In 1891, James Huff Stout, a Wisconsin State Senator and Menomonie resident, founded a manual training school, the first of several educational enterprises he launched in Menomonie. The Manual Training movement was an educational philosophy that influenced modern vocational education. In the United States, this philosophy was established in the 1870s and used to train engineers, later working its way into public education. Manual training promoted a classical liberal education, but emphasizing practical application such as practical judgment, perception and visual accuracy, and manual dexterity over theory. It was not meant to be used to teach specific trades, but rather to enhance the traditional educational model. Students learned drafting, mechanics, woodworking, metal working, in addition to science, mathematics, language, literature, and history. After the American Civil War, leaders of industry and politics were turning to public education to augment existing apprenticeship programs by incorporating Manual Training philosophy into their curricula.