1950s Education

Education was a point of controversy during 1950s America, just as much if not more so than it is today. The primary issue within the field of education in the United States, and South Carolina in particular was the racial segregation of schools, and efforts towards integration. The state constitution that South Carolina adopted in 1895 required racial segregation in public schools, and the U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson reinforced that mandate declaring school segregation constitutional. [31] The court’s point of view was that racial segregation fit in with American ideals as long as everyone had access to the same resources. This racist policy often referred to as “separate but equal,” protected state’s right to uphold segregation for decades. Thus, it should be no surprise that in the decades leading up to the Korean War the state of education in South Carolina was appalling. The quality of education that most students were receiving was mediocre at best, and circumstances were even worse for students of ‘negro’ schools in the state. South Carolina’s policy of enforcing segregation in schools always ensured white students were separated from black students, yet the state neglected to keep schools equal. In the late 1940s South Carolina spent $221 per white student compared to just $45 per black student in its schools. [11a] Contemporary reports account that some black students were forced to walk ten miles or more to reach their school each day. [11a] However, times were changing in the United States in, for on July 26, 1948 U.S. President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed forces. The order proclaimed that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” What was happening in the U.S. military mirrored what began to happen on the Homefront during the Korean War. A demand for equity and equality gripped American society, and soon schools became the battlefield for racial equality in the United States.