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1835.

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This document was scanned from an original copy of the American Education Society’s Quarterly Register, which served as a digest of the diverse facets in American Education and its outflowing effects worldwide. The society was comprised of leading Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton Alumni, and served to promote the work both in the U.S. and abroad for educating the people in the Reformation’s worldview of the Bible serving as the only infallible rule of life, which, of course, was the purpose for which these schools were founded.

The following begins the original text:

COLUMBIA COLLEGE is the fifth institution of the kind established in the United States—Harvard University having been founded in 1638, William and Mary College in 1692, Yale College in 1700, and the college of New Jersey in 1746. The number of alumni amounts to about 1,200. Among them are the names of John Jay, Egbert Benson, Gouverneur Morris, De Witt Clinton, John M. Mason, Samuel Provost, Phi]ip Livingston, Robert R. Livingston, Peter Van Schaick, Robert Troup, and Marinus Willett. General Hamilton left the institution, without a degree, to join the army. The number of distinguished alumni, besides those mentioned, both living and dead, is large. There are several peculiarities in the administration of this institution, which are worthy of notice. The collegiate instruction is intrusted entirely to the president and professors. No tutor has been employed since 1762. Only three had been engaged previously—William Samuel Johnson, Leonard Cutting, and Myles Cooper. We have no doubt that all the other colleges in our land would adopt a similar course, were their funds adequate. The objection which is alleged against the employment of the time of learned professors in the drudgery of elementary instruction, ought not to exist. That drudgery should be encountered in the preparatory schools.

Since the year 1786, the order of merit is observed in giving the names of the candidates for the baccalaureate at Columbia college. We believe that this practice has not been adopted elsewhere, unless a single college in the Western States be an exception. Without here expressing an opinion in regard to the expediency of it, we will simply mention that a triennial catalogue of Columbia college affords an excellent opportunity to see how far the standing of collegiate life is maintained in subsequent years. It is a common remark, that proficiency at college affords no index of future attainment or usefulness. The truth of this remark is not confirmed, we believe, in the experience of Columbia college. The relative standing in college has been, if we are not mistaken, generally maintained in professional life.

The history of Columbia college would be a very fruitful theme for study, in determining the question of the relative advantages of a city, and a country-village, as a location for a literary institution. We now, however, forbear to make any remarks on this interesting subject, and proceed to quote the greater part of an historical sketch of Colombia college, which appeared in the Knickerbocker, a New York Monthly Magazine. It is inserted in the number for February, 1835, and is from the pen, we presume, of a member of the college-faculty.

"It appears from the records of Trinity Church, in this city, that as far back as the year 1703, its rector and wardens were directed to wait on Lord Cornbury, then governor of the province, ‘to know what part of the King’s Farm, then vested in the church, had been intended for the college, which he designed to have built.’ No steps, however, were taken, for many years, towards the execution of that design,—and it was not till after the establishment of an university in Philadelphia, that a number of gentlemen in New York, animated by the example of their neighbors, undertook to found

a college in the latter city. Early in the year 1758, an act of assembly, was obtained, appointing James Delancey and others, of different religious denominations, trustees for carrying their design into execution, and providing for a fund, by a succession of lotteries.

"In the year 1754, these trustees chose Dr. Samuel Johnson of Connecticut, to be president of the intended college; but he would not absolutely accept the office, until the charter had been obtained from the crown. He removed, however, to New York, and in July of that year, commenced the instruction of a class, consisting of ten students, in the vestry room of Trinity Church.

"On the 31st of October, of the same year, the royal charter was granted; and from that time the existence of the college is properly to be dated. This charter sets forth, among other things, that divers sums of money had been raised by lottery, and appropriated for the founding of a college, and that the rector and inhabitants of the city of New York, in communion with the Church of England, had set apart a parcel of ground on the west side of Broadway, and had declared themselves ready and desirous to convey the said land in fee for the use of a college, to be established upon the terms mentioned in their declaration,—and it therefore ordains, that the college shall be known by the name of King’s college, and shall be for the instruction, and education of youth, in the learned languages, and liberal arts and sciences, and that in consideration of the grant to be made by Trinity Church, the president of the college shall always be a member of the Church of England."

The number of trustees or governors of the college named in the charter, was about forty, at the head of whom was the archbishop of Canterbury.

