Yale University Library
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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

HOWARD UNIVERSITY
STUDIES IN HISTORY

Published under the Direction of the Department
of History.— WALTER DYSON, Editor

No. l. June 1921

THE FOUNDING OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY

BY
WALTER DYSON, A, M.

HOWARD UNIVERSIT-Y PRESS
Washington. D. C.
1921

Y A L £y!

rhese Studies, to be published from time to time, will
comprise works of original research by teachers of
Howard University and by students in the Department
of History. The studies will also include collections of
documents, bibliographies, and reprints of rare tracts.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The records of the Board of Trustees of Howard University. These consist
of the minutes of the Board, the minutes of the Executive Committee, reports of
committees, and reports of executive officers of the University. These documents
cover the period from November 20, 1.S66, to date, and are arranged in some
instances by years. Abbreviated : Minutes of Board, or Records for 1867, etc.
Howard University Documents, 1867-1870. A collection of miscellaneous papers.
Alumni Catalogue of Howard University with list of Incorporators, Trustees,
and other Employees, 1867-1896.
Howard University Miscellaneous Papers.
Annual Reports of Howard University, 1867-1873. Six pamphlets.
Howard University Medical Department : A Historical, Biographical and Sta
tistical Souvenir, Daniel Smith Lamb, A. M., M. D., 1900.
Howard University Historical Papers, Reverend D. B. Nichols, M. .D., Reverend
J. E. Rankin, D. D., LL. D., James B. Johnson, 1895. Concerning the founding of
Howard University.
Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, 2 vols. 1907.
The American Missionary, Vol. XVII, No. 1. January, 1873, page I. Concern
ing the races represented at the University. Appendix.
The Treasury of Religious Thought, Vol. XIX, No. IL, March, 1902, pages
815-826. Concerning the Development of Howard University.
Statement of Major General O. O. Howard before the Committee of Congress
on Education and Labor in defence against the charges presented by Hon Fer
nando Wood and arguments of Edgar Ketchum, Esq. 1870. Abbreviated : How
ard in defence.
Report of the Committee of Congress on Education and Labor on the charges
preferred against General O. O. Howard. Forty-first Congress, Second session.
Abbreviated : Report of Committee of Congress on Education.
Minority report of the Committee of Congress on Education and Labor on the
charge preferred against General O. O. Howard. Report No.. 125. Forty-first
Congress, Second Session. Abbreviated: Minority Report.
Special Orders No. 61 of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned
Lands. Also Special Orders No. 36. Concerning the transfer of money to Howard
University. Abbreviated: Special Orders No. , Freedmen's Bureau.
Records in Office of District Surveyor, Washington, D. C.
B. Carpenter Plate 1881 No. 1, No. •%.
Atlas of Washington, D. C, G. M. Hopkins, C. E. 1887.
Liber Governor Shepherd No. 1, Folio 15.
Reports of the United States Census.
Appendix to Congressional Globe, 1869-1870. Forty-first Congress, Twenty-first
Session, page 485. Concerning a speech by Hon. George F. Hear on education,
June 6, 1870.

The Founding of Howard University

Executive Document, No. 42, 1863-1864, Thirty-eighth Congress, First Session,
Serial No. 1189, pp. 48-49. Concerning Emancipation in the District of Columbia.
Act of Congress approved April 28, 1904. 33 U. S. Stat. 488. Concerning
Freedmen's Hospital site.
Records in Office of Recorder of Deeds, Washington, D. C.

Liber D/9

Folio 366

Liber E. C.

E.

5

Folio 437

Liber E. C.

E.

30

Folio 433

Liber

021

Folio 57

Liber

805
Folio 166
Liber
SOI
Folio 277
Liber R. M.
H.
21
Folio 30
Liber E. C.
E.
25
Folio 429
Act of Congress approved June 16, 1SS2 ; 22 U. S. Stat. 104-105. Concerning
relief from taxation.
Act of Congress approved March 2, 1867; 14 U. S. Stat. 438. Concerning the
Charter. Senate Report No. 1002, Forty-eighth Congress, Second session, January 16,
1885. Concerning the intent of the act for the relief from taxation.
Senate Bill 529, Thirty-ninth Congress, Second session, January 23, 1867. Con
cerning the first draft of the Charter of Howard University. Appendix.
Congressional Record, Forty-seventh Congress, First session, June 13, 1882.
Concerning the debate in the House of Representatives on the Bill for relief from
taxation. Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior for 1903, pp. 186-190, and for
1904, pp. 232-235. Concerning the lease on the Hospital Grounds.
Records in Office of Corps of Engineers of War Department, Washington, D. C.
Concerning the sale of land to the United States for the reservoir in MacMillan
Park, North West.
The Negro in the District of Columbia, Edward Ingle, A. B. Johns Hopkins
University Studies in Historical and Political Science, Eleventh Series III-IV.
March-April, 1893.
Fifty Years of Howard University. Dwight O. W. Holmes, The Journal of
Negro History, Vol. 13, No. 2, April, 1918.
Report on Education in the United States, to the Minister of Public Instruction
in France, M. Hippeau. This document is published as an appendix to the report
of the Committee of Congress on Education and Labor on the charges preferred
against General O. O. Howard. Abbreviated : Hippeau Report. Appendix.
A History of the Theological Department of Howard University, John Louis
Ewell, 1906.
Report of the Special Committee of the Trustees of Howard University upon
certain charges published anonymously in the Sunday Capital of Washington,
D. C, June 22, 1873, against the financial management of Howard University and
its President, General O. O. Howard. Abbreviated : Report of Special. Com
mittee of Trustees.
The Washington Chronicle, November 12, 1864. Concerning elementary educa
tion for Negroes in the District of Columbia. Appendix.
Slavery and Abolition, Albert B. Hart. 1906.
The Negro, W. E. B. DuBois. 1915.
The Afro-American Press and its Editors. I. .Garland Penn, 1891. Concerning
Negro Leadership.
The History of Howard University, William W. Patton, 1896.
Washington and Georgetown Directory for 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870, Wm
The Founding of Howard University

H. Boyd. Concerning the change in the system of numbering the houses in
Washington in 1866 and in 1870.
Special Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1871. Con
cerning the History of Education in the District of Columbia for Negroes and the
Founding of Howard University.
The Political History of the Reconstruction, Edward McPherson, 1875. 14-44.
Concerning the Black Codes of the Southern States.

