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Applied Demography Series 10

Richard R. Verdugo

American Education
and the Demography
of the US Student
Population,
1880–2014
Applied Demography Series

Volume 10

Series Editor
David A. Swanson
The field of applied demography is largely driven by the quest for the knowledge
required by clients, both in public and private sectors, to make good decisions within
time and costs constraints. The book series, Applied Demography, provides a forum
for illustrating and discussing the use of demographic methods, concepts, and
perspectives in a wide range of settings—business, government, education, law, and
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concepts, and perspectives. The books within the series can be used as resources for
practitioners and as materials serving as case studies for pedagogical uses.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8838

Richard R. Verdugo

American Education
and the Demography
of the US Student
Population, 1880–2014
Richard R. Verdugo (Retired)
Odessa, Ukraine

ISSN 2352-376X ISSN 2352-3778 (electronic)

Applied Demography Series
ISBN 978-3-319-89422-5 ISBN 978-3-319-89423-2 (eBook)
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Introduction

“The Pilgrim Fathers amid all their privations and dangers conceived the magnificent idea,
not only of a universal but of a free education for the whole people. . .Two divine ideas filled
their great hearts–their duty to God and posterity.”
Horace Mann, 1846, 10th Report to the Massachusetts Board of Education

Founding of American Education: An Introduction1

Men make history, but not as they please. In his research on American education, the
historian Lawrence Cremin crafted a narrative on US education and how it was
influenced by historical events. It was a monumental task for which Cremin were
amply rewarded. As an historian Cremin knew that historical events played a critical
role in the development and shaping of institutions. The US educational system was
one such institution. The present volume addresses a simple conjecture that emanates
from Cemin’s research: the impact of historical events in American history that have
shaped the demography of the US student population––directly or indirectly.
There are at least three reasons why this conjecture is important, aside from the
fact that I personally find it exceedingly interesting. To begin with, policymakers can
benefit from my analysis by developing an understanding that their decisions impact
school demography. For example, policies addressing segregation, desegregation,
standardized testing, and immigration policies have had significant effects on the
size, composition, and distribution of the US educational system and on the demog-
raphy of the student population.
Secondly, the demographic profile of the US student population has dramati-
cally changed since education emerged as a major social institution. These changes
have their root cause in the US population. The implications for the teaching and
learning environment have been significant, e.g., how best to educate immigrant

1
I have taken Mann’s comments as inspiration for my book’s title. I replaced Posterity with Society.

v
vi Introduction

children, children from poor economic backgrounds, and students from different
ethnic/racial groups. The increasing diversity of the US student population needs to
be taken seriously.
Finally, there is the structure of education, included in this structure are, school
finance (schools are funded by local taxes), and the teaching force. There are other
reasons, but these, I would argue, are the most important. The US educational system
is rapidly approaching a major crossroads and difficult decisions will have to be made.

Theoretical Model and Hypotheses

My arguments are based on the effects of three broad types of historical events that
affect school demography: Politics, Political Economy, and Demography. It is my
proposition that these three factors affect the changing size, distribution, and com-
position of the American population and thus the student population.
By Politics I am referring to activities associated with the governance of a nation,
particularly with conflicts over gaining and maintaining power. Political Economy as
defined and examined in my analyses refers to knowledge and activities associated with
the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. These are factors that are linked to
law, custom, and government. Finally, by Demography I mean the study of populations,
particularly their size, distribution, and composition. There is formal demography which
studies populations based on fertility, mortality, and migration; and there is the broader
view that exams the effects of social, economic, cultural, and customs on populations. I
am employing the latter framework in my analyses.

Politics and Its Influence on School Demography

Politics involves activities that pursue power and influence in governing, and there are
many ways in which decision-makers have pursued their objectives. The following
seem to fall in the political category, broadly defined: wars and conflicts, social policy,
and legislation. Wars and conflicts, whether initiated or not initiated by the USA, have
affected the demography of the US population. For example, World Wars I and II
reduced the number of the male population. Fewer males in the population reduces the
size of the labor force during and after the Wars. In shoring up the labor shortages, US
decision-makers sought immigrant labor from other nations: Europe and Latin Amer-
ica, especially Mexico. In addition, during WWII, a significant number of jobs
routinely held by males were filled by females. After the WWII, many women decided
to remain in the labor force. Moreover, politics played a major role in stabilizing
the Confedrate states after the American Civil War decimated the area. New Deal
policies not only created jobs in the South, but funds were used to repair Southern
infrastructure. The causal flow of these events I refer to as indirect effects.
Direct effects of politics are clearer. For example, policies directing schools to
desegregate and those that created mandatory school attendance increased the size
Introduction vii

and composition of the student population. Thus, my first proposition is that politics
affects school demography directly and indirectly.

Political Economy and Its Influence on School Demography

Political economy is the intersection of economics and social institutions in addressing,

production, consumption, and the distribution of wealth. Political economy has had
significant impacts on the population of the USA. The origins of the American Civil
War, for example, can be approached from a political economy perspective (Beard 1913,
1915; Mc Guire 2003).
Another example would be the rising level of inequality in the USA (Piketty
2013; Saez 2015), which has increased the number of families living in poverty or on
the margins of poverty, reduced the middle class, and enhanced the coffers of elites.
For example, in 2000, 9.6% of all families were below the poverty threshold. By
2014, the percent increased to 12.7 (De Navas and Procter 2015). As a result, the
number of school children from impoverished backgrounds has increased. Indeed, in
2000, the percent of all youth under age 18 and those in families living below the
poverty threshold was 16.2 and 15.6, respectively. By 2014, these figures rose to
21.1 and 20.7, respectively (De Navas and Procter 2015).
Economic trends and events, thus indirectly, affect school demography by
directly affecting the economic status of children’s family background. In fact, if
we look at data on the percent of all schools having a selected percentage of their
student body receiving a free or reduced lunch, the data are startling. In the school
year 1999–2000, 28.2% of schools had over 50% of its studentry receiving a free or
reduced lunch. By the school year 2011–2012, the percent jumped to 44.1% (NCES
2013). My specific conjecture, then, is that certain political economic events affect
the demography of the US student population.

Demography and Its Influence on School Demography

By demographic factors, I am referring to the size, distribution, and composition of a

population. Size is a function of three demographic factors: fertility, mortality, and
migration (emigration and immigration). While demography may interact with
political economic activities and with politics, there is also a reason to suspect that
demographic factors have their own unique effects. Fertility rates, for instance, may
have little to do with politics or political economy. However, fertility rates affect
school demography by increasing the potential size of the US student population.
Thus, I expect demographic factors to have direct effects on the demography of the
US student population.
Direct effects being exerted by demography include fertility rates, mortality rates,
and issues related to migration (immigration and emigration). Fertility and mortality
rates increase and decrease the size of the potential student population, whereas
immigration and emigration affect the size, distribution, and composition of the
student population.
viii Introduction

Demography also acts as a conduit for political and political economic events. For
example, the change in the basic foundation of the US economy from agriculture to
manufacturing affected the distribution of the US population from a rural population
to one where most lived in urban areas, and thus changed the locality distribution of
the student population. Moreover, in the 1970s manufacturing jobs disappeared at an
alarming rate, while technological and service jobs increased. The net effect was
greater unemployment, increased poverty, and migration to Western and Southern
states.
In terms of indirect political effects, the enactment of immigration policies
changed the composition of immigrants allowed into the USA or blocked others
from entering the United States (the Chinese Exclusion Act, for instance), and thus
altered the composition of the student population. Thus, my primary demographic
conjecture is that demography acts as both a conduit for political and political
economic factors, and also exerts its own direct effects on the demography of the
US student population.

Organization of Present Chapter

This introductory chapter sets the stage for the remainder of my study and is
organized in the following manner. In the following three sections, I introduce and
briefly describe three historical eras and their major characteristics: the Colonial,
Nation Building, and Postbellum Eras. In the next section, I summarize what we
have learned from those eras. In section three, I provide a brief outline for the
remainder of the book.

Historical Eras in American History

Organizing American History

A number of organizing schemes exist for describing and following the flow of
American history. My examination of American history is based on two factors.
To begin with, I wanted to ensure that I captured categories with which most
social scientists might agree. Second, I sought to ensure that each era captured an
important time in American history. The historical eras I have chosen, I believe,
meet both criteria.
In the present volume, I have opted for a seven category system of American
history: Colonial, Nation Building, Antebellum, Progressive, The Great Depres-
sion, The Post WWII, and the Post 1983 Eras. Only the latter era might be
controversial, but I have chosen this era because of its significance for American
public education. In my actual quantitative analyses, I examine data from the
Progressive Era to the Post 1983 Era.
Introduction ix

Colonial Era, 1600–1783

Education in the Colonial Era

An educational system did not exist during the Colonial Era (Cremin 1970).2 While
education had not been institutionalized there appear to have been two ways youth
received some form of an education. The first was home schooling, and the objective
was literacy so young people would have the skill to study the Bible (Demos 1970,
1986; Morgan 1966).
The apprenticeship program was a second form of education. Children were sent
off to live and work with a Master, where they would learn a trade, become
independent, and would become disciplined individuals (Norton 1980). Education
varied by Northern and Southern regions of the USA.
In the Northern Colonies, the first American schools were opened in the seven-
teenth century. Boston Latin School was founded in 1635 and is the first school and
oldest existing school in the United States. The first tax-supported school was in
Dedham, Massachusetts, and was managed by a Rev. Ralph Wheelock.
At first, Colonists attempted to educate children by utilizing traditional English
methods—the family, church, community, and the apprenticeship system. Later,
schools would monpolize these roles (Cremin 1970).
Elementary forms of literacy and arithmetic were taught in the family, if parents
possessed those skills. Literacy rates tended to be higher in New England, and lower
in the Southern colonies. By the mid-nineteenth century, schools had taken over
many of the educational tasks traditionally handled at home.
In the seventeenth century, New England colonies mandated that towns organize
schools. For example, in 1642, the Massachusetts Bay Colony made education
compulsory, and other New England colonies followed suit in the 1640s and
1650s. Schools were male bastions, with a few facilities for girls.
Common schools appeared in the eighteenth century, where students of varying
ages were under the tutelage of one teacher in a classic one-room school house.
Schools were not free, but supported by tuition or rate bills.
The forerunners of the present-day high school began in the larger towns of
New England. The most famous was the Boston Latin School, which is still in
operation as a public high school; another early high school was Hopkins School
in New Haven, Connecticut.
Stratification in education seems to have emerged in the 1780s, when private
academies were opened in the colonies. By the early nineteenth century, a small
network of private, elite high schools (prep schools) were operating in New

