The Hampton Institute in Virginia was founded in 1868, to educate freedmen after the Civil War. It began admitting Native American students in 1878. According to a report published in 1901, its purpose was “to train academic and industrial teachers for the Indian and Negro races, and to fit young men and women to become skilled craftsmen. Much stress is laid upon land-buying, home-life, and agricultural pursuits.” Boarding schools like the Hampton Institute sought not merely to educate but also to indoctrinate young Indigenous and African American students in the values and customs of White society. Albert Shaw visited Hampton in 1900, and reported that “Young negroes at Hampton are taught to take the historical rather than the controversial view about slavery.” Shaw was deeply impressed with the way in which the school emphasized “the gospel of character and hard work.” This was a philosophy carried abroad by one of Hampton’s most famous students, Booker T. Washington.
Shaw, Albert. Learning By Doing At Hampton. American Monthly Review, 1900. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l01-005/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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