EDUC 703_US Founding Through Progressive Movement
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EDUC 703: Discussion: U.S. Founding Through Progressive Movement
Chapter 11: Education in the Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction Era
Question 6: Consider issues of race, gender, class, and religion in the narrative of Margaret Douglass. To what degree did she display resistance to discrimination in each of these areas?
In 1849, a law was passed in response to the Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831 that prohibited white individuals from teaching groups of black people to read. The law did not differentiate between free or enslaved blacks, leading many churches to continue teaching black children during Sunday school. Despite no known prosecutions of churches for this act, a white mother and daughter named Margaret and Rosa Douglass
were found guilty of violating the law after responding to the request of an illiterate free black to educate his children (Smith, 2020, p. 120).
Mrs. Douglass was a tireless single parent who supported herself as a skilled seamstress on modest resources. In 1852, she founded a homeschool for black children in collaboration with her daughter, welcoming twenty-five students. While her daughter instructed them in reading and writing, Mrs. Douglass taught biblical and ethical subjects. Unfortunately, less than a year later, she received notification that she had breached Chapter 198, Section 32, which prohibited white people from instructing black people in literacy. Despite her unwavering commitment to education, Mrs. Douglass abided by the law and immediately shuttered her school as directed by the Mayor. (Smith, 2020, pp. 120-121).
The grand jury took two months to notify Mrs. Douglass that she would have to stand trial to determine if she would face jail time and need to pay the fine associated with her crime (Smith, 2020, p. 121). Rosa was underage and was not charged with breaking the
law and thus all fault was placed on her mother. Mrs. Douglass opted to represent herself on trial. She professed that she was unaware of breaking the law as she was providing services to free blacks similar to the practices of local churches (Smith, 2020, p. 121).
During her trial, Mrs. Douglass wanted to ensure that the jury was aware that she was providing the same services that her white, wealthy male counterparts were providing in
their local churches (Smith, 2020, p. 121). She highlighted that the resources used to teach in her educational setting were donated by the church that these children previously attended. Ultimately, she wanted it to be known that if she were to be found guilty, then so should several of the Sunday school teachers who were providing the same services to free black children within the church. Her pointed questions aimed to
tell the story that a guilty verdict for her should lead to a guilty verdict for all (Smith, 2020, p. 121).
During the trial, Mrs. Douglass confessed her ignorance of the law and conveyed her loyalty to the South stating that she would not have knowingly placed herself in “opposition of the law” (Smith, 2020, 121). Yet, despite her efforts and loyal confessions, newspapers identified Mrs. Douglass as an “intrepid female” unfit to sit at the bar that was typically reserved for white males. It was her articulate, bold, logical statements that swayed church leaders to claim ignorance, and yet this same cadence of delivery caused the judge to yield a guilty verdict (Smith, 2020, p. 122).
Mrs. Douglass boldly defended herself against the grand jury. Despite her social class, she recognized the impact of her words and attempted to make parallels between her actions and the actions of those in stark opposition to her. Her claims attempted to help the jury understand that while she was a white, low-class, woman educating black children in her home, her actions were no different than the white, wealthy, Sunday school teachers educating black children in the church. It is believed that Mrs. Douglass’
boldness and confidence caused her to be found guilty. She served a month in jail and was fined $1.00 for offering to educate black children in her home (Smith, 2020, p. 122).
References
Smith, S. J. (2020).
Windows into the history and philosophy of education.
Kendall Hunt.
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