Antebellum Colleges

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Antebellum Colleges

• Emergent Nation Era

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1790 1869

US Population 3.9 M 38 M
Students in HE 1,050 61,000
HE Faculty 141 5,450
Number of Colleges 11 240
Average Enrollment/College 95 240


Number of degrees Conferred 240 9,200
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Nation has three regionsNorth Urban early
industrialization manufacturing trade
political influence wealthSouth Agrarian
export cotton/tobacco anti-intellectual little
social mobility wealth tied to slaves and land
(25 owned slaves, less than 10 owned 20,
minimum needed to run plantation) Approx 2.5 of
population controls region.West W of
Mississippi River--generally opposed to slavery
ties were to north for trade
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Antebellum Colleges

• England 23 million population, 4 colleges
• Ohio 3 million population, 37 colleges
• Female Seminaries increasing
• Not true colleges-very low admissions
  standards, little preparatory training
• Education of Blacks
• 1st degree 1826, 27 before Civil War
• Avery College (PA) first HBCU (Historically
  Black Colleges Universities)
• Miner Academy (DC)-1851
• 1856 - Wilberforce (OH) oldest private Black
  University in U.S
• 1854 Lincoln (PA) Langston Hughes and Thurgood
  Marshall alumni
• During the first one hundred years of its
  existence, Lincoln graduated 20 percent of Black
  physicians and more than 10 of Black attorneys
  in the US

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Antebellum Colleges

• Blacks at University of Virginia
• 1821-University hires 32 slaves to level campus
  land, slave owners paid 60 per slave per year
• 1828 faculty senate resolved that the President
  be informed that the faculty disapproves of free
  Negroes being located w/in the university.
• 1832 University purchases a slave, Lewis
  Commodore, for 580 to be a janitor
• 1842 Faculty senate approves 13 duties for
  student owned slaves bring water, clean rooms,
  shine shoes, provide firewood, etc.
• 1955 Blacks permitted to enroll (Wow, this was
  after my folks were born, not that long ago)
• 1959 Robert Bland first to graduate Currently
  Dept. Manager for Missiles and Launching Systems
  for the Navy in CA
• 2007 Bill before VA legislature to apologize for
  slavery

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Antebellum Colleges

• Jacksonian democrats
• Call for expansion of Higher Ed, excluding women,
  Blacks, Native Americans, and other minorities.
• Opposition to Education for all Raleigh NC
  newspaper editorial (1829) children should
  pass their days in the cotton patch, or at the
  plow, or in the cornfield, instead of being mewed
  up in a school house, where they learn nothingI
  hope you do not conceive of it at necessary that
  everyone should be able to read, write and
  cipher
• Beginning of the growth of wealth for some and
  the American myth of the self made man education
  not necessary
• Wealth resulted in symbol of achievement and
  distrust of privilege and social inequity

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Antebellum Colleges

• Literary Societies
• Societies-challenged the curriculum in
  educational importance
• Capstone Moral Philosophy-Amherst Character is
  of more consequence than intellect
• Students formed literary societies to change the
  moral philosophy
• Invite speakers, produce journals, deal
  w/controversial topics
• Yale (1753)-literary club spread ideas, debates,
  competitions, discuss relevant topics
• Princeton Ought freedom of thought be granted
  to all men?

• Fraternities/Secret Organizations
• Intent-bring together small groups to fill gaps
  from removal of family and home community
• Beginnings in 1820s
• Union-Kappa Alpha (1825)
• 1840- Spread throughout New England and then into
  Ohio and Michigan
• High level of loyalty created
• Led to the decline of literary societies
• Built better library collections, expanded
  sciences, improve course offerings
• Escape dreary days of college-smoking, drinking,
  etc.

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Antebellum Colleges

• Athletics
• 1787 Princeton forbade students to play hockey
  on the grounds that it is unbecoming of
  gentleman and scholars, and is attended with
  great danger to the health.
• 1820 Rensselaer official position regarding
  athletics such exercise as running, jumping,
  climbing, scuffling, and the like are calculated
  to detract from the dignity of deportment which
  becomes a man of science.
• 1826-Outdoor gymnasium movement from Europe
  arrived at Harvard
• 1852 1st intercollegiate competition held b/w
  Harvard and Yale boating
• 1859 Amherst and Williams played the first
  intercollegiate baseball game

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Beginning of student culturesCampus life was
tough/violentCollegians Sports/frats/Hail
fellow, well met cheating common studied only
to stay in schoolOutsiders Ministers to be
supported faculty while collegians fought
facultyRebels Interests in politics literary
society members
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Antebellum Colleges

