CATALOGUE
OF THE
J
HAMPTON, YA,
FOR THE ACADEMICAL YEAR
1870-71,
INCORPORATED BY SPECIAL ACT OE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA.
OPENED APRIL, 1868.
BOSTON:
PRESS OF T. R. MARVIN & SON, 131 CONGRESS STREET.
1871.
LOCATION AND HISTORY.
[FROM' REPORT OF REV. MARK HOPKINS, D. D.J
I. Location.
In this there is an historical fitness. It is within the Capes,
and not far from the spot where the first slaves brought to
this country were landed. It is where General Butler first
refused to deliver up the fugitives, calling them " contraband of
war," and where a city of refuge was provided to which they
thronged by boat-loads, and wagon loads, and in caravans, and
were housed and fed by the government. It was here, too, that
the first school for Freedmen was established. It was the site of
the Hospital Barracks of McClellan's and Grant's armies, where
fifteen thousand sick and wounded were under treatment at one
time; and the farm connected with the Institute includes the
United States cemetery, containing the bodies of nearly six thou¬
sand United States soldiers, together with the granite monument
to these martyrs in the cause of freedom, which is in full view
from the Institute. Not far distant is seen the flag of Fortress
Monroe", and it is within sight of the spot where the battle was
fought between the Monitor and the Merrimac.
o
The location has also advantages as regards convenience,
economy, and the coast. It is accessible by water, and so by
the cheapest possible transportation, from the whole region of the
Chesapeake Bay, of the Potomac, York and James Rivers, and
of the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, a region including a
colored population which has been, if it be not now, of greater
relative density than any other. With a steamboat-landing on
4:
the farm, it has ready access to the principal seaboard cities of
the North, both as markets and as sources of supply. It is also
relatively healthful, having the advantages of sea-breeze, and
opportunities fbr sea-bathing. The place was, indeed, formerly
the seat of a large female seminary, and was a summer resort
for health and recreation.
II. Its History.
As has been said, this was the site of the first school for Freed-
men, and here the Butler school is still kept in the large build¬
ing originally built for it on the premises, tmd is taught by pupils
from the Institute. This, however, did not involve the idea of
the Institute as a Normal School, and a seminary of a high order.
That was originated by General Armstrong, who had charge of
the Freedmen's Bureau at this point, and who first comprehended
the facilities afforded by the pla;ce, and the greatness of the' work
that might be done here. At his suggestion, and chiefly through
his efforts, the American Missionary Association heartily co¬
operating, the estate now called the Whipple Farm, including a
hundred and twenty-five acres of excellent land, together with
the mansion used by the United States officers for their head¬
quarters, the Butler school-house and the hospital barracks were
purchased. Suitable buildings were erected in the fall and
winter of 1867-68, and school was opened the following spring
with an attendance of twenty pupils.
TRUSTEES.
PRESIDENT.
GEORGE WHIPPLE, New York City.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
R. W: HUGHES, Abingdon, Ya.
ALEXANDER HYDE, Lee, Mass.
SECRETARY.
S. C. ARMSTRONG, Hampton, Ya.
FINANCIAL SECRETARY.
THOMAS K. FESSENDEN, Farmington, Conn.
TREASURER.
J. F. B. MARSHALL, Boston, Mass.
O. O. HOWARD, Washington, D. 0.
M. E. STRIEBY, Newark, N. J.
JAMES A. GARFIELD, Hiram, Ohio.
E. P. SMITH, Minnesota.
JOHN F. LEWIS, Port Republic, Ya.
B. G. NORTHROP, New Haven, Conn.
SAMUEL HOLMES, Montclair, N. J.
ANTHONY KIMBER, Philadelphia, Pa.
EDGAR KETCHUM, New York City.
E. M. CRAYATH, Brooklyn, N. Y.
H. C. PERCY, Norfolk, Ya.
INSTRUCTORS.
S. C. ARMSTRONG, Principal.
ACADEMICAL DEPARTMENT.
Miss R. T. BACON, Assistant Principal, in charge.
Miss AMELIA TYLER.
Miss GERTRUDE T. HYDE.
Miss ANNA W. PARRISH.
