U.S. Higher Education History: 1840–1900 Chronicle

Introduction

The chronicle of higher education in the United States reveals a significant development that took place in higher educational systems between 1840 and 1900. The Land-Grant Act stands as one of the major milestones in the development of higher education, encouraging growth in fields such as engineering and agriculture. The period also recorded a sweeping expansion of the curriculum to match the evolving educational system. Many higher institutions were established by 1890, and this era was also marked by growing encouragement for women to pursue higher education (Geiger, 2014).

The following timeline highlights key legislative and institutional developments in American higher education during this period:

Chronicle of Higher Education, 1840–1900

1862 — The U.S. government promulgated the Land-Grant Act to establish land-grant colleges specializing in engineering and agriculture.

1867 — The government established Howard University in Washington, D.C.

1870–1897 — The number of universities in the United States reached 821.

1870s — The University of North Carolina enrolled both Black and white students for the first time.

1880–1890 — Only a handful of higher institutions in the U.S. had a legitimate claim to being a real university; higher educational institutions remained an unregulated industry.

1887–1900 — Congress passed legislation to expand the fields of engineering, agriculture, and military training in higher institutions.

1890 — The Morrill Act was promulgated to provide federal funding for the Land-Grant program and land-grant colleges. This year also opened the floodgates for the establishment of new colleges and universities.

Colleges Founded Between 1840 and 1900

1890–1899 — Several private universities were established.

1890–1900 — The number of specializations and disciplines in universities increased greatly; this era is often called the golden age of college and university building.

1897 — The median private university had 128 students, while the median enrollment in a publicly affiliated private university reached 505 students. Publicly controlled institutions accounted for 43% of all universities in the United States.

Women's Education in the Nineteenth Century

1862–1900 — This period laid the foundation for the pre-eminent higher educational infrastructure capable of supporting the U.S. economy.

1900 — Fourteen universities in the United States agreed to form the Association of American Universities (AAU) (Goldin and Lawrence, 1999).

The University of California was established in 1869 with only 38 students and 10 faculty members. Today, the university boasts more than 233,000 students, over 190,000 faculty members, and 1.7 million alumni working and living around the globe. For more than 150 years, the University of California has expanded its horizons to become one of the leading universities in the world. The university attracts students from all backgrounds, and more than 40% of its undergraduates come from low-income families in California.

The following institutions were among those founded during this transformative era in American higher education:

1841 — Fordham University
1842 — Ohio Wesleyan University
1843 — University of Delaware
1846 — University of Buffalo
1847 — State University of Iowa
1848 — University of Mississippi
1850 — University of Dayton; University of Utah
1855 — Pennsylvania State University; Bates College
1859 — University of Wisconsin
1865 — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1869 — University of California
1876 — Johns Hopkins University
1883 — University of Texas

In the 1840s, women were discouraged from pursuing higher education because prevailing social norms held that it was unnatural for women to do so. Women were largely regarded as the property of men. However, in 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention was organized in part to advance the cause of women's education. The convention had limited immediate impact, as the majority of men in attendance still viewed women through a subordinate lens rather than as autonomous individuals in society (Thelin, 2011). Nevertheless, the convention carried symbolic importance by creating a foundation for the women's education movement in the United States.

In 1862, Congress passed the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, which aimed to establish universities that would educate both women and men. Despite the passage of this law, women's education remained largely confined to the field of home economics. By the 1870s, 13% of higher institutions in the United States accepted women's enrollment.

This era also witnessed several notable "firsts" for women in higher education. In 1841, the first American woman earned a Bachelor's degree. In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn a medical degree, graduating from Geneva Medical College. In 1858, Mary Fellows was the first woman to receive a baccalaureate degree. Mary Peterson became the first African-American woman to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1862 from Oberlin College. That same year, Rebecca Crumpler became the first African-American woman to earn a medical degree, from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery. In 1866, Sarah Jane became the first African-American woman to serve as a professor, at Ohio Wilberforce University. In 1869, Fanny Jason became the first woman to head an American higher institution. In 1870, Ada Kepley became the first woman to earn a law degree, from the Northwestern School of Law (Snyder, 1993).

Conclusion

The chronicle of higher education in the United States reveals a significant development that took place in higher educational systems between 1840 and 1900. The Land-Grant Act stands as one of the major milestones in the development of higher education, encouraging growth in fields such as engineering and agriculture. The period also recorded a sweeping expansion of the curriculum to match the evolving educational system. Many higher institutions were established by 1890, and this era was also marked by growing encouragement for women to pursue higher education (Geiger, 2014).