A crisis of opportunity: the example of New Orleans and public education in antebellum Louisiana

Identifier

etd-04112005-131603

Author

Sarah Elisabeth Lipscomb, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical CollegeFollow

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the development of public education in antebellum Louisiana. Using primarily public records, I found that despite the successful system instituted in New Orleans in the early 1840s, the rest of Louisiana faltered in its attempts to establish free public schools. Notwithstanding the requirement contained in the 1845 Constitution that each parish must organize public schools, the lack of guidance, supervision, and funding from the state legislature all coalesced to condemn public education in most of the rest of the state. As public schools in New Orleans thrived throughout the decades leading up to the Civil War, the city’s school system would stand in stark contrast to public schools in the rest of the state that proved unable to overcome the obstacles encountered.

Date

2005

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Recommended Citation

Lipscomb, Sarah Elisabeth, "A crisis of opportunity: the example of New Orleans and public education in antebellum Louisiana" (2005). LSU Master's Theses. 1043.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1043

Committee Chair

William J. Cooper, Jr.

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1043