GIRLS' INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENT.
Miss JANE STUART WOOLSEY, in charge.
HOUSEWORK AND BOARDING DEPARTMENTS.
The ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, in charge.
Miss SUSAN H. HARROLD, Assistant.
Miss CHARLOTTE L. MACKIE, Assistant.
AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.
Mr. ALBERT HOWE, Farm Manager.
Mr. F. RICHARDSON, Lecturer on Agriculture.
STUDENTS.
SENIOR
Sarah J. Brown,
Jane Bullard,
Nancy J. Ellison,
Julia Gibbs,
Eliza Jackson,
Edward Bowman,
Dee A. Ellett,
James Fields,
Joseph D. (jriles,
Calvin Johnson,
William H. Lee,
Harrison H. Lewis,
George Wra, Lattimer,
Caleb Nelson,
Henry C. Payne,
George L. Taylor,
Elliott Tolman,
'Walter R. Watkins,
Joseph P. Weaver,
Samuel C. Windsor,
CLASS.
Wilmington, N. C.
Charlestown, West Va.
Beaufort, JV. G.
Charleston, 8. G.
«< a
Charleston, 8. C.
Hampton, Va.
(t it
Charleston, 8. G.
Hampton, Va.
Nansemond,ii
Onancoclc, . "
Hampton, "
Northampton Go., Va.
Charlestown, West Va.
Hampton, Va.
i6 6i
Wytheville, "
TFi'wtfow, AT. (7.
Beaufort, 44
Senior Class, 20.
MIDDLE CLASS.
Alice Bayne,
Eastville, Va.
Maria Chisman,
Hampton, "
Emma Davis,
66 66
Louisa Elliott,
Charleston, /S. G.
Mary Fentress,
Norfolk, Va.
Harriet Greene,
Wilmington, N. G.
Isabella Howe,
66
Florence Newsome,
Winton, "
Eliza Nottingham,
Eastville, Va.
Mary Robinson,
Hampton, "
Julia Rutledge,
Charleston, S. C.
Caroline Valentine,
Cincinnati, 0.
John Beck with,
Smithfield, JSf. C.
John K. Britt,
Portsmouth, Va.
Abraham Bryant,
Raleigh, JV. C.
John H. Carter,
Eastville, Va.
Peter J. Carter,
Franhtown, "
Andrew Davis,
Hampton, "
James Dungey,
King William Go., Va.
Taswell Hines,
Brooklyn, JV. Y.
Thomas Hollier,
Hampton, Va.
Israel C. Nor come,
Portsmouth,''
Luke Phillips,
Hampton, ''
George Pry or,
<< a
Garret Richardson,
King William Co., Va.
William Steward,
Hampton, Va.
Merritt R. Wallace,
James City Co., Va.
Talbot Wallace,
66 66 66
9
David Weaver,
Henry Wilkins,
Everett Williams,
John Williams,
Lewis Williams,
Winton, N~. C.
Portsmouth, Va.
Hampton, "
it «(
Portsmouth. ''
Middle Class, 33.
10
JUNIOR
Mary Boyd,
Britannia Cabel,
Fanny Campbell,
Mary Dungey,
Rachel Elliott,
Alice Ferribee,
Rachel Howard,
Lizadora Norcome,
Anna Pitts,
Bercilia Scott,
Rosetta Scott,
Laura Smith,
Florence Tolman,
Augusta Thissel,
Mary J. Wilson,
James Bailey,
Norflit Barnes, '
William P. Brown,
Joseph B. Catus,
Hugh Christopher,
Henry Edmunds,
Abraham Giddings,
Alfred Howe,
John H. Lamb,
Berry Langford,
Henry Moody,
Joseph Pritlow,
Jefferson C. Sheffey,
CLASS.
Columbia, S. C.
Charlotte Co., Va.
Portsmouth, "
King William Co., Va.
Portsmouth, Va.
66 66
Hampton, "
Portsmouth, "
Franktown, "
Portsmouth, "
n t (
Norfolk, 11
Hampton, "
66 (6
Portsmouth, "
JDanvers, Va.
Hampton, "
Alexandria, "
Winton, JSf. C.
