Hoffschwelle tells the story of a remarkable partnership to build model schools for black children during the Jim Crow era in the South. The Rosenwald program, which erected more than 5,300 schools and auxiliary buildings between 1912 and 1932, began with Booker T. Washington, then principal of Tuskegee Institute, who turned for financing to Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck & Company. By requiring communities to raise matching funds, the two men inspired a grassroots movement that built schools in 15 southern states. The Rosenwald schools, scores of which still stand, exemplified...

In studying the reform programs of the Progressive Era, historians have often dealt with them in a strictly urban context as responses to problems attending industrialization and immigration. Yet many reformers in those first three decades of the twentieth century concerned themselves with rural problems, for they believed that the decline of America's social, economic, and political values could be traced to the degeneration of the agricultural communities that had been the country's foundation.
In this book, Mary Hoffschwelle shines a much-needed light on the efforts of rural reformers....

A fascinating story. Virginia Magazine

The detail of the discussion, the reliance on considerable primary evidence, and the overall contribution of the understanding of the development of southern education make this a valuable addition to the historical literature on the South Highly recommended. Choice

The first comprehensive picture of the evolution of the program from its origins at Tuskegee Institute in the 1910s until its termination in 1932. . . . Hoffschwelle assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the program and its larger...