Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T12:37:24.821Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Localism, Denominationalism, and Institutional Strategies in Urbanizing America: Three Pennsylvania Colleges, 1870–1915

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2017

W. Bruce Leslie
W. Bruce Leslie*
Affiliation:
State University of New York at Brockport
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Small colleges in the “Age of the University” have been neglected. For years, historians have dismissed the college with a wave of President Eliot's inaugural speech and ushered the university builders onto center stage. Few studies have gone beyond Laurence Veysey's generalization that “the only course of action” those in charge of colleges “could urge was to hold on, perhaps making minor concessions, and hope that their institution would be able to survive.” Implicitly colleges have been assumed to be uniform and passive institutions that only broke from antebellum practices in reluctant response to the universities. Although the new models of higher education had an important effect, the prevailing stereotype misses the extent to which colleges shaped their policies in terms of local, denominational and institutional circumstances. The resulting diversity suggests that colleges, like other traditional institutions facing modernization, participated in the shaping of their destinies and were not merely passive victims.

Type
Article I
Information
History of Education Quarterly , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , Fall 1977 , pp. 235 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © 1977 by New York University 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Notes

The author wishes to thank Professors Ron Goodenow, John Ingham, Ken O'Brian, David Potts, Elizabeth Ross and George Woytanowitz for their generous assistance in writing this paper.Google Scholar

1. Several writers have drawn attention to this historigraphical gap. See especially, Axtell, James, “The Death of the Liberal Arts College”, History of Education Quarterly, 11 (Winter, 1971): 339–352; Herbst, Jurgen, “American College History: Re-Examination Underway”, History of Education Quarterly, 14 (Summer, 1974): 259–266.Google Scholar

2. Veysey, Laurence, The Emergence of the University (Chicago, 1965), p. 9.Google Scholar

3. Students have had a share in shaping colleges, but their influence has been expressed in different ways than will be considered here. A model for considering the long-neglected student is Allmendinger, David, Paupers and Scholars (NY, 1975). On one aspect of the role of students in the extra-curriculum at these colleges see, Bruce Leslie, W., “The Response of Four Colleges to the Rise of Intercollegiate Athletics, 1865–1915”, Journal of Sport History, 3 (Winter, 1976): 213–222.Google Scholar

4. Although Bucknell used the label “University” it was, as Orin Oliphant, J. says in The Rise of Bucknell (NY, 1965), p. xi, “a college miscalled a university”.Google Scholar

5. For an extensive comparison of these institutions see, Bruce Leslie, W., “A Comparative Study of Four Middle Atlantic Colleges, 1870–1915: Bucknell University, Franklin and Marshall College, Princeton University and Swarthmore College” (Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 1971).Google Scholar

6. One similar study for this period is, Peterson, George, The New England College in the Age of the University (Amherst, Mass., 1964). See also, Potts, David, “American Colleges in the Nineteenth Century: From Localism to Denominationalism”, History of Educational Quarterly, II (Winter, 1971): 363–380; Smith, Timothy L., “The Church Colleges of Illinois”, (Unpublished manuscript). Potts and Wilson Smith, among others, have advocated the broader use of this methodology. See Potts, , “Review of George Whitehead, Separation of College and State,” Teachers College Record, 75(May, 1974): 576–8, and Smith, , “Review of John Barnard; From Evangelicalism to Progressivism at Oberlin College,” American Historical Review, 75(Dec. 1969): 598–9.Google Scholar

7. Dubbs, Joseph H., History of Franklin and Marshall College, (Lancaster, Pa., 1903), pp. 1–256; Richards, George W., “The Mercersburg Theology—Its Purpose and Principles,” Church History, 20(Sept., 1951): 42–55.Google Scholar

8. Dubbs, , History of Franklin and Marshall, pp. 255–314; Franklin and Marshall College, Board of Trustees Minutes (Franklin and Marshall Archives), July 7 & 8, 1868. The ousted Chairman of the Board of Trustees was former President James Buchanan.Google Scholar

9. Babbidge, Homer, “Swarthmore College in the Nineteenth Century” (Ph.D. dis., Yale University, 1952), pp. 54–68; Swarthmore College, Board of Managers, Minutes, (Friends Historical Library) Dec. 2, 1862 to Aug. 5, 1869; Friends Intelligencer, 26(March 13, April 17, and June 26, 1869); Doherty, Robert W., The Hicksite Separation (New Brunswick, NJ, 1967), pp. 67–89; Allen, C. and Thomas, Richard H., A History of the Society of Friends (The American Church History Series; New York, 1894), pp. 273–296.Google Scholar

