National Impact
The literacy movement spread quickly to other states, with Alabama being the second state to establish an illiteracy commission. Slogans like these became cornerstones for state illiteracy campaigns:
"Illiteracy in Alabama- Let's remove it"
"No illiteracy in New York State"
"Pennsylvania a literate state in ten years"
"No illiteracy in North Dakota in 1924"
"Let South Carolina secede from illiteracy"
"Let's sweep illiteracy out of Arkansas"
"Illiteracy in Mississippi- Blot it out"
"Illiteracy in New Mexico must go"
Stewart continued her crusade first through the National Education Association and then as head of the National Illiteracy Commission. However, when the movement fell under federal control in the late 1920's, the standard of illiteracy was changed to include anyone who hadn't completed a sixth-grade education. Stewart was disheartened by this, and felt that all of her work had been for nothing, as most Moonlight School students would not meet this new definition.
Historians disagree that her work had been for naught. When asked how Cora Wilson Stewart and the Moonlight Schools reflect this year’s theme of Rights and Responsibilities in History, Dr. Yvonne Honeycutt Baldwin writes, [Her view of adult illiteracy as both right and responsibility] is the essence of my interpretation of CWS...In her day she battled economic issues that caused people to keep their children home from school either to work home gardens or do menial labor at low wages. Her struggle is relevant today... I believe that her civic-mindedness was grounded in her upbringing and in the reform culture of her day.” Mr. Nelms holds a slightly different point of view. He writes, “For Cora Wilson Stewart, literacy transcended rights and responsibilities. For her, literacy was “salvation” from ignorance, and she viewed literacy in much the same way that religious crusaders view “salvation.” On its more practical level, she saw the effort to eliminate adult illiteracy as a responsibility of the people who had the power to offer adult education programs to illiterates.”
"Illiteracy in Alabama- Let's remove it"
"No illiteracy in New York State"
"Pennsylvania a literate state in ten years"
"No illiteracy in North Dakota in 1924"
"Let South Carolina secede from illiteracy"
"Let's sweep illiteracy out of Arkansas"
"Illiteracy in Mississippi- Blot it out"
"Illiteracy in New Mexico must go"
Stewart continued her crusade first through the National Education Association and then as head of the National Illiteracy Commission. However, when the movement fell under federal control in the late 1920's, the standard of illiteracy was changed to include anyone who hadn't completed a sixth-grade education. Stewart was disheartened by this, and felt that all of her work had been for nothing, as most Moonlight School students would not meet this new definition.
Historians disagree that her work had been for naught. When asked how Cora Wilson Stewart and the Moonlight Schools reflect this year’s theme of Rights and Responsibilities in History, Dr. Yvonne Honeycutt Baldwin writes, [Her view of adult illiteracy as both right and responsibility] is the essence of my interpretation of CWS...In her day she battled economic issues that caused people to keep their children home from school either to work home gardens or do menial labor at low wages. Her struggle is relevant today... I believe that her civic-mindedness was grounded in her upbringing and in the reform culture of her day.” Mr. Nelms holds a slightly different point of view. He writes, “For Cora Wilson Stewart, literacy transcended rights and responsibilities. For her, literacy was “salvation” from ignorance, and she viewed literacy in much the same way that religious crusaders view “salvation.” On its more practical level, she saw the effort to eliminate adult illiteracy as a responsibility of the people who had the power to offer adult education programs to illiterates.”