"The governors were empowered to make such laws and ordinances for the regulation of the college, as they should think best, so that they were not repugnant to the laws of England, nor to those of the province of New York, and did not exclude any person of any religious denomination whatever, from equal liberty and advantage of education, or from any degrees, liberties, privileges, benefits, or immunities of the college, on account of his particular tenets in matters of religion. It was also ordained, that there should be public morning and evening service in the college, according to the liturgy of the Church of England, or a collection of prayers drawn from the liturgy, with a particular collect for the college,—and the Reverend Samuel Johnson, D.D., was named in the charter as the first president. The grant of land, above alluded to, was executed by Trinity Church, the release therefor expressing it to be made for the purpose of encouraging and promoting the founding, erecting, and establishing a college, in the province of New York, for the education and instruction of youth in the liberal arts and sciences,—and it contains provisions with respect to the president and the prayers to be used in the college, similar to those contained in the charter.

"The governors of the new college held their first meeting on the 7th of May, 1755, and its funds were subsequently augmented by the voluntary contributions of the founders, named in the charter, and of a number of’ other individuals, among whom the honorable Joseph Murray deserves to be particularly mentioned. This gentleman, who was an eminent lawyer of this city, and a member of the legislative council of the province, devised to the college nearly the whole of his estate, amounting to about twenty-five thousand dollars, which was expended chiefly, in the erection of suitable buildings for the institution. It was not however until May, of the year 1760, that the college buildings began to be occupied, and, notwithstanding all the exertions of its friends, the funds of the institution were by no means adequate to its wants. Addresses were drawn up, and forwarded to the English universities, and other public societies, and to individuals abroad, eminent for their rank and station,—soliciting their aid. The success of this appeal does not appear; but toward the end of the year 1762, the Reverend Myles Cooper, A. M. and Fellow of Queen’s College, in the University of Oxford, was elected a Fellow of King’s College New York, Professor of Moral Philosophy therein, and assistant to the president. Soon after his appointment, a new plan of

[ 346 ] HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE.

education, remarkable for the extent and variety of the classical studies which it enjoined, was adopted, and new laws were passed for the government of the institution.

"In March, 1763, Dr. Johnson resigned his office of president, and shortly afterward, Mr. Cooper, who had been created a Doctor of Laws, by the college, was elected to supply his place. From this period the affairs of the college seem to have gone on regularly and prosperously. In the year 1767, a grant of land was obtained, under the government of Sir Henry Moore, of twenty-four thousand acres, situate in the northern parts of the province; but this accession to the property of the institution,—which, in the course of time, would have become very valuable, proved of no avail, as the tract in question, eventually fell within the boundary of the State of Vermont, and was lost to New York, and to the college. In the course of the same year, an application was made to the governors of the college, by several eminent physicians of the city of New York, for permission to deliver courses of lectures, in the several departments of medicine, in consequence of which, a regular medical school was established in the college.

"The institution continued to flourish until the commencement of the Revolution, and a summary of its history to that period, found among the papers, left in this country by Dr. Cooper, and supposed to have been written by him, gives a view of the state of the college at the time probably, when it was most flourishing under his superintendence. After stating the manner in which the college was founded and the endowments it had received, Dr. Cooper proceeds to say, that ‘by means of these and other benefactions, the governors have been enabled to extend their plan of education almost as diffusely as any college in Europe, herein being taught by proper masters and professors, who are chosen by the governors and president, divinity, natural law, physic, logic, ethics, metaphysics, mathematics, natural philosophy, astronomy, geography, history, chronology, rhetoric, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, modern languages, and whatever else of literature may tend to accomplish the pupils, both as scholars and gentlemen. To the college is also annexed a grammar school for the due preparation of those who propose to complete their education, with the arts and sciences.’

"When the disputes with the parent country assumed a serious aspect, president Cooper was under the necessity of returning to England. He appears to have intended his absence to be only temporary, for the Reverend Benjamin Moore, an alumnus of the institution, was appointed president pro tem, to act during the absence of Dr. Cooper. But the latter never returned to this country, and after his departure, no public commencements were held until peace was re-established. Several new students, however, were admitted during the year 1775, and degrees were conferred; and in the year following, although there were no admissions, the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred on six candidates.

"In the spring of’ 1776, the college building was converted by order of the Committee of Safety, into a military hospital. The professors and students were consequently dislodged, and the library and philosophical apparatus were removed to the City Hall, from whence very few of the books, and a very small part of the apparatus, ever found their way back to the college. Although the public course of instruction did not re-commence until after the close of the Revolutionary war, the course of tuition was for a short time carried on without the walls of the building; and two admissions are noted in the old matriculation book under the year 1777; after which no trace is found for several years of the continuance of any of the collegial courses. The governors, however, appear to have held occasional meetings during the remainder of the war, and upon the restoration of peace, the college again assumed the character of a public institution.