10. Orin Oliphant, J., The Rise of Bucknell University (New York, 1965), pp. 12–22; Theiss, Lewis Edwin, Centennial History of Bucknell University 1846–1946 (Williamsport, Pa., 1946), pp. 15–46; Newman, Albert H., A History of the Baptist Churches in the United States (American Church History Series; New York 1894), pp. 48, 336–380; Hudson, Winthrop S., American Protestantism (Chicago, 1961), pp. 21, 54, 60, 92; Tewksbury, Donald G., The Founding of American Colleges and Universities before the Civil War (New York, 1932), pp. 111–119.Google Scholar

11. Oliphant, , Rise, pp. 23–87; Theiss, Centennial History, pp. 67–175; Fleming, Sanford, “American Baptists and Higher Education (unpublished manuscript, American Baptist Historical Association, 1965), pp. 175–185; Torbet, Robert G., A Social History of the Philadelphia Baptist Association (Philadelphia, 1944); p. 75; Bucknell University, Quinquennial Catalogue (Lewisburg, 1900).Google Scholar

12. Franklin and Marshall College, Board of Trustees Minutes, 1867–1888. Schaeffer's letter was read at the June, 1877 meeting.Google Scholar

13. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, , Jan. 28, 1869; Church, Reformed, Acts and Proceedings of the Synod (Philadelphia: 1869), p. 75. No mention was made the following year or in later trustee meetings.Google Scholar

14. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, June, 1872.Google Scholar

15. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, June, 1871–June, 1872, February 16, 1875. Appel, Theodore, The Life and Work of John W. Nevin (Philadelphia, 1889), pp. 255–266; Klein, N.M.J., History of Franklin and Marshall College 1787–1948 (Lancaster, 1952), p. 104; Hartman, Charles Stahr, “Franklin and Marshall Academy, 1872–1943” (unpublished Master's thesis, Johns Hopkins University, 1948), pp. 13–21; Mays, Cyrus V., “A Gymnasium or a University?” Mercersburg Review, 19 (Jan., 1872): 32–49. The editorial response appeared on pages 153–157.Google Scholar

16. Franklin, and College, Marshall, Catalogues of Officers and Students 1787–1903 (Lancaster, 1903), pp. 133–153.Google Scholar

17. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, June 19, 1883, March 18, 1884, June 12, 1888; Klein, , pp. 112–113. For a sense of the competition see, Reformed Church Messenger, 56(1888).Google Scholar

18. Klein, , p. 127; Church, Reformed, Acts (1896–1901); Reformed Church Messenger, 71(October 9, 1902).Google Scholar

19. Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College” pp. 86–100; Magill, Edward, Sixty-five Years in the Life of a Teacher (Boston, 1907), pp. 152–153, 191–192; Swarthmore College, Board of Managers, Executive Committee, Minutes (Friends Historical Library), Dec. 8, 1869 to June 26,1872; College, Swarthmore, Annual Catalogue 1871–1872 (Philadelphia, 1872), pp. 35–36.Google Scholar

20. Swarthmore College, Stockholders, Minutes of the Annual Meeting (Philadelphia), 1870–1884; Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 109–118.Google Scholar

21. The faculty report and Magill's correspondence with other college presidents is in Box 8 of the Edward Magill Papers (Friends Historical Library).Google Scholar

22. Lamb, Eli to Magill, , April 9, 1885, Magill Papers. There are several other illuminating letters between Lamb and Magill. Swarthmore College, Catalogue (1881–1890); Swarthmore College, Committee on Instruction, Minutes (Friends Historical Library), June 15, 1885.Google Scholar

23. Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 200–206; Swarthmore, Managers, Minutes, Oct. 14, 1895, Sept. 12, 1896, Sept. 21 and Dec. 6, 1897, March 8, 1898; Swarthmore, Managers, Executive Comm., Minutes, Sept. 21, 1897.Google Scholar

24. Swarthmore, , Managers, , March 8, 1898.Google Scholar

25. Swain, Joseph to Johnson, Howard C., May 12 and 17 and June 9, 1902, Swain Presidential Papers, (Friends Historical Library); Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 206–209; College, Swarthmore, The Register of Swarthmore College, 1862–1914 (Swarthmore 1914). I found no records that indicate whether there were significant changes in the proportion of Friends in the student body during Birdsall's presidency.Google Scholar

