Freedmen's Aid Society - Timeline Event
Founder
American Missionary Association, Methodist Episcopal Church
Time Period
1861
Description
The origins of the Freedmen’s Aid Society is somewhat debatable. According to Richard Boone (2012), the organization started in 1861 by the American Missionary Association, a missionary collaboration between Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodists churches. However, Methodist records claim that the Society formed in 1866 at a Methodist Episcopal Church convention.
In any case, the purpose of Freedmen’s Aid Society was to increase education opportunities for freed blacks in the South, including men women and children. By establishing schools and colleges for southern blacks, literacy rates increased dramatically by the end of the 19th century, making the Freedmen’s Aid Society largely a success.
Nonetheless, the Jim Crow era of the South persisted into the mid-20th century, and racial segregation continued to hinder educational and economic opportunities for southern blacks.
In any case, the purpose of Freedmen’s Aid Society was to increase education opportunities for freed blacks in the South, including men women and children. By establishing schools and colleges for southern blacks, literacy rates increased dramatically by the end of the 19th century, making the Freedmen’s Aid Society largely a success.
Nonetheless, the Jim Crow era of the South persisted into the mid-20th century, and racial segregation continued to hinder educational and economic opportunities for southern blacks.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Methodist/Pietist Family: Other ARDA LinksMethodist/Pietist Family: Religious Family Tree
Presbyterian-Reformed Family: Other ARDA Links
Presbyterian-Reformed Family: Religious Family Tree
Timeline Entries for the same religious group: Congregationalists (UCC)
Congregationalists (UCC): Other ARDA Links
Congregationalists (UCC): Religious Family Tree
Photographs
Freedmen's Union Industrial School- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-37860
Rural Tennessee school established by Freedmen's Aid Society- Internet Archive- from The New Emancipation by Dan B. Brummitt
Freedmen's Aid Society teachers in front of Mission House- Library of Congress, LC-DIG-stereo-1s03859
Freedmen graduates from Gammon Theological Seminary- Internet Archive- from The Industrial and Higher Education of the Negro by W. P. Thirkield
Book/Journal Source(s)
Boone, Richard Gause, 2012. Education in the United States: Its History from the Earliest Settlements Freeport, New York: Books for Libraries Press.Web Page Contributor
Benjamin T. GurrentzAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