Brunswick, Ga.
Charlotte Co., Va.
Johnsontown, "
Wilmington, AT. C.
City Point, Va.
Potecasi, N. C.
Hampton, Va.
6 6 6 6
Wytheville, "
11
Jerry Simpson,
Clement C. Spencer,
Henry Thornton,
Frank Trigg,
Elijah Walker,
Junior
Hampton, Va.
Charlotte Co., Va.
Hampton, Va.
Abingdony "
Hampton, "
Cl^ss, 33.
Total.
Senior Class, ...... 20
Middle Class, . . . . . 33
Junior Class, 33
MISCELLANEOUS.
CALENDAR.
Term commenced Monday, October 3, 1870, and will con¬
tinue until the middle of next June.
Vacation from middle of June until October.
National and special holidays are observed.
Students are expected to spend the vacation at home, and,
in order to lessen the burden of their school expenses, are
encouraged to secure, during that time, profitable employment.
ADMISSION.
Candidates for admission to the Junior class are expected to
be able to read and write, and to pass a satisfactory examination
in Arithmetic through Long Division.
Sound health, testimonials of good character, and intention to
remain through the course, and to become teachers, are required
of all applicants.
Candidates for admission coming from common schools or
from other Institutions, must present letters of honorable dis¬
mission and of recommendation.
The stated time for examination is the first week in October
of each year. Parents are desired to come with their children so
far as practicable.
No one under fourteen or over twenty-five years of age, will
be admitted to the Junior class.
Every student is, by enrollment, committed to the discipline
and regulations of the school. The first year is probationary.
Admission at other than the stated time is allowed only in
special cases.
COURSE OF STUDIES.
CLASSES.
MATHEMAT¬
ICS.
LANGUAGE.
NATURAL SCIENCE.
Arithmetic,
Spelling.
Geography, with Map
from Long
Reading. .
Drawing.
Division to
English Grammar.
Natural History.
Percentage.
Sentence making.
Arithmetic
Spelling.
Physical Geography.
completed.
Reading. i
Natural Philosophy.
Book-keeping.
English Grammar, with
Outlines of Astronomy.
Analysis of Sentences.
Composition.
Algebra.
Spelling.
Physiology.
Geometry.
Reading.
Botany.
Rhetoric.
Composition.
HISTORY.
Junior Class.
Middle Class
Senior Class.
History of United States.
Universal History.
History of England, in connection with
Readings from English writers.
Science of Civil Government.
Moral Science.
u
In addition to the course of study indicated on the previous
page, instruction is given in Mental Arithmetic and Penmanship,
practical instruction in Agriculture, in housework and i^house¬
hold industries, and drill in teaching through the course: a
course of lectures every winter upon the applications of science
to agriculture : daily inspection of rooms.
EXPENSES AND LABOR.
Board, washing and lights, per month . $7 50
Tuition, " 1 00
Fuel, 75
Rent of furnished room " " . . 75
Payable in labor, so far as practicable. The amount of profit¬
able labor being limited, it is desired to extend its advantages as
far as possible; hence only those who are absolutely unable to
pay anything in cash, are allowed to work out their whole ex¬
penses. Able-bodied young men should aim to pay in cash from
$3 to $4 per month; boys of eighteen years and less, from $5 to
$7 per month ; young women from $4 to $8, according to their
physical and pecuniary abilities. Young men or women whose
parents desire that they shall not be taken out of school to work,
may, upon payment of $10 per month, attend school without
interruption, but will nevertheless be required to labor on Satur¬
days, or at such hours as may be assigned them.
Labor is required or all, for purposes of discipline and
instruction.
A Ledger account is kept with each student, and bills are
made out and payable at the end of the month.
CLOTHING AND BOOKS.
The Girls' Industrial Department is opened for the benefit of
young women who are seeking an education in this Institution.
Labor is offered them as a means of meeting their expenses, and
is furnished in proportion to the desire for employment and
the demand for the articles manufactured; persons who buy
15
garments of their manufacture may be sure of honest, well made
articles, at the following prices :
MEN.
