Masters Theses

C. W. Guthrie

Date of Award

12-1984

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

History

Major Professor

Susan Becker

Committee Members

Clinton Allison, Paul Bergeron, Charles Jackson

Abstract

During the early twentieth century one of the goals of Southern educational leaders was the establishment of industrial education which would train the poor and unskilled to make a contribution to the growth of the New South. Martha Berry, although not directly involved with the Southern Education Movement, established such a school. Believing that education was the opportunity that poor Appalachian youths lacked, Martha Berry opened, in 1902, the Boys' Industrial School at Rome, Georgia. Its goal would be to provide a low-cost practical education that would prepare its students to make a useful contribution to society.

Specifically, the boys received training in mechanical areas, such as carpentry and masonry, and agricultural areas, such as horticulture and animal husbandry. Furthermore, to supplement the student's education and provide for the school's self-sufficiency, each student was required to work in all phases of the school's operation. Women were accepted in 1910, and their training was also practical. Being prepared to become homemakers, female students were taught domestic skills such as cooking, sewing and interior decorating. Since most of the girls were from farms, they also were trained to garden and care for farm animals. They, like the men, were required to work.

During Martha Berry's life, the school prospered and her fame grew as a result of many public speaking engagements to raise money. The school's success was directly linked to Martha Berry's leadership. Her values and ideas shaped its direction and her hard work and perseverance made it successful. Even challenges to her philosophy, such as the 1933 student strike, failed because of the forceful nature of her personality and will. Therefore, when she died in 1942, the school was unable to maintain her vision.

This, however, should not reduce the significance of her work. Her school served as a model for those who advocated industrial education. Furthermore, Martha Berry was a reformer whose beliefs and works were very much a part of the Progressive movement. For these reasons alone her work should not be forgotten.

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