2
Literacy was not pervasive in the colonies, but as commerce increased so did the need for
communication, and literacy increased, especially in the cities (Cremin 1970; Kaestle 1973a).
British North America was a literate society, even though literacy varied by region (Moran and
Vinovskis 2007). In fact, literacy was greater in the New World than in the Old World, probably
because the Old World was a highly stratified social system (Bailyn 1960; Fisher 1989;
Lockridge 1974).
x Introduction

England–Phillips Andover Academy (1778), Phillips Exeter Academy (1781),

and the Deerfield Academy (1797). These schools represented a significant
apparatus for educating and socializing members of an elite class in New
England, and many of its graduates would later take major roles in shaping
American hegemony and culture.3
In The Southern Colonies, mainly those centered in the Chesapeake area, some
schools were built during the early colonial period. For example, in the late seven-
teenth century, Jesuits in Maryland operated some schools. However, the South had
an aristocratic social structure based on the plantation system, and plantation owners
hired tutors for their children, others sent their children to private schools or
shipped off their sons to England for schooling.
In the Deep South (Georgia and South Carolina) education was provided by
private tutors, for hire teachers, and a somewhat chaotic mixture of publicly funded
school projects. In the colony of Georgia at least ten grammar schools were operat-
ing by 1770, and many were taught by ministers and possessed strong religious over-
tones. Generally, though, the Southern Elites were not concerned with establishing
schools systems as was the case in the North. The South was an aristocratic regime
and only children from the planter classes received an education—at home, in
private schools, or were sent abroad. Common folk and slaves were not educated.
It would not be until after the Civil War that school systems would take hold in the
South (Barnard and Burner 1975; Pruitt-Logan 1987; see also Kaestle 1983).
I cannot leave this section without a discussion of race and education in the early
part of America. By the mid to late 1700s, it was clear that America was a multiracial
society. The two American regions dealt with the issue differently. In the South, a

3
A list of notables from the 1700s and 1800s for both the Phillips Andover Academy and Phillips
Exeter Academy is impressive. The table below is a short list for each Academy.

Phillips Andover Academy

Person Occupation Year Graduated or
Attended
Charles Flint President of University of 1854
Massachusetts
William H. Moody US Supreme Court Justice 1871
Samuel Morse Inventor of Morse Code 1805
Frederick Law Designed Central Park, Architect 1838
Olmsted
Josiah Quincy President of Harvard College 1786
Phillips Exeter Academy
Edward Everett US Secretary of State, Pres. Harvard 1807
Jared Sparks President of Harvard 1811
Franklin Pierce 14th President of USA 1820
Robert Todd Lincoln Son of President Lincoln 1860
George Plimpton Author 1873
Introduction xi

caste-like system was erected that legally separated Blacks and Whites, physically
and socially. At first, schools were only for Whites. After Reconstruction, things
changed, but before Reconstruction, it was clear that the South was not about to
educate Black children (Cremin 1970; Hofstadter 1971).
Race was not the only factor stratifying education. Schools also were stratified by
gender. The earliest, and still operational, school for girls in the United States is
Ursuline Academy in New Orleans (see Clark 2009; Robenstine 1992). The Acad-
emy was founded in 1727 by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula. The Academy
was the first free school and a retreat for females, and also it provided educational
classes for African-American female slaves, free women of color, and Native
Americans. Moreover, Ursuline provided social welfare in the Mississippi Valley,
and it was not only the first boarding school in Louisiana, but also the first school of
music in the city of New Orleans.
In contrast, tax-supported schooling for girls from non-elite backgrounds in New
England began in 1767 (Kaestle 1983). These schools were optional and some towns
were reluctant to open such schools. Northampton, Massachusetts, for example, was
home to many rich families that dominated politics and culture in the area, and the
town balked at paying taxes to education poor families. Instead, Northampton
assessed taxes on all households and used the funds to support a grammar school
that prepared boys for college. It was not until after 1800 that Northampton used
public funds to educate girls. The town of Sutton, Massachusetts, in contrast, was
economically and religiously diverse and was willing to pay for schools by taxing
households with children––the effort opened the door for universal education for
both boys and girls.
Schools taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, in areas without
schools, writing was taught to boys and a few girls from privileged backgrounds.
The logic behind such a dual educational system was that men handled worldly
affairs and needed the abilities to read and write. Girls, on the other hand, only
needed to read.
In the Northern city of Philadelphia, the education of women took on a different
tone. After 1740, the education of women in Philadelphia followed the eighteenth
century British model. Rather than emphasizing the superficial aspects of women’s
roles, the model encouraged women to pursue substantive topics, such as the arts,
sciences, and reasoning skills that would differentiate them from the lower classes
(Fatherly 2004).

Economy During the Colonial Era

The economy of the colonial era began as subsistence farming, and then began to
vary by region which would later figure prominently as a factor of the American
Civil War.
xii Introduction

In the North, after a period of subsistence farming, fur trading and trapping were
ways by which early colonialist made a living. In the Massachusetts area, fishing
became an important industry. Other forms of industry in the North were shipping,
ship building, and milling: saw mills and gristmills. In the late eighteenth century, a
market economy emerged in the North that was based on extracting and processing
an array of natural resources, as well as the export of agricultural products.
In the South, the first colony was at Roanoke, founded in 1585. The colony
disappeared in 1590, and it is still unknown what happened to its inhabitants.4
The next earliest colony was Jamestown, founded in 1607 as a business enter-
prise though at an early stage it became evident that it would not be profitable,
and in the early years most of the original Jamestown inhabitants died from
hostile native Americans, or from starvation. In fact, of the original 104 colonists,
only 38 survived (Kelso 2006; Bridenbaugh 1980).5 Later, Jamestown
did become became profitable by producing tobacco.6
Large plantations were profitable enterprises and evolved as the substructure of
Southern social structure. A big boost to the plantation system was the immigration
of plantation owners from the Caribbean, mainly from Barbados, who not only
started large plantations, but began importing and using significant numbers of slave
labor. Thus began an institutionalized system of slavery in the South.
The products from plantations (tobacco, rice, indigo) were exported to
England and other European nations. Before the Revolution, tobacco was
one-quarter of all colonial exports (Atack and Passell 1994), and the colonies

4
While there is no definitive answer to the mystery of the Lost Colony, a number of theories have
been proposed. Among these are (1) Chief Powhatan of the Powhatan Indian tribe, ordered and
personally participated in the slaughter of the colonists. (2) Colonists integrated with local Indians,
such as the Chowanoke (Miller 2002). (3) The colony moved wholesale and was later destroyed
(McMullan 2010). (4) The Spanish destroyed the colony (Kupperman 2007). (5) The “Dare Stones
Conjecture.” The stones were found near the site and they supposedly tell the story of the travels of
the colonists and their ultimate demise (La Vere 2009). (6) Virginea Pars Map. The map was made
by John White in 1585, and researcher Brent Lane noticed some patches on the map. He contacted
other researchers at the British Museum in London, and on May 3, 2012, publicly announced the
existence of the patches on the map and speculated that the colonists migrated to the area where the
patches are located. This area is today known as Salmon Creek in Bertie County Community of
Merry Hill (Price 2012).
5
Some scholars have used information from John Smith’s diaries in this estimate. John Smith (1612,
in Haile 1998). Also, see Horn (2005).
6
For histories of Jamestown, refer to the following work (Barbour 1969; Southern 2004; Horn 2005;
Craven 1932; Haile 1998; Bridenbaugh 1980; Kelso 2006).
Introduction xiii

produced 15% of the world’s iron (Atack and Passell 1994).7 In fact, England
encouraged the colonies to produce iron because it was becoming increasingly
difficult for England to produce top-grade iron. England lacked wood, and coke
was replacing charcoal in iron production, which led to an inferior iron product
(Landes 1969).
Interestingly, there were some finished products that the colonists could produce
themselves but were prohibited from doing so by British law. Mercantilism8 made it
difficult for colonists to have a balanced or trade surplus. In fact, it was England that
enjoyed a trade surplus with the colonies. Nonetheless, colonists were able to
recoup half of their trade deficit by shipping their products to other ports within
the vast British Empire (Perkins 1988).
As the colonial population grew, so did opportunities for commerce, trade, and
the exploration of the North American interior for more resources (Butler 2000).
After 1720, exports to England doubled (Henretta 1973). Other interesting trends

7
There are two interesting pieces of information regarding wealth differences between the North
and South, and tobacco. To begin with, during the Colonial Era, there is evidence that the net worth
of Southerners was great than that of the Colonists in New England or the Middle colonies. For
example, the table below provides net worth data in current and constant 2010 pounds sterling.

1770 2010
Commodity Value in pounds sterling Value in pounds sterling
Indigo 131,552.00 14,220,771.20
Rice 340,693.00 36,828,913.30
Tobacco 906,638.00 98,007,567.80
Note: Inflation correction is 108.10 pounds sterling
Inflation numbers from Officer and Williamson’s
website: www.measuringworth.com

In short, it is clear that tobacco added much wealth to its producers, which were mainly in the
South, especially in Virginia and Maryland.
In terms of net worth, data show that the South had greater per capita net worth than the colonies
in New England or the Middle colonies. These data are provided below.

