General Education Board
Encyclopedia
The General Education Board was a philanthropy created by John D. Rockefeller
and Frederick T. Gates in 1902. Rockefeller gave it $180 million, which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South
, as well as modernize farming practices in the South. It helped eradicate hookworm
and created the county agent system in American agriculture, linking research as state agricultural experiment stations with actual practices in the field. Its head Frederick Gates envisioned "The Country School of To-Morrow," wherein "young and old will be taught in practicable ways how to make rural life beautiful, intelligent, fruitful, recreative, healthful, and joyous."
By 1934 the Board was making grants of $5.5 million a year. It spent nearly all its money by 1950 and closed in 1964.
It had four main programs:
At first, $50,000,000 was given. Rockefeller gave it $180 million, which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States
and to improve farming practices in the South. It helped eradicate hookworm
and created the county agent system in American agriculture, linking research at state agricultural experiment stations with actual practices in the field. By 1934 it was making grants of $5.5 million a year. It spent nearly all its money by 1950 and ceased operating as a separate entity in 1960, when its Programs were subsumed into the Rockefeller Foundation
.
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and Frederick T. Gates in 1902. Rockefeller gave it $180 million, which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South
South
South is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.South is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the bottom side of a map is south....
, as well as modernize farming practices in the South. It helped eradicate hookworm
Hookworm
The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. A. duodenale predominates in the Middle East, North Africa, India...
and created the county agent system in American agriculture, linking research as state agricultural experiment stations with actual practices in the field. Its head Frederick Gates envisioned "The Country School of To-Morrow," wherein "young and old will be taught in practicable ways how to make rural life beautiful, intelligent, fruitful, recreative, healthful, and joyous."
By 1934 the Board was making grants of $5.5 million a year. It spent nearly all its money by 1950 and closed in 1964.
It had four main programs:
- 1. The promotion of practical farming in the Southern States. Through the Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of AgricultureThe United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
the board had made appropriations amounting in 1912-1913 to $659,700 for the purpose of promoting agriculture by the establishment of demonstration farms under the direction of Dr. Seaman A. Knapp. About 236 men were employed in supervising such farms.
- 2. The establishment of public high schools in the Southern States. For this purpose the board expropriated to the State universities in the South sums to pay for the salaries of high-school representatives to travel throughout their States and stimulate public sentiment in favor of high schools. As a result of this work, 912 high schools had been established in 11 Southern States by 1914.
- 3. The promotion of institutions of higher learning. By 1914 the board had made conditional appropriations to the amount of $8,817,500, gifts towards an approximate total of $41,020,500.
- 4. Schools for NegroNegroThe word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
es. By 1914, the board had made contributions, amounting to $620,105, to schools for Negroes, mainly those for the training of teachers. Mrs. Anna T. JeansAnna T. JeanesAnna T. Jeanes was an American philanthropist. She was born in Philadelphia, the city where she gave Spring Garden Institute, a technical school, $200,000; $100,000 to the Hicksite Friends; $200,000 to the Quaker schools of Philadelphia; and $200,000 to the Home for Aged Friends, now known as...
had contributed $1,000,000 for that purpose.
At first, $50,000,000 was given. Rockefeller gave it $180 million, which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and to improve farming practices in the South. It helped eradicate hookworm
Hookworm
The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. A. duodenale predominates in the Middle East, North Africa, India...
and created the county agent system in American agriculture, linking research at state agricultural experiment stations with actual practices in the field. By 1934 it was making grants of $5.5 million a year. It spent nearly all its money by 1950 and ceased operating as a separate entity in 1960, when its Programs were subsumed into the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
.
Further reading
- Fosdick, Raymond Blaine, Adventures in Giving: The Story of the General Education Board, (1962).
- Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family, (1988).
- General Education Board, The General Education Board: An Account of Its Activities, 1902-1914. ((1915))
See also
- Rockefeller familyRockefeller familyThe Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
- Rockefeller FoundationRockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
- John D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
- John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John D. Rockefeller, Jr.John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
External links
- Activities in Tennessee http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:sBDw9rLuAtAJ:tennesseeencyclopedia.net/imagegallery.php%3FEntryID%3DG007+%22General+Education+Board%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8
- Activities in 1939 1939: General Education Board - Archive Article - MSN Encarta (Archived 2009-10-31)
- General Education Board Archives http://www.rockarch.org/collections/rockorgs/geb.php
- http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/school-mission.htm