Trials of a Negro Teacher After 1869 teachers were not regu MS. Letter, Alabama Archives. HON. MR. BINGHAM [1874] Bluffton Ala Kind Sir Address you for the perpos of noing wether we School Teacher will get any pay for the terms of the Scholastic year for we have not got nothing for the whole terms that have bin tought in Chambers county. the county tresure say the money was sent to Montgomery he say that neere $4.000 sent there so I thought I would ask you we the Teachers of Chambers County have not got any money this hole year & now we are in debt & dont no how to get out We owe for Board & the County Tresure tell ous that money was sent to Montgomery & he dont no when we will get any the Supt. give orders but the tresure give no money I tryed to sell my warrent to the Banker Shapard at opelika & he rote to the Tressure of Chambers County How the case stood So he return the Compliments stateing that the money was in the hands of the Ratical at montgomery So he hand my warrent back to me saying that he would not give any ting & it was not werth anyting pleas sir Be so kind as to Let me no Somthing about I am at Bluffton ala. please direct yor Letter to West Point Ga Your Obedent H. C. CALHOUN (Col d) "Disgraceful Conditions" in the Schools Report of Superintendent of Education in Louisiana (1871) in House Report no. 261, 43 Cong., 2 Sess., p. 938. The Superintendent, W. G. Brown, was a negro. [1871] I HAVE prepared the following statement, which, while it exhibits but a fraction of the frauds committed and amounts embezzled, reveals a condition of affairs disgraceful in the superlative degree to all concerned, and of the correctness of this statement I have the most indisputable proofs. The following exhibit, compiled from a report of the parish board of school-directors of the parish of Plaquemines, Louisiana, and from several supplementary reports of the treasury of said parish board, shows the amount of embezzlement of the funds received for the public schools: The Louisiana State University MS. Diary of David French Boyd. The Louisiana State University was established in 1859 with W. T. Sherman as President; D. F. Boyd one of the professors then was made President in 1865; after 1868 no appropriations were made to the University because of the law making mixed schools obligatory; Col. Boyd and some of the professors remained without pay at their posts to prevent the property from being seized and sold by the carpetbag state government, and so managed to save the institution until 1876. [1874] July 23, 1874. This day finds our poor school in very bad condition terribly in debt, ourselves so poor that we are in actual want no money and no credit and the impression pretty general throughout Louisiana that the University cannot long stand if indeed it is not already broken up. . . No one. can tell the difficulty and trouble we had last year, to keep the school alive and I fear that we shall have another year, if not two years, of great trial. An institution deserted by the state, because we are not presumed to be in accord with the ignorance and villainy of the powers that be, and very little supported by the people of Louisiana because of the general law of the state which makes it obligatory on all the schools, supported in whole or in part by the state, to receive negroes as students. . has no hope for its existence but in its powers of endurance, till right and reason, and enlightenment again have their due weight in our Legislature. . . The anxiety and care of this place is now very great with all the while the greatest difficulty to procure bare subsistence. And today we are nearly out of such few common articles as we have, viz. bread, meat, peas, rice, sugar, coffee, and tea. We are out of sugar; and of butter we have had none for many months. We are using up now what we promised to pay for at the end of this month. We have not a dollar. . in the treasury; and where the money is to come from to pay those who have fed us this month, I don't know. . . July 24, 1874. Professor S― A― has been absent. .. visiting some of his friends. . . But he like the rest of us is so near out of clothes, that he must find it hard to make himself presentable. I never was as poor in all my life not even in the worst days of the war. . . I have bought no clothes for myself or family . . for three years. . . July 25, 1874. Still without sugar. Had today to have the buttons (brass) taken off my [Confederate] uniform coat and replaced by common. . buttons. Too poor to buy a new coat. August 1, 1874. Mr. Van Pelt, TB — and I have been making copies of my circular. We are too poor to print; so we have to make written copies. August 6, 1874. Today and up to Saturday, we will no doubt have beef and bread; but unless I can get money, or get salt meat and flour here, there will be nothing to eat at the University... August 16, 1874. . . What is to become of us if we stay here much longer, or if I should die, God only knows. I have not a dollar, owe a great deal, and what money is due me from the University I may never get.. August 17, 1874. No man can know the trouble this institution has given me. I have brought it through "Reconstruction," and now we have the "Usurpation." To take it through Hell could not be much more. . if I thought the next eight years were to be like the last eight, I would rather die now. October 4, 1874. This is the last day of my 40th year. Who has worked harder and accomplished less in 40 years than I have? Two years ago, I had determined to leave the service of the University today, if not before. But the everlasting Carpetbagger and Nigger decreed otherwise. I must stay here ten years more, if necessary, for the salvation of our poor school. But meanwhile how is my family to live? . . Our poor school cannot prosper until there is a new government, new laws and new prosperity for our state and people. The mere mention of Civil (negro) Rights has almost destroyed the public schools and colleges in some of the Southern States. Would they stand 8 years as we have done, with the Civil Rights law actually in existence? In Louisiana the negro has been "on top" since 1868. . . November, 1874. We are falling back in our library generally. We do not even know what is being published. for the Kellogg usurpation in 1873 . . our school would now be in condition to do much good to the state. But it is a pitiable wreck of what even it was in 1872. But December 1, 1874. We are bad off pecuniarily. Many a time during the year have we been doubtful of rations one and two days ahead even sometimes of a morning we did not know that we could have anything for dinner. And this a state school. February 22, 1875. . I have of late been talking pretty freely with our professors and others about our prospects, advising all who can to get away. And considering the condition of my family, it is sad to think that I can't go too. But if I leave who is to take charge of all the affairs of the institution and keep either the state or creditors from taking all the books, etc... March 3, 1875- .. Letter from Brosnan .. He gives a deplorable account of his own affairs; how hard it seems to be to get pay for his services as Professor of Mathematics, New Orleans High School. . May 22, 1875. The Deaf and Dumb Asylum has closed all the pupils but two gone. The Blind Asylum may soon have to do the same thing, for want of means. shall keep our post even if we have no cadets. But we June 30, 1875. Closed our session, perhaps our last session, here today, with four cadets, McNulty, Randolph, Robinson, and Slack. T TB and myself, with Guyol (ready to teach French) as Professors. . At times it did seem impossible to bring the session to a legitimate close. And I do not believe that such an effort to maintain a state school an average of 4 professors and 6 cadets, through the session, was ever attempted before. But I do feel that the school is safe that the general improvement in affairs in Louisiana will cause the school to prosper. Education in Georgia Ku Klux Report, Georgia testimony, pp. 616, 831. Statement, (1) of a negro preacher, and (2) of a conservative editor. [1871] [1] I BELIEVE the sentiment of the people is getting to be very good about schools. In my county there never has been any trouble. The white people there seem to advocate it, and we went to work there directly after schools came about. Mr. Talmadage, a democrat, and a very clever man, gave us a piece of ground, and we built a log-house and got a democrat to come down there and teach us; after Mr. Eberhart came there, the Government paid him for it. The sentiment in my county is very good about schools. I heard one colored woman here say that they burned a school-house in her county not long ago. But I think the white people throughout the State are in favor of [negro] education. |