13 New Middle Southern

Colonies England Colonies Colonies
Net worth
1774
Pounds Sterling 74.1 32.3 51.3 131.9
Net worth
2010
Pounds Sterling 7272.17 3169.92 5034.58 12,944.67
Note: Inflation indices from Officer and Williamsons’ website: www.measuringworth.com
Note: Data are per capita and excludes slaves and indentured servants
8
Mercantilism was an economic system employed by European nations that ensured their trade
surpluses and greater profits, having exports outweigh imports.
xiv Introduction

seemed to have been geographic mobility, the founding of new settlements, and the
emergence of the early stages of Capitalism (Rury 2013). There was yet another
factor that was having a significant influence on decision making in the colonies.
The Enlightenment had several significant effects in the colonies. First, the
artificial standard distinguishing persons and the status of “divine right” was about
to be abandoned. Second, Enlightenment philosophy proposed that there was a
natural equality between men, which Colonists took very seriously. Third, Enlight-
enment ideas were compatible with the dual concepts of Capitalism and Individual-
ism. If we tie these factors to a Protestant religious ideology, we see how all this lead
to the stranglehold Capitalism, as an economic system and as a political ideology,
had on American ideology (see Weber 1992). Protestantism was a major driving
force in the development of Capitalism in the West because it proposed that the
accumulation of wealth was morally and religiously important for one’s salvation
(Weber 1992, 18).9 Protestantism was a major theoretical blueprint for the rise of
Capitalism in the West.
In the early years, there were no jobs as we currently recognize the meaning of an
occupation. Colonists subsisted on small farming and small crafts. As the colonies
grew, occupational differentiation by region was exposed.
In the North, workers were engaged in ship building, millers, blacksmiths,
wheelwrights, and various other crafts that one could reasonably identify as a job.
It was also significant that a middle class emerged in the North and were to be found
among owners of businesses, and various other white-collar jobs. Of course, there
was an abundance of unskilled labor. Education, as it was practiced in the colonies,
also involved apprenticeships where young men would be sent to live and work for a
master of some craft. It was vocational education and a bridge between impoverish-
ment and a decent blue collar or middle class job and life style for many young men.
In the late eighteenth century, shipbuilding was the largest non-agricultural
occupation. Indeed, between 5% and 20% of the total employment was in the
shipbuilding industry (Atack and Passell 1994).
In the South, a different system was in place and based on the plantation
agricultural system. There was no middle class per se. It was an aristocratic tripartite
system: plantation owners, poor whites (tenant farmers, unskilled, and journey men
or vagabonds), and slave labor. Slaves were the primary source of labor in the
plantation system and constituted a major factor in the wealth of plantation owners.
For example, in 1774, the per capita net worth in the South was 131.9 in current
pounds sterling. Of this figure, slaves represented 57.5 pounds sterling, or 44% of
total per capita net worth in the South. Slave ownership was much less in the New

9
Weber (1992) argues that the profit motive that has been linked to Capitalism is not its
distinguishing trait. The profit motive, he points out, has long been a factor in commerce, well
before the emergence of Capitalism. Instead, Weber argues that the two distinguishing factors of
Capitalism are the need for disciplined labor, and the investment in Capital. In terms of labor,
Capitalism pursues a strategy of the calculated and administration of labor functions. Investment in
Capital is driven by the need to accumulate wealth for its own sake as means for salvation. The need
for wealth as a means for salvation is a fundamental Protestant ethos.
Introduction xv

England and the Middle colonies, so slaves were much less a proportion of net
worth: .006 and .04% respectively.10
It is interesting that in the late eighteenth century, White colonists had the highest
standard of living in the world. The economy grew substantially and was spurred by
significant population growth (Perkins 1988).

Politics and Governance

There were three forms of governance in the early colonies: Proprietary, Charters,
and Royal colonies. A Charter Colony was one in which the King of England gave
land to a group of individuals for their own use. A Royal Colony was a territory that
was under the direct rule of the King. A Proprietary Colony was territory given to a
group of proprietors who ruled the territory for their own gain, though the Crown got
its cut. Table 1 displays the original 13 colonies and their type of governance.

Demography During the Colonial Era

Size of the Colonial Population During the Colonial Era, the population in Amer-
ican significantly increased. These data are displayed in Fig. 1. Data are smoothed by
taking the natural logarithm of the population.
In 1610, the American population stood at 350, the population residing mostly in
Jamestown. By 1780, the population had grown to nearly three million inhabitants,
2,780,369.
Note that the growth was especially significant in the early stages of the Colonial
Era and then seems to have tapered off a bit later, though there were spurts of
important population growth in the years 1710–1770.
The first settlements were small, English-based population habitats, and did not
extend inland.11 There were three types of British colonies (Henretta 1973; Main
1965). In the south there was Jamestown (settled in 1607) in Virginia, Maryland, the
Carolinas, and Georgia; the middle colonies of Pennsylvania (Quaker and Dutch),
New Amsterdam (later New York), New Jersey, and Delaware; in the North, New
England.

Table 1 Governance of Governance type Colony

original 13 colonies
Royal NC, SC, VA,MA,NJ, NH, NY
Proprietary DE, MD, PA
Charter RI, CT, MASS BAY COLONY 1

10
Data are from the Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (1975).
11
Most colonists lived in small villages with, at most, a few dozen families (Butler 2000;
Main 1965).
 xvi Introduction

7.5

6.5

6
NATURAL LOG SCALE

5.5

4.5

3.5

2.5

1.5
1610 1620 1630 1640 1650 1660 1670 1680 1690 1700 1710 1720 1730 1740 1750 1760 1770 1776 1780
YEAR

Fig. 1 Population of colonial America (Natural log scale): 1610–1780

Source: www2.census.gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/cti. Table Series Z 1–19

Life was hard, but it was still superior to the life colonists would have faced in
Europe (Demos 1970). A dominant ethos, which persists today as a major factor of
the American Dream, is: hard work and some luck equals success (Fisher 1989;
Kaestle 1983; Vinovskis 1979). Resources were in abundance and it was believed
that hard work ensured success; if one failed, it was due to a lack of individual effort
and diligence. Children were socialized toward being responsible, working hard,
being independent, and learning from their work (Fliegelman 1982).
How was the colonial population distributed? Data in Table 2 display the
Colonial population among the 13 colonies from 1610 to 1780.
There are several important stories to be found in Table 2. To begin with, note that
throughout the Colonial Era, Virginia has the largest population. In 1730, it was tied
with Massachusetts for the largest population, but in the following years it remained
the most populated colony. Second, while Massachusetts remained in the second slot
for most of the Colonial Era it lost that spot in 1770 to Pennsylvania. Finally,
between 1610 and 1789, the colonial population grew to over 2.6 million by the
end of the Colonial Era. The fact that Pennsylvania overtakes Massachusetts por-
tends of the Western movement of the US population.
Composition of the Colonial Population The colonial population was very hetero-
geneous, varying by religion, and ethnicity. By the 1700s, the colonies were
populated by three ethnic/racial groups from three different continents: Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans.
Table 2 Distribution of colonists among the 13 colonies: 1610–1780
Year Total NH MA RI CT NY NJ PA DE MD VA NC SC GA
1610 350 350
1620 2200 2200
1630 3956 500 506 350 2600
1640 25,214 1055 8932 800 1472 1930 583 10,442
1650 47,802 1305 14,037 785 4139 4116 185 4504 18,731
1660 73,078 1555 20,082 1539 7980 4936 540 8426 27,020 1000
1670 106,602 1805 30,000 2155 12,603 5754 1000 700 13,226 35,309 3850 200
1680 145,107 2047 39,752 3017 17,246 9830 3400 680 1005 17,904 43,596 5430 1200
1690 202,129 4164 49,504 4224 21,645 13,090 8000 11,450 1482 24,024 53,046 7600 3900
1700 245,093 4958 55,941 99 25,970 19,107 14,010 17,950 2470 29,604 58,560 10,720 5704
1710 331,711 5681 62,390 7573 39,450 21,625 19,872 24,450 3645 42,741 78,281 15,120 10,883
1720 466,235 9375 91,008 11,680 58,830 36,919 29,818 30,962 5385 66,183 87,757 21,270 17,048
1730 629,445 10,755 114,116 16,950 75,530 48,594 37,510 51,707 9170 91,113 114,000 30,000 30,000
1740 905,563 23,256 151,613 25,255 89,580 63,665 51,373 85,637 19,870 116,093 180,440 51,760 45,000 2021
1750 1,170,760 27,505 188,000 33,226 111,280 76,696 71,393 119,666 28,704 141,073 231,033 72,984 64,000 5200
1760 1,628,630 39,098 202,600 45,471 142,470 117,138 98,813 183,703 33,250 162,267 389,726 110,442 94,074 9578
1770 2,090,119 62,396 235,308 58,196 183,881 162,920 117,431 240,057 35,496 202,599 447,016 197,200 124,244 23,375
1780 2,678,616 87,802 268,627 52,946 206,701 210,541 139,627 327,305 45,385 245,474 588,004 270,133 180,000 56,071
Per Chg 765,219 17,460 52,988 6518 13,942 60,055 13,863 48,033 1814 42,005 167,901 26,913 89,900 2674
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1970. Table Z 1–19, page 1168
Note 1:From 1660 to 1750, Maine is included in MA data. Maine received statehood in 1820
Note 2:Data on Plymouth begins in 1620, but in 1690 it becomes part of the Province of Massachusetts in 1691
xviii Introduction

