ican system? There are four fundamental American doctrines that
both experience and philosophy attest as being right: (I) The right of
education is a human right. (II) That the schools furnished by the
state should be open to all of the children of the state. (III) The
safety of the state depends upon the intelligence of our citizens of
that state. (IV) As a matter of self-defense the state should compel
all of its citizens to become intelligent. These doctrines have their
root in the great truth that every individual is a member of society
and that therefore society has an interest in him, in his capacity, in
his intelligence, in his worth, and in turn is injured by his
incapacity, his lack of worth, his ignorance. The great war-cry of
American leadership is "Educate, educate, educate;" yea, more,
"Educate your masters." No man lives unto himself. God has made every
man dependent, associative and co-operative, and hence the good of
every individual is found in the common good of society and the
common good of society is found in the good of the individual. Every
man who is not at his best or not doing his best is to that extent a
failure and a hurt to the common good.

To me it is perfectly clear that if the Negro is to be in this country
and not of it then his education should be different from that given
to the whites. But if he is to be in the country and of the country it
follows without argument that he must be educated in common with all
of the people of the country so that the nation may have a common
ideal and a common consciousness so that our whole society may have or
feel a common interest in our common country. To be more explicit,
whether or not the Negro should be given the same kind of education
the whites are given depends upon whether or not the whites have the
proper kind of education. I should rather contend that if the whites
have the proper kind of education for mankind, then that given to the
Negro should be exactly like it. If the whites have not the proper
kind of education for mankind, then it follows that the Negro should
be given a different kind, for whether or not one man should have the
same thing as another depends upon whether or not that thing is fit
for mankind in general. This would naturally force upon us the inquiry
as to what kind of education the whites receive. If upon proper
inquiry we find that theirs is the proper kind for man, in this same
finding we should discover that this