Even in present day Georgia the importance of the University of Georgia can be seen throughout the state. In nineteenth century Georgia, the influence of the university over Athens educational system was great. From the establishment of the city’s first grammar school to the education of Athens’ youths, the university contributed to Athens’ status as an educational leader in Georgia. In writing this paper, I seek to establish a direct connection between the presence of the university and its influence over Athens’ educational systems.

In the nineteenth century, the importance of education varied among Americans. In the Northern region of the United States, measures were taken to improve education for all individuals. Within the Southern region of America, education was also of significance to the population. Placed with the context of nineteenth century Southern issues, education did not take precedence over other concerns. For example, a main issue for nineteenth century Southerners was the conservation of slavery. In terms of education legislature, the South deemed education equally as important as the rest of America. However, much of the Southern legislature on education was not put into practice by the states, and the South lagged behind the Northern region of America on education programs and reforms. In opposition to the rest of the South, Athens, Georgia, was a leader in education opportunities for all individuals. Within Clarke County, Georgia, emphasis was placed on education due to the presence of the University of Georgia. Feeling the influence of Clarke County and the University, surrounding counties also placed importance on education. Looking at the Georgia legislature and records from antebellum Georgia, a pattern of establishing varying types of education opportunities can be seen between Athens and the nation as a whole.

As the Northern region of the United States progressed in the continuum towards equal education opportunities, the South slowly advanced towards a system that would provide education for all. Several variables influenced the South’s delayed response to equal education opportunities. For the most part, the Southern towns and villages lacked the organization and communication abilities of their Northern counterparts. Socially, Southerners felt education was a private interest and not of concern to the public. Of all the reasons for the South’s slow progression, the most crippling factor was the institution of slavery. Horace Mann, a predominant nineteenth century advocate for equal education, argued the main reason the South lagged behind the North was due to slavery.1 The South could not focus on education with enslaved human beings present in the region. Looking at equal education opportunities would mean looking at the institute of slavery. Slaves were not allowed to be educated in the South and with time the education of slaves would become outlawed an outlawed activity.2 Horace Mann stated “slavery was the barrier to education in the South.”3 The exclusion of slaves led to many Southerners placing a low priority on education. Since advancement towards better education depended solely on the public’s sentiment, education for all Southern youths did not materialize until after the Civil War.

Located within the South and situated in Georgia, the city of Athens placed value and importance on education. In terms of location, nineteenth century Georgia was one of few Southern States that placed emphasis on education. For example, in 1850, Georgia had 318 teachers and 9,059 pupils. During this time period, only eight states in thirty-one had more students than Georgia.4 The location of Athens within Georgia played an important role in establishing the city as an educational leader. In addition to the city’s location in Georgia, Athens is also host to the state’s largest university. In addition, Athens was the seat of the only board of education the state possessed in the early nineteenth century. The president of the University of Georgia was required to act as an advisor to primary and secondary schools in Georgia. The role of the president was one of an advisor and the president would report back to the state on each school’s progress. In essence, the university was a governing institute over lower-level Georgia schools.

Unquestionably, the presence of the university influenced Athenians’ attitudes towards education. From a larger perspective, the university could not function without individuals enrolling in the institution. Without educated youths, the university would not have a market for their product: higher education. On a lower level, the direct impact of the university created educational opportunities for women. Often times families would move to Athens in the 1800’s in pursuit of educating the sons of the family. Along with the sons of the family came the daughters. As families moved into Athens in the early 1800’s, female academies began to appear. Mrs. Allen’s Female Academy opened in 1802 and was one of the first schools for girls. The opening of the academy was followed by the opening of Mrs. Brown’s Academy for girls in 1803.5 From the early 1800’s, Clarke County was a flourishing center for education in Georgia and the South. As compared with other counties in Georgia, Clarke County was in the top sixth in the number of enrolled students and established schools in 1850.6 In the 1850 census, the number of Clarke County illiterates regardless of race was three-hundred out of a population of 5,000.7 The influence of the university system within Clarke County extended to all of its inhabitants making Clarke County a leader in education.