By the second half of the 1700s, Africans were about 20% of the colonial
population and were a numerical majority in some parts of the South (Wood
1974). Colonial America was multiracial so integration and other forms of assimi-
lation were crucial topics. In addressing this diversity, the colonists saw the emer-
gence of different stratification systems.
Racial diversity was handled differently by region. In the South, a caste-like
system was erected, based on laws that relegated Blacks and other people of color to
inferior statuses (Morgan 1975; Blalock 1967; van den Berghe 1967).12 Such a
system of race-based stratification had two components: a structural factor and an
ideological component. The structural factor separated the races physically and
socially, while the ideological component acts as a rationale for structural separation
and differential statuses (see Verdugo 2008).
There is also interesting data on the White and Black populations of the USA
during the Colonial Era, which points to its diversity. Table 3 displays data on the
White ethnic population by colony in 1790.13 Data represent information for the
early part of the Nation-Building Era, but I use them to highlight the diversity and the
regional distribution of early colonists in America in 1790 (see Table 3). English
colonists dominated nearly all colonies, with the exception of New York and
Pennsylvania. Second, Scottish colonists are heavily concentrated in the South,
and Irish colonists have a presence in Maine and in Pennsylvania, but also tend to
be concentrated in the South. This pattern applies to both Irish from Ulster (North-
ern, Protestant Ireland) and the Irish from the Free State (which I take to mean
Catholic, Southern Ireland).
Germans were heavily concentrated in Pennsylvania with a presence in Maryland
and in the Kentucky/Tennessee area. Dutch ethnics are in percentages greater than
their national percentage in two colonies: New York and New Jersey. To a great
extent this makes sense since New York was at one-time New Amsterdam. French
settlers have a significant presence in New York, New Jersey, and in the deep
Southern colonies. Swedish colonists have a presence in Delaware and in New

12
Van den Berghe (1967) offers an interesting typology about social structure and race relations. He
differentiates between Paternalistic and Competitive social systems. The South in this typology is a
Paternalistic System, the North a Competitive System. Differences between the two systems are
captured in the table below:
Paternalistic System Competitive System
Agricultural Complex division of labor
Less competitive High mobility
Little division of labor Caste system is complex: skilled
Labor also oppressed
Caste like system Super-ordinates are majority of population
Super-ordinates are minority Ideological conflicts
Integrated value system
13
See Norton et al. (2014). German immigrants came to the US because they were promised free
land for farming and freedom from religious oppression. Irish immigrants came looking for
employment and as a result of the failure of the potato crop in Ireland––the Irish Famine
Table 3 White ethnic population in colonial America, 1790
Introduction

Colony Total percent English Scottish Irish ulster Irish free state German Dutch French Swedish Spanish Unknown
Total 100 60.90 8.30 6.00 3.70 8.70 3.40 1.70 0.70 0.00 6.60
Maine 100 60.00 4.50 8.00 3.70 1.30 0.10 1.30 0.00 0.00 21.10
New Hampshire 100 61.00 6.20 4.60 2.90 0.40 0.10 0.70 0.00 0.00 24.10
Vermont 100 70.00 5.10 3.20 1.90 0.20 0.60 0.40 0.00 0.00 12.60
Massachusetts 100 82.00 4.40 2.60 1.30 0.30 0.20 0.80 0.00 0.00 8.40
Rhode Island 100 71.00 5.80 2.00 0.80 0.50 0.40 0.80 0.10 0.00 18.60
Connecticut 100 67.00 2.20 1.80 1.10 0.30 0.30 0.90 0.00 0.00 26.40
New York 100 52.00 7.00 5.10 3.00 8.20 17.50 3.80 0.50 0.00 2.90
New Jersey 100 47.90 7.70 6.30 3.20 9.20 16.60 2.40 3.90 0.00 3.70
Pennsylvania 100 35.30 8.60 11.00 3.50 33.30 1.80 1.80 0.80 0.00 3.90
Delaware 100 60.00 8.00 6.30 5.40 1.10 4.30 1.60 8.90 0.00 4.40
Maryland* 100 64.50 7.60 5.80 6.50 11.70 0.50 1.20 0.50 0.00 1.70
Virginia 100 68.50 10.20 6.20 5.50 6.30 0.30 1.50 0.60 0.00 0.90
North Carolina 100 66.00 14.80 5.70 5.40 4.70 0.30 1.70 0.20 0.00 1.20
South Carolina 100 60.20 15.10 9.40 4.40 5.00 0.40 3.90 0.20 0.00 1.40
Georgia 100 57.40 15.50 11.50 3.80 7.60 0.20 2.30 0.60 0.00 1.10
Kentucky/Tennessee 100 57.90 10.00 7.00 5.20 14.00 1.30 2.20 0.50 0.00 1.90
New territory 100 29.80 4.10 2.90 1.80 4.30 0.00 57.10 0.00 0.00 0.00
Spanish USA 100 2.50 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 96.50 0.00
French USA 100 11.20 1.60 1.10 0.70 8.70 0.00 64.20 0.00 12.50 0.00
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1870 Table Z 20–13, page 1168
xix
xx Introduction

Table 4 Shannon indices of Shannon

White ethnic diversity: 1790
Colony Index
Total 0.61244
Maine 0.529058
New Hampshire 0.488534
Vermont 0.396558
Massachusetts 0.316193
Rhode Island 0.404825
Connecticut 0.392192
New York 0.671721
New Jersey 0.73393
Pennsylvania 0.701233
Delaware 0.627186
Maryland* 0.541939
Virginia 0.500138
North Carolina 0.509778
South Carolina 0.573815
Georgia 0.588883
Kentucky/Tennessee 0.609756

Jersey. Finally, Whites with an unknown ethnicity are heavily concentrated in the
North, from Connecticut to Maine.
Table 3 also presents information on the Frontier: the New Territory, Spanish
USA, and French USA. In the New Territory, English and French colonists are
present. Spanish Colonists were concentrated in Spanish USA. In French USA, four
groups are well represented: English, Germans, French, and Spanish. How much
diversity is there in Colonial America, based on White ethnics?
I computed Shannon Indices for colonial America and for each Colony. The
index (H) allows me to assess the White ethnic diversity in each area of Colonial
America. The Index has the following functional form.
X
H¼ pi log ðpiÞ

A large index score indicates significant diversity, whereas a low score suggests little
diversity. These data are displayed in Table 4.
There is substantial variation in White ethnic diversity within Colonial America.
To begin with the index, H, is .612. Second, colonies with less diversity and greater
homogeneity are Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Third,
colonies with a mid-range diversity index score are Maine, New Hampshire, Mary-
land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky/Tennessee.
Finally, colonies with high diversity scores are Pennsylvania, Delaware, and
New York. Colonial America was a diverse nation by white ethnicity.
White ethnic distribution by state, 1790 In Table 5, I examine the population
distributions of the White population in 15 colonies for the year 1790.
Table 5 Distribution of white ethnic groups across the 15 colonies in 1790
Introduction

Colonies Total English Scottish Irish ulster Irish free state German Dutch French Swedish Unknown
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Maine 2.67 2.63 1.45 3.57 2.67 0.40 0.08 2.04 0.00 8.55
New Hampshire 3.93 3.94 2.94 3.01 3.08 0.18 0.12 1.62 0.00 14.35
Vermont 2.37 2.96 1.46 1.26 1.22 0.05 0.42 0.56 0.00 4.52
Massachusetts 2.64 3.56 1.40 1.15 0.93 0.09 0.16 1.24 0.00 3.36
Rhode Island 1.91 2.22 1.33 0.64 0.41 0.11 0.22 0.90 0.27 5.37
Connecticut 6.59 7.25 1.75 1.98 1.96 0.23 0.58 3.49 0.00 26.36
New York 9.42 8.04 7.95 8.01 7.64 8.88 48.49 21.06 6.73 4.14
New Jersey 5.10 3.94 4.73 5.36 4.41 5.39 24.90 7.20 28.42 2.86
Pennsylvania 12.03 6.97 12.47 22.06 11.38 46.05 6.37 12.74 13.75 7.11
Delaware 1.64 1.61 1.58 1.72 2.39 0.21 2.07 1.54 20.81 1.09
Maryland* 8.86 9.38 8.11 8.56 15.56 11.91 1.30 6.25 6.33 2.28
Virginia 20.71 23.29 25.45 21.40 30.78 15.00 1.83 18.27 17.75 2.82
North Carolina 10.91 11.82 19.45 10.36 15.92 5.89 0.96 10.91 3.12 1.98
South Carolina 6.90 6.82 12.55 10.81 8.20 3.96 0.81 15.83 1.97 1.46
Georgia 2.29 2.16 4.27 4.38 2.35 2.00 0.13 3.09 1.96 0.38
Kentucky/Tennessee 2.04 1.94 2.46 2.38 2.87 3.28 0.78 2.64 1.46 0.59
North 20.1 22.6 10.3 11.6 10.3 1.1 1.6 9.9 0.3 62.5
Mid 28.2 20.6 26.7 37.1 25.8 60.5 81.8 42.5 69.7 15.2
South 51.7 55.4 72.3 57.9 75.7 42.0 5.8 57.0 32.6 9.5
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1970
xxi
xxii Introduction

There are some interesting patterns displayed in Table 5. To begin with, note that
there are differences in geographic settlement. Indeed, of the total White population
residing in the 15 colonies in 1790, over half (51.7%) were residing in Southern
colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ken-
tucky/Tennessee). The remaining 20.1% were in the North (Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), and 28.2% in mid-geographic
colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware).
Secondly, note there are ethnic settlement differences. English, Scots, and Irish
residents are concentrated in Southern colonies. Fully, 55.4% of English colonists
were residing in the South. Among Scottish colonists, nearly three-quarters resided
in the South (72.3%). Among Irish colonists, we have to parse those from Ulster and
those from Southern Ireland. Among Irish colonists from Ulster, nearly 60%
(57.9%) were in the South. However, the percent among Irish colonists from
Southern Ireland was much larger—75.7% in Southern colonies. Among French
colonists residing in the 15 colonies in 1790, 57% were located in Southern colonies.
The mid-colonies were also home to significant White ethnics. German, Dutch,
and Swedish colonies had the vast majority of their ethnic groups settling in the
mid-geographic areas of early America. Sixty percent of German colonists resided in
the mid-colonies. Eighty-two percent of Dutch colonists were in the mid-colonies,
and 69.7% of Swedish colonists resided in the mid-colonies.
The identity of 63% of White ethnics in the Northern colonies could not be
determined.
A third interesting pattern was the actual colonies in which White ethnic settled. I
ranked the top three colonies by White ethnicity. While these data mirror the regional
differences discussed above, this level of analysis is a bit more detailed. Among
White ethnics, there is a clear preference for the South. The question is why?
• English: VA, NC, MD
• Scottish: VA, NC, SC/PA
• Irish, Ulster: PA, VA, NC
• Irish, Free: VA, NC/MD, PA
• German: PA, VA, MD
• Dutch: NY, NJ, PA
• French: NY, VA, SC
• Swedish: NJ, DE, VA
• Unknown: CT, NH, ME
Race and Ethnicity The data on White ethnics, interesting as it may be, ignores the
existence of other ethnic/racial groups in early America: Africans and Native
Americans. I raise this issue not only because it would be erroneous to ignore
these groups as part of the Colonial population, but also because their populations
will become important later in the history of education in America. Unfortunately,
data for Native Americans are not available for the Colonial Era, so my data reflect
the population of Africans from 1610 to 1780. These data are displayed in Table 6
and exhibit the tremendous increase in the Black population from 1610 to 1780.
Indeed, the increase in the Black population exceeded that of the White population.
Introduction xxiii

