Engineers and the New South Creed: The Formation and Early Development of Georgia Tech

As I read this interesting paper by James E. Brittain and Robert C. McMath Jr., my immediate reaction was in response to the disturbing elitism behind the formation of Georgia Tech. The “new south creed” referring to the economic, social, and moral adaptation of the south to northern progress in the aftermath of the Civil War, was intended to let the south rise up to the industrial capacity of the north. In my view, the elite class in the south could find no better way to do this than to create a specialized working class via a “shop culture” school. Robert H. Thurston clearly defines the ideal method of achieving this goal by establishing the importance of manual labor and defining the distinctions between two classes – “those brilliant of intellect” and those of “constructive faculty”.
The elite “believed” that this new system would bridge the gap between classes whereas I disagree completely. Personally, I see Thurston and others intending to avoid the traditional “school culture” by implementing a “shop culture” method in which they could avoid the dangers of an educated working class. The statement that “the heads are in Athens and the hands are in Atlanta” implies that those going to Athens are to be the bosses and those going to Atlanta are meant to be the workers, or proletariat if you will. This specialized working class can increase economic efficiency and income for the elite while they do less labor for more money.
I personally believe that those establishing Georgia Tech really did not have the best interests of Georgians at heart, but rather their own interests. Fortunately for them, with their success came an apparent success of the community as a whole. In my view, this is bold of the elite in that they are raising the standards of the community as a whole, thus raising the expectation of the workers. In the eyes of the elite, this could possibly lead to an unwanted sort of “class consciousness” of the working class that could lead problems in that workers will wonder why they are not as successful and why the “if you work hard it will pay off mentality” has not yet presented itself. The elite made smart decision to focus on a “shop” school, which most certainly played a role in inhibiting this realization.