THE FOUNDING OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY

THE OCCASION, 1860—1866
SLAVERY in the United States was gone forever by November 19,
1866, notwithstanding the many attempts to restore it in disguise.1
"I suppose," said a speaker on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of
the freedom of the Negroes of Washington, D. C, "it will no longer be
presumption to call you fellow-citizens, since the Constitution has been
so amended as forever to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude,
except in punishment for crime, and since the 'Civil Rights Bill' has
become a law of the land." 2
There, were then in the United States about 4,000,000 3 of these newly
enfranchised fellow-citizens. Of these, the great majority were so poor
and so ignorant as not to be able to enjoy fully the privileges or exercise
properly the duties of their high position. They enjoyed their freedom
as best they could, however, moving about from farm to town and from
city to city, — moving with "their poverty and wretchedness, their ragged-
ness and nakedness, their hunger and thirst, their weakness and sickness." i
They sought the large cities. From a population of 14,275 Negroes in
1860, Richmond, Virginia, grew to 23,110 in 1870 ; Savannah, Georgia,
from 8,417 to 13,068; Louisville, Kentucky, from 6,820 to 14,956; Cin
cinnati, Ohio, from 3,731 to 5,900 ; Indianapolis, Indiana, from 498 to
2,931 ; Washington, D. C, from 10,000 to 40,000.5
Washington was the most attractive city. It was a "promised land" to
many a freedman. In the first place, it was the capital of the nation — ¦
that is, of the North that had set them free. There, too, slavery had been
abolished since 1862 and there by 1863 schools for blacks had been

1 Edward McPherson, Reconstruction, "Black Codes," pp. 14-44.
2 Civil Rights Bill, approved April, 1866 ; 13th Amendment to Constitution of the
United States ; Autobiography of O. O. Howard, vol. ii, p. 321.
'" W. E. B. DuBois, The Negro, p. 184.
1 Howard in Defence, p. 36.
''United States Census; Edward Ingle, The Negro in the District of Columbia,
1893.

The Founding of Howard University

opened.6 Thousands therefore poured into Washington. Between 1800
and 1860, a period of sixty years, 10,000 had come to the capital. Now,
for three times that number to enter suddenly, as it were, within the next
ten years, thousands of them destitute, was a matter of grave concern
both for the city and for the new-comers.
These new-comers "squatted" where they could.7 They took possession
of vacant houses and. vacated barracks wherever found. A large number
had taken possession of certain barracks that had been erected by the
Government on leased land s and sold at the close of the war to the owners
of the. land. Here, "the squatters" were tilling the land' and becoming
settled. They could pay no rent; yet, although the property was. very
valuable (worth about $1500 an acre) the owners were reluctant to
eject them.
When finally the owners were compelled to sell the property, the matter
was brought by one of them to the attention of General Howard of the
Freedmen's Bureau. "I said to this gentleman," wrote General Howard,
"that there were thousands in the same condition, and I did not know
what could be done." Going to the settlement, however, the General
talked with the men, asking them what they most desired to enable them
to become self-supporting. "Several answered 'land' — others hung their
heads and said nothing." 9
.Although charged with "feeding people in idleness" 10 and making

6 "No spectacle could be more touching than that offered by these helpless, unfor
tunate men, old and young, women and children as eager to rush to the schools
-established for the regeneration of their minds and souls as to the places where
they were provided with food and shelter. Never did a famished man pounce more.
eagerly upon food placed before him than did these poor fugitives upon the bread
of knowledge, a sublime instinct causing them to regard education as the first con
dition of their regeneration." (Hippeau Report Appendix IV.)
' ". . . that these colored people should not have to dwell in Murder Bay
(south of Pennsylvania Avenue between 11th and 15th Streets, N. W.) and such
places in this city (as Blood Field, S. W., between 4J^ and 2nd Streets; Hell's
Bottom, N. |W., between 9th and 12th Streets and north of S Street to Florida
Avenue), paying all .they could get for wages in high rents, for wretched domiciles
filthy and miserable." (Howard in Defence, p. 27.)
3 Between. 14th and 17th Streets and north of K Street, N. W.
° Howard in Defence, p. 9.
50 "It will be remembered that the colored population in Washington had at one
time become so numerous and congested in some sections of the city that I had
been obliged to do something to relieve the suffering people from excessive want.
One measure had been to issue rations and clothing; another, after careful ex
amination of their condition, to feed the most needy, through work temporarily
provided nearby, and ' through tickets to established soup houses ; but the main
expedient was in sending small parties under chosen agents, who were men or
women of fitness, to places where there were work and wages, i. 'e., places already
ascertained where there were reliable promises of employment." (Autobiography
of O. O. Howard, vol. ii, pp. 416-417.)

The Founding of Howard University

paupers of them, the Bureau erected homes for these and others near the
Capitol,11 ordered the hospital 12 for refugees enlarged, and purchased a
large farm on the Potomac near the St. Elizabeth's Hospital for the
Insane. Here it erected homes and sold them to the freedmen at a
minimum cost. This was known as Barry Farm.13
It was becoming more and more evident day by day to the Missionary
Societies 14 and the benevolent peoples in general in the United States
that land and learning and leadership for the freedmen were the only
things which would eventually relieve the situation and bring order out
of chaos. And, furthermore, colored leadership was being demanded by
both the Blacks and the Whites. "It is reasonable and proper that colored
men should feel that it is their mission now to enter this field and educate
and elevate their freed brethren. This field is naturally ours. and is the
only fair one we ever had for usefulness before. Moreover the race to
be educated and elevated is ours, therefore we are deeply interested in
the kind of education it receives." 15
In response to this demand for Negro teachers, preachers and leaders
for the freedmen, several higher schools of learning were founded : Berea
College, in 1855 ; Wilberf orce University, 1857 ; Lincoln Institute, 1866 ;
Fiske University, 1866; and Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute,
1866. The founding of Howard University in 1867, in a section of the
Country rapidly filling with freedmen was, therefore, a natural and
logical development, especially since the so-called University was not a
collection of colleges but a combination of the home, the church and the
elementary school.

:1 Lincoln Green, or Squares 1055, 1054 and 1032; Square 640. (Minority Report,
p. 8.)
12 Campbell's Hospital, 7th and Florida Avenue, N. W. ; later moved, and now
called Freedmen's Hospital.
13 Three hundred and seventy-five (375) acres of land, one-third of which was
held in trust for the St. Augustine Normal School, Raleigh, N. C; one-third for a
school in Richmond, Va., and one-third for Howard University. (Minority Re
port, p. 8.)
"The said Trustees may invest the said $52,000 in land, with a view of relieving
the immediate necessities of a class of poor colored people in the District of
Columbia, by rental, by sale or in such other way as their judgment shall direct
for this purpose, provided all proceeds, interests, or moneys received for rental or
sale over and above the necessary expenses shall be annually transferred to the
said three institutions, and in all cases to be divided equally between them."
(Special Orders No. 61 of Freedmen's Bureau.)
"Appendix III.
15 Anglo-African, vol. v, No. 5, Sept. 9, 1865, quoted in The Afro- American Press
and its Editors, p. 88. Autobiography of O. O. Howard, vol. ii, pp. 393-394.

Thf Founding of Howard University

CONCEIVING THE UNIVERSITY
1866-1867
At a meeting of the Missionary Society of the First Congregational
Church of Washington, D. C, held November 19, 1866,10 the condition
of the freedmen not only in Washington but throughout the country was
considered, — also the duty of the country " and of the Church toward
their elevation. During the evening, the great change which had come
over "the face of society" since the Free-Soil Convention "of 1850" 18 — to
which two present, Reverend Danforth B. Nichols and Senator Henry
Wilson had been delegates, — was discussed. The work of the American
Missionary Society was reviewed ; the organization of another society to
co-operate with it was proposed. Reverend Benjamin F. Morris related
his experience at the Wayland Institute, which he had visited that day.
He impressed those present with what one teacher with poor equipment
was accomplishing in that school for the education of colored ministers
of the Gospel. The meeting adjourned but not before one at least had
been convinced that not another missionary society but a theological
school was the thing needed. Reverend Mr. Nichols, who was active on
the committee that organized the first Howard University, reports that
the sentiment manifested that evening to establish a school some time in
.the future led him to say within himself, "Why not now ?" 19

10 The date of the meeting of the Missionary Society of the First Congregational
Church in which the idea of founding a school was conceived is somewhat in doubt.
Rev. D. B. Nichols gave in 1895, "Nov. 17, 1866," as the date. (Genesis of Howard
University, p. 3, in Howard University Historical Papers, 1895.) Nov.- 17, 1866,
was Saturday. John Louis Ewell in his History of the Theological Department of
Howard University, p. 7, gives "Monday, Nov. 19, 1866," as the date. Monday is
more probable.
" "The Republic, founded on the doctrine of the equal right and capacity of all
citizens to share in its government, should find the appropriate monuments of its
national greatness and the appropriate ornaments of its seat of government not in
stately palaces of granite or marble, but in schools, universities and libraries. We
have expended nearly thirteen millions dollars to erect and adorn its Capitol.
. At the same time nearly two-thirds of the children in this district are un-
p'rovided with the means of attending school (19,000 out of 33,000 in 1867), and
seventeen or eighteen of the public school rooms about to be condemned as nui
sances by the Board of Health. For myself, I would rather exhibit to mankind
halls of legislation, plain and cheap, and the results of that legislation apparent in
intelligent, educated citizens. I would rather have Congress hold its sessions in a
barn or on a hillside, and see the schools of the city models for the civilized world,
then to see, as now, this Capitol rear its marble splendors over streets crowded with
ignorant and vicious children." (Hon. Geo. F. Hoar, House of Rep., June 6, 1870.)
D. O. W. Holmes, Fifty Years of Howard University, Pan T.
1E 1852 is the correct date for this convention at Pittsburgh, Pa,
ir Genesis of Howard University, pp. 3-4, Historical Papers.

10  The Founding of Howard University 
Between November 19, 1866, the date of this meeting, and March 2,
1867, events moved rapidly. On the evening20 of Tuesday, November 20,
it was decided to* establish a school rather than a missionary society.
Within three months, this school had been given four names. At first,
it was called "Theological' Institute ;" later, "Theological and Normal
Institute;" on the eighth of January, 1867, it became "Howard Uni
versity;" and, finally on March 2nd "the Howard University." With
each new name, except the last, new functions were added, new aims
proposed. At first, it was for the education of colored men for the
ministry; later, for the education of teachers and preachers; finally, for
the preparation of any one who might contemplate any vocation or pro
fession whatsoever. The draft 21 of the charter that was first pre
sented to Congress on January 23, 1867, was amended on February 6th
so as to include all races of men and embrace all departments of
knowledge. The first curriculum, that is, the curriculum of the Theological
Institute, was unique for a School of Theology. The committee
recommended three "chairs of instruction" : 22 one on Evidences of
Christianity and Biblical Interpretation; one on Biblical History and
Geography : and one on Anatomy and Physiology in Their Relations to
Hygiene. It was impossible to decide which the freedmen needed more — ¦
doctors for their souls or doctors for their bodies — hence, the mixed
curriculum. Reverend E. W. Robinson was appointed to the first chair,
Reverend D. B. Nichols to the second, and Dr. Silas Loomis to the third.
Some months later, Dr. Loomis enlarged his chair into a School of
Medicine — the Howard Medical Department. Of this department he
was the first dean.

20 The dates of the first four meetings at the home of Mr. Henry A. Brewster
are well established as follows : First, Tuesday, Nov. 20, • 1866 ; second, Tuesday,
Dec. 4. 1866; third, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1866, and the fourth, Saturday, January 8,
1867. The note found in the minutes of the meeting of Dec. IS, 1866, to the effect
that the first meeting was held Nov. 18, 1866, is an interpolation from memory and
a mistake. It is as follows : "At an early stage of this meeting the minutes of the
first meeting held Nov. 18, 1866, were read." Nov. 18, 1866, was Sunday; the
minutes of the first meeting are dated by the same secretary who wrote the note, —
Mr. E. M. Cushman— Nov. 20, 1866; the date of the third meeting being Dec. 18,
1.866, the number 18 was in the secretary's mind. Tuesday, Nov. 20, 1866, is no
doubt the date of the first meeting at Henry A. Brewster's.
31 "Dr. Boynton having prepared a memo, from the Charter of Michigan Uni
versity as a basis, explained the same particularly and submitted sundry sugges
tions and points as applicable to Howard University. General Howard then read
the Bill incorporating Howard University as introduced in the U. S. Senate, Jan ,
1867, by Hon. Henry Wilson with suggestion that it be revised." (Minutes of Board,
Jan. 29, 1867.) Appendix I.
22 Genesis of Howard University, pp. 5-6, Historical Papers. •

 The Founding of Howard University  11
Finally, after the plan 23 and name'of the school had been changed sev
eral times, the question of admitting women came up and was debated at
length; also the question of a permanent name for the University. In
respect to women, the custom at Oberlin 2i was followed. Women were
admitted. Concerning a name Reverend D.' B. Nichols says : "At last
when it seemed doubtful that harmony would be reached on a name it
came to the writer as by the breath of inspiration the name it should
bear." He moved that the school be christened "Howard University."
General Howard objected "as (was) supposed." To overcome his objec
tion, he was told that there was a John Howard, an English philan
thropist, and that he might think of John Howard as the philanthropist
in honor of whom the school was named. "But" . . . (nevertheless)
"this vote meant the American philanthropist ; the Commissioner of the
Freedmen's Bureau, and true friend of the downtrodden and oppressed
of every color and nation of the earth." 25
LOCATING THE UNIVERSITY
1867-1870
One month before the Charter was granted by Congress, plans for
opening the school were made.26 On the third of January, General How
ard Secured property on Seventh Street Road near the Boundary from

23 The plan of the ^University was worked out in the home of Henry A. Brewster.
The location of this house is not clear from the minutes. The minutes for Novem
ber 10, 1866, and the minutes for Dec. 18, 1866, as found in "Records for 1867,"
locate it on K Street, but give no number. General Howard in his Autobiography,
vol. ii, p. 395, gives K Street without a number. The minutes for May 20, 1867,
contain the following: "At the residence of H. A. Brewster, 240 I Street at iy2
o'clock." The Washington and Georgetown Directory also locates the house at
240 I Street in 1867. This same Directory, however, locates it at 1823 I Street in
1870. Mr. J. B. Johnson left the following memorandum among his papers :
"Tuesday evening, Dec. . 4 at 240 I St., Mr. Brewster, Gen. Howard, Senator*
Pomeroy, Mr. Morris, Dea. Nichols, Mr. Phinny, Dr. ^Barber and Dr. Boynton."
TheTdocument containing this memorandum is dated 1866. In Howard University
Historical Papers, Mr. J. B. Johnson locates Mr. Brewster April 19, 1867, "on I
Street near 19th." From the evidence cited and from conversation, I am of the
opinion that 240*1 Street, according to the old numbering is the same as 1823 I
Street according to the new numbering which was introduced in Washington about
1870. This conclusion is further justified by the fact that the Brewsters purchased
1823 I Street, N. W., July 26, 1866. (Liber R. M. H. 21, Folio 30.)
24 Genesis of Howard University, p. 6, Historical Papers.
'"Genesis of Howard University, p. 7, Historical Papers. Special Report of U. S.
Commissioner of Education, 1871.
*" Minutes of. the. Board, Jan. 8J 1867 ; Minutes of Board, Jan. 29, 1867.

12  The Founding of Howard University 
John A. Smith,27 a farmer. It contained about three acres of land and
a house — an old German dance hall. This property was leased to the
Trustees of the new school for $1200 a year. It was afterwards 2S
sold to the University for $6000 and became the first campus. In this
dance hall the school was probably opened with night classes in February,20
1867. This was the Normal School.30 It was not formally opened,
however, until May 2nd, of the same year.31
On May 25, 1867, an addition was made to the campus.32 It was very
difficult to secure a suitable site for the University. Landowners refused
te sell for a Negro school. "It would spoil the property round about and
was not to be thought of." One day, while standing on "The Hill" or
farm where the school is now located, Generals Howard and Whittlesey,
the Committee on Purchase, were deeply impressed with "the outlook,
taking in the City of Washington, the Monument, the Capitol, the White
House, and other public buildings, including miles of the Potomac."
That day General Howard concluded that there could be no better site
for the school. The farm, however, was too large, — it contained 150
acres. They tried to get the lower portion, near the Normal School;

27 A slave holder who in 1862 owned the following :
Names Value
Isaac Mason  $109.50
Charlotte  109.50
Henry  657.00
Aldezena  __  * 328.50
Frank  153.30
Mary or Mar't Drusilla  65.70
Ellen Clarke  175.20
Jane  547.50
Leonard  591.30
Caroline  438.00
Emily  262.80
Bill Woodley  613.20
Betty  438.00
Anthony  657.00
Total  $5,146.50
House Ex. Doc. No. 42, pp. 48-49.
2S Liber D-9, Folio 366, June 30, 1869, recorded June 30, 1869.
'"Minutes of Board, March 19, 1867.
MSee Map.
3t Annual Report of President Sunderland, October 12, 1868. Annual Catalogue
of the Normal and Preparatory Department of Howard University gives May 1st,
as the opening day.
The Incorporators held their first meeting March 19, 1867, at the home of Rev
erend Charles B. Boynton, 422 N. St.— on the northeast corner of N Street an<l Ver
mont Ave., N. W. (Minutes of Board, March 19, 1867.)
"' Liber E. C. E. 5, Folio 437', May 25, 1867, recorded May 29, 1867.

 . The Founding of Howard University  13
then an upper portion near the Soldiers' Home; and finally the central
part The owner refused to sell any part of it. After some meditation
General Howard asked the owner what he would take for the whole.
When informed $1000 an acre, he accepted at once. The proposition-
somewhat startled his companions. "It almost took their breath away,
the suddenness of it and the largeness of .the offer." Without one dollar
in the treasury for this purpose, a debt of $150,000 was assumed by the
Committee.33 To this transaction there was much opposition in the
Board.34 It was confirmed, however.35
From the beginning Generals Howard and Whittlesey had considered
carefully the possibility of selling lots at such a profit as to get out of
one-half or two-thirds of the farm money enough to pay for the whole.
This was begun at once. By 1870 the Trustees had received from the
sale $172, 234. 30 Besides, there had been reserved the present campus,
the present hospital site and park in front, and the Medical School
grounds. In addition, there were reserved fifty-two acres of land, forty-
three of which were sold in 1884-85 37 to the United -States Government
for reservoir purposes, for $107,223.30. The hospital grounds, about
ten acres, are still nominally the property of the University. In 1882,3S
in settlement of taxes amounting to about $23,000 and for other con
siderations,39 — one, that the land be forever used as a park or revert auto
matically to the University — this plot was ceded to the United States
Government. When the erection of a new Freedmen's Hospital on this

33 Autobiography of O. O. Howard, vol. ii, pp. 398-401; History of Medical De
partment, pp. 1-4.
"Autobiography of O. O. Howard, vol. ii, pp. 399-400.
33 "How to meet the primary payment was my first problem. Some gifts had
come to our University treasury, but they were not enough. The University treas
urer showed that the first amount to be paid to Mr. Smith was $20,000. To meet
that and other expenses in starting this enterprise there was in the hands of the
Bureau Disbursing Officer a residue of 'the refugees and freedmen's fund.' And
as I had the authority of law in the Appropriation Act for March 2, 1867, to use
it at my discretion for education, after reflection, I resolved to transfer $30,000 to
the Howard University treasurer." (Autobiography of O. O. Howard, vol. ii,
pp 400-401.)
By Special Orders No. 36 of March 12, 1869, the sum of $125,000 was trans
ferred from the Freedmen's Bureau Fund to the Treasurer of Howard University.
That same year the balance in full, amounting to $114,475, was paid to John A.
Smith. 30 Howard in Defence, pp. 44-45.
=T Office of Corps of Engineers of War Department, Washington, D. C. In 1838,.
in order to control a spring of running water, the United States Government pur
chased from John A. Smith one acre of land situated in the middle of this plot.
This water was piped to the Capitol for drinking purposes.
38 Act of Congress, approved June- 16, 1882, 22 U. S._Statute, 104-105.
"Exemption from future taxation, 22 U. S. Statute, 104-105. W. W, Patton,
History of Howard University.

14 The Founding of Howard University

site was contemplated, the question of the Government being legally bound
to use this site forever as a park came up. To avoid any legal objection
to the hospital, the property was redeeded to the University. The Uni
versity immediately leased it to the Government in perpetuity for one
dollar a year with the understanding that the hospital is to be forever
open to the Medical students of Howard University as a free clinic.'10
On April 9, 1868,41 the University again enlarged its campus, this
time by about one acre of land. It also added to its equipment a building
which was on the premises. The two were purchased for $7,000. The
building was known as the Park Restaurant. This property was situated
on Seventh Street Road between the Normal School lot and the 150 acres.
Upon a part of each of these three lots — namely, the one leased in
January, 1867, and finally purchased in June, 1869 ; the one purchased in
May, 1867; and the one purchased, in April, 1868— the Medical School
Building was erected and now stands.
Most of what is now known as LeDroit Park came into the possession
of Howard University March 16, 1870.42 This tract was conveyed to
Tohn A. Cole, Treasurer of the University. Later, it was transferred
by John A. Cole to the Trustees of the School. The minutes of the
Board for October 4, 1870, read as follows: "Resolved, that a deed
offered by John A. Cole, of the so-called 'Miller Estate,' as a part thereof
held in trust by him for the education of indigent and needy students in
Howard University, be accepted by the Board of Trustees, and that the
Board assume the trust imposed in the said deed." This plot extended
from about 4th Street, N. W., westward to Bohrer Street and Georgia
Avenue, and from Florida Avenue to Elm Street. It had been pur
chased in March, 1870, by the Freedmen's Bureau for $60,000. On
May 2, 1873,43 the Trustees voted to sell the Miller Estate— "such por
tion of the same now remaining unsold"- — to Andrew Langdon for
$115,000 payable in ten years at 7%. November 10, 1875, Langdon's
interest in this property was conveyed to A. L. Barber & Co.,44 pro
prietors and developers of LeDroit Park.45
That portion of the farm which had been reserved for University

¦/
40 Act of Congress, approved April 28, 1904, 33 U. S. Statute, 488.
41 Liber E. C. E. 30, Folio 433, April 9, 1868, recorded April 13, 1868.
12 Liber 621, Folio 57, March 16, 1870 ; recorded July 23, 1870.
a Minutes of Board, May 20, 1873.
" Amzi L. Barber was Principal • of the Normal Department from 1868-1873 ;
Secretary of the University from September 30, 1872, to December 27, 1873; and
Acting President of the University from September 9, 1872, to November 18, 1872.
4S Minutes of Board, November 10, 1875.

 The Founding of Howard University '  15_
purposes needed much improvement 46 before it could become a Uni
versity campus. There were streams crossing it. These were drained
and leveled. Some parts were too wooded ; elsewhere trees were planted.
V Street was formely Grove Street. This name suggests the wooded
condition of a certain section of the property. So does Elm Street. The
farm had • not been cultivated regularly. It was not even enclosed.
Parts of it had been mined for sand, so naturally there were sand pits.
The whole was subject to trespass by the neighboring cattle. Where the
President's house now stands, stood the old farm house, and near by, the
shtbles of the former owner. Streets were cut and graded. Morris Road
Pomeroy Street, Wilson Street and Howard Place indicate that the
Trustees were not unmindful of the benefactors of the University. Much
of the laboratory work of the first students in Agriculture consisted in
clearing the ground, fencing it in, and- draining the creeks which crossed it.
With ample grounds and with the financial support of the Freedmen's
Bureau- back of them, the Trustees began at once in 1867 the erection of
the necessary buildings.47 By the autumn of 1870, the University Build
ing, a dormitory building and boarding hall,48 the medical and hospital
buildings 40 and Clark Hall had been erected. The private home of
General Howard was also pear completion in 1870. 50 This edifice,

18 "You will remember that the Smith farm was without any improvements and
that it was outside of the limits of the city. Doubtless the owners sold it gladly,
and when the parties purchased it they had a great work to do. There were one
hundred fifty acres of land without even an enclosure." (Howard In Defence,
page 15.)
" "Sir : In expending the appropriations made by Congress for the construction.
rental, and repairs of buildings for schools and asylums I have constructed and
repaired such buildings upon land owned by 'benevolent associations and corporate
bodies and boards of trustees' who are now using them for school purposes . . .
with a view to the early closing of the Bureau, I have the honor to request that
authority be given me to transfer the said buildings to the associations, corporate
bodies, and board of trustees upon whose land they are constructed, requiring from
them a formal guarantee that said buildings or the proceeds of their rental or sale,
shall be devoted perpetually to educational purposes, never#excluding pupils on the
azcount of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude." (General O. O. Howard
to General J. M. Schofield, Secretary of War, November 5, 1868.)
is "Room rent in the University Building is 25 cents per week or three dollars
ncr term of twelve weeks,' payable in advance. The rooms in Miner Hall, which
is to be set apart for young ladies, are arranged in suites of two and two closets,
e.?.ch suite to be occupied by two persons. They are uniformly furnished with
stoves, chairs, ,-bedsteads, tables, bookshelves and wahstands. Each student will
fi.rnifh beddinc. Clarke Hall for young men will be open in September, 1870."
(Catalogue of Howard University, 1869-70, p. 28.)
" History nf Medical Department, p. 14.
M Minutes of Board, April 8, 1867, August 14, 1867, August 30, 1867 ; Report of
Committee of Congress on Education, pp. 10-11.

16 The Founding of Howard University

located on Ploward Place, is now (1921) used as a dormitory for the
young women of the University.
Thus by the close of 1870 the hopes of the Founders of Howard Uni
versity were in a large measure realized.51 Within three years from, 1867
to 1870, the University had been materially established. Situated in the
County of Washington far away from the developed portion of the City
of Washington, upon "The Hill," it was very attractive. A contemporary
has left his impression of the • school in the following words : "One
of the first and most prominent objects that meet the eye of the visitor
to this capital is the stately and beautiful edifice overlooking the city and
river, reminding him of the new and grand progress of the nation, realiz
ing one of the dreams of Washington, who himself desired to found here
a great University.52 Let it be remembered, too, that in this institution
as in no other in the land, it is believed,53 the Anglo-Saxon, the Celt, the
Indian, the Mongolian, the Greek, and the African already sit, side by
side on the same benches. All races and both sexes have here in the
pursuit of knowledge a fair and equal favor." 54

""The financial condition of the University is satisfactory; no debt now exists
to cripple its energies or retard its progress. The buildings and land are paid for."
(Annual Report of Howard University, 1868-1869.)
52 "Congress, so far as I can learn, has done nothing to accomplish this the great
"iving and dying wish of Washington. Let us remember that he spoke to our
feneration as to his own. Every year that the accomplishment of his cherished
wish is deferred is a new disobedience and a new ingratitude. Perhaps in the
mysterious providence of God the realization of -the dream of Washington has been
deferred until the enfranchised race whose enslavement he lamented, could be
admitted to their share of the light of knowledge. To our endless shame be it
spoken, the legacy bequeathed by Washington to his country for purposes of
national education was suffered to revert neglected to his estate, while the command
which, to use the language of his will, he did 'most positively and most solemnly
enjoin should in every part thereof be religiously fulfilled, without evasion, neglect,
or delay' — that his emancipated slaves should be taught to read and write — was
disobeyed because a compliance with it was prohibited by law." (Hon. George F.
Hoar, House of Representatives, June 6, 1870.)
53 "In December, 1834, Mr. Shipherd insisted that students must be admitted (to
Oberlin College) 'irrespective of color.' For a time the Trustees hung back; but
when informed that unless Negroes were admitted they could not obtain Professor
Morgan from Lane Seminary, nor Mahan, the gifted southerner, to be their
President, nor Finney, a noted theologian and revivalist, nor ten thousand dollars
that was waiting for them, the trustees, February 9, 1835, voted: 'That the educa
tion of the people of color is a matter of great interest and should be encouraged
and sustained in this institution.'" (Slavery and Abolition, Albert B. Hart, p. 192.)
54 Report of Committee of Congress on Education, p. 10.
Appendix II.

The Founding of Howard University

17

APPENDIX. I

A BILL TO INCORPORATE "the
HOWARD UNIVERSITY."

Reported January 23, 1867.

To Incorporate the Howard Uni
versity in the District of Co
lumbia.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Sen
ate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress
assembled, That there be erected, and
hereby is erected, in the District of Co
lumbia, a college for the instruction of
youth in the liberal arts and sciences,
the name, style, and title of which shall
be "the Howard University."
Section 2. And be it further enacted,
That Oliver O. Howard, Charles B.
Boynton, Samuel C. Pomeroy, Charles
H. Howard, Henry A. Brewster, Ben
jamin F. Morris, Danforth B. Nichols,
William G. Finney, Roswell H. Stevens,
Burton C. Cook, E. W. Cashman, James
B. Hutchinson, H. Barber, E. W. Robin
son, W. F. Bascom, J. B. Johnson, and
Silas L. Loomis be, and they are hereby
declared to be, a body politic and cor
porate, with perpetual succession in deed
or in law, to all intents and purposes
whatsoever, by the name, style, and
title of "the Howard University," by
which name and title they and their suc
cessors shall be competent, at law and
in equity, to take to themselves and
their successors, for the use of said
college, any estate whatsoever, in any
messuage, lands, tenements, heridita-
ments, goods, chattels, moneys, and other
effects, by gift, bequest, devise, grant,
donation, bargain, sale, conveyance, as
surance, or will ; and the same to grant,
bargain, sell, transfer, assign, convey,
assure, demise, declare to use and farm
. let, and to place out on interest for the

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE
HOWARD UNIVERSITY,"
In the District of Columbia.

'the

Be it enacted by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the
United States or America, in Con
gress assembled.
Section 1. That there be established,
and is hereby established, in the District
of Columbia, a University for the educa
tion of youth in the liberal arts and
sciences, under the name, style, and title
of "the Howard University."
Section 2. And be it further enacted,
That Samuel C. Pomeroy, Charles B.
Boynton, Oliver O. Howard, Burton C.
Cook, Charles H. Howard, James B.
Hutchinson, Henry A. Brewster, Benja
min F. Morris, Danforth B. Nichols,
William G. Finney, Roswell H. Stephens,
E. M. Cushman, Hiram Barber, E. W.
Robinson, W. F. Bascom, James B.
Johnson, and Silas L. Loomis be, and
they are hereby declared to be, a body
politic and corporate, with perpetual suc
cession in deed or in law to all intents
and purposes whatsoever, by the name,
style, and . title of "the Howard Uni
versity," by which name and title they
and their successors shall be competent,
at law and in equity, to take to them-
seives and their successors, for the use
of said University, any estate whatso
ever in any messuage, lands, tenements,
hereditaments, goods, chattels, moneys,
and other effects, by gift, devise, grant,
donation, bargain, sale, conveyance, as
surance or will; and the same to grant,
bargain, sell, transfer, assign, convey,
assure, demise, declare to use and farm
let, and to place out on interest, for the
use of said University, in such manner
as to them, or a majority of them, shall
be deemed most beneficial to said insti-

18

The Founding of Howard University

use of said college in such manner as
lo them, or a majority of them, shall be
deemed most beneficial to said institu
tion : and to receive the same, their rents,
issues and profits, income and interest,
and to apply the same for the proper use
and benefit of said college ; and by the
same name to sue and be sued, to im
plead and be impleaded, in any courts
of law and equity, in all manner of suits,
actions and proceedings whatsoever; and
generally by and in the same name to
do and transact all and every busi
ness touching or concerning the prem
ises : Provided, That the same do not
exceed the value of fifty thousand dol
lars, net annual income, over and above
and exclusive of the receipts for the
education and support of the students
of said college.
Section 3. And be it further enacted,
That the said corporation shall adopt a
common seal, under and by which all
deeds, diplomas and acts of the said
college or corporation shall pass and
be authenticated, and the same seal at
their pleasure to break and alter, or
devise a new one.
Section 4. And be it further enacted,
That no misnomer of the said corpora
tion shall defeat or annul any donation,
gift, grants devise, or bequest to or
from the said corporation.
Section 5. And be it further enacted,
That the said corporation shall not em
ploy its funds or income, or any part
thereof, in banking operations, or for
any purpose or object other than those
expressed in the first section of this
act ; and that nothing in this act con
tained shall be so construed as to pre
vent Congress from altering, amending
or repealing the same.
,( Senate Bill, 529, presented by Hon.
Henry Wilson, January 23, 1867.)

tution; and to receive the same, their
rents, issues and profits, income and in
terest, and to apply the same for the
proper use and benefit of said Univers
ity ; and by the same name to sue and
be sued, to implead and be impleaded,
in any courts of law and equity, in all
manner of suits, actions, and proceed
ings whatsoever, and generally by and
in the same name to do and transact all
and every the business touching or con
cerning the premises : Provided, That
the same do not exceed the value of
fifty thousand dollars net annual in
come, over and above and exclusive of
the receipts for the education and sup
port of the students of said University.
Section 3. And be it further enacted,
That the first meeting of said corpora
tion shall be holden at the time and
place at which a majority of the persons
herein above named shall assemble for
that purpose ; and six days' notice shall
be. given each of said corporators, at
which meeting said corporators may en
act By-Laws, not inconsistent with the
laws of the United States, regulating the
government of the corporation.
Section 4. And be it further enacted,
That the government of the University
shall be vested in a Board of Trustees ot
not less than thirteen members, who
shall be elected by the corporators at
their first meeting. Said Board of Trus
tees shall have perpetual succession in
deed or in law, and in them shall be
vested the power hereinbefore granted to
the corporation. They shall adopt a
common seal, which they may alter at
pleasure, under and by which all deeds,
diplomas, and acts . of the University
shall pass and be authenticated. They
shall elect a President, a Secretary and
a Treasurer. The Treasurer shall give
such bonds as the Board of Trustees
may direct. The said Board shall also
appoint the professors and tutors, pre
scribing the number and determining
the amount of their respective salaries.
They shall also appoint such other offi
cers, agents, or employees, as the wants
of the University may from time to .

