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22 in the educational system. The nd Morrill Act of , passed by the US government, assisted states in founding land-grant colleges for Negroes, but the assistance was only given to schools with an industrial or agricultural curriculum. Economics provided another justification for industrial training. With the expansion of the coal, iron, steel, cotton, and textile industries, both Northern and Southern investors needed a large and continuing supply of cheap labor to expand their operations. Blacks needing employment satisfied that requirement. Controlling the economic status of Negroes by limiting their educational and occupational opportunities effectively guaranteed a continuous source of cheap labor. Williams and Ashley noted that including “Normal and Industrial” in the names of schools for Negroes was only a cover for the times that wealthy white funders visited the schools. The school “fared much better and received more support from philanthropists when they offered normal and industrial education.” From  to , St. Philip’s Normal, Grammar, and Industrial School offered classes in sewing, advanced cooking, physical culture, and manual training. Offering courses in cooking and sewing was a near guarantee of support from the white citizens of San Antonio, as well as support from Northerners. It is a certainty that without the funding support from San Antonio’s white citizens and the northern whites, St. Philip’s School could not have survived. While Bowden acknowledged the necessity of providFacing Reality When the West Texas District Episcopal Church Committee on Education met in , their position on education for Negroes was unmistakable: if the church was to fund education for the Negroes, there had to be an industrial component. In fact, any school for Negroes wishing to receive funding and obtain support from white benefactors had to offer training in manual and domestic subjects . Thus, for more than forty years (from  to ), St. Philip’s School included in its name the term “Industrial .” In , John F. Slater, a millionaire, created an educational foundation devoted to promoting industrial education in the South for African Americans and poor whites. J. L. M. Curry, former Confederate and pro-slavery Congressman from Alabama, exercised control over much of the funds provided for schools for Negroes, thus effectively dictating the subjects taught in the schools. Curry was chosen in  as general agent for the Peabody Fund, an organization that established vocational programs throughout the South, and by , he was head of the Slater Fund. In , the Peabody Fund was dissolved, and, according to Heintze, a considerable amount of the assets of the fund went to the John F. Slater Fund. Though he had previously defended slavery and the right of secession, after becoming an ordained Baptist minister, Curry’s zeal for spirituality apparently grew. With his change of heart, it is said that he then worked tirelessly to ensure that African Americans were included  The Industrial Side of Education at St. Philip’s School Industrial education, along church lines, is the only wise, expedient, and true solution of the race problem in the South. The Industrial Side of Education • 23 , Bishop Johnston wrote a last letter to Bowden, expressing his view of the racial issue: The colored people have been made a part of our population by a providential dispensation which brought them here in bondage. To their unrequited labors before the emancipation, the prosperity of the Old South was largely due. I myself have been greatly indebted to them; and have tried to make some compensation to them by fitting them for the citizenship which has been thrust upon them. It is highly important that as many of them as possible should be brought under the elevating influences of the Christian religion, which is the best guarantee possible for their highest moral development. On November , , Bishop Johnston passed away. The words in the previous paragraph, written to Bowden a few months before his death, described not only Johnston ’s feelings, but also his actions toward the Negroes. Bowden lost a friend and major supporter, as did San Antonio’s Negroes. Fortunately for the Negro congregants , Johnston’s replacement, the Rev. William Theodotus Capers, shared Johnston’s views and continued with his support for Bowden’s efforts to provide religious and educational opportunities for the Negro population. Capers was reared in the Episcopal Church, where he had also served as rector. The attitudes of many parishioners in the Episcopal Church toward Negroes and education were considered liberal; thus, it is not surprising that the bishop supported the Negro petitioners’ continued request for increased educational opportunities for...

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