Texas Almanac, 1947-1948 Page: 368
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TEXAS ALMANAC -1947-1948
fund Still nothing was effected and a few
private schools served the educational needs
of Texas at the time of the Revol'ution
The Texas Declaration of Independence de-
clared that Mexico had "failed to establish
any public system of education." and the
Constitution of the Republic of Texas con-
tained provisions for such a system
"Father of Texas Education."
Several schools were incorporated by Con-
gress during the Houston administration and
in one or two instances land grants were
made, but it remained for President Mirabeau
B. Lamar to take the first direct action
looking to the establishment of public schools
In his message to the Texas Congress, 1838,
he strongly urged the setting aside of large
portions of the public domain to be used for
the development of a public school system
and a university. In compliance with this sug-
gestion. Congress in 1839 appropriated from
the public domain three leagues of land to
each county to be used in establishing public
schools, and, in addition, set aside fifty
leagues for a university The following year,
an additional league was added to each
county's allotment President Lamar has come
to be known as the "Father of Education In
Texas." (See p 103 )
The Constitution of 1845, upon annexation
of Texas to the union, provided for the estab-
lishment of free schools and further instruct-
ed that It should be the duty of the Legisla-
ture to set apart not less than one tenth of
the annual revenue of the state derivable
from taxation as a perpetual fund for the sup-
port of free schools.
Pease Lays Foundation.
Notwithstanding Texas had existed under
three national and two state Constitutions
from 1824 to 1854, all of which provided for
systems of public instruction, it may be said
that the actual foundation of the present pub-
lic school system was not laid until the latter
year. Gov. E M. Pease, with President Lamar
the most ardent pioneer supporter of public
edub ucation, succeeded in having $2,000,000 of
the $10,000.000 received by Texas for sale of
lands to the United States set aside as a
school fund. (See p. 106.) It was In this year,
too, that in making grants of land for the
encouragement of railroad construction, it
was further provided that in surveying their
grants the railroads should survey alternate
sections which were allotted to the public
schools. From this date there was rapid ex-
tension of the public school system of Texas.
The Constitution of 1866 incorporated most
of the features of the Constitution of 1845,
and in addition made provision for education
of Negroes through taxation of Negro prop-
erty. This Constitution became ineffective a
short time after its adoption when the state
was placed under military rule The Consti-
tution of 1869 did away with separation of
taxation for white and colored population,
but reaffirmed the provisions for the fund
for public education, and provided that the
Legislature should set aside one fourth of the
general revenue for public schools, assessed
a poll tax of one dollar and further provided
that all money coming from the sale of pub-
lic domain should be made a part of the
public school fund
Public Domain Given Schools.
The Constitution of 1876, present Constitu-
tion, provided that "all funds, lands and
other property heretofore set apart and ap-propriated for the support of public schools.
all the alternate sections of land reserved by
the state of grants heretofore made or that
may hereafter be made to railroads, or other
corporations, of any nature whatsoever, one
half of the public domain of the state, and
all sums of money that may come to the state
from the sale of any portion of the same shall
constitute a perpetual public school fund "
The chief new feature was the setting aside
of one half of the remaining public domain
for public schools. About 52,000,000 acres of
the Texas public domain, first and last, were
allotted for school purposes.
The Constitution also provided for one
fourth of occupation taxes and a poll tax of
one dollar for school support, and made pro-
visions for local taxation. At first no provi-
sion was made for direct ad valorem taxation
for maintenance of an available school fund
but a maximum 20c state ad valorem school
tax was adopted in 1883, and raised to 35c in
connection with provision of free textbooks in
the amendment of 1918.
Since that date the state support of public
education in Texas has been greatly increased
by the addition of portions of the revenues
from gross receipts, gasoline, cigarette and
miscellaneous occupation taxes.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Higher education in Texas is predominantly
the function of the state as measured in num-
ber of ranking institutions, enrollment and
investment in plant and equipment. How-
ever, Texas has a larger community of pri-
vate and church schools than most of the
Western states.
Largest of the institutions in the state's
higher educational system is the University
of Texas, Austin, with an attendance in 1946-
47 of about 17,000. It has one of the larger
plants among the educational institutions of
the country and also possesses one oef the
largest endowments. (See statement on its
permanent fund, p. 371.) Co-ordinate with it
in the state's higher educational system, but
with smaller attendance, are the Agricultural
and Mechanical College of Texas, College
Station, a land grant college, which furnished
for the United States Army in the Second
World War more officers than came from any
other institution in the country; Texas Tech-
nological College, Lubbock, and the Texas
State College for Women, Denton.
The state's higher educational institution
for Negroes is the Prairie View University,
Prairie View. The issue of whether Texas
Negroes, under the system of race segrega-
tion in educational institutions, were receiv-
ing their just share of financial support was
before the people during 1945 and 1946, re-
sulting in steps to raise the academic stand-
ing of the institution at Prairie View and
establish professional colleges for Negroes.
There are eight state-supported senior col-
leges which were established originally as
teachers colleges, most of which still carry
the title, though they now serve as general-
purpose state colleges in addition to training
for the teaching profession. They are the
West Texas State College, Canyon; North
Texas State College, Denton, East Texas
State Teachers College, Commerce; Stephen
F. Austin State Teachers College, Nacog-
doches, Sam Houston State Teachers College,
Huntsville, Southwest Texas State Teachers
College, San Marcos, Sul Ross State Teachers
College, Alpine. and the Texas College of
Arts and Industries, Kingsville, which was"RED-FOX" CULLUM & BOREN CO.
FOBASOTBALL ANDFMS SPORTING GOODS
BASEBALL UNIFORMS 1509-11 ELM ST., DALLAS
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Texas Almanac, 1947-1948, book, 1947; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117136/m1/370/?q=%22oil-gas%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.