"In the year 1784, all the seminaries of learning in the State were, by an act of the legislature, subjected to the authority of ‘the Regents of the University,’ who immediately entered upon the regulation of the affairs of ‘Columbia College,’ to which the name of the institution was now changed; and in the course of a short time new professors were appointed, a grammar school, and a

medical department were established—several candidates presented themselves and were entered as students, and a literary society, composed of students and others, was admitted within the walls of the college.

"The views of the regents appear to have been much enlarged by the new station which the country had take it among the nations of the civilized world, for before the end of the year, they determined upon the establishment of professorships on a much more extensive plan than had ever before been adopted, or than ever has since been realized. But a small part of this plan could be carried into effect, as at the time it was adopted, the annual income of the college was estimated at only two thousand five hundred dollars. The college remained under the immediate superintendence of the regents of the university, until April, 1787, when, by an act of the legislature, the original charter, with necessary alterations, was confirmed, and the college placed tinder the care of twenty-nine trustees, who were to exercise their functions until their number should be reduced by death, resignation, or removal, to twenty-four; after which all vacancies in their number were to be filled by their own choice.

"In May 1787, William Samuel Johnson, LL. D., son of the first president, and at that time a member of the convention which formed the constitution of the United States, from the State of Connecticut, was elected president of Columbia college; and continued to execute the duties of that office, after being chosen by the same State one of its senators in the first congress under the federal constitution, and during the term of his election to the senate. At the time he entered upon the duties of his academical office, which was in the November subsequent to his appointment, there were in the faculty of arts, three professors, the same number in the medical department, and a professor of the German language. The number of students was thirty-nine, of whom five boarded and lodged in the college, and five others occupied rooms, and studied there. The affairs of the college appear to have proceeded from that time without experiencing any material change, until the beginning of the year 1792, when the medical school was placed upon a more respectable and efficient footing. A dean of the faculty, and eight professors were appointed; and their duties and powers defined; apartments in the college were appropriated to their use, and such alterations made as were requisite for their accommodation.

"For some years after this, the proceedings of the trustees indicate that the Institution was in a state of increasing prosperity. In addition to the former professorships, they appointed a professor of the Oriental languages; one of natural history, chemistry, etc.; one of the practice of medicine; one of law; and one of rhetoric and Belles Lettres. In the year 1798, the number of distinct professorships was diminished, by uniting different branches in the same department, and by abolishing such as had been found unnecessary.

"In July, 1800, the venerable Dr. Johnson resigned the office of president, after having held it upwards of thirteen years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Wharton, P. D., who held the office with the professorships of moral philosophy and rhetoric then annexed to it, only about seven months. Upon his resignation, these professorships were again detached from the presidency, and the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the State of New York, was appointed to that office, twenty-six years after his first temporary appointment to fill it in Dr. Cooper’s absence, and a distinct professor of moral philosophy, rhetoric, etc., was also chosen.

"The new president did not reside in the college, and having ecclesiastical duties to perform,—of which the claims upon his time and attention were paramount to all others,—he was charged only with a general superintendence of the college, including attendance at the public examinations, and at commencements—amid was not expected to take an active part in its discipline and instruction, the chief management of these devolved, therefore, on the professors; and although the affairs of the institution could not be conducted in this way with the same vigor and efficacy as under the supervision of a single head, exclusively devoted to its service, and always present to watch over its welfare, yet the college may be considered, even during this period, as continually gaining ground. The course of instruction was carried on by highly

respectable professors, and the classes increased in numbers. The funds of the institution were also somewhat augmented by grants of land and money from the legislature; while its real estate in the city became daily more valuable.

"From this time the affairs of the college present nothing remarkable until the middle of the year 1809, when an important change was begun in the system of instruction, which may be considered as the commencement of a new era in the literary character of the institution. By an ordinance of the board of trustees, to take effect the following year, the requisites for entrance into the college were raised much higher than they had ever previously stood, and a new course of study and system of discipline were established, forming. with the new regulation as to admission, an admirable plan for elevating the standard, and extending the course of college education. This has since undergone some important modifications, but it still remains the basis of the existing plan of study and system of discipline. After this spirit of improvement had been thus awakened, bishop Moore resigned the office of president, in May 1811, with the view of making room for some other person, who might devote his whole time and attention to the concerns of the college. In the June following it was thought expedient to divide the duties and powers of the president between that officer and another, to be called the provost; and the statutes were altered accordingly. In the absence of the president, his place was to be filled by the provost, who, besides the like general superintendence with the president, was to conduct the classical studies of the senior class; and shortly after this alteration, the Rev. William Harris, D.D., was elected president; and the Rev. John M. Mason, D. D., was chosen to fill the new office of provost.

"During the progress of these internal improvements, the exterior of the college remained in a very deplