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Mrs. Ruffner
Ms. Mary F. Mackie is the head teacher at the Hampton Institute, and a Northern white woman from an established family who had migrated South to work for the Institute. She conducts Washington’s “sweeping” examination, in which his educational fitness for the institute is judged by his ability to thoroughly sweep a room. To Washington, Miss Mackie represents the joy that labor can bring an individual, regardless of their social status.
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Miss Mackie Character Timeline in Up From Slavery
The timeline below shows where the character Miss Mackie appears in Up From Slavery. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: The Struggle for an Education
Miss Mary F. Mackie , the head teacher that conducted the “sweeping” examination, offered Washington a position as school...
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Chapter 4: Helping Others
...to secure enough money to return to Hampton. Three weeks before he was to return, Miss Mary F. Mackie , the teacher who conducted Washington’s “sweeping” examination, wrote to him asking him to return...
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Washington was shocked by Miss Mackie ’s work ethic and her willingness to work alongside him for long hours, despite her...
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Chapter 11: Making Their Beds Before They Could
...bit after the early struggles of the Institute, some of Washington’s mentors, including General Marshall, Miss Mackie , and even General Armstrong himself visited the Institute. By this time the school had...
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