Defense Schools

In your historical or genealogical research during the 1930s or 1940s, have you ever heard of ‘Defense Schools’? I was aware of WPA (Works Progress Administration) and CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) programs, but I had not heard of ‘defense schools’. While researching a World War II Purple Heart recipient, I came across a local newspaper acticle discussing the Sabetha, Kansas, defense school in 1941.

Since the article indicated that this was a federally funded program, I tried to learn more. However a Google search was not of much help, so I tried the free AI tool, Perplexity.

Perplexity Prompt: What can you tell me about the federal program from the 1930s and 1940s to establish defense schools?

Answer

During the 1930s and early 1940s, there was no specific federal program dedicated to establishing “defense schools” in the United States. However, there were some educational initiatives and programs that had connections to national defense during this period:

1. The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958, while outside the timeframe you mentioned, was a significant federal initiative that came later in response to the launch of Sputnik. It provided funding for math, science, and foreign language education to improve national defense capabilities[3].

2. In the early 1940s, amendments to the Lanham Act of 1940 provided temporary “impact aid” to school districts that hosted federal defense facilities. This was a federal subsidy program to support education in areas affected by defense-related activities[2].

3. During the late 1930s and early 1940s, there was a shift in focus towards defense-oriented training in some existing programs. For example:

   – The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), while not primarily an educational program, began incorporating defense-oriented training for its participants. With the passage of the National Defense Vocational Training Act of 1941, CCC enrollees started participating in defense-oriented training[4].

   – By 1940, an increasing number of CCC projects were directed towards developing infrastructure for military training facilities and forest protection[4].

4. The federal government did provide some limited support for higher education during this period, particularly in areas related to national defense. For instance, in the late 1940s, lawmakers supported research grants and graduate student fellowships to study science and medicine[3].

It’s important to note that during the 1930s and early 1940s, education was still primarily the responsibility of state and local governments. The federal government’s role in education was limited, and there was no comprehensive federal program specifically for establishing defense schools. The more significant federal involvement in education, particularly related to national defense, came later in the 1950s with programs like the National Defense Education Act[1][3].

Citations:

[1] https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-and-education-magazines/education-1929-1941

[2] https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/education/timeline-growth

[3] https://www.aaup.org/article/american-higher-education%E2%80%99s-past-was-gilded-not-golden

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps

[5] https://livingnewdeal.org/history-of-the-new-deal/programs/

Dissatisfied with Perplexity’s answer, I did a search on Newspapers.com for ‘Defense School’ and found a wealth of articles from across the country.

Having established that the term ‘defense school’ was widely used in 1941, and that the federal government supported these schools, I returned to Perplexity to see what else I could learn.

Prompt: What federal program paid for the cost of equipment and instructors to operate ‘defense schools’ in 1941.
Answer:
Based on the search results provided, there is no specific mention of a federal program in 1941 that paid for the cost of equipment and instructors to operate ‘defense schools’. However, the search results do provide some relevant context about federal involvement in education during that time period:

1. In 1941, the Lanham Act was passed, which provided federal support to communities affected by military and federal installations[1]. This act eased the burden on these communities by making payments to school districts, though it did not specifically establish ‘defense schools’.
2. The U.S. Office of Education was involved in education-related activities during World War II. In 1941, they published a document titled “Defense Program and School Plants”[3][4]. While this doesn’t directly indicate a program funding defense schools, it suggests the federal government was considering the impact of defense needs on education.
3. The concept of federal involvement in education for defense purposes became more prominent later, particularly after the launch of Sputnik in 1957. This led to the passage of the National Defense Education Act in 1958, which provided federal funding for education, especially in science, mathematics, and foreign languages[5].

It’s important to note that prior to World War II, federal involvement in education was limited. The search results indicate that significant federal education initiatives mostly emerged during and after World War II[1].

If there was a specific program in 1941 funding ‘defense schools’, it’s not mentioned in the provided search results. To find more precise information about such a program, if it existed, would require additional research focusing specifically on education initiatives in 1941 related to national defense.

Citations:
[1] https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schools_at_War
[3] https://www.jstor.org/stable/1168616
[4] https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=22d894c1956672e9e5e1ea05e0db554f62f936ac&repid=rep1&type=pdf
[5] https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Sputnik_Spurs_Passage_of_National_Defense_Education_Act.htm

When I followed the citation link to the JSTOR document, I found the article, “The Lanham Act” by Harry W. Porter which was published in the History of Education Journal in 1951. Since I don’t have access to JSTOR, I can’t read the actual article. However, it likely provides background information on defense schools.

Thanks to the following article published in The Sabetha Herald (Sabetha, Kansas) on 19 Nov 1941, I have learned about the national training program referred to as ‘defense schools’.

Defense School Hums
Boys Learn All About Motor Cars In New Sabetha Course.

Inspired by the talks of M. R Wilson and W. O. Stark at Thursday evening’s Kiwanis club meeting, George Hughes and Bill Tennal took occasion of the opportunity to visit the Sabetha Defense School following the meeting. The school is in session every evening except Saturday and Sunday in the Lonnie Fletchall garage building just north of the Methodist church. Hours are from six to ten o’clock. The class is worth visiting.
The Kiwanians found the small building a beehive of activity. Legs were sticking out from under cars at all angles. Hands and faces were greasy. Boys of the school were going ahead with their work of repairing four or five vehicles. Some of the cars had been torn down completely, to determine not only what made them tick, but also to find breakages and troubles that owners did not know their cars had.
School teacher-mechanic Earl W. Willard of Morrill, who is the instructor of the school, said one of cars had been giving brake trouble that garage mechanics had been unable to cure. Because of the completeness with which the school boys disassembled the car, a defective part was found far from the apparent seat of the trouble, and proper correction was made.
Car owners provide the cars on which the boys work, and pay only for the parts used in making the repairs. Some engines the boys find, need to be rebored. If owners don’t wish to go to that expense, less costly substitutions are made by the school, such as installing oversize pistons. Thus, in the course of the work, the boys learn not only how things should be done, but how different solutions for mechanical troubles can be found.
The students proceed with the work on the cars after having been told what to do. They use their own initiative in going ahead, but Instructor Willard inspects all work before it is okayed. If he finds the work has not been properly done, it must, of course, be corrected.
Each boy keeps a record of just what work he has done. He must make a weekly report on his work. Willard then looks it over to see if proper results have been obtained. Thus he is able to keep an accurate check on the progress of his students.
The federal government pays all expense of the instruction and buys the equipment, but the administrative part of the work is under the city school system, under direct supervision of W O. Stark. Tools bought by the government are used. These include that equipment necessary to make repairs, and determine mechanical deficiencies. There are portable drills and drill presses, wrenches of all kinds, micrometers, etc. Work done covers brake relining, valve grinding, wheel alignment, general overhauling and a certain amount of motor car electrical work, although this phase is suggested as a separate nine weeks’ course.
Mr Willard says boys are able to learn more about automobile mechanics in nine weeks in the school than they could learn in several years of work in a garage. This is because work in a garage keeps an apprentice doing a great deal of unimportant mechanical work but affords no opportunity for him to learn for instance, how to proceed in removing a motor or a crank-shaft or a cylinder head. Mr Willard says one of his students of last year had worked for two years in a garage, but felt he had learned a great deal more about motor mechanics in the short school course than in all of his time in the garage.
Graduates of defense schools are under no obligation to the government, except that they must be willing to accept employment in a National Defense industry if such is offered to them. They are required to enroll with the nearest

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State Employment office. In the mean time, the boys are trained to an extent that they are able to obtain employment in civilian occupations, no doubt in many cases replacing men who are going into defense industry.
Supt. Stark is enthusiastic about the defense school training, and believes it should be made a permanent part of Sabetha’s educational program. It will continue here indefinitely if students are available to feed it. In fact, if enrollment becomes too great for one school at any time, a second-course could be installed here, operating during the afternoon, the evening course following immediately afterward.
Mr. Stark hopes students will be available for a second school immediately upon the completion of the present course. If such students do not appear, it is possible the present group may be offered a different course, perhaps in welding or electricity. Young men interested should get in touch with Mr Stark at once. Anyone who is out of school, and is between the ages of 17 and 24 inclusive is eligible, regardless of his place of residence.
At present Sabetha’s most serious defense school problem is that of housing. The school is very crowded in its present quarters, and the work conflicts somewhat with the regular daytime use of the building. A location which could be devoted exclusively to the school is sorely needed. If such could be made available, it is likely the training could be made so attractive to young men that the program could be made a permanent part of the community’s school program.
The 14 boys who are students in the present defense school are as follows: from Sabetha, Wilbur Kyle, Earl Meyer, Lawrence Miller, Gayle Snyder, Leonard Strahm, Leon White, Donald Williams, James Wilson and Marvin Brunner, from Seneca. Alfred Buser, Donald Elliott and Robert Schmiedeler; from Morrill, Charles Dornes and Payton Arthur Thomas.
A local advisory committee consists of S. B. Cook, Frank Miller, Gale Brownlee, Roy Mishler, Fred Althouse, Adolph Lortscher, Ray Leman and Fritz Herrmann. These men were chosen because of their connection with garages, mechanics and farms of the community.