Village schools taught spoken French to secure African submission to economic progress

Evidence

Village schools, in keeping with the policy of direct contact, were to reach as many natives as possible and establish trust so Africans would “submit to the directions that will lead to economic and social progress.” The essential means to this contact was instruction of spoken French (five hours per week), which would also serve as a vehicle for practical notions. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 461

Categorization

• SEED: The language-as-trust-and-submission logic is an angle for an essay on how republican ‘education for progress’ rhetoric concealed a control function.