Table 6 White and Black population during colonial era, 1610–1780

Percent
Year Total White Black Black
1610 350 350 0 0.00
1620 2200 2180 20 0.01
1630 3956 3896 60 0.02
1640 25,214 24,617 597 0.02
1650 47,802 46,202 1600 0.03
1660 73,078 70,158 2920 0.04
1670 106,602 102,067 4535 0.04
1680 145,107 138,136 6971 0.05
1690 202,129 185,400 16,729 0.08
1700 245,093 217,276 27,817 0.11
1710 331,711 286,845 44,866 0.14
1720 466,235 397,396 68,839 0.15
1730 629,445 538,424 91,021 0.14
1740 905,563 755,539 150,024 0.17
1750 1,170,760 934,340 236,420 0.20
1760 1,628,630 1,302,824 325,806 0.20
1770 2,090,119 1,630,297 459,822 0.22
1780 2,678,616 2,103,196 575,420 0.21
% chg 765,218.86 600,813.14 2,877,000.00
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1970

In 1610, the Black population in the colonies was approximately 1% of the total
Colonial population. By 1780, the Black population in the colonies rose to 21%.
The increase in slave labor was driven by the exceedingly profitable plantation
system in the Deep South. There were two social systems regarding slaves. In the
Upper South, Novack (1939) suggests that the system was Patriarchal, whereas in
the Deep South the system was based purely on business and slaves were treated
more harshly as part of the production process. The profitability of the plantation
system can be seen in the values attached to imports and exports from the North and
South during the Colonial Era. These data may be found in Tables 7 and 8. I present
the data in current British Pounds and in 2010 prices (Table 8), based on the Real
Price adjustment of the British Pound.
The South realized greater values in its exports than the North. In 1691, the total
current value of Southern exports in pounds sterling (in thousands) was 250, and
64.1 in expenditure imports. Data for the North indicate greater imports than exports,
while in the South, exports were greater than imports. The difference in imports
between the South and North in 1691 and 1791 were 11.9, and 85.6. And the
difference in exports were 221 (1691) and 449 (1791). Bear in mind that these are
current values in thousands in British pound sterling.
xxiv Introduction

Table 7 Exports and imports by region, current dollars and in 1000s

S-N S-N
Year Total North South exports imports
Export Import Export Import Export Import
(T) (T) (N) (N) (S) (S) Exports Imports
1691 279.90 140.10 29.70 76.00 250.20 64.10 220.50 11.90
1700 395.00 344.30 63.60 159.80 331.40 184.50 267.80 24.70
1710 249.80 293.70 40.60 146.50 209.20 147.20 168.60 0.70
1720 468.20 319.70 73.80 190.70 394.40 129.00 320.60 61.70
1730 572.60 586.90 84.00 371.10 488.60 215.80 404.60 155.30
1740 718.40 813.40 109.00 346.70 609.40 466.70 500.40 120.00
1750 814.80 1313.10 52.40 828.50 762.40 484.60 710.00 343.90
1760 761.10 2611.80 81.60 1787.80 679.50 824.00 597.90 963.80
1770 1015.50 1925.60 245.90 1005.30 769.60 920.30 523.70 85.00
1780 18.60 825.40 15.60 496.70 3.00 328.70 12.60 168.00
1791 1011.30 4014.40 281.40 2050.00 729.90 1964.40 448.50 85.60
Total 6305.20 13188.40 1077.60 7459.10 5227.60 5729.30 4150.00 1729.80
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1970

A second story is that over the 100-year period, 1691–1791, the South benefited
more than the North from their export/import trade. Over the 100-year period, while
both the South and North realized greater import expenditures, the greater expendi-
tures were among the North. In the South the negative expenditures were about £501
pounds sterling in thousands, yet the expenditures in the North was £6382 pounds
sterling in thousands. The total for the colonies over this entire period was £6883
pounds sterling in thousands.
A third way to cut the data would be to count the number of years one region had
an advantage in exports or in imports. The equation is simply S – N. Where S ¼
South, and N ¼ North. Data are displayed in Table 7, the last two columns. In terms
of exports, the South has the advantage in 10 of the 11 years displayed. A negative
value in the import column also suggests a Southern advantage because imports are
expenditures. Indeed, the South has an advantage in 8 of the 11 years displayed.
These data are replicated in Table 8 with adjustments for prices to British pounds
sterling in 2010 values. I present these data so readers can grasp the magnitude of the
meaning of exports, imports, and differences in trade between the North and South in
their trade activities. Note that these data are also presented in thousands. So,
multiplying a specific monetary figure by 1000 will derive a 2010 monetary figure.

American Revolution and Its Aftermath

There appears to have been three major factors leading to the American Revolution.
To begin with, there was the intellectual revolution in Europe and its ideas that
seeped their way into the colonies. Specifically, the ideas of the Enlightenment.
 Introduction

Table 8 Value of exports and imports by region in 2010 British pounds, Real Price Index (data in thousands)
Year Total in thousands North South S-N difference exports S-N difference imports
Export Import Exports Imports Exports Imports Exports Imports
1691 38,514.24 19,277.76 4086.72 10,457.60 34,427.52 8820.16 30,340.80 1637.44
1700 46,254.50 40,317.53 7447.56 18,712.58 38,806.94 21,604.95 31,359.38 2892.37
1710 25,479.60 29,957.40 4141.20 14,943.00 21,338.40 15,014.40 17,197.20 71.40
1720 54,592.12 37,277.02 8605.08 22,235.62 45,987.04 15,041.40 37,381.96 7194.22
1730 68,425.70 70,134.55 10,038.00 44,346.45 58,387.70 25,788.10 48,349.70 18,558.35
1740 81,179.20 91,914.20 12,317.00 39,177.10 68,862.20 52,737.10 56,545.20 13,560.00
1750 99,975.96 161,117.37 6429.48 101,656.95 93,546.48 59,460.42 87,117.00 42,196.53
1760 89,733.69 307,931.22 9620.64 210,781.62 80,113.05 97,149.60 70,492.41 113,632.02
1770 109,775.55 208,157.36 26,581.79 108,672.93 83,193.76 99,484.43 56,611.97 9188.50
1780 1925.10 85,428.90 1614.60 51,408.45 310.50 34,020.45 1304.10 17,388.00
1791 94,870.05 376,590.86 26,398.13 192,310.50 68,471.92 184,280.36 42,073.79 8030.14
Total 710,725.71 1,428,104.17 117,280.20 814,702.80 593,445.51 613,401.37 476,165.31 201,301.43
Source: Historical Statistics of the United States Since Colonial Times to 1970 and price adjustments from Officer and Williamson (2014)
xxv
xxvi Introduction

There was also the colonists own unique experiences in the New World. Finally,
there were the relations Britain.
My aim is not to describe or analyze the American Revolution, which would be
beyond the scope of the present volume. Rather, I have a modest goal of describing
key issues that would later, in the Nation-Building Era and beyond, affect the
demography of America and thus school demography.

Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Enlightenment ideas were a major factor in the minds of many colonists, especially
colonial leaders. Let’s be clear about this, the Enlightenment was a major paradigm
shift in how society should be viewed and organized. Social systems, prior to
Enlightenment ideas taking hold, were organized around superstition, religion, and
the inherited rights of status and power. In contrast, the Enlightenment was orga-
nized around (i) liberty, (ii) the pursuit of happiness, (iii) rationality, (iv) the ability
of men to shape their lives, and (v) the role of merit in determining status and
power. This was a major paradigm shift; also see Jaspers (2011 [1953]) and his
concept of an Axial Age.
The colonists own experiences, I would argue, also have a role in leading up to the
Revolution. In the New World, colonists began shaping their lives without much
assistance from Britain. Indeed, Gipson (1950a, b) argues that the American Revo-
lution actually began after the British victory in the French Indian Wars. With that
victory American decision-makers realized they did not really need Britain; they
could progress quite well without Britain meddling in their affairs. Their newly
founded autonomy shaped a specific kind of mental outlook that did not favor
meddling and restrictions placed upon them by Britain.
Finally, given the role of Enlightenment ideas, and their own mental outlook,
political and economic oppression was not appreciated by the Colonists. The new
taxation system imposed by Britain (Miller 1943), though low, was rejected by the
Colonists. Protests followed. The issue was not the tax, per se, but that taxation was
imposed upon Colonists without their approval or any consideration about their
views on the matter. It was the principle.
The American Revolutionary War began in 1775 and officially ended with the
signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. I will not spend much time with the events
leading up to or ending of the Revolution. There is considerable research on the
topic. For excellent histories, see Bailyn (1992), Maier (1972), Aptheker (1960), and
Tuchman (1988). What factors lead to the Revolution? A succinct statement is
captured by Historian Lawrence H. Gipson (1950a, b, p. 104):
In conclusion, it may be said that it would be idle to deny that most colonials in
the eighteenth century at one time or another felt strongly the desire for freedom of
action in a wider variety of ways than was legally permitted before 1754. Indeed, one
can readily uncover these strong impulses even in the early part of the seventeenth
century. Yet Americans were, by and large, realists, as were the British, and under
Introduction xxvii

the functioning of the imperial system from, let us say, 1650 to 1750 great mutual
advantages were enjoyed, with a fair division, taking everything into consideration,
of the financial burdens necessary to support the system. However, the mounting
Anglo-French rivalry in North America from 1750 onward, the outbreak of hostil-
ities in 1754, and the subsequent 9 years of fighting destroyed the old equilibrium,
leaving the colonials after 1760 in a highly favored position in comparison with the
taxpayers of Great Britain. Attempts on the part of the Crown and Parliament to
restore by statute the old balance led directly to the American constitutional crisis,
out of which came the Revolutionary War and the establishment of American
independence. Such, ironically, was the aftermath of the Great War for Empire.
The Americans received all lands east of the Mississippi, south of Canada, and
north of Florida. They also were granted the fishing rights off the Canadian coasts,
and agreed to allow British merchants and Loyalists14 to try and recover their
property.
Now came the real work—building a nation. The colonies were in heavy debt to
soldiers and other colonists who had made significant sacrifices for the Revolution.
There was no unity, and some form of organization needed to be imposed on
the fledging nation. Lead by mostly landed, educated men, a new nation would be
formed. The composition of the leadership was crucial because of their wealth and
status; they had views different from ordinary people in America–indeed, their
interests were in creating a system of order that protected their economic interests
and social status. In short, an elite group of men would shape the new nation.15 It was
a pattern that continues to this day in America.

Nation-Building Era, 1783–1865

Building a new nation would be an arduous task with many challenges lying before
decision-makers. By organization, early leaders meant laws, leadership, and gov-
ernment—though the latter had to be limited given the overwhelming distrust of
government among Colonists.
Over the course of America’s nation building period, a number of significant
events occurred that would in one way or another affect education. In this section, I
briefly identify and describe what I believe are the most important events based on
their education impact and the demography of American schools.

14
Loyalists were one of two main groups having differing views and attachments to Britain.
Loyalists, as the name suggests, were loyal to the British Crown, while Patriots were not. While
leaders of both groups tended to be propertied men of some wealth, most Loyalists were older,
better educated, and had some kinship and economic ties to Britain. In contrast, Patriots were small
merchants, farmers, yeomen, and craftsmen. In short, members of what we would now call the
working class.
15
I would argue that these men represented the first Oligarchs in America. See Wood (1998) and
Miller (1943).
xxviii Introduction

Education in the Nation-Building Era

Building a nation was not just about crafting a framework, but there was work to be
done in developing social institutions that would form the bedrock of the new nation,
and one important institution was an educational system. It would be some time
before such a system developed, and, to a great degree, one system still does not
exist. Rather, each state and locality has developed its own version of education. To
be sure, there are similarities, but the differences are important. A strong sense
of independence and distrust of government were major factors in the decentraliza-
tion of American education.
During the National Era, a uniquely American educational system was being
constructed. The first task at hand was to acquire the cooperation of Americans for
common schools. It was a difficult task and support would not emerge until the late
middle nineteenth century, by then all activities ceased due to the American Civil
War. There were at least two major barriers in pursuing common school: how to pay
for such an institution, and the ideology that public education was associated with
Pauper-Schools.
Opponents viewed public schools as institutions for Paupers, and it was due to
their own negligence that they were Paupers. In addition, opponents saw no value in
education, especially for the lower classes because it would overturn the status quo.
A final concern among opponents was how to pay for such an institution. When
taxes were suggested for financing schools, outcries were raised by opponents—why
should they, people with resources, pay for the education of children from the poor
classes.
Proponents argued that in a free society, educating all children was a right. It
would only benefit America by establishing a foundation for sound citizenship. In
addition it would provide opportunities for integrating all persons and offer the
opportunity for social mobility in a free, open social system, and lead to a stronger
State. Cubberley (1919, chapter 6) argued that regional differences were the main
source of the debate: Opponents were mainly Southerners (free schools based on
charity and Pauperism), while Northeastern Yankees were proponents (free schools
would lead to a stronger State). These regional differences about societal organiza-
tion were one direct cause of the American Civil War.
∗∗∗

Education was mostly delivered at home and had strong religious connotations,
was mostly for males and focused on literacy in developing a skill for reading the
Bible. Yet, North and South differences begin to emerge. Specifically, the North
needed a literate population to meet its rising industrialization, whereas in the South,
with its plantation/aristocratic social structure, a literate labor force was not required.
Children of the wealthy were educated, but a little or no educational opportunities
were made available for anyone else.
Data from the indentured servant contracts of German immigrant children in
Pennsylvania from 1771 to 1817 indicated that the number of children receiving
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Title: Description of a journey and visit to the Pawnee Indians

who live on the Platte River, a tributary to the Missouri

Author: Gottlieb F. Oehler

David Z. Smith

Release date: October 20, 2023 [eBook #71921]

Language: English

Original publication: US:

Credits: The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at

https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK

DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY AND VISIT TO THE PAWNEE
INDIANS ***
Description of a Journey and Visit
to the Pawnee Indians
who live on the Platte River, a tributary to the Missouri,
70 miles from its mouth by Brn. Gottlieb F. Oehler
and David Z. Smith, April 22-May 18 1851,
to which is added

A Description of the Manners and Customs

of the Pawnee Indians by Dr. D. Z. Smith.

Reprinted from the Moravian Church Miscellany of 1851-1852

New York, 1914
 DESCRIPTION

of a journey and visit to the Pawnee Indians who live on

the Platte river A tributary Of The Missouri 70
miles from its mouth by the Brn. Gottlieb F. Oehler
and David Z. Smith. (April 22d—May 18th 1851.)
Having in the course of the winter written letters of inquiry to Mr.
Samuel Allis, teacher of a government-school for Pawnee children,
and Major Barrow, U. S. agent for the Pawnees, both residing at
Bellevue, and having received letters from both, of an encouraging
nature, we left Westfield on the morning of April 22d, on our intended
trip. Br. Paul Oehler accompanied us to Weston, in order to take the
wagon back, which was to convey us thither. Passing by the Baptist
mission station, Briggs’ Vale, where we called in a few minutes, we
soon struck the prairie, which we kept till our arrival at Fort
Leavenworth, about twenty-four miles from Westfield. This is a very
pretty prairie, undulating, and at places quite broken, with here and
there a high bluff or mound, rising above the surrounding country.
“Pilot Bluff,” a few miles from Leavenworth, stands picturesque in the
prairie, and affords a beautiful prospect. We passed a company of
infantry in the prairie, traveling from Fort Leavenworth to Fort
Gibson. The quartermaster at the fort, Mr. Ogden, with whom Br.
Oehler was previously acquainted, received us very courteously, and
gave us a letter of introduction to the quartermaster at Fort Kearney,
in case we should be obliged to go that way on our return home and
need any assistance.—Fort Leavenworth is eligibly situated on a
high prairie, near the bank of the Missouri, about 35 miles above the
mouth of Kansas River. It is a place of considerable business, in the
way of furnishing military stores for the more western forts. At the
wharf a large storehouse has been built by the Government for the
purpose of depositing military stores. The premises are kept in a
very neat and cleanly condition, and a large garden has been
prepared near by, for the soldiers to raise vegetables for their use.
After crossing the Missouri on a horse-boat, which is kept here at the
expense of the Government, we proceeded towards Weston,
situated about five miles above. The first part of our road lay through
the bottom, in wet weather almost impassable on account of the
mud, but at present dry, though rather rough. The latter half of the
road lay along the river, on the side of the bluff, which here comes
close up to the river. Along the road, we noticed many sugar-maple
trees. Towards evening we arrived at Weston, a place of
considerable trade, having about 1,700 inhabitants. We had
expected to wait at Weston for a steamboat, that had been
advertised at St. Louis for the upper Missouri, but as she had at the
latest dates deferred the time of her departure from St. Louis, and
the river was in a very low stage, so that it was doubtful, whether
after her arrival here, she could run up any further; and hearing of a
four-horse passenger coach, running from Weston to Council Bluffs
in four days, which was to leave early in the morning, we concluded
to take that, April 23rd. Early at four o’clock in the morning we
started from Weston in the stage. Leaving the river to our left, we
traveled upon the bluffs, which here run close up to the river, the
bottom of the Missouri being on the other side. The country through
which we passed is a broken country, heavily timbered and with a
rich soil. At 8 o’clock we arrived at Bloomington, a little village about
sixteen miles N. W. of Weston. On account of the unusual number of
passengers, twenty-one in number, the stage proprietor had to
furnish an extra four-horse coach, to accommodate all. This being
the place of breakfast, the number rather took our worthy host by
surprise, and it seemed to give him no small anxiety to entertain so
large a company. However, by 11 o’clock we had all breakfasted, and
were soon again in motion, the road still continuing for about seven
miles on the bluffs, when we again descended into the bottom, which
widens here on this side of the river, leaving the bluffs more to our
right.
 We now traveled over a very rich bottom prairie about seven miles
to St. Joseph, the road on both sides lined with farms. The soil here
is extremely rich, though inclined to be wet in the rainy season. St.
Joseph is a thriving town, laid out only a few years ago, and
numbers about 3,000 inhabitants; situated on a bluff on the right
bank of the Missouri. Here we were informed that Major Barrow, the
Pawnee agent, had left that very day in a boat on his way to St.
Louis. The drinking of intoxicating beverage is carried on to a great
extent in these frontier towns, and it is a common sight to meet with
drunken men in the streets.
After an hour’s rest at St. Joseph, we resumed our journey for
Savannah, our stopping-place for the night, fourteen miles distant.
The roads being very dusty, traveling by stage at present is rather
disagreeable. We passed through a fertile and well-timbered country,
with neat cottages and beautiful farms scattered on both sides of the
road. About sunset we arrived at Savannah. The country around this
place is the prettiest that we have yet seen in the West. The town is
situated in a rolling prairie, with some timber on all sides in view. The
whole prairie being occupied by the town and adjacent fields,
checkered off by fences into lots of a few acres each, gives it the
appearance of an old-country settlement, though it was commenced
only about fourteen years ago. Land here sells from fifteen to twenty
dollars per acre. The village numbers about 800 inhabitants. The
houses are mostly one-story frame, neatly painted white, with brick
chimneys, surrounded by neat yards and grass-plots. Almost every
house is furnished with a lightning-rod, which struck us as something
rather unusual in this western country. The whole scenery around
reminded us forcibly of the landscape around Bethlehem, Pa. In the
village three churches, all of brick, have been erected, belonging to
the O. S. and N. S. Presbyterians, and Campbellites. The
courthouse, a brick edifice, stands in the centre of the town, in an
open square. A few days ago two destructive fires occurred in the
village, consuming a whole row of houses facing the square, and
destroying property to the amount of 20,000 dollars, supposed to be
the work of incendiaries. We were detained here two days, the coach
from above, in which we were to proceed, instead of arriving on the
evening of the 23rd, did not come in till the evening of the 25th.
 26th. At length, after breakfast, we were enabled to leave
Savannah and proceed on our journey. Our traveling company was
very disagreeable, being shockingly profane. In traveling in these
parts one might almost suppose that all the inhabitants were given to
profanity, and the name of God and of the Savior is used in the most
revolting manner. As we traveled on the country continued more or
less broken, the timber becoming scarcer the further North we
proceeded. Oregon, through which we passed in the afternoon, is a
newly settled but thriving town, with a tolerably populous
neighborhood. Soon after leaving Oregon we left the bluffs to our
right and descended into a most beautiful bottom country, bordering
on the Missouri River. The bottom is about ten or twelve miles wide,
quite level, bounded by a line of high bluffs to the right hand, at the
base of which our road lay. About five or six miles off to our left a
strip of timber (the only to be seen) from four to five miles wide
skirted the river all the rest of the bottom, and the neighboring high
bluffs were one continued prairie. The soil is splendid, but all the
most eligible sites are already occupied by settlers, who hold their
claims at enormous prices. Timber is very scarce, and so is stone.
Not a pebble is to be seen either on the bluffs, or in the bottom. The
settlers are obliged to resort to ditching and mud-fencing. This is
done by digging two ditches in a line about six feet apart, and piling
up the sod and ground on the intervening space to form a wall. At 4
o’clock we arrived at Jackson’s, thirty-two miles from Savannah, the
end of our day’s ride.
27th. Left Jackson’s after breakfast. Our company was very
annoying to us, on account of their shocking profanity, but we were
obliged to endure it with patience. After continuing for several miles
further through the above-mentioned rich bottom prairie, we again
ascended the bluffs to our right, traveling all day, mostly through hilly
prairie, timber being very scarce. After a ride of about thirty miles we
arrived at a little village named Linden, at 4 o’clock, P. M. Here our
driver informed us that his horses (having traveled nearly forty miles
to-day) were tired and worn out, and that he thought they could
hardly travel any further. After tea, however, he said that he would try
and take us a few miles further. We, therefore, proceeded till it was
quite dark, but there being a portion of the road before us rather
dangerous to travel in the dark we stopped for the night at a post
office, where we were well accommodated with beds. We were now
in the State of Iowa, having crossed the line between that state and
Missouri a few miles back.
28th. Early at 4 o’clock we were again stirring. By sunrise we
came to the valley or bottom of the Nishnebottona, which river we
crossed on a wooden toll-bridge, newly erected. After breakfast we
again struck the bluffs and traveled all day through an extensive
prairie country, broken, very fertile, but lacking timber. The country
here has been but lately settled, but it would be more thickly
inhabited if timber were more plenty. This is all “claimed,” and the
claims are held at an enormous price. To-day we saw many houses
covered with prairie-sod, on account of the scarcity of board timber;
the day previous we had already passed many houses, the
chimneys of which were made of prairie-sod, which seems to be
quite durable. The further north we proceeded the scarcer the timber
became along the water courses. Some of the streams run through
the prairie with no timber lining them. We had reached the end of our
journey, to within five miles, when we took in a way-passenger, a
Mormon, who was from Ohio, traveling to see his brethren of the
faith at Kanesville, a few miles above Trading Pt., at the Council
Bluffs. We soon got into a conversation with him, and, thinking from
our inquiries that we were inquirers after the Mormon faith, he
proceeded to give us an account of their religious opinions, telling us
about the three apostacies from the time of Noah to the time when
the great prophet, Joe Smith, arose in 1830! These three apostacies,
according to their opinion, are: 1st, the general apostacy of all the
nations of the earth to idolatry; 2dly, the apostacy of the Jews, and
3dly the apostacy of the different sects calling themselves christians,
etc.
About sunset we arrived at Trading Point, the commencement of a
continuation of bluffs on both sides of the river, called “Council
Bluffs.” On the opposite side of the river is Bellevue, the residence of
Mr. Allis, who keeps a government-school for Pawnee children, and
of the Pawnee, Otoe and Omahaw Agent, Maj. Barrow; there are
also here two trading establishments, and blacksmith-shops for the
Indians; about a mile below, on the same side of the river, is the
Mission Station of the General Assembly’s (O. S.) Board, among the
Otoes and Omahaws, under the superintendence of Mr. E.
McKinney. Immediately after our arrival at Trading Point we had a
conversation with Mr. Allis, who happened to be on that side of the
river. He told us that he and Mr. McKinney had been expecting our
arrival, and that the Pawnees, to whom he had mentioned our
intention of coming to see them, were anxiously awaiting us.
29th. During the night we experienced one of those sudden
changes common to this country; in the morning when we awoke the
wind was blowing a gale, and it was snowing very fast. About 10
o’clock we thought we would venture to cross the Missouri to the
opposite side; the attempt was accompanied with great peril to our
lives. The wind beat the water into the skiff, the ferryman’s hands
became so benumbed that he could hardly pull the oars any more,
and by the combined effect of the gale and current we drifted about a
mile below the usual landing-place. Mr. Allis stood watching on
shore, ready to help us, and as soon as the skiff touched the bank
he held to it, and having fastened it he assisted us with our trunks up
the steep bank. Having proceeded to his house, we were glad to
warm our numb limbs by the fire. The provisions, for the
accommodation of Mr. Allis’ family and Pawnee children, are
wretched, right on the bank of the Missouri. The dwelling which is
occupied by them was formerly a trading establishment and is
almost in ruins. The family, besides ten or twelve Pawnee children,
and several white children, are obliged to live in one small room, the
only one hardly fit to be occupied, about eighteen feet square, which
serves for parlor, sitting-room, and kitchen, and a sleeping apartment
for the children above. Mr. and Mrs. Allis are devoted missionaries.
They were among the first missionaries of the American Board, who
nearly twenty years ago commenced a mission among the Pawnees;
since the abandonment of that mission a few years ago, on account
of the hostile incursions of the Sioux, they have been laboring here
at Bellevue, in a most exemplary manner, for the improvement of the
Pawnee children in their charge. Government allows them the sum
of 500 dollars annually for the support of the school, which, however,
is barely sufficient to defray their expenses. Under the most
discouraging circumstances, combating with much sickness in the
family, on account of the location and dilapidated condition of the
buildings, they have still held out, and toiled for the good of the
children under their charge, to whom they seem to have the same
attachment as to children of their own. They are both becoming
considerably advanced in years and begin to feel the effects of their
self-denying labors. They are loth to surrender these interesting
children to their heathen friends, on account of the want of
necessary provisions for their future advancement, and are anxious
that further efforts should be made for their benefit. At the same time
they are desirous of resigning their charge as soon as they can give
them up into other hands, who will seek their improvement.
Government is unwilling to make any further provision for better
buildings for the Pawnee school here, but would probably be willing
to furnish the necessary means for the same in the Pawnee country,
whither, however, Mr. Allis is unwilling to go on account of the check
they formerly received from the Sioux. After dinner Mr. Allis
accompanied us to the house of Mr. Sharpee, who has been
extensively trading with the Indian tribes in these parts for the last
twenty years, and who expressed his satisfaction at the object for
which we had arrived. He said that some of the Pawnees had lately
expressed their uneasiness lest we might not come, but that he had
given them the assurance that we would arrive in a few days, and he
was therefore the more rejoiced, since what he had told them had
now come to pass. On our way to Mr. Sharpee’s we met several
Pawnees, who, when Mr. Allis announced to them that we were the
men whom they were expecting, came up to us in the most friendly
manner, and taking us by the hand, gave us a hearty shake, saying:
“Lo-wa! Tapooska;” i.e., “good,” or “how do you do, teacher.” We next
proceeded to the Presbyterian mission station, about a mile distant,
where we were to make our stay, till our preparations for visiting the
Pawnees should have been consummated. The mission-houses are
pleasantly situated on a high bluff facing the Missouri River, with a
bottom prairie about a mile wide from bluff to river. The level on
which the houses stand extends about half a mile in the rear, with a
gradual ascent, till it meets another line of bluffs rising still higher.
The houses were originally enclosed by pickets, which, however, are
decaying and falling down, and it is probably the intention of the
missionaries to remove them altogether, as such fortifications,
though they may guard against depredations of the Indians, still have
a tendency of creating prejudices on their part. Our reception at the
mission was very cordial, and we had reason for thankfulness to the
Lord in providing such kind friends for us. The superintendent of this
mission is the Rev. E. McKinney, who previously to his commencing
the mission among the Otoes and Omahaws, had been laboring
among the Creeks and Choctaws. They have at present about thirty-
five children and youth in the institution, Otoes and Omahaws, and a
few Puncaws and Pawnees. On our introduction to the children, the
Pawnee children pushed themselves in advance of all the rest, in
order to be the first in shaking hands with us, thinking they had the
best right to us, who were going to visit their people. The two tribes,
the Otoes and Omahaws, among whom this mission is located, are
still, like all the western prairie tribes in their originally savage state,
not having as yet, like the eastern tribes of Indians on the North
American continent, made any advancement in civilization, until
within a few years having lived remote from the good as well as the
evil influences of the whites. The greater part of the year they roam,
like the other prairie Indians, over the extensive prairies on this side
of the Rocky Mountains, chasing the buffalo, which is the same to
them as the seal is to the Greenlander. Their proximity to the whites,
however, and the facilities afforded them for obtaining intoxicating
liquors, during the short time that they remain at their villages, has
latterly had a demoralizing and degenerating effect upon them, and
the counteracting influence of the gospel seems as yet to have made
no visible impression upon any of them. Still the missionaries, who
are laboring here, are sowing the seed in tears, trusting to the
promise of our Lord: “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt
find it after many days.” And surely, when we look back at the labors
of our first missionaries among the heathen, and consider how the
Lord eventually crowned their toils, who will doubt His ability and
willingness to do the same thing at the present day, when even the
heathen tribes are begging to have missionaries among them—an
instance of which we witnessed at a council, which Mr. McKinney
held with a delegation of the principal chiefs of the Puncaws, a tribe
of wild Indians living about 150 miles up the Missouri, who had come
to Council Bluffs expressly for the purpose of soliciting missionaries.
The following is a speech which the principal speaker made to Mr.
McKinney:
“My Father,—I wished to see you a long time already. I am now
here. My heart is glad that I can now at length behold your face. My
heart is now as clear as this pleasant and bright day. I see you do a
great deal for these children here, and I wish you would do
something for my people. I am a fool,—I have no sense,-but you
have knowledge. You have the words of the Great Spirit, and I wish
you therefore to come to us, and teach us.”
Besides these, it is reported by traders, that the Sioux (Soos), a
powerful tribe numbering about 25,000 souls, living North of the
Puncaws, and other tribes to the North are also anxious to have
missionaries among them. What a wide field for missionary labor!
And still we must hear the remark so often made by christians in the
East, so painful to our ears: “There is no use in having missionaries
among the Indians-no good can be effected among the Indians—
better send the missionaries who are laboring among the Indians,
and appropriate the funds spent for missions and schools among
them, to some other heathen field.” From what we have witnessed
on our excursion to Council Bluffs, and our subsequent visit to the
Pawnees, we confidently express the opinion that we can nowhere
expect heathen nations, with the contracted ideas that these people
have of the nature of the gospel, to be more anxious to have
missionaries among them. And we cannot otherwise than denounce
expressions like the above, as not breathing the spirit of our Lord
and Savior, who has enjoined the command upon his followers to “go
and preach his gospel to every creature.” Furthermore, from what we
have seen and heard, we firmly believe that the Lord is preparing a
wide door for the preaching of his gospel among the Western and
North Western prairie tribes, and the Macedonian cry is ringing in the
land: “Come over and help us!” We solemnly put the question to
such objectors to our Indian missions: Where lies the fault that so
little has been done in latter years by the Brethren among the
Indians? that our missions among the Indians have been stagnant—
yes, we may truly say, retrograding for so many years? Shall it be
attributed to the Indians, who, as we have seen, are truly anxious to
receive the gospel? Or shall we admit, that the blessed gospel of our
Savior has not that power over the Indians that it has over other
nations? that there is a deficiency in the gospel in not being able to
subdue the obdurate heart of the red man? Shall we doubt for a
moment the incapacity of the Lord in blessing the faithful preaching
of his word with the outpourings of his Spirit? Or is there a deficiency
in the plan of salvation that Indians should be excluded from the
glorious privileges of the same? Or have we forgotten the history of
our first missions among them, the piety and consistent christian
lives of our first Indian converts, their persecutions from their
heathen brethren, and their sufferings even unto death for the sake
of the gospel? If we wish to find where the fault lies we must look for
it in our own hearts. There it is. There is a lack of that missionary
spirit which actuated our forefathers! There is a lack of that Spirit of
our Savior, who in his missionary capacity to a world of sinners has
set us a pattern to follow. We have sadly degenerated, and the spirit
of the world has taken a powerful hold upon our minds; and it is meet
for us all seriously, earnestly, prayerfully, to cry: “Turn us unto thee,
oh! Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old!”—
In order to make our visit from Bellevue to the Pawnees, it was
necessary that we should be well supplied with provisions, as the
Pawnees were at present very much straitened for the necessaries
of life. These Mr. McKinney kindly volunteered to furnish us with,
besides sufficient extra to make a small feast of cracker and coffee
for the chiefs of each village. Mr. Allis was recommended to us by all
as the best interpreter, and on account of his acquaintance with the
Pawnees, and having their good will, it was altogether an advantage
to us to secure his kind offices, which he was willing to afford. Mr.
Sharpee promised to furnish us two mules, and Mr. Reed, the farmer
at the mission, gave us the use of his light two-horse wagon. Thus
before the close of the week our arrangements were made to
commence our journey to the Pawnees the following Monday, May
5th.
 Sunday, May the 4th.—We were both called upon to take an active
part in the meetings to-day at the Presbyterian mission. As it is very
unusual for any adult Indians to attend these meetings on the Lord’s
day, the exercises are conducted altogether in the English language.
In the forenoon there is Sunday school for the children of the
institution. At about 2 o’clock, P. M., there is public preaching, which,
besides all at the mission, Mr. Allis and his Pawnee children, and
some of the white families from Bellevue, attend. In the evening
there is a meeting in which a discourse is addressed particularly to
the Indian children, but which is attended by all. In these evening
meetings different scripture truths are presented to the children in a
simple narrative style, and not only the children themselves, but also
those employed in the mission, seem to be very much interested in
these instructive meetings.
In the afternoon br. Oehler, in company with Mr. Reed, the farmer
of the mission, visited the village of the Omahaws, about four miles
distant. Their village being similar to those of the Pawnees, we will
refer the reader to a subsequent page for a description.
5th.—A considerable part of the forenoon having been spent
before the mules were caught on the prairie and brought in, and Mr.
Sharpee promising, if we would wait till the following day, he would
accompany us to the Pawnees, in order to inquire of them whether
any of their young men had stolen a horse he had lost a few nights
ago, Mr. Allis and ourselves determined to wait for him, as he had an
extensive knowledge of the Indians, and of travelling on the “plains,”
as the large prairies are here called, and might on that account be of
great service to us. An under-chief of the Loup Pawnees, by the
name of Gatarritatkutz (Big Axe) was also waiting, in order to
accompany us.
6th.—At length we were ready to commence our journey from here
to the Pawnees, about 9 o’clock, accompanied by the best wishes of
our kind friends at the mission, and with the encouraging Daily Word:
“I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies
of David,” (Is. 55:3) with the Doctrinal text: “There is one body and
one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is
above all, and through all.” (Eph. 4:4-6.) “In doctrine and in practice
one,—We’ll love and serve the Lord alone;—With one accord sound
forth His praise,—Till we shall see His face.”
The ideas of leaving the abodes of civilization, and travelling,
unarmed and unguarded by a competent force of men, in the land of
numerous savages, had a tendency to cause every dependence
upon an arm of flesh to vanish, while we could put our confidence
upon the all-powerful arm of our Savior, in whose cause we had
undertaken this journey among wild untutored barbarians, and who
watches over his people everywhere. (Ps. 139.)
Our course to-day was N. W. and W., taking the great road
travelled by the emigrants, on leaving the Bluffs for Oregon, the Salt
Lake, or California.
The road was very dry and dusty, and the wind coming from the
West blew the dust in our faces, by which we were very much
incommoded. After leaving Bellevue, and ascending the bluff, which
brought us on the level of the high prairie, a beautiful prospect
presented itself. Before us, as far as the eye could reach, was the
wide prairie extending to the horizon; on our right were clumps of
timber skirting both banks of the Missouri, bounded by the bluffs on
the other side of the river, with the Mormon settlement of Kanesville,
beautifully spread out before us, situated in one of the valleys
between the bluffs about six or eight miles distant, beyond the river;
on our left, in the middle ground, lay the valleys of the Great and
Little Papilion, with the Omahaw village, like a cluster of potatoe hills,
situated on the opposite bank, near their confluence, with here and
there a clump of timber along both streams, while far away in the
distance could plainly be distinguished the valley of the Platte, with
the timber, growing on its numerous islands.
After proceeding some five miles in the prairie, we met a large
train of Oregon emigrants, who, by some interested person, had
been induced to turn about, in order to take a road, which would lead
them to another ferry on the Elkhorn river, (a branch of the Platte,)
and although Mr. Sharpee represented to them that the road they
had been travelling was the better, still his representations were of
no avail, and they preferred to travel a route 15 or 20 miles further
than ours, and much worse bridged across the mudholes. A large
company of wild Indians (Omahaws) was hovering on horseback
around the train, watching a favorable opportunity to steal
something, or perchance, should a beef stray some distance from
the rest, (a good opportunity for which was given by their turning
back again,) to drive it behind a bluff and slay it.
The sight of a large train of 20 or 30 wagons, travelling in long
single file, with four or more yoke of oxen or cows attached to each,
is really picturesque; and we had frequently the opportunity on our
journey of beholding such a long line of white-covered wagons,
presenting, at a distance of several miles, a beautiful appearance.
During the day we passed several trains, destined for Oregon, Salt
Lake, or California. In the Oregon trains we observed many cows
yoked in teams, besides numbers of them driven along loose;
milchcows commanding a high price in Oregon.
When the sun had nearly reached the western horizon, we arrived
at our camping ground,—a small clump of trees on the Great
Papilion,—a spot generally selected by the emigrants, at the end of
the first day’s travel, west of the Bluffs. The animals in our train,
consisting of a horse, a pony, belonging to our Pawnee friend, and
two mules, were first driven to the water, of which they stood in great
need. The horse was then hobbled, i.e., a rope tied around both
forelegs, so short, as merely to enable it to get along slowly to graze,
and to hinder it from straying too far away. The pony and the two
mules were secured by means of a rope about 30 feet long, tied
around the neck of each, and dragging behind them, so as to
facilitate the catching of them again on the following morning. We
then pitched our tent for the night, and having built a fire, proceeded
to prepare some coffee, which was peculiarly acceptable after a
fatiguing day’s travel. Our store of provisions consisted of about a
bushel of ship crackers, a boilt ham, and some molasses in an India
rubber flask, all of which were provided by our kind friend, Mr.
McKinney. We had hardly camped before the trains commenced
pouring in for the night, and even late in the night they continued to