Floating Freedom School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Floating Freedom School |
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| Coordinates | 38°37′17″N 90°10′43″W / 38.62139°N 90.17861°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1847 |
| Closed | After 1860 |
The Floating Freedom School was a special school for African Americans, both free and enslaved. It was located on a steamboat right on the Mississippi River. This unique school was started in 1847 by a Baptist minister named John Berry Meachum. After Meachum passed away in 1854, one of his former students, Reverend John R. Anderson, took over. The school continued to operate until sometime after 1860.
A School on the River
In 1847, John Berry Meachum had to close his school in St. Louis. This school was in the basement of a church. Earlier that year, the state of Missouri passed a new law. This law made it against the law to teach "negroes or mulattoes" how to read or write. Meachum and one of his teachers were even arrested by the sheriff and threatened.
To get around this unfair new law, Reverend Meachum came up with a clever idea. He bought a steamboat! He then anchored this boat in the middle of the Mississippi River. This was important because the middle of the river was under the control of the United States federal government, not the state of Missouri.
Learning on the Water
This new floating school was called the "Freedom School." It was set up just like a regular classroom. It had desks, chairs, and even a library. Students would travel from St. Louis to the Freedom School in small boats called skiffs. Teachers from the eastern parts of the country also came to help teach at this special school.
Hundreds of Black children got their education at the Freedom School during the 1840s and 1850s. If families could afford it, they paid one dollar each month for their child to attend.
Important Students
Many students who attended the Freedom School went on to do great things. One early student was James Milton Turner. After the Civil War, he helped start 30 new schools for African Americans in Missouri.
Another important student was John R. Anderson. He learned a lot about reading and religion at the school. Reverend Anderson later took over running the school after Meachum died in 1854. The number of students attending the school started to go down just before the Civil War. In 1860, about 155 Black children were enrolled.
