Timeline

The section starts off with the efforts of Lewis Adams and acquiring the support of the Alabama Senate to fund the creation of a school for blacks in Tuskegee Alabama.1 Following that, Booker T. Washington is selected to become its first President, but he soon learns that the task at hand was very challenging.2 Despite the challenges, the school continue to grow, and in 1896, added another influential member to its team, George Washington Carver. Carver arrived in Tuskegee, seeing the negative effects of the focus on cotton growing, knowing of the threat of the boll weevil in the west, and suggested new crops to replace them.3 Despite a rocky start with the staff at Tuskegee4, his teaching skills were well acknowledged by Booker T. and later Dr. Moton.5 In 1905, 26th President Theodore Roosevelt visits the school, showing amazement in how the school has grown and the potential it has.6 Following the death of Booker T., Dr. Robert R. Moton becomes the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, and works hard to live up to Dr. Washington’s legacy.7 Meanwhile, Carver’s work in both the Soybean and Peanut got him good relationships with both Henry Ford and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who used his research well.8 The last bit will focus on the school acquiring the civilian training program in 1939, and later form the 99th Pursuit Force.9

  1. “History and Mission”  (Website Text), Tuskegee University, accessed April 18, 2025, https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/history-and-mission.  ↩︎
  2. Booker T. Washington and Chuck Daniel. “Up from slavery: The autobiography of Booker T. Washington.” New York, N.Y: CMS Records, 1968. pg. 75 ↩︎
  3. Modern Marvels. Season 11, Episode 7. “George Washington Carver Tech”, directed by Don Cambou, aired February 15, 2005, on The History Channel, accessed April 18th, 2025, https://watch.historyvault.com/shows/modern-marvels/season-11/episode-1/full-episode. ↩︎
  4. Gary R Kremer, and Inc NetLibrary. “George Washington Carver a Biography”, Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. pg. 47 ↩︎
  5. Gary R Kremer, and Inc NetLibrary. “George Washington Carver a Biography”, Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. pg. 61 ↩︎
  6. “Remarks at Tuskegee Normal Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama” (Website Text), The American Presidency Project, accessed April 20, 2025. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-tuskegee-normal-industrial-institute-tuskegee-alabama ↩︎
  7. “History and Mission”  (Website Text), Tuskegee University, accessed April 18, 2025, https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/history-and-mission. ↩︎
  8. Modern Marvels. Season 11, Episode 7. “George Washington Carver Tech”, directed by Don Cambou, aired February 15, 2005, on The History Channel, accessed April 18th, 2025, https://watch.historyvault.com/shows/modern-marvels/season-11/episode-1/full-episode. ↩︎
  9. Dogfights. Season 2, Episode 13. “Tuskegee Airmen”, directed by Jason McKinley, aired December 6th, 2007, on The History Channel, accessed April 18th, 2025. https://youtu.be/X2mBs7HwsPA?si=ysZPkqXtpwzZHm2l. ↩︎