Coats $2.50 to $5.00
Trousers 1.25 to 3.00
Drawers 50 to .75
Waistcoats $1.50 to $2.50
Shirts 50 to 2.00
WOMEN.
Chemises 50 to 1.50
Plain Dresses 1.50 to 3.00
Petticoats 75 to 2.00
Drawers 45 to .75
Night Dresses 1.00 to 2.00
Aprons 35 to .75
CHILDREN.
Chemises 35 to .75
Plain Dresses 50 to 2.00
Trousers 50 to 2.00
Drawers 35 to .50
Jackets 75 to 2.50
Shirts '35 to 1.00
Students from abroad are recommended to purchase their outfit
of clothing at the Industrial Room, thus saving expense and aid¬
ing those who deserve aid.
Books are supplied at wholesale New York prices, or will be
loaned at reasonable rates.
PUBLIC WORSHIP.
There are daily devotional exercises, at which students are
required to be present.
They are also required to attend Sunday morning services at
the public chapel in the National Cemetery, unless their parents
or guardians make selection of other places of worship for them.
LIBRARY, SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS, AND
CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY.
The two first are poorly supplied; the latter is not yet in
existence.
It is hoped individuals may be interested in furnishing this
Institution with such apparatus as would make a good basis of
instruction in Literature, in Physical Science, and in Natural
History. The Library Committee of the Trustees is especially
16
charged with the duty of collecting histories and incidents of the
war, and full accounts of all National, State and philanthropic
efforts for education in the South. Co-operation is invited.
A Reading Room is provided in connection with the Library,
which it is expected will soon be furnished with a variety of
journals and periodicals.
CABINET OF CURIOSITIES.
Whatever is illustrative of manners, customs, character, and
of interesting localities abroad, is desired as a means of more
thorough instruction. Missionaries and others in foreign lands
can do our cause good service by helping in this department.
Those so disposed are invited to correspond with the Secretary
with a view of making the way clear for the procuring and trans¬
mission of materials for this department.
RESULTS ATTAINED.
An excellent farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres has
been purchased, and is well fenced, stocked, and supplied with
abundant barn and stable room. Three thousand young fruit
trees, of various kinds, have been set out, and a nursery of orna¬
mental trees started.
During the past two years, the young men have been boarded
and lodged from the avails of their farm labor.
A large majority of the young women have done as much for
themselves by house work, and by labor in the Industrial Depart¬
ment.
An extensive system of buildings has been erected, supplying
room for one hundred boarders, and educational room for two
hundred and fifty students, and is nearly paid for.
At no other institution, south of Washington, has so large a
capital been invested for the same purpose, and the value of the
property is twenty per cent greater than the amount of money
put in: it is estimated at one hundred and twenty thousand
dollars.
This institution is thoroughly known throughout Virginia,
North and South Carolina, and to indigent colored youth in
17
those States offers the only opportunity of earning a good edu¬
cation.
The location being at the terminus of the chief water courses
of the State, is not only very beautiful, but practically central,
and is so favorable for cheap subsistence, that students are
boarded at seven dollars and a half per month.
Applications are far more numerous than admissions; the
selection of the best material of the race is practicable. The fit¬
ness of undergraduates to teach, has been thoroughly proved by
experience, and the demand for them is pressing.
STATEMENT OF NEEDS.
To meet the expense of furnishing the circle of influences and
of advantages afforded by this Institution, and of enlarging and
improving them, and to enable pupils to pay all personal as well
as school expenses, aid is needed.
It is desired to secure scholarships of $1,000, to be named, if
permitted, after the donors : the interest of which shall be per¬
petually devoted to bearing the cost of educating indigent youth.
This aid will still demand of pupils as large a portion of their
expenses as it is possible for them by their labor to bear and pay
the cost of the wide range of advantages received. In the
absence of endowment, this method has been adopted for the pur¬
pose of securing the requisite funds.
This is the only institution-south of the national capital where
destitute youth can earn an English education of a high grade,
securing at the same time an industrial knowledge and experi¬
ence of the greatest value.
Contributions for scholarships amounting to the yield of $70
per annum, or of $200 for the whole course of three years, are
solicited.
