Chronicles and analyzes the spread of universal public education in Georgia during the period, showing that, far from embodying democratic equality and inducting the state's young into citizenship, the Georgia public school served as a vehicle for maintaining race and class privilege. Argues that the Georgia public school was a calculated result of a society that prefers and empowers whiteness, and considers the political dynamics emanating from both black and white communities, concluding that race politics continue to compromise the way we school our children. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR