AAS).

Item #20810

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