Paul,
True enough . . . higher education has been, and is now, and
probably will continue to be . . . disproportionately, the baliwick
of "elites."
But there's a great distinction to be drawn between the "planter
class" and other "elites" in the old South. The sons of lawyers,
doctors, mill owners and merchants, well-to-do farmers, and state
and country functionaries can hardly be described as members of "the
planter class" . . . or has the definition changed?
In my youth "the planter class" meant "plantation
owners" . . . . . . who wouldn't be caught dead in the field . . .
who worked their land using "large" numbers (more than 10 or
twenty?) of slaves.
Relatively few of the disproportionately well-to-do fell into the
"planter" class . . . or no?
Dan
On Dec 15, 2007, at 7:48 AM, Paul Finkelman wrote:
> Randy, since the Newberry has a seminar in family history (and brings
> scholars from all over the nation and the world there) and has a great
> collection for such material, it would surely be a good place to do
> this
> kind of research. But instead of taking shots an at institution that
> you have never been to (and apparently know little about) maybe
> someone
> who is serious about these issues should do some research. It would be
> reasonably simple to take the entering class (or better the graduating
> class) of a few southern colleges and universities, for a few
> years, and
> see what the social class was of those who graduated. Mostly they
> would
> have been members of the elite; the children of the wealthy. That was
> always been true in the United States, north and south, at least until
> WWII. The planter class probably exaggerates the issue; since we know
> that sons of ministers, etc. went to college sometime. But we also
> know
> most people could not afford to take the time and spend the money on
> college.
>
> Paul Finkelman
> President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
> and Public Policy
> Albany Law School
> 80 New Scotland Avenue
> Albany, New York 12208-3494
>
> 518-445-3386
> [log in to unmask]
>>>> Randy Cabell <[log in to unmask]> 12/15/07 7:13 AM >>>
> My Great Grandfather, Hugh Holmes McGuire was the son of Dr.
> McGuire and
> Ann
> Eliz Moss McGuire and grew up in Winchester. He attended Washington
> University (later W&L) though he did not graduate.
>
> Sewanne was established in Sewanee, TN to educate ministers.
>
> I don't think Edgar Allen Poe, who attended the University of
> Virginia,
> was
> from the Planter Class, unless you expand the definition of "Planter
> Class"
> to ALL white folks who were not sharecroppers and/or chopped cotton.
>
> It appears to me that the statement about the colleges being
> exclusively
> for
> the Plantation Class must come from the same ilk at those lordly New
> Englanders who claim they have the first Thanksgiving.
>
> To resolve this, I suggest you call upon the panel of good folks at
> Newberry
> since that group seems to be regarded as a (the?) voice of
> authority on
> such
> matters. :)))))))
>
> Randy Cabell
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Anne Pemberton" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 9:13 PM
> Subject: [VA-HIST] Southern Colleges
>
>
>> In a discussion about "The Education of Henry Adams", someone
>> remarked
>
>> that the colleges in the south were exclusively for the plantation
> class.
>> Can someone provide examples of southern non-planter sons who
>> attended
>
>> college prior to the Civil War?
>>
>> Thanks a bunch!
>>
>> Anne
>>
>> Anne Pemberton
>> [log in to unmask]
>> http://www.erols.com/apembert
>> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
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