A Message for the 4th of July, 2008

Literacy in the Struggle for Independence and Freedom in the United States

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

Adult literacy education has been a mainstay in the struggle for
independence and freedom in the United States since the Revolutionary War
when General George Washington was Commander in Chief. The historian Harry
Emerson Wildes, in his 1938 book entitled Valley Forge, reported that 
following the drastic winter at Valley Forge, when spring arrived, the
health of men improved to the point that a hospital was turned into a camp
school.  In this school, illiterate troops were taught the basics of
reading, writing, and arithmetic. The school continued to operate until the
end of the Valley Forge encampment.

Right from the outset then, our nation has seen the value of a literate
citizenry in the gaining of our independence from foreign domination. But 
our nation's battles for freedom did not end with the end of the
Revolutionary War, and neither did the need for teachers who could help our
illiterate military personnel learn to read and write.

Susie King  Taylor, who was born a slave, learned to read and write even
though it was against the law. During the battles for the emancipation of
slaves of the Civil War, Taylor volunteered to work in the 33rd  U. S.
Colored Troops regiment and she reported that  "I taught a great many of
the comrades in Company E to read and write when they were off duty, nearly
all were anxious to learn
. I gave my services willingly for four years and
three months without receiving a dollar."  Following the Civil War, Taylor
went on to open her own school for teaching both African American children
and adults to read and write.

 In 1917 the United States joined with the allies of World War I in the
struggle to maintain independence and freedom for millions of people. Once
again, the armed services found it necessary to draw upon the services of
many illiterate men, and additionally, tens of thousands of non-English
speaking adults were called upon to wage this "war to end all wars."  The
New York Times of November 21, 1920 described the efforts to teach these
non-English speaking personnel as a part of the "Americanization" movement
of the times. One former Serbian soldier told of his inability to speak
English and his desire to become a citizen. The Army provided him with
English language and literacy training. Later he told the NY Times
reporter, "When I have served my time with the Army, I get my citizen
papers and stand by the Red, White and Blue as long as I live."

During World War II the Army operated numerous Special Training Units to
teach low literate and poorly English speaking recruits to speak, read, and
write. One technique used to teach literacy was a monthly newspaper called
Our War. Writing in the July 1943 issue of "Our War", Private Porfirio C.
Gutierrez wrote: "This is my first letter in English. I have learned to
read and write so that I can help protect our country."

A mother of a soldier wrote: "dear sir: I thank you all for Learning My
child to read and wright I don’t Know how to thank you all Because My child
did not know nothing it is realy high apprishated Because I did not have the
time to send him to school I did not have no husband I raised him from a
Baby By my self and now I am in my old stage and that is all my help and I
thank you and I thank you when you wrote me and siad My Boy did that I was
so glad I did not Know what to do and I realy appreshated it. Very truly
Yours, M___ W___" [original spellings and grammar]

The teachers working in the Special Training Units gave "esprit de corps "
and hope to hundreds of thousands of men and their families through the
power of the English language and literacy. Clearly, it takes more than
guns, bullets and bombs to  preserve our nation's independence and freedom.

This July 4th,  let’s make a special effort to remember the hundreds of
thousands of men who fought to win and to keep our independence and freedom
 despite their serious language and literacy handicaps. Their strength of
character, focus of purpose, and, yes, their new found literacy contributed
immeasurably to making our nation the great bastion of freedom that attracts
millions to our homeland each year.

Have a happy Independence Day! Enjoy your freedom! And thank a teacher for
it!

Thomas G . Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net