American Colleges in the Nineteenth Century: From Localism to Denominationalism

Abstract

THE GENERAL CONTOURS of nineteenth-century collegiate development, as found in the histories of American higher education, probably need substantial reexamination and extensive reshaping. Traditionally, colleges associated with various denominations are characterized largely in terms of sect-like religious zeal and are assigned the early nineteenth century as their period of importance. The few monographic studies of late nineteenth-century colleges and the more numerous works on the emergence of universities are correspondingly cast in a framework of increasing secularism in higher education. It seems more likely, however, that the current historical conception of the denominational college more closely coincides with realities of institutional development after rather than before 1850. In terms of support, control, and functions, there is evidence of a strong and increasing denominationalism in a large majority of late nineteenthcentury colleges. For most of the institutions with founding dates prior to 1850 this degree of denominationalism is a departure from the primary role played by localism in founding and nurturing these educational enterprises during their earliest years. Although additional research will be necessary to confirm this contrast, there is good reason to anticipate that the traditional generalization concerning a basic trend from sectarianism toward secularism, when applied to American collegiate history during the nineteenth century, will have to be inverted.