The Methodist Church And The Education Of African-american During The Reconstruction

Since the first batch of puritans set foot on North America in the17thcentury, this landmingled with Protestantism, hereafter, the American social life has inseparable relationshipwith it. Originally for the transmission of Protestantism, the protestant denominations alwaysmake contributions to education of American from the colonial period to the aftermath of civilwar. Including Wesley church named the Methodist Church complied with the intention of thefounder from the beginning of founding, care for disadvantaged groups, through the educationof the public to sow the good seed; objectively it had a positive impact on the education ofunwashed people.Begin from1619when the first group of slaves entered the Jamestown until1863whenthe Emancipation Proclamation put into force. In the two hundred years, they sufferedphysical and mental torture, had the pathetic destiny. Before the Civil War, the majority ofthem lived in the south as slaves because of the lacking of knowledge; they became the mostprominent ethnic group of the disadvantaged groups. Although a handful of people have theability to read and write by other illegal means, it’s just one in a million.In1863, the African-American burst their bond, unload the slavery. In the face ofhistorical opportunity, the Methodist Church realized that lacking of knowledge lead theAfrican-American to lose the basis of progress, nothing but strived for more chances toreceive education to stand their feet and be independent, so that they could change the status.The Methodist Church can make more contribution to the education of African-American inthe reconstruction period, so they were explored actively in practice on the basis of bold ideas.Spend a lot of effort to establish a large number of schools, include institutions of highereducation, vocational schools, primary and secondary schools; meanwhile, actively help theAfrican-American to set up the concept of freemen, lay the intellectual foundation for greaterrights. The education of African-American in this period made a certain level of achievement,it’s not only good for their self-development, but also laid the foundation of the overallbalanced development of American society.