26. See, for example, Booth, George to DeGarmo, Charles, 1896, Charles DeGarmo Presidential Papers (Friends Historical Library; Friends Intelligencer, 42 (September 26, 1885): 522–523; “Presidents Report to the Stockholders”, Swarthmore College, Stockholders, Minutes (Friends Historical Library), 1906 and 1907. Surprisingly none of the three colleges in this study appear to have kept regular records on students' religious affiliations.Google Scholar

27. Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 184–188. See also the Board of Managers, “Reports to the Stockholders” which were printed with the catalogue until 1882 and are available in manuscript at the Friends Historical Library for succeeding years.Google Scholar

28. Magill, , Sixty-Five Years, pp. 210–220; Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College,” pp. 183–188, 230; Swarthmore, Managers, Executive Committee, Minutes, February 5, 1888.Google Scholar

29. Bucknell University, Board of Trustees, Minutes (Bucknell University Archives), June 25, 1873, June 29, 1875; Theiss, , Centennial History, pp. 161–175.Google Scholar

30. Bucknell, , Trustees, , June 29, 1875, June 24 and 25, 1878. The trustees publicly claimed they had received the communications too late, but the Minutes reveal that the Curator and alumni notes were tabled until Loomis had been asked to remain for a final year.Google Scholar

31. Bucknell, , Trustees, , June 24, 1879; Bucknell University, Board of Curators, Minutes (Bucknell University Archives), June 24, 1879; Bucknell University, Alumni Catalogue (Lewisburg, 1915), pp. 6–7.Google Scholar

32. Bucknell, , Trustees, , April 21, 1881; Oliphant, , Rise, pp. 144–146; clipping from Lewisburg Chronicle, March 2, 1880, in Hill's scrapbook in the Bucknell University Archives.Google Scholar

33. Oliphant, , Rise, pp. 145–146.Google Scholar

34. Bucknell, William to Hill, David Jayne, Dec. 21, 1885, David Jayne Hill Papers (University of Rochester Library); Parkman, Audrey L., “David Jayne Hill” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Rochester, 1961), p. 37; Oliphant, , Rise, pp. 137–138.Google Scholar

35. Bucknell, , Trustees, , June 27, 1882 to Jan. 1, 1889; Oliphant, , Rise, p. 149; Thesis, Centennial History, pp. 207–208; Harris, John, Thirty Years as President of Bucknell (Washington, 1926), pp. 8–10.Google Scholar

36. Harris, , Thirty Years, pp. 7–8; see also, Bucknell University, Bucknell University Bulletin, Series 7, no. 4 (1908–1909); Bucknell University, Alumni Catalogue (Lewisburg, 1926), p. 6.Google Scholar

37. Northumberland Baptist Association, Minutes (Bucknell University Archives), 1881–1916; Bucknell University, Charter and By-Laws (Lewisburg, 1956), pp. 36–38; Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, Jan. 9, 1890, June 21, 1892. In 1915 the President, five faculty members, and one trustee still participated in the Association's functions.Google Scholar

38. Bucknell, , Trustees, , June 23, 1891; American Baptist Education Society, Correspondence (American Baptist Historical Society), June 20, 1898; Harris, , Thirty Years, pp. 32–34; Oliphant, , Rise, p. 198. It took six more years to collect the pledges.Google Scholar

39. Reformed Church Messenger, 64 (March 19, 1896), p. 9.Google Scholar

40. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, 1890–1922.Google Scholar

41. Reformed Church Messenger, 71 (October 30, 1902). See also July 24, 1902, May 27, 1909, and June 16, 1910.Google Scholar

42. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, June, 1901; Franklin and Marshall College, Alumni Association, Report (Lancaster, 1902–1905). Franklin, and Marshall, , Catalogue … 1787–1903, pp. 133–153. The Chairman of the first Advisory Council had graduated only ten years before and the overall age was about 48. Apple, Henry, President's Report, 1911.Google Scholar

43. Apple, , President's Report, 1911. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching sponsored a pension plan for faculty but Franklin and Marshall was ineligible as long as the Church elected a majority of the trustees.Google Scholar

44. Apple, , Report of the President, 1912; Hensel, William, A Message to the Friends of Franklin and Marshall in the Reformed Church (Philadelphia, 1914). Church, Reformed, Acts, 1911–1916.Google Scholar

45. Apple, , President's Report, 1912–1916; Klein, , pp. 201–207; Hartman, , “Franklin and Marshall Academy”, p. 90.Google Scholar

46. Franklin, and Marshall, , Trustees, 1890–1922. There were apparently no official records kept on the student's religious affiliation. The only record I located was President Thomas Apple's report to the Board of Trustees on June 11, 1889, when he mentioned that 96 out of 107 students were members of the Reformed Church. However, changes in the Franklin and Marshall Academy, and in its relation to the College strongly indicate a decline in the percentage of Reformed students in the College, especially after 1910. Hartman, , “Franklin and Marshall Academy”, pp. 45–72.Google Scholar

47. Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 195–197; Swarthmore College, The Register of Swarthmore College 1862–1914 (Swarthmore, 1914), pp. 118–146; Enion, Ruth, “The Intellectual Incubation of a Quaker College 1869–1903” (unpublished Masters Essay, Swarthmore College, 1944), p. 28; Friends Intelligencer, 65(Sept. 9, Oct. 24, Nov. 21, 1908).Google Scholar

48. Babbidge, , “Swarthmore College”, pp. 210–216; Swain, to Johnson, , “Swain Papers;” Swarthmore, Managers, Executive Committee, Minutes, 1890–1914; Swarthmore, Committee on Instruction, Minutes, 1895–1916.Google Scholar

49. Society of Friends, General Conference, Proceedings (1906) pp. 99–101.Google Scholar

50. Friends Intelligencer, 65 (March 28, 1908). For the whole struggle see also issues for January 4, February 1, March 14, 21, and 28. Swarthmore College, Papers on the Bequest of the Late Anna T. Jeanes (Philadelphia, 1907).Google Scholar

51. Magill, Edward to Carnegie, Andrew, July 15, 1905, Magill Personal Papers (Friends Historical Library); Swarthmore, Managers, Executive Committee, April 13, 1906; Friends Intelligencer, 65 (December 5 and 12, 1908).Google Scholar

52. Swarthmore, Stockholders, Minutes, December, 1909, and December, 1910; Hill, William I., “History of Swarthmore College” (unpublished manuscript, Friends Historical Library, undated), Vol. II, pp. 23–25; General Education Board, Report of the Secretary 1916–1917 (New York, 1917) pp. 9 and 23.Google Scholar

53. This approach is demonstrated repeatedly in the Trustees Minutes throughout Harris' tenure.Google Scholar

54. Harris, , Thirty Years, p. 17.Google Scholar

55. Ibid., pp. 7–8, 43–45; Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, Jan. 8 and June 23, 1891, Jan. 14, 1892, Jan. 11, 1893, Jan 10, 1895; Bucknell, Alumni Catalogue, pp. 5–6.Google Scholar

56. “Letter from the Bucknellians to all alumni,” July 15, 1908, Hill Collection, (Bucknell University Archives); Bucknell Trustees Minutes, June 23, 1903 and Jan. 15, 1915.Google Scholar

57. Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, Jan. 10, 1889, Jan. 8 and July 20, 1891, Jan. 11, 1894, June 10, 1910, Jan. 15, 1915, June 13, 1916; Between 1891 and 1902 the budget for publicity increased from $87 to $1,638.Google Scholar

58. Morehouse, H.L. to Harris, John H., May 10, 1899, John H. Harris Papers (Bucknell University Archives); Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, June 20, 1899, Jan. 9, 1902, Jan. 8, 1903; American Baptist Education Society Correspondence, Nov. 4, 1901.Google Scholar

59. Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, June 16, 1908; Limbert, Paul M., Denominational Policies in Higher Education (New York, 1929), pp. 39–42; Oliphant, Rise, pp. 202–207.Google Scholar

60. Bucknell, Trustees, Minutes, Jan. 14, and June 21, 1904, June 22, 1909, Jan. 12 and June 20, 1911, Jan. 9, 1913; Oliphant, , Rise, pp. 202–207.Google Scholar

61. Bucknell, , Trustees, June 17, 1902, Jan. 11, 1906, June 21, 1910, June 20, 1911, Jan. 15, Jan. 13, 1916; Oliphant, , Rise , pp. 196–200.Google Scholar