1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: a show that believes there's no time like the president 4 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: to learn about the past. I'm Gay Bluesier and in 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: this episode, we're talking about the founding of an influential school, 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: one that marked the start of a new era for 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: African American education, both in Alabama and across the nation. 8 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: The day was July four, eight one, the Tuskegee State 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: Normal School now Tuskegee University opened its doors to students 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: for the first time. The school had been established under 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: a charter from the Alabama legislature and was intended to 12 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: serve as a training ground for future Alabama teachers. To 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: fulfill that purpose, Tuskegee's program provided students with a mix 14 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: of both academic and vocational training. The patriotic date of 15 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: the school's official opening was chosen to celebrate the independence 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: of the nation and the recent emancipation of the African 17 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: American people. According to the school's principle and lead teacher, 18 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: Booker T. Washington, thirty students turned up for admission on 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: the first day of classes, and by the end of 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: the month they had been joined by twenty more. Although 21 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,800 Speaker 1: Tuskegee Institute was founded in the summer of eighteen eighty one, 22 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: planning for the school began several years earlier. In eighteen 23 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: seventy nine, a formerly enslaved tim smith and community leader 24 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: named Lewis Adams was approached by a political hopeful named W. F. Foster. 25 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: Foster was a white Southern Democrat running to keep his 26 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,400 Speaker 1: seat in the Alabama Senate, and he hoped that Adams 27 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: would use his influence to help him secure the black 28 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: vote in Macon County. Lewis Adams agreed to help, but 29 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: in exchange, he wanted Foster to pass a bill allocating 30 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,559 Speaker 1: money for the construction of an educational institute for African Americans. 31 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: Foster went on to win his race, and with the 32 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: aid of his colleague in the House of Representatives, Arthur L. Brooks, 33 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,119 Speaker 1: he was able to uphold his end of the bargain. Together, 34 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,919 Speaker 1: Foster and Brooks drafted House Bill one st. That legislation 35 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: authorized the creation of an all black school in Alabama 36 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: and allocated two thousand dollars to pay the salaries of 37 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: teachers and to provide free tuition to any student who 38 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,240 Speaker 1: agreed to teach in an Alabama public school upon graduation. 39 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: The bill also created a board of commissioners to help 40 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: organize and manage the school. Among the original members were 41 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: Lewis Adams and George W. Campbell, both of whom are 42 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 1: generally considered the school's co founders, along with book Or T. Washington. 43 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: Speaking of Washington, let's trace the path that ultimately led 44 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: to him becoming the first principal of Tuskegee's new school. 45 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: Booker Talia Faroh or Tolliver Washington was born into slavery 46 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: and Hailesford, Virginia, on April fifth, eighteen fifty six. When 47 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: he was nine years old. Washington and his family gained 48 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation. Shortly after, they moved 49 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: to the free state of West Virginia, where the young 50 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: boy taught himself to read and began attending school for 51 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: the first time. In his teenage years, Washington performed backbreaking 52 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: labor in the salt furnaces and coal mines of West Virginia, 53 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: eventually saving up enough money to afford tuition at Hampton 54 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: Institute in Virginia. He enrolled there in the fall of 55 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy two and later proved to be such an 56 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: exemplary student that he was asked to return as a 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: teacher in eighteen seventy nine. Two years years later, the 58 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: founder and president of Hampton Institute, General Samuel C. Armstrong, 59 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: received a letter from George Campbell and Lewis Adams. They 60 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: were looking for a quote well qualified white man to 61 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: serve as principal of their new school in Tuskegee, and 62 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: they wanted to know if Armstrong had any recommendations. The 63 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: General responded by recommending the twenty five year old booker T. 64 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: Washington for the job. He's the best man we ever 65 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: had here, Armstrong wrote, I know of no white man 66 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: who could do better. Washington got the job and arrived 67 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: in Tuskegee during the summer of eighteen eighty one. He 68 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: quickly realized he had his work cut out for him. 69 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: The Alabama House Bill had allocated funds for salaries in tuition, 70 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: but it didn't provide any land or buildings for the school. 71 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: As a result, the initial classes were held inside a 72 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,360 Speaker 1: ramshackle one room building that had been lent to the 73 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: school by a local church. In his book Up from Slavery, 74 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 1: Washington reflected on this early challenge, saying, quote, I recall 75 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: that during the first months of school that I taught 76 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: in this building, it was in such poor repair that 77 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: whenever it reigned, one of the older students would very 78 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: kindly leave his lessons and hold an umbrella over me 79 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: while I heard the recitations of the others. This arrangement 80 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: was untenable for obvious reasons, so three months later, Washington 81 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 1: purchased a one hundred acre abandoned cotton plantation that had 82 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: been partially burned during the Civil War. It was known, 83 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: fittingly enough as the Old Burnt Place. The cost of 84 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 1: the farm was five hundred dollars with a two hundred 85 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: and fifty dollar down payment. An old friend from the 86 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: Hampton Institute, James Marshall, loaned the money to Washington from 87 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: his personal bank account. The only farm buildings that had 88 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: survived the fire were a cabin, a kitchen, a stable, 89 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: and a hen house. It was a modest improvement over 90 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: the school's original makeshift classroom, but the real value of 91 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:10,720 Speaker 1: the property was the opportunity for expansion it provided. Washington 92 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: and his students work themselves ragged, transforming their new campus 93 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: not only into a functioning school, but a functioning farm 94 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: as well. They cleared dozens of acres of land, planted crops, 95 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: and even constructed a kiln so they could make bricks 96 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:31,039 Speaker 1: to build their own buildings. Meanwhile, Olivia A. Davidson, the 97 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: school's only other teacher and Washington's future wife, began hosting 98 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: fundraising festivals and dinners as a way to help pay 99 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: back the school's loan. After just three months of her campaign, 100 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: enough money had been earned to repay the loan to 101 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: James Marshall, and two months after that, the school was 102 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,119 Speaker 1: able to pay off the remaining cost of the land, 103 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: meaning that it now owned its one hundred acre campus 104 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: full and outright. These early fundraising successes were key to 105 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: the school will survival and would later be turned to 106 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: time and time again as part of Washington's never ending 107 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: effort to keep the school debt free and prosperous. Those 108 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: efforts were not in vain either, as Tuskegee quickly rose 109 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: to national prominence under the direction of its founder. He 110 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: remained the head of the institution until his death in 111 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, at which point he was buried on the 112 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: campus near the University Chapel. At the time of Washington's death, 113 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:34,400 Speaker 1: Tuskegee Institute had fifteen hundred students, roughly two hundred faculty members, 114 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: and one hundred fully furnished buildings. He had taken the 115 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: school a long way in his lifetime, and that legacy 116 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: of progress continues to this day. Now known as Tuskegee University, 117 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: the school is home to about three thousand students and 118 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: is one of the top ranked historically black colleges in 119 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: the country. That's one of the many reasons why the 120 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: school was and still is the pride of the swift 121 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: growings down. I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully you now know 122 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 123 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 124 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:17,160 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show, 125 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,360 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, you can 126 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: always send them my way at this Day at I 127 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing 128 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 129 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in history Class.