• Student Life/Discipline
• Elaborate codification of rules and regulations/
  Why?
• 1865 Harvard 8 pages of fine print prohibited
  from leaving campus w/o permission on Sunday,
  rooms subject to faculty inspection at any
  time-even off campus!!! WTH (What the hel) In
  loco parentis
• Yale loyalty oath, active disbelief in the
  bible was a campus crime\
• Union 1802- 11 chapters in rule book prohibited
  behaviors included swearing, drunkenness,
  striking instructors, card playing
• Princeton 1885 That should any students
  continue to have their washing done in town as
  heretofore, it must be done under the supervision
  of the college office.
• Faculty carried the responsibility of overseeing
  discipline- a job/chore that was often not
  enforced due to their hesitation with enforcement.

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Antebellum Colleges

• Faculty
• Students an important element in the power
  structure of the institution
• Early faculty were clergy
• Faculty taught a single subject, tutors taught
  entry level subjects in which the college did not
  have professors
• Harvard was in existence for 85 years before
  first full time faculty member Yale-50 years
  Princeton-20 years
• Union College (1795-1884) 130 faculty members,
  55 clergy
• Princeton (1868) 7 of 10 clergy
• Changing times and changing status of
  faculty/teacher/clergy
• Salary 1805-Dartmouth 600, 1865-Denison 600

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Antebellum Colleges

• Presidents
• Only mature learned man available to represent
  college
• Seldom leave Campus
• Tradition of strong presidents-change from
  England
• Included house, may have shared it w/students
• Serve as a local minister, perhaps a farmer
• Role as educator-taught moral philosophy as
  senior capstone
• Compensation-contracted but usually not paid
• Columbia-1,000 in 1787, 3000 in 1857
• Rutgers 1,700 in 1810 (amount voted to pay but
  actually paid 771.86 over 2 years)
• Harvard 2,235 in 1840

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Antebellum Colleges

• Presidents Cont.
• University of TN 1835 job description for
  president
• 1. general superintendence of the interests
  and reputation of the University, which he is
  bound to promote and maintain by every exertion
  of his power. 2. He is, ex officio, President of
  the Board of Trustees and of the faculty when
  present w/them and also the administrator of
  their decisions in cases of discipline 3. He has
  a right to be present at the recitation of any
  class in the institution 4. He will take such
  branches of instruction into his own hands as he
  may judge necessary and expedient 5. All
  religious exercises and studies of the university
  are committed to his direction, and 6. He is to
  preside at examinations and commencements and
  confer all degrees.
• Eleazar Wheelock _at_ Dartmouth assisted in
  building college buildings, including his home,
  cleared 70 acres of land, planted corn and wheat,
  governed college, taught courses, preached on
  Sundays and prayed for a new job!!

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Martin, president University of RochesterNo
class passes through my hands which does not
contain more or less young men who are on the eve
of ruin from wayward natures, bad habits, or
hereditary tendencies of evil. These men must be
watched, borne with, and if possible, saved to
the world and their familiesThis work must be
done by the president. Those private and
confidential reproofs, suggestions, and
admonitions which do so much to form manners and
character, must be attended to by the
presidentStevens at Amherst We have no faith
in the capabilities of mere intellectual
training.character is of more consequence than
intellect.
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Antebellum Colleges

• Governing Boards
• Trustees drawn from the privileged class
• Boards delegated much authority to the President
  and educational matters were left to the faculty
  but b/c the board retained control over budget,
  priorities, and planning
• Wayland _at_ Brown How can colleges prosper
  directed by men, very good men to be sure, but
  who know about every other thing except about
  education. The man who first devised the present
  mode of governing colleges in this country has
  done us more injury than Benedict Arnold.
• Clergy beginning to leave Harvard bylaw
  requiring clergy on Board repealed 1851

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Antebellum Colleges

• Financing the Colleges
• Harvard and Yale Early support from benefactors
• 1795- Rhode Island College becomes Brown for
  5,000.00
• America had more corn than cash so colleges
  often got produce instead of money
• State Aid
• 1814-1823 Harvard receives 10,000 per year
• 1893-1921 NH give Dartmouth 200,000
• Wayland at Brown We cannot induce mean to pursue
  college unless we offer it below cost or give it
  away.
• Perpetual scholarships sell a tuition
  scholarship a reduced rate in advance
• Save money on faculty salaries Martyrdom on the
  alter of Christian learning.600.00 U of GA,
  1815 Hanover 335.00 1855