The cost of sending a teacher from the north for one year's
work is about $400. At Hampton, at a cost of $200 for a three
years' course, a youth is prepared for a life work of usefulness.
Those selected for this preparation are the most promising of
their race, and will not only teach, but, owing to superior capa¬
city and culture, will be of the leading class and exert a power¬
ful influence on the future of their race. Their superior ideas of
c
18
industry and their familiarity with and respect for labor will
affect most beneficially the working class.
Southern sentiment is comparatively cordial to colored teachers
for colored schools. The Superintendent of Public Instruction
of Virginia has already bespoken the services of the class soon
to graduate, and has asked for five times as many as can now be
furnished.
The Superintendent of Schools of North Carolina has urgently
applied for a considerable number to teach in the Public Schools
of that State, expressing his belief that the course at Hampton
is the best of any offered to the colored race, and stating that
this, school is the only available one of its class for the freedmen
at large in North Carolina.
What more fitting memorial of the past and more helpful and
healing work for the future, on the part of individuals, societies
or churches, than the subscription by them of thousand dollar
scholarships which shall, to all time, secure the education of
students, not only in book knowledge, but in practical industry,
and in habits of Christian living.
Not one-ten£h of the • four million freed people at the South
have had good instruction ;—not one hundredth part have received
a complete common school education. Ten thousand colored
teachers are needed. There is a present demand for hundreds
more than can be secured. There is no agency available for the
great work of regenerating the degraded southern masses. Their
ignorance is not their fault. On grounds of justice, humanity,
patriotism and religion we appeal to the public for aid to estab¬
lish here a permanent institution that shall year after year supply
large numbers of thoroughly trained teachers for the thousands
who are waiting to be led up to a better life, as well as help to
save the country from the consequences of ignorant voting.
One teacher will in ten years instruct hundreds of pupils.
The power of successive graduating classes of from fifty to a
hundred students can easily be estimated. The superior wisdom
and economy of preparing southern teachers on southern ground
is manifest. Those who have in the past few years given liber¬
ally to the cause of general education in the South, will, it is
hoped, recognize the claims of this new work, which is a legitimate
outgrowth of the previous wider and simpler effort, and be not
19
unwilling to crown their liberality in this direction with gifts that
shall by perpetual efficacy insure the great final result of the
emancipation of a lately enslaved race from the bondage of
ignorance and vice.
Subscriptions may be sent to the Financial Secretary, Rev.
T. K. Fessenden, Farmington, Conn.; to the Treasurer, Gen.
J. F. B. Marshall, 96 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. ; to
the Rev. George Whipple, American Missionary Association,
59 Reade Street, New York, or to the Principal at Hampton.
On the seventeenth day of November, 1870, the Trustees met
at Hampton, Va., accepted the Charter granted by the State,
and organized accordingly.
The following papers, presented at that time by the Principal,
may be regarded as giving, in general, the character, scope and
working methods of the Institute.
EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL.
We have before us this question : What should be the character of
an educational institution devoted to the poorer classes in the South ?
It is presumed that the greatest amount of good, the wisest expendi¬
ture of effort and money are sought.
It is useless at present to expect the ignorant whites to accept
instruction side by side with the colored race. To a broad impar¬
tiality the negro only responds. Let us consider, therefore, what
answer to our problem is indicated by the character and needs of
the freed people. Plainly a system is required which shall be at once
constructive of mental and moral worth, and destructive of the vices
characteristic of the slave. What are those vices? They are im¬
providence, lo\^ ideas of honor and morality, and a general lack of
directive energy, judgment and" foresight. Thus disabled, the ex-
slave enters upon the merciless competition incident to universal free¬
dom. Political power being placed in his hands, he becomes the prey
of the demagogue, or attempts that low part himself. In either case
he is the victim of his greatest weakness—vanity. Mere tuition is
not enough to rescue him from being forever a tool, politically and
otherwise. The educated man usually overestimates himself, because
20
his intellect has grown faster than his experience of life ; but the
danger to the negro is greater, proportionally, as his desire is to shine
rather than to do. His deficiencies of character are, I believe, worse
for him and for the world than his ignorance. But, with these defici¬
encies, are docility and enthusiasm for improvement, and a persever¬
ance in the pursuit of it, which form a basis of great hope, and justify
any outlay and the ablest service in his behalf.
At Hampton, Va., a spot central and accessible from a wide extent
of country, we are trying to solve the problem of an education best
suited to the needs of the poorer classes of the South, by sending out to
them teachers of moral strength as well as of mental culture. To this
end the most promising youth are selected. The poverty of these pupils
has required the introduction of manual labor. Let us examine the
system in its threefold aspect,—industrial, moral and intellectual, and
disciplinary or administrative.
First: The plan of combining mental and physical labor is a priori
full of objections. It is 'admitted that it involves friction, constant
embarrassment, and apparent disadvantage to educational advance¬
ment, as well as to the profits of the various industries. But to the
question, " Do your students have sufficient time to study faithfully
all their lessons?" I. should answer, "Not enough, judging by the
common use of time; but under pressure they make better use of the
hours they have ; there is an additional energy put forth,—an in¬
creased rate of study which makes up for the time spent in manual
labor,—while the physical vigor gained affords abundant strength for
severe mental labor." Nothing is of more benefit to our students than
this compulsory waking up of the faculties. After a life of drudgery
the plantation hand will, under this system, brighten and learn sur¬
prisingly well.
In the girls' industrial and housework departments there is an
assignment, for a period, of a certain number to certain duties. On
the farm, the plan of working the whole force of young men for a few
hours each day, has been given up for the better one of dividing them
into five squads^ each of which works one school day of the week, and
all on Saturdays. All are paid by the hour for their service, at the
rate of from four to ten cents, according to the kind of work done.
Under these arrangements our industries thrive and were never so
hopeful as now. The very difficult problem of creating a profitable
female industry has been solved in the most fortunate manner by
supplying the boys with clothing and by underselling the shops in the
neighboring town. Our students,both young men and young women,
go to their appointed duties with cheerfulness, and the school is full
of the spirit of self-help.
21
However the future may decide the question, our two years' experi¬
ence of the manual labor system has been satisfactory. Progress in
study has been rapid and thorough,—I venture to say, not excelled in
any school of the same grade ; there have been a steadiness and
solidity of character and a spirit of self-denial developed—an appreci¬
ation of the value of opportunities manifested, which would not be
possible under other conditions. Unfortunately there is a limit to the
number that can be profitably employed. This institute should, I
think, be polytechnic—growing step by step, adding new industi'ies
as the old ones shall become established and remunerative, thus en¬
larging the limits of paying labor and increasing the attendance,
hoping finally to crown its ruder products with the results of finer
effort in the region of art.
There are two objective points before us, toward one or the other
of which all our energies must soon be directed as the final work of
this institute. One is the training of the intellect, storing it with the
largest amount of knowledge, producing th'e brightest examples of
culture; the other is the more difficult oue of attempting to educate in
the original and broadest sense of the word—to draw out a complete
manhood. The former is a laborious but simple work ; the latter is
full of difficulty. It is not easy to surround the student with a per¬
fectly balanced system of influences. The value of every good appli¬
ance is limited, and ceases when not perfectly adjusted to the higher
end. The needle, the broom and the wash-tub, the awl, the plane
and the plow, become the allies of the globe, the black-board and the
text-book. The course of study does not'run smoothly; there is
action and reaction ; depression and delight,—but the reserve forces
of character no longer lie dormant. They make the rough places
smooth ; the school becomes a drill ground for future work; it sends
men and women, rather than scholars, into the world.
But what should be studied in a course like this ? The question
brings us to the second branch of our subject, namely, its moral and
intellectual aspect. The end of mental training is a discipline and
power, not derived so much from knowledge as from the method and
spirit of the student. I think too much stress is laid ou the import¬
ance of choosing one of the great lines of study—the classics or the
natural sciences,—and too little upon the vital matter of insight into
the life and spirit of that which is studied. Latin, as taught by one
man, is an inspiration ; by another it is drudgery. Who can say that
the study of this or that is requisite, without conditioning its value
upon the fitness of the teacher ? Vital knowledge cannot be got from
books ; it comes from insight, and we attain it by earnest study and
thought, under wise direction.
