Why did integrated education generate so much interest after the Civil War? This chapter contextualizes the anti- caste movement and the postwar rush to launch a mass education system in the South. Integrationists argued that segregation— and maintaining two separate school systems— demanded an irrational and excessive cost. But by filling the void, charitable funds enabled this disparity. Benevolent organizations relieved Southern states of their responsibilities to enforce constitutional commitments to public education. This reliance on private largesse— whether through benevolent organizations or the capitalist philanthropy that followed in subsequent years— had profound consequences for the kind of education groups were able to access.