This dissertation recounts the years of struggle, frustration, failure and success that blacks in Henrico county, Virginia, confronted in acquiring an education. Before the establishment of free universal public schooling in Virginia in 1870, there was strong public opinion against the schooling of blacks. After the outbreak of the Civil War, various missionaries and philanthropic agencies strove to aid blacks; and the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865 brought an overall renewal of education for blacks. The Freedmen's Bureau aided in the construction of school buildings, and the philanthropic agencies supported teachers for the established schoolhouses. The Freedmen's Bureau ceased operation in Virginia in 1871; but by then, Virginia's public school system had been put into operation.