Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Soldiers Literacy Training Collection
An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University
The adult education holdings are collectively known as the
Alexander N. Charters Library of Resources for Educators of Adults.
Overview of the Collection |
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| Title: | Soldiers Literacy Training Collection |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1941-1945 |
| Quantity: | 0.25 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Army manuals, readers, tests, etc., with a few items of memorabilia |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center |
Biographical History
The United States Army was one of the first American organizations to conduct national literacy tests, in an effort to determine whether recruits had basic competence in reading, writing and arithmetic. During World War I, approximately 25% of recruits -- as many as 700,000 men -- were rejected as unable to meet basic literacy qualifications. Although public education improved during the 1920s and 1930s, during World War II the military again rejected an estimated 750,000 men who could not pass the basic literacy entrance tests. This persistence of illiteracy can be attributed in part to stricter testing of recruits (the World War I tests were retired and new ones developed), and in part to an expansion of recruiting to include minorities, who were often poorer and less educated.
Prior to America's entry into the war on December 7, 1941, recruits unable to pass the Minimum Literacy Test were simply rejected. In early 1942, needing substantially more men, the military ruled that up to 10% of inductees could be illiterate so long as they were deemed "intelligent and trainable." In the winter of 1943 this quota was reduced to 5%, as illiteracy began to cause problems in the field. A few months later, however, both manpower needs abroad and the political consequences at home of excessive rejection of black recruits -- whose literacy rates in the 1940s were far below those of white Americans -- caused the literacy requirement to be dropped entirely.
As a result, and out of necessity, the U.S. Army "embarked on one of the largest programs of basic adult education in human history" (Brandt, p. 487). Through the use of special training units -- well-funded, with qualified teachers, specially-designed course material, and small class sizes -- nearly 95% of illiterate recruits achieved minimum literacy within two months, a remarkable success rate. These soldiers were then able to go on to the standard basic training. Later research found that many of these men continued their education after leaving the military.
Sources:
Brandt, Deborah. "Drafting U.S. Literacy," College English, vol. 66
no. 5 (pp. 485-502).
Gordon, Edward E., Ponticell, Judith A., and Morgan, Ronald R. Closing the Literacy Gap in American Business. New York: Praeger, 1991.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Soldiers Literacy Training Collection consists of printed material and memorabilia relating to the training of U.S. Army soldiers in basic reading, writing and arithmetic.
Printed material contains training material produced by the United States Army, including manuals, readers, textbooks, tests, etc. There is also a kind of "yearbook" for the Army Service Forces Personnel Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with photographs and information about enlisted men, officers, and special training staff. Several of the staff names are starred or underlined, including those of Mildred Collins and Lt. Donald DuBois.
Memorabilia contains a photograph of Collins and DuBois, and an original sketch of "typical negro students" done by the student soldier.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Subject Headings
Persons
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Soldiers Literacy Training Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Gift of Beverley C. Adams, 2017.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: MRC
Date: 7 Jun 2017
Revision history:
Inventory
| Printed material | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Army Song Book 1941 | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Soldier's Reader undated | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Technical Manuals, U.S. Army 1943 | ||||||||||
| TM 1-1000, Vocational Teaching TM 21-500, Army Reader |
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| Oversize 1 | Unit tests undated | ||||||||||
| Three reading comprehension tests (DST-13, DST-14, and DST-15), produced by the Office of the Adjutant General. | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | "WD PERSONNEL CENTER FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS" 1943 - printed softcover, containing group photographs and descriptions of the Center and its staff | ||||||||||
| Memorabilia | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Photograph and instructors roster undated - photo is of two staff members, Mildred Collins and Lt. Donald DuBois | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | "Typical Negro students" sketch, by Lt. Donald E. DuBois 1943 | ||||||||||