The article is devoted to the peculiarities of higher and secondary education of the Don Cossacks in 1850-1860 and the influence of these peculiarities on the public discussion between the "progressists" and "Cossack men". The author shows that a significant part of the educated Cossacks, including those of non-noble origin, studied outside the Don Host Land, using special openings for the Don natives in higher and secondary educational institutions, that were covered by public and state. The openings in Kharkov University were of particular importance. Its graduates were the pioneers of the Don journalism and founded the first scientific institution in the Don region, the Novocherkassk Statistical Committee. The author also criticizes the opinion, according to which poorly educated people prevailed among the "Cossack men" (supporters of preserving the traditional Cossack way of living) in the 1860's. He shows that the general level of education wasn't the determining factor, but the place of studying.