Description
Before the Civil War, Virginiadid not have a comprehensivepublicschool system. Lawmakers passed various measures to fund public schools, but these were directed primarily towardschools for a small segment of the population, the children of indigent white families.Theseschoolswere knownas “free schools” or “charity schools,” and only the very poor attended.African Americans, free and enslaved, were excluded from these schools because it was illegal to teach them.With the end of the Civil War and ratification of a new state constitution in 1870, lawmakers established Virginia’s first public school system for all children, in order to “prevent children growing up in ignorance, or becoming vagrants.” As local officials complied with the new state law, theyset about drawing school districts segregated by race. Citation: Jefferson Township School Census and Map, 1870. Alexandria County (Va.) Superintendent of Schools Records, 1851-1920 (bulk 1870-1884), Local Government Records Collection, Alexandria County/Arlington (Va.) Court Records. Library of Virginia.