The Founding of Howard University

19

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE HOWARD UNIVERSITY— C0»to«^.

time demand, in all cases fixing their
compensation. All meetings of said
Board may be called in such manner as
the Trustees shall prescribe ; and nine
of them so assembled shall constitute
a quorum to do business, and a less
number may adjourn from time to time.
Section 5. And be it further enacted,
That the University shall consist of the
following departments, and such others
as the Board of Trustees may establish
— first, normal ; second, collegiate ; third,
theological ; fourth, law ; fifth, medicine ;
sixth, agriculture.
Section 6. And be it further enacted,
That the immediate government of the
several departments, subject to the con
trol "of the Trustees, shall be entrusted
to their respective faculties, but the
trustees shall regulate the course of in
struction, prescribe, with the advice of
the professors, the necessary text books,
confer such degrees, and grant such
diplomas, as are usually conferred and
granted in other Universities.
Section 7. And be it further enacted,
That the Board of Trustees shall have

the power to remove any professor or
tutor, or other officers connected with
the Institution, when, in their judgment,
the interests of the University shall re
quire it.
Section 8. And be it further enacted,
That the Board of Trustees shall publish
an annual report, making an exhibit of
the affairs of the University.
Section 9. And be it further enacted,
That no misnomer of the said corpora
tion shall defeat or annul any donation,
gift, grant, devise, or bequest, to or
from the said corporation:
Section 10. And be it further enacted,
That the said corporation shall not em
ploy its funds or income, or any part
thereof, in banking operations or for
any purpose or object other than those
expressed in the first section of this act;
and that nothing in this act contained
shall be so construed as to prevent Con
gress from altering, amending, or re
pealing the same.
Approved March 2, 1867.
(14 Stat. L., 438.)

II
RACES REPRESENTED AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY BEFORE 1873.

On the day set apart for prayer for Colleges, January 25th, 1872, we organized
a small church at Howard University. Since the organization, we have had three
communions at each of which we have added to our number. Last Sabbath was
a day of special' interest in the history of this infant enterprise. Dr. Rankin
preached the sermon, after which two native Chinese, supported here through the
contributions of your society, were among the number received. In looking over
our files, I find a letter from Rev. E. P. Smith, then your field secretary, ' dated
February 18, 1870, making an application for the reception of three Chinese young
men to our' institution, named Fung Affoo, Leong Sing and Choy Awah. The
first two named, he regarded as men of great promise, and they having indulged
hope in Christ, were last Sabbath baptized by Dr. Rankin in the name of the Holy
Trinity, and entered into covenant with the people of the Lord. At the same
time a native African from the eastern coast, who came to this country with the
Reverend Mr. Robbins, missionary of Am. Board, a daughter of a deceased

20 The founding of Howard University

missionary to Africa, a Creek Indian, a young man who was a slave in the South
at the breaking out of the war, now a promising young man, and our University
treasurer, J. B. Johnson, were received into this infant church. A large audience
was present to witness the interesting ceremonies, and manifested deep interest in
the exercises of the hour.
As the writer looked upon this scene, the words of the Saviour came forcibly to
mind: "And they shall come from the East, and the West and the North, and
the South, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."
The friends of the Missionary Association have great reason for gratitude for
the success which has thus far attended their labors. The past success should be
the occasion of a new impulse in the work of the world's evangelization. (Amer
ican Missionary, Vol. 17, No. 1. January, 1873, p. 1. D. B. Nichols.)

Ill
SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR NEGROES

BEFORE NOVEMBER, 1864.

We apprehend that few of our citizens are aware of the laudable efforts which
during the year past have been made toward a general and permanent system of
education and moral training for the colored population of the District of Columbia.
A few evenings since, a very interesting semi-annual meeting of the Association
of Volunteer Teachers was held, from the report of which we glean the following
particulars :
About a year ago, the Freedmen's Relief Association of the District opened
its first free day school for colored children, which was followed in the course of
the ensuing winter and spring by four other day schools for the same class of
learners in different sections of the city and under the same auspices of the same
society. But day schools, though all important, did not meet the want. The need
was scarcely less urgent for evening schools, in which adults just escaped from
bondage, and such children as were at services during the day could secure the
great treasures of knowledge.
The first evening school was opened on the 25th of November, 1863, under the
charge of a gentleman who volunteered to teach gratuitously. This has been
followed by ladies and gentlemen abundantly qualified who devote much valuable
time and talent to this great work of philanthropy. Besides these evening- schools
there is a Sunday school at Old Camp Barker Chapel with about 175 scholars.
Another Sunday School is situated in 23rd Street, with from fifty to a hundred
pupils, and a third Sunday School at the Soldiers' Free Library. Notwithstanding
various discouragements the trustees provided by Congress for colored schools
opened the first free school for colored children on the 1st of May, 1864. It was
and continues to be held in the venerable Ebenezer Church, on the corner of 4th
and D Streets, Southeast, Capitol Hill. It had u'pwards of 100 pupils the first
week, with two teachers, one being sustained by the New England Educational
Commission at Boston and proved in every way a success.
The Freedmen's Relief Association of this city opened 5 day schools in the
early part of the year. It is understood that 4 of these schools, with eight teachers,
are now in operation, and that the National Freedmen's Association of New York
is co-operating with the first-named society in sustaining them.
The Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association entered upon the field in May,

 The Founding of Howard University  2J_
and has now 5 day schools, with 14 teachers under its care. It is nearly ready
for occupation, on I Street near 20th, a school house with two rooms, capable of
accommodating 100 pupils,, with which is to be connected, in an adjoining building,
an industrial school for teaching sewing; also a store house and kitchen for the
purpose of dispensing clothing and food to the needy.
The Philadelphia Friends Freedmen's Association commenced at the same time
and has two schools with five teachers. This Association has just completed a fine
large school edifice with living rooms for 12 or more teachers at a cost of $6,000.
a most valuable acquisition to our city. It is located on 19th Street west, near
the northern part of the city.
The Scotcb Covenanters have one day school with two teachers.
The African Civilization Society maintains one school. And the American Baptist
Missionary Association has one school.
The American Missionary Association has recently established four day schools
with ten teachers, having in their day and evening sessions over 1,000 pupils. These
make a total of 20 day schools and 44 teachers. At an average of 150 each they
will accommodate the 3,000 children between the ages of 6 and 17 which were
enumerated in 1860; but it is believed that not more than one-third of them are
now accommodated. There are 5 evening schools besides those of the Volunteer
Teachers' Association. In this enumeration the school at Mason's Island (now
Analostan), Arlington and Geisboro are not included. (Washington Chronicle,
November 12, 1864.)

IV
EXTRACTS FROM THE OFFICIAL REPORT ON PUBLIC EDUCA
TION IN THE UNITED STATES TO THE MINISTER OF
PUBLIC INSTRUCTION OF FRANCE BY M. HIPPEAU.

Ecoles Pour Les Enfants De Couleur (Colored Schools).

