who created the south's first public school systems
Republican governments
title: History of South Carolina text: began when Confederate forces attacked the American fort at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. From 1865 to 1877, South Carolina underwent Reconstruction. Congress shut down the civilian government in 1867, put the army in charge, gave Freedmen (freed slaves) the vote and prevented ex-Confederates from holding office. A Republican legislature supported by Freedmen, northern Carpetbaggers and white Southern Scalawags created and funded a public school system, and created social welfare institutions. The constitution they passed was kept nearly unaltered for 27 years, and most legislation passed during the Reconstruction years lasted longer than that. By 1877, the white conservatives, called title: African-American history text: Union. From 1865 to 1877, under protection of Union troops, some strides were made toward equal rights for African-Americans. Southern black men began to vote and were elected to the United States Congress and to local offices such as sheriff. The safety provided by the troops did not last long, and white southerners frequently terrorized black voters. Coalitions of white and black Republicans passed bills to establish the first public school systems in most states of the South, although sufficient funding was hard to find. Blacks established their own churches, towns and businesses. Tens of thousands migrated to Mississippi for title: Black school text: School in Washington, D.C.; Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina; Howard Academy in Ocala, Florida; and the Paul Laurence Dunbar Junior and Senior High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Few African Americans in the South received any education at all until after the Civil War. Slaves had been prohibited from being educated, and there were generally no public school system for white children, either. The planter elite paid for private education for its own children. Legislatures of Republican freedmen and whites established public schools for the first time during Reconstruction. Integrated public schools meant local white teachers in charge, title: History of education in the United States text: help the freedmen. As a group, only the black cohort showed a commitment to racial equality; they were also the ones most likely to continue as teachers. When the Republicans came to power in the Southern states after 1867, they created the first system of taxpayer-funded public schools. Southern Blacks wanted public schools for their children but they did not demand racially integrated schools. Almost all the new public schools were segregated, apart from a few in New Orleans. After the Republicans lost power in the mid-1870s, conservative whites retained the public school systems but sharply cut their funding. Almost title: History of education in the United States text: U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Pierce v. Society of Sisters" that students could attend private schools to comply with state compulsory education laws, thus giving parochial schools an official blessing. In the early days of the Reconstruction era, the Freedmen's Bureau opened 1000 schools across the South for black children. This was essentially building on schools that had been established in numerous large contraband camps. Freedmen were eager for schooling for both adults and children, and the enrollments were high and enthusiastic. Overall, the Bureau spent $5 million to set up schools for blacks. By the end of 1865, more