A Contested Terrain

Freedpeople's Education in North Carolina During the Civil War and Reconstruction

AnneMarie Brosnan

• Publisher: Fordham University Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781531509293, 9781531509286
• eBook ISBN: 9781531509316
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: History of Education
• Index: History

A testament to the resilience and determination of Black North Carolinians to achieve educational equality

This book examines the educational experiences of Black North Carolinians during the American Civil War and Reconstruction period, 1861–1877. By highlighting the collaborative efforts that led to the growing network of schools for the formerly enslaved people, it argues that schooling the Freedpeople was a contested terrain, fraught with conflicting visions of Black freedom and the role education should play. Although Black men and women emerged as the driving force behind the educational endeavors of this period, their work was facilitated by Northern aid and mission­ary societies, the federally-mandated Freedmen's Bureau, and over 1,400 teachers from various regional and racial backgrounds. Yet the educational landscape was far from uniform, and the individuals and organizations involved had their distinct visions regarding the nature and purpose of Freedpeople's education.

Through the use of qualitative and quantitative research methods, this book offers new insights into the reasons why Black and white Northerners and Southerners elected to become teachers. By examining their diverse motivations and experiences, it argues that attitudes toward Freedpeople's education were complex and fluid, defying neat characterization.

Despite mounting obstacles and opposition to their work, Black North Carolinians' unrelenting quest for education ultimately gave rise to free public schooling for both races, the professionaliza­tion of Black teachers, and an extensive network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The Civil War and Early Reconstruction Period in North Carolina
• 2. To “Enjoy the Benefits of a School”: Black North Carolinians and the Quest for Education
• 3. A Diverse Group of Educators: Freedpeople’s Teachers in North Carolina
• 4. Answering the Call to Teach: Interrogating Teacher Motivations
• 5. The Textbooks Used in North Carolina’s Schools for the Freedpeople
• 6. Life in Reconstruction North Carolina
• Epilogue: The Struggle for Educational Equality Continues
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Series Page