Nothing, in my opinion, reflects more honor on the United States than the zeal
which the government and private associations displayed during the most terrible
periods of the great war of secession to assure to the negroes of the South the
means of existence and to create schools for them and, their children.
The extraordinary events which resulted so unexpectedly in the emancipation
of the slaves of the South, and which have subsequently led to the acquisition
by them of the title and civil and political rights of citizens, caused also the
creation in every State of a freedmen's bureau, and these bureaus, organized with
that promptitude and marvelous spirit which characterize all enterprises in which
a great national interest is taken, immediately began to organize all over the
South schools for people of color. Before the attention of Congress was called
to this point a great number of private associations had been formed in the
different States for aiding the freedmen. Multitudes of men, women, and chil
dren, flying from slavery, followed in the wake of the northern armies, imploring
aid from the soldiers and offering their services.
It was the women who responded with the most alacrity to the call made for

The Founding of Howard University

teachers of schools founded for colored children in all cities in which the victorious
army of the North had replanted the flag of the Union.
It would be impossible to convey an idea of the energy and friendly rivalry
displayed by the women of America in this truly Christian work. In the year of
1862 public meetings were held in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, and
soon were formed, under the double influence of humanity and religion, the
"Association for the Aid of Freemen," and the "Missionary Association" in New
York; the "Committee of Education" in Boston; the "Societies of Education" of
Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Chicago. Special periodicals were established to
publish the results achieved by each of these societies, to announce the voluntary
donations collected by the committees, and to publish the letters and reports from
all the different places wherein the protectors of the blacks were exercising their
beneficent functions. In one year 1,500 schools for colored pupils were opened.
No sooner had the northern army captured a new city than a host of devoted
teachers, of both sexes, also entered it. In incorporating Negroes into the
northern armies the Union generals formed regimental schools for them.
Sherman in Georgia, Banks in Louisiana, and Howard in Tennessee, evinced, in
forwarding this great work of humanity, no less interest and energy than in the
prosecution of the war.
And it should be here stated, to the honor of a race so long disinherited, so
long condemned to degradation, to brutality, to ignorance (a law of the South
punishing with death anyone convicted of teaching a slave to read or write), that
no spectacle could be more touching than that offered by these helpless, unfortunate
men, old and young, women and children, as eager to rush to the schools estab
lished for the regeneration of their minds and souls as to the places where they
were provided with food and shelter. Never did a famished man pounce more
eagerly upon food placed before him than did these poor fugitives upon the bread
of knowledge, a sublime instinct causing them to regard education as the first
condition of their regeneration.
The beneficent Peabody consecrated five millions to the schools of the South.
A single association, the American Missionary Association, received more than
45,000 francs per month ; but this sum was insufficient to alleviate to a great
extent the vast amount of physical and moral suffering which existed. Congress
gave forty-five millions of francs to the Freedmen's Bureau, the presidency of
which was confided by Lincoln to General Howard, who had lost an arm in one
of the latter battles of the war. What this bureau has accomplished since the day
of his installation is incredible. The unfortunates out of whom men and citizens
were to be made required all kinds of assistance. They not only needed schools,
but hospitals ; and these latter were established for them. From 1861 to 1866,
nearly four hundred thousand freedmen had filled the forty-eight hospitals
created for them, and in which twenty thousand souls succumbed to misery, fatigue,
and wounds received in fighting for the cause which assured to their race liberty
and independence.
Such was the devotion of the men and women occupied in the education of
children, that the number of schools increased so rapidly (there were four
thousand at the commencement of 1868) that more teachers were required than the
North and West could supply. The generals and superintendents- of the Freed
men's Bureau partially supplied this want by creating normal schools for -the
blacks, and by confiding to them as soon as they acquired the rudiments of
reading, writing, and arithmetic, the responsibility of communicating their knowl
edge to others. Admirable pupils, they became excellent professors. They them
selves were then able to found schools. God knows at the price of what sacrifices
and what privations. In 1868 they supported at their own cost twelve hundred

,  The Founding of Howard University. .. 23
schools, and owned three hundred and ninety-one school buildings.
One fact alone goes to show the importance attached by them to education. In
1863, Louisiana had schools enough, supported by taxation, to furnish instruction
to 50,000 freed persons. Pressing needs having caused the abolishment of the
tax, they were at first disheartened, but they soon regained their courage. They
held meetings. Already they were paying, like the whites, a tax levied for public
instruction, but which was employed entirely to sustain schools for the whites, and
from which the blacks were excluded. Notwithstanding this injustice, they de
manded to be authorized to furnish a special contribution for the education of
their children, and, at the same time, were willing to pay the general school tax,
and maintain their own schools themselves. In a few years the emancipated race
had already elevated itself to the level of the civilizing race.
Surely the American people are entitled to admiration and thanks for the gen
erous ardor with which they have lavished their gold and employed their noble
and powerful initiative in giving to their new brethren all the advantages which
accrue from education.
I was fortunate enough to be able to collect evidence which corroborates the
statements just made, and, on arriving in Washington, after a visit to Mr. Henry
Barnard, the Commissioner of Education, and his zealous secretary, Mr. Angerer,
I hastened to pay a visit to the illustrious organizer of the Freedmen's Bureau,
General Howard, and his worthy colaborer, Mr. Eliot. It was in Washington
that the first schools for the children of freedmen were established. The schools
are of all grades, and the general is even constructing large, beautiful edifices for
a college and a university. I was full of the memories of the most flourishing
schools in the East, and I was well qualified to judge for myself of the differences
in intellectual aptitudes of the two races. . I must say that I have been unable to
discover any. All the teachers, both male and female, that I have consulted on
that point are of the same opinion.
My opinion of the intellectual aptitudes of colored children is shared by men of
good faith who have, like me, visited the schools of the South. An English
traveler, Dr. Zincke, in an account of his travels in America, says : "I must
confess my astonishment at the intellectual acuteness displayed by a class of
colored pupils. They had acquired, in a short space of time an amount of
knowledge truly remarkable; never in any school in England, and I have visited
many, have I found the pupils able to comprehend so readily the sense of their
lessons; never have I heard pupils ask questions which showed a clearer compre
hension of the subjects they were studying." ,
What I saw at Oberlin confirmed entirely the opinions I had formed by my
visits to the schools of the South. This remarkable institution is educating a large
number of colored students. I found fourteen young colored girls in the most
advanced class, and they appeared in no way inferior to their white companions.
In 1868 the degree of A.B. was conferred upon fifteen young men and ten young
women. The principal of the institution, in an address to the students, stated that
in literary taste and philological ability these colored pupils were unexcelled by
any of their white fellow graduates. The opinion of the professors at Oberlin is
that there is no difference in intelligence manifested by the two races. In a Greek
class of twenty-seven pupils of both races, instructed by a young lady of twenty-
five years, daughter of one of the professors of the college, a young colored girl
translated, with exactitude, a chapter of the first book of Thucydides. The Negro
race constitutes nearly a fifth part of the population of Oberlin and one of the
professors assured me that the most peaceable, well-behaved, and studious citizens
of that place belonged to the colored race. They are associated with the whites in
all business and social relations, and no animosity is exhibited by either.
YALE

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1

24  The Founding of Howard University 
The white man there is no more disturbed at sitting beside a colored man mi,,,
the municipal council or on the Committee of Education than in an omnibus oi-"
at a restaurant table. This fair treatment of the blacks, however, is by no means
universal, but every day weakens the repugnance which has hitherto constituted
an insuperable barrier between the two races.
(Appendix to Report of Committee of Congress on Education, pp. 21-23 ; , How
ard University Documents, 1867-70.)