THE COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS.
A. D. 1880.
As was intended by the men who framed the Constitution of North
Carolina at Halifax in 1776, the University of the State has long
held the leadership of such institutions in the Commonwealth.
The unfortunate and inexcusable interference of politicians with
its management during the years of reconstruction only resulted
in its temporary eclipse. The public refused it patronage when
the new managers had installed a strange faculty in the seats of
Governor Swain and his long honored coadjutors; but since the
restoration of the ancient order of things, prosperity has
returned both to the University and the beautiful village in
which it is situated.
2. Many useful reforms have been accomplished in its curriculum
and management. Perhaps never before was seen each devotion to
study and compliance with the rules on the part of the students.
The President, Dr. Kemp P. Battle, had been much identified with
the institution, before assuming charge of its fortunes. His
learning, combined with public experience, made him a wise ruler
of the literary community over which he was called to preside;
and the excellence of the new faculty is becoming every day more
evident in the scholarship and bearing of the young men who are
sent out from its halls.
3. Wake Forest College is the oldest of the sectarian colleges of
the State, and has long vindicated its usefulness among the
Baptist churches. Its first intended end was the education of
young men for the ministry, but this has been largely augmented
by the successes of its graduates in every other branch of human
usefulness in our midst. The councils of the State, and the
learned professions, have been greatly illustrated by men who
laid the foundations of their success by diligent application to
their duties while attending as students at Wake Forest.
4. In the recent death of Rev. Dr. W. M. Wingate, the institution
lost a president who had given long and signal service; but, in
his successor, Rev. Dr. T. H. Pritchard, perhaps even higher
executive qualities are seen. Wake Forest catalogue has latterly
contained about two hundred names of students, and, through the
munificence of certain friends, the college has received handsome
additions to the buildings and appliances.
5. Davidson College has also immensely developed in the last few
years. Not only in increased patronage, but in the grade of
scholarship a great advance has been achieved, so that few
institutions in America afford higher and more thorough
instruction than is now enjoyed by the young men who avail
themselves of the advantages here offered.
6. The same things may be said of Trinity College, under the
direction of Rev. Dr. B. Craven. The pulpits of the Methodist
churches in North Carolina have long borne evidence of the
literary and moral excellence imparted to the graduates, and in
many respects the whole State has been benefited and elevated by
contact with such men.
7. The female seminaries at Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh,
Murfreesboro, Thomasville, Wilson, Kittrell, Oxford and Louisburg
have also prospered in this era of general advancement among the
North Carolina schools. Large numbers of young ladies from other
States are sent to them for education, and, in the noble
emulation thus evolved, admirable instruction is obtained.
8. Among preparatory schools, that of Major Robert Bingham, at
Mebaneville, in Alamance county, is, by common consent, supreme
in North Carolina, and perhaps in the South, not only in number
of students, but in the excellence of tuition, discipline and
drill. On the catalogue of this institution will be found the
names of young men from almost every State in the Union, and even
some foreign countries are represented.
9. Other similar institutions have long flourished at Raleigh,
Oxford, Greensboro, Kinston, LaGrange, Oak Ridge and elsewhere,
and all of them are having a large influence for good upon the
young men of the State. The Normal Schools at Chapel Hill and
other towns have been largely attended by teachers, and great
interest is also manifested in the graded schools. At no
previous period has so much attention been bestowed upon matters
of this kind by the people of North Carolina.
10. One of the most prominent of the graded schools in the State
was organized at Raleigh in 1876, through the efforts of Capt.
John E. Dugger, and named the "Centennial Graded School." The
great success of this institution has led the citizens of other
towns in the State to establish schools of like character. There
are now to be found flourishing graded schools at Salisbury,
Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Wilson, Greensboro, Charlotte,
Wilmington, New Bern, Rocky Mount and Franklinton. Several towns
also contain excellent schools of this description for the
colored people, and their effectiveness is rapidly becoming
apparent.
11. Soon after the conclusion of the late war--in the month of
December, 1865--a colored school for both sexes was founded
through the exertions of the Rev. H. M. Tupper, at the State
capital, and called the "Raleigh Institute." On account of large
donations from Elijah Shaw, of Massachusetts, and Jacob Estey, of
Vermont, it was, in 1875, changed in name; the male school then
became "Shaw University," and the female department was called
"Estey Seminary." Spacious and well-built edifices were reared
on different portions of the grounds, and hundreds of colored
pupils have been in attendance since its foundation.
12. In a different section of the city exists another seminary of
similar character for the colored people, founded in 1867, by the
Rev. Dr. James Brinton Smith. This is called "St. Augustine
Normal School and Collegiate Institute." It has been for some
years under the charge of Rev, John E, C. Smedes, and is under
Episcopal patronage. Though not so largely attended as Shaw
University, it is still of great benefit to the race it was
intended to educate, and in this way is also a blessing to the
community at large. Another excellent school for the colored
people is located in Fayetteville, and others are to be found in
various sections of the State.
13. Ever since the close of the late war, the colored people of
North Carolina have shown a remarkable unanimity in their efforts
to procure education for themselves and their children. In this
desire they have been nobly aided by the white men and women, and
their progress has been rapid. It is the belief of all that only
in enlightened public sentiment can safety be found for our peace
and liberties; and thus the State is doing all that can be
effected for the culture and mental improvement of all classes of
its population.
QUESTIONS.
1. What is this lesson about? What was the intent of the Halifax
Constitution concerning the University? What is said of this
institution during the years of reconstruction? When was it re-
established?
2. How has the University been benefited by its new management?
3. What is said of the success of Wake Forest College?
4. Tell something of its management.
5. Give an account of the progress of Davidson College.
6. What is said of Trinity College and its work?
7. What female seminaries are now mentioned? What has been the
result of their labors?
8. What have been the peculiar successes of the Bingham School?
9. Where are other fine schools for boys to be found? What other
schools are mentioned?
10. What is said of the graded schools?
11. Give an account of the Raleigh institute for colored people?
By what name is this institution now known?
12. What is said of the St. Augustine Normal School? Where are
other excellent schools for the colored people to be found?
13. What is said of the efforts of the colored people to secure
education? How have they been aided in their efforts?