BATEMAN FOUGHT FOR EQUALITY IN ILLINOIS EDUCATION IN 1800s

Friend of Lincoln; Called “The Most Influential Proponent of Black Education in the Midwest

By Tom Emery

Newton Bateman

His short stature belied a ferocious determination.

Over 125 years after his death, Newton Bateman is one of the unsung heroes in the fight for equal education in Illinois. Bateman, a longtime state Superintendent of Public Education, fought strenuously for the right to educate all Illinoisans, regardless of color.

Bateman is labeled by one source as “probably the most influential proponent of black education in the Midwest” following the Civil War.

Born in New Jersey on July 27, 1822, Bateman worked his way through college, overcoming an impoverished background. He became one of Abraham Lincoln’s closest associates in the pre-Presidential years.

Lincoln affectionately referred to the diminutive Bateman as “my little friend” and “the big schoolmaster.” Bateman was a pallbearer at Lincoln’s Springfield funeral and part of the Lincoln Monument Association, a fifteen-man group formed to create a suitable tomb and memorial for the fallen President.

Bateman burst into statewide prominence in the years just before the Civil War, serving as state Superintendent of Public Education from 1859-63 and again from 1865-75.

In addition, Bateman served on the state Board of Education, which oversaw Illinois State University in its earliest years, from 1859-75.

During his terms as Superintendent, Bateman created seven volumes of biennial reports, some of which were reprinted in five different European languages, as well as a volume called Common School Decisions, which was “recognized by the courts and is still regarded as authoritative on the subjects to which it relates.”

In addition, Bateman edited The Illinois Teacher and served on a committee to draft a bill that Congress later adopted to establish the National Bureau of Education.

But Bateman is best remembered for his unyielding support of educational access for African-Americans.

In 1871, Bateman joined Enoch Gastman, the first student in Illinois State University history and a longtime Decatur educator, in creating a recommendation for the university that was well ahead of its time.

The recommendation cited “the equal rights of all the youth to participate in the benefits of our system of public education” and stressed that “neither the Board [of Education] nor the faculty of the university has any right to recognize distinctions of race or color in determining who shall or shall not be admitted” to the university.  The words became a guiding principle of Illinois State admissions for the next century.

As Superintendent, Bateman worked fervently on behalf of an 1874 act requiring public schools to provide free education to black students. The act was approved on March 24, 1874 and is considered a landmark in the struggle for free education for all Illinoisans.

Today, the original bill is part of an online exhibit, “100 Most Valuable Documents at the Illinois State Archives,” offered by the Illinois Secretary of State.

After leaving the Superintendent’s office, Bateman served as President of Knox College in Galesburg from 1875-93. In later years, Bateman co-authored The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, a sprawling two-volume work that remains a standard in Illinois historical research. 

Bateman died at age 75 on Oct. 21, 1897. A Chicago elementary school, opened in 1921, is named in his honor.

Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.

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