Spencer, J. C.; et al. Choctaw Academy (Doc. No. 231) Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting The information called for on the 14th February last, in relation to the Choctaw Academy for the education of Indian youths, established at the Great Crossings, in Kentucky. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1842. [11658]
Removed, 8 3/4 x 5 5/8 inches, 37 clean pp. The pages include 12 large folding charts. Good. Pamphlet.
27th Congress, Second Session, House of Representatives, War Department.
In incredibly detailed account, communicating to the US House of Representatives, "the authority upon which the Choctaw academy for the education of Indian youths was established, has been and is now continued, at the 'Great Crossings,' in the State of Kentucky; how long the school has been in operation, the number of Indian youths educated there, and the tribes to which they respectively belonged; what number has been there in each and every year since the commencement of the school; how many are there at this time; and the amount of money which has been annually expended and charged to the United States in the support, maintenance, and education of the said Indians, from the establishment of the said school to the present time, properly arranged under the different heads of expenditure; [and] to what persons and out of what fund the same has been paid."
The Choctaw Academy was established in 1825 as a replacement for missionary schools within Choctaw territory. It was the first federally controlled boarding school of Native Americans in United States history. Although not affiliated with any particular church, the land was the location of a previous missionary school, and the first and longest-serving superintendent was a Baptist minister. By 1833 many of the Choctaws had been removed to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and in 1840 an inspection of the school revealed poor living conditions, inadequate food and clothing, and forced manual labor. The next year the War Department took over the school and this 1842 report contains a very detailed accounting for expenses for each tribe assembled by year, beginning in 1825, when the school was established by treaty. These are followed by the on-site report for 1842. As more and more tribes were forced West, the number of school boys dwindled; the Academy closed in 1848.
The land belonged to Richard Mentor Johnson, a state legislator and member of the US House of Representatives. In the War of 1812 he was commissioned colonel of Kentucky volunteer cavalry, and was reputedly the killer of the Indian chief Tecumseh in the Battle of Thames. He later became a US Senator and the Vice President of the United States under Martin Van Buren.