Georgia was one of the first Southern states to adopt legislature for education. After the Revolutionary War, Georgia adopted a state constitution in 1777. Within the constitution, a resolution was passed declaring each county in Georgia should erect schools. All counties in Georgia were responsible for the funding and governing of their individual schools.8From the state constitution, the burden of funding education was placed on the local level of the county. Because funding was the responsibility of the county, many schools were supported by student’s tuition payments. Thus, the establishment of schools depended solely on the attitudes of counties’ local residents. Fortunately for Clarke County, the presence of the University of Georgia heavily influenced the local government’s stance on primary education. If a county did not have grammar schools, the number of potential college students would be greatly affected by the lack of educated individuals. Because of this concern, the University of Georgia president proposed to establish a grammar school in association with the university. In 1804, the first grammar school in Clarke County was completed and the operation of the school was funded by the attendees.9

By the 1820’s, Clarke County was an established community in Georgia. Upon completion of the primary grammar school additional schools were built in Clarke County. Following the trend of the nation, the schools founded in Clarke County were mainly academies.10 Of the schools founded in the early nineteenth century were Athens Grammar School, Athens Female Academy, Clarke County Academy, and Salem Academy. Surrounding counties of Wilkes, Jackson, Oglethorpe, and Madison counties also possessed academies for both males and females.11 The idea for an academy grew out of the old field schools. Academies were supported by tuitions and managed by a board of trustees. These academies varied in composition from rough log cabins to two-story brick building depending on the academy’s income. Often times academies would be without modern school furniture and the use of a blackboard would be a rare find. In 1790 in the book “Georgia Scenes”, Judge Longstreet describes the use of a long tree trunk which served as a writing-desk and the rudimentary design of the academy that he visited in Georgia.12 As the years progressed, the conditions of the academies advanced. The main type of curriculum taught in the academies would be termed “classic.” Academies in Athens offered English, Latin, French, mathematics, geography, and music.13 During this time period, the attendees of the academy school systems were among the more wealthier citizens. Although there was a definite class distinction between the rich and the poor, the attendees did not suffer the same distinction between the sexes.

In Clarke County, both males and females were students at academies. From a survey conducted in 1837 of all Georgia Academies, 3,793 students were male and 3,646 were female.14 As this figure indicates, there was almost an equal division among the sexes in Georgia schools. In general, the age of the academy students ranged from four to nineteen years old. In the Athens Grammar School, the cut-off age for males was determined by the age in which the University of Georgia enrolled students. For Athens Grammar School, the age of school completion for males was around sixteen years old.15 Most of the academies in Clarke and surrounding counties were supported by tuition payments and subsidized by the state government. Although the state subsidized many of the academies in Georgia, few schools admitted students who were unable to pay the school’s fees. In the early 1800’s, education was available in Clarke County, but only to a select few.

As the years progressed, the Georgia state government began to realize the imbalance in the educational system between wealthy and poor citizens’ educational opportunities. In response to the unequal educational opportunities in Georgia, the state legislature passed the Poor School Fund.16 The Poor School Fund took the sparse education funds which were solely devoted to the academies and gave a yearly allowance of half of the funds to each of the school types. In Georgia, the Poor School Fund was the first step towards a “free” public school system. Of note, the legislation took its reference for the program from the first free school, which was located twenty-five miles from Athens in Washington, Georgia. However, students between the ages of six and fifteen could only use the fund and the children could only be the recipient of the fund for three years. Eventually, the system proved to be inadequate. One major problem with the program was the attitudes held by the people in which the program was designed to aid. Several “poor people” in Georgia counties objected to the Poor School Fund.17 A negative stigma was attached to the “pauper” schools and the poorer citizens of Georgia refused to participate in the program. Many times unclaimed funds by the county were rewarded back to the academies that charged tuition to its attendees. With negative attitudes abounding, and the economy declining, the program’s funds were cut and severely diminished in the 1840’s. Despite the lack of the state’s backing, citizens of Clarke County realized the importance of public education. In 1875, Alonzo Church, President of the university, addressed the need to promote public education within Georgia.18

In the middle of the nineteenth century, a trend arose across the nation in education practices. The manual labor movement came out of the Pestalozzian-Fellenberg movement from Germany. In order to educate individuals at a low cost, manual labor schools were created throughout Georgia. The concept of the manual labor school system originated in Europe. As the name implies, manual labor schools were not vocational schools. In order to subsidize the expenses of an education, students would work a portion of the day for the school. Following the trend of the nation, Athens established a manual labor school for male children. The school was formed by the Presbyterians in order to promote the education of ministers. After laboring for the school, the children were taught lessons in classical studies. After operating for three years, the Athens Manual Labor School was closed.19 The operators felt the school was not being used to its fullest potential and a poorer community would benefit more from the school system. Upon selling the building and the land, the institution was moved to South Georgia close to the town of Milledgeville.20 Although the manual school concept system failed in Athens, Georgia, the movement created interest in public education. The continuum towards improved education for all was slowly gaining momentum towards public education.

Throughout the South, legislature was introduced into many states to improve the educational systems. Although the South as a whole lagged behind the nation in educational improvement, Athens, Georgia, remained a leader in the South. From free school systems to academies, Athens strove to provide education for her population. The importance of education to Athens, Georgia can be seen in the establishment of many schools in the small county and through the support of the public. Often times support came in the form of donations to the Athens’ based education society.21 Although Athens was concerned with education, a true form of public education would not be reached until after the Civil War. Despite the delay in public education, Athens should be considered an example of educational leadership within the Southern region.

1. B.A. Hinsdale, Horace Man: The Common School Revival in the United States (New York, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1898, p.157

2. John Hardin Best, “Education in the Forming of the American South,” History of Education Quarterly, Volume 36, Issue 1 (Spring, 1996), 39-51

3. B.A. Hinsdale, Horace Man: The Common School Revival in the United States, p. 188

4. Oscar H. Joiner, A History of Public Education in Georgia 1734-1976 (Columbia, South Carolina: The R. L. Bryan Co., 1979), p. 19

5. Elbert W. G. Boogher, Secondary Education in Georgia 1732-1858 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 1933), p. 184

6. Edgar W. Knight, Public Education in the South (New York, New York: Ginn and Company, 1922), p.82

7. Ernest C. Hynds, Antebellum Athens and Clarke County (Athens, GA.: University of Georgia, 1974), p. 83

8. Oscar H. Joiner, A History of Public Education in Georgia 1734-1976, p. 233

9. Ernest C. Hynds, Antebellum Athens and Clarke County, p. 81

10. Ernest C. Hynds, Antebellum Athens and Clarke County, p.82

11. Oscar H. Joiner, A History of Public Education in Georgia 1734-1976, p.267

12. Edgar W. Knight, Public Education in the South (New York, New York: Ginn and Company, 1922), p.87

13. Ernest C. Hynds, Antebellum Athens and Clarke County, p.80

14. Elbert W. G. Boogher, Secondary Education in Georgia 1732-1858, p. 189

15. Elbert W. G. Boogher, Secondary Education in Georgia 1732-1858, p.189

16. Oscar H. Joiner, A History of Public Education in Georgia 1734-1976, p.268

17. Charles Edgeworth Jones, Education in Georgia (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1888), p. 40

18. Southern Banner February 27, 1845 p.23, Col.6, 1 “Settlement of Georgia”

19. Augustus Longstreet Hull, Annals of Athens, Georgia, 1801-1901 (Athens, Ga.: Banner Job Office, 1906), p. 178

20. “Manual Labor Schools, “ Southern Banner, 20 December 1834, p.3., col. 20

21. “List of Subscribers, and their Donations to the Georgia Education Society ,” Southern Banner, 6 April 1827, p.3, Col. 23