22
But let us consider the practical question whether the classics should
be made an object in our course, or whether, ruling them out, we
should teach only the higher English studies.
It is the theory of Mathew Arnold that a teacher should develop
the special aptitudes ;—to ignore them is failure ; the attempt to cast
all minds in one mould is useless. But for one Anglo-African who
would, on this theory, need to acquire the ancient languages, there
are, I believe, twenty whose best aptitudes would find full scope in the
study of the mother tyngue and its literature—supposing them to have
a taste for language, and for the higher pursuits of the human mind.
Emerson says, " What is really best in any book is translatable—any
real insight or broad human sentiment." He who has mastered
English, then, has within reach whatever is best in all literature.
Our three years' course, with but little preliminary training, cannot
be expected to furnish much. Oar students could never become
advanced enough in that time, to be more than superficially acquainted
with Latin and Greek ;* their knowledge would rather tend to cul¬
tivate their conceit than to fit them for faithful educators of their race
—because not complete, enough to enable them to estimate its true
value. The great need of the negro is logic, and the subjection of
feeling to reason, yet in supplying his studies we must exercise his
curiosity, his love of the marvelous, and his imagination, as means of
sustaining his enthusiasm.
An English course embracing reading and elocution, geography,
mathematics, history, the science of civil government, the natural
sciences, the study of the mother tongue and its literature, the leading
principles of mental and moral science, and political economy, would,
I think, make up a curriculum that would exhaust the best powers of
nineteen-twentieths of those who would for years to come, enter the
Institute. Should, however, any pupil have a rare aptitude for the
classics, and desire to become a man of letters in the largest sense, it
would be our duty to provide special instruction for him, or send him
where he could receive it. For such the Howard University at Wash¬
ington, offers a broad and high plane of intellectual advantage.
The question of co-education of the sexes is, to my mind, settled
by most favorable experience with the present plan. Our school is a
little world; the life is genuine; the circle of influence is complete.
The system varies industry, and cheapens the cost of living. If the
condition of woman is the true gauge of civilization, how would we
be working, except indirectly, for a real elevation of society by train¬
ing young men alone ? The freed woman is about where slavery
left her. Her average state is one of pitiable destitution of whatever
should adorn and elevate her sex. In every respect the opportunities
23
of tbe sexes should be equal, and two years of experience have shown
that young men and women of color may be educated together to the
greatest mutual advantage, and without detriment to a high moral
standard.
We now come to the consideration of the third branch of our sub¬
ject,—namely, the disciplinary features of the institution. No neces¬
sity has so far arisen for the adoption of a system of marks, prizes,
or other such incentives. Expulsion has sometimes, though rarely,
been resorted to. Our most perplexing cases have been those of
honest, well-meaning students, either of limited ability and fine char¬
acter, or those of low propensities and childishness, or coarseness of
character. One of the latter class may be zealous, and there may be
power in him that will be used in a good or bad cause ; yet bis evil
traits will be quickly caught by the pliant and younger ones .around
him. He finally may become a strong and worthy man, but, mean¬
while, great mischief is wrought ; the tone of the school is lowered;
many have learned wickedness of which they can scarcely be cured.
The celebrated head-master of Rugby, said, " Till a man learns that
the first, second, and the third duty of a schoolmaster is to get rid of
unpromising subjects, a great public school will never be what it might
be, and what it ought to be." A course of study, beyond the rudi¬
ments, is not best for all. I expect young men will be discharged,
without dishonor, from this institute, who will become eminent, partly
because sent off to travel a more difficult and heroic way.
To implant right motive power and good habits, aided by the
student's own perceptions ; to make him train himself, is the end of
discipline. Yet there is need of much external force, mental and
moral, especially upon the plastic natures with whom we deal. There
must be study of the character, advice, sympathy, and above all a
judicious letting alone.
Of all our work, that upon the heart is the most important; there
can be no question as to the paramount necessity of teaching the vital
precepts of the Christian faith, and of striving to awaken a genuine
enthusiasm for the higher life, that shall be sustained, and shall be
the strong support of the young workers who may go out to be
examples to their raee.
In the history of our institution so far, we have cause for encour¬
agement. Three years ago this month, our building began, with but
$2,000 on hand or in prospect, for although the American Missionary
Association selected and purchased this most fortunate spot, and paid
our running expenses, it could not offer the means of construction.
Already nearly $100,000 have been expended in permanent im¬
provements, for which we may thank the Freedman's Bureau and
24=
Northern benefactors. I think we may reasonably hope to build up
here, on historic ground, an institution that will aid freedmen to
escape from the difficulties that surround them, by affording the best
possible agency for their improvement in mind and heart, by sending
out, not pedagogues, but those whose culture shall be upon the whole
circle of living, and who with clear insight and strong purpose, will
do a quiet work that shall make the land purer and better.
EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF THE FARM MANAGER.
The farm connected with this Institution has been conducted during
the years 1868 and 1869 almost exclusively with a view to the pro¬
duction of early vegetables for the northern markets. No attempt
was made to sell grain, milk or meat, and thejocal trade in vegetables
was entirely undeveloped.
Competition of growers farther south having rendered the policy of
depending on sales in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York less
advisable than heretofore, an effort has been made during the past
summer to grow such crops and in such succession that something
should be for sale every day in the year. Since the 5th of May last,
a cart has been making daily trips with vegetables, milk and meat to
Fortress Monroe, Hampton, and the neighboring villages. The pecu¬
niary results of the sales so effected are more satisfactory than those
from consignments to northern cities.
By growing for local markets the expense for stimulating manures
is lessened ; there is no longer a necessity for hiring extra teams in
the spring, and the labor being more equally divided through the year,
is better adapted to the needs of the students. Such a system is also
better fitted for instruction in those branches of farming which the
limited capital of the freedman will allow him to undertake.
The students are earning about $200 per month by.their labor on
the farm. They are paid from five to ten cents per hour according to
their ability. Their work is marked by uniform desire to give satis¬
faction. The harvesting of the fall crops, the management of cows
and of a slaughter house have been successfully carried on with very
little extra help. The desire for labor on the part of the students is
greater than the farm industries are able to meet.
25
EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF THE MANAGER OF THE
INDUSTRIAL ROOM.
The Industrial Room or Women's Labor Department of the Normal
School was opened in December, 1868, for the purpose of offering to
the young-women students a chance of earning their own living and
schooling, as the Farm offers it to the young men.
Household work, Except in the case of three or four persons acting
as assistant teachers, is the only other means of support within the
reach of the young women-students. But all household work is" a
charge upon the resources of the Normal School. The more of it the
school provides, the heavier is the outlay for current expenses. If
labor is provided beyond the barely necessary service of the estab¬
lishment, the labor becomes a loss to it.
If a Women's Labor Department can be made to a considerable
degree self-supporting, it serves the interests of the Normal School
twice over, because it saves the school from the need of finding work
and wages, and because its earnings, and if it should ever have any,
its profits, go into the school purse.
It was agreed that money enough should be advanced to make a
fair experiment of this kind ; that labor should be furnished the stu¬
dents, if they chose to avail themselves of it, to the amount of eighty
dollars ($80) or upward, a month; that the students should be pro¬
vided with such garments as they wished to buy, on credit, at whole¬
sale prices, the Normal School taking their labor and assuming their
debts; and that the surplus manufactures should be sold in any
market that could be found.
The Industrial Room was open for three months in the session of
1868-9, and for six months in the session of 1869-70. The total
cash, expenditures and receipts have been as follows :
INDUSTRIAL ROOM.
DR. CR.
By cash for sales in Hampton $1,201 07
" " Eastville 562 00
" " Norfolk 30 00
" " » Normal School 510 00
" " Donation 100 00
" due from Normal School 239 32
Stock on hand 150 00
To cash for apparatus and material $2,043 83
" " labor 725 81
By cash balance on hand 22 75
$2,769 64
$2,769 64
26
The foregoing Reports were accepted and adopted by the
Trustees, with the proviso, in reference to the Report of the
Principal, that they were not prepared to pronounce decidedly
against the study of the ancient classics, either in theory or as a
possible part of the curriculum»-of the Institute, at some future
time.