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Education for Manhood: The Education of Blacks in Virginia During the Civil War (review)

Far too little has been written about the role of Quakers in education in the southern part of the United States before, during, and after the Civil War. It is an impressive story, with scores of Friends (many of them young people) spending time and energy organizing and teaching in schools for Black children and adults—an early Quaker form of the modern Peace Corps. Although this volume chronicles a much wider range of educational activities than those of Quakers, it adds a great deal to our knowledge of the part played by Friends in that pivotal part of the U.S.A. in the transition of Blacks from slavery to freedom. In a summary of the contribution of Quakers, Horst asserts that "One outstanding group that showed a more consistent concern for Black education were the Quakers." He points out, moreover, that Friends were interested in alleviating poverty as well as eradicating illiteracy, stating that "The Quakers saw more clearly than most that the Black needed an economic base." Most of the references to the work of Friends relate to the activités of Quakers from the Philadelphia area, representing both the Hicksite and Orthodox branches. But Horst refers to the efforts of Friends from New England, Indiana, and even London Yearly Meeting. The author is clear, however, in pointing out that all Friends were not in agreement with the efforts to assist Blacks. For example he states that "even most of the scattered Quakers in Virginia succumbed to the white intolerance of Black education, though some of them kept pressing the issue consistently. ' ' This is a carefully crafted piece of research with scores of footnotes at the end of each chapter and a lengthy bibliography at the end of the text, reflecting an enormous amount of research by the author, probably over a period of many years. A lengthy index also adds to the usefulness of this volume. This is a book which will not appeal to the general reader, but it will be most useful to professors of history and to research scholars.