American Law Students Research Articles

Innocents Abroad: American Students at British Universities in the Early Nineteenth Century

In eighteenth century, American education, like American culture, was not self-sufficient: its acropolis lay in Britain. Students interested in medicine took their training at London or Edinburgh; ministers were continually recruited in mother country; few years at one of Inns of Court still provided best training in law; significant numbers of Americans attended Oxford or Cambridge, seeking a gentleman's However, there was growing notion that English culture was effete, and, after Revolution, this feeling was reinforced by national enthusiasm and exaggeration of cultural distinctiveness which gave importance to writings of such man as Noah Webster. Both he and Jefferson maintained that independence in education was natural corollary to political freedom and prerequisite to real national autonomy. They based their arguments on grounds that an English education made American students discontented with more rugged life at home, and that undergraduate life abroad was dangerously immoral. Some of writings examined in this article throw interesting light on truth of these assertions. There can be little doubt as to influence of these writings, even though in case of some professional studies that influence was resisted until well on into nineteenth century. As end of eighteenth century approached, American students were decreasingly attracted by venerable traditions of Oxford and Cambridge. The latter was chiefly noted for theoretical mathematics; former for classics. These subjects made little appeal to youth of country rich in natural resources but almost wholly lacking in advantages of highly developed civilization. While many Americans were eager to visit these two oldest universities, few looked upon them as institutions where they would like to pursue their education. In law, story was similar. An examination of Jones's list of American law students in England shows that the Americanborn members of Inns of Court before year 1815 number about 236. ... More than half this number were admitted be-