Julius Rosenwald
Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago merchant and philanthropist, was born
at the beginning of the Civil War in August 1862 at Springfield, Illinois, and
died during the Great Depression in January 1932. In 1889 Richard Sears and
Alvah Roebuck formed the Sears, Roebuck & Co. Mr. Roebuck retired in 1895
and Mr. Sears searched for another partner; he offered the partnership to Aaron
Nussbaum for a sum of $15,000. Mr. Nussbaum borrowed the money from his brother-in-law,
Julius Rosenwald. Both Mr. Nussbaum and Mr. Rosenwald were solid businessmen
in their own right. Shortly after the partnership between Alvah Roebuck and
Aaron Nussbaum was formed, Julius Rosenwald joined the business team of this
large mail order business. At the end of the 19th century, the mail order department
of the famous Sears, Roebuck & Co. was unorganized, causing the delay in
orders being shipped. Mr. Rosenwald devised a plan by which the mail order department
was operated more efficiently and economically in a newly built Chicago warehouse
on 40 acres; he also initiated the "money back" guarantees and honest
advertising of Sears products. Rosenwald became Chairman of the Board of Sears,
Roebuck & Co. in 1908, a position he held until his death in 1932. Mr. Rosenwald
helped to establish a science museum in Chicago as well as being active in Jewish
causes.
After reading Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery in 1911,
Mr. Rosenwald developed a strong desire to help African-Americans. The following
year Rosenwald and Washington began to develop a plan to build schools for African-Americans
with the stipulation that Rosenwald would donate money to the schools equal
to the amount raised by local community subscriptions. The Julius Rosenwald
Fund was established in 19; Rosenwald's philosophy was that education was a
way to improve the economic situation of the African-Americans. In order to
receive aid from the Rosenwald Fund, prospective builders of schools had to
agree on certain construction requirements set forth by the fund. These requirements
included unilateral lighting, cross ventilation, sub-flooring, storm sheathing,
standard size rooms with adequate storage space, good heating facilities, and
sufficient blackboards and desks. However, the Rosenwald Fund did not provide
assistance to counties unless tax funds were appropriated for erecting school
houses. No school was to be built unless the local people were willing to contribute
funds to the project. Donations were required by area supporters to defer portions
of school building costs. In this way, county school officials were almost certain
to assume their responsibility in furnishing educational facilities for African-American,
and more enthusiasm was generated among community members because they played
an integral part in developing educational facilities for their children. Today
this program would be known as a "matching grant". All funds were
to be expended within 25 years of his death; however, all moneys were spent
and the Rosenwald Fund ceased to exist by 1948. Mr. Rosenwald contributed toward
the building of over 5,000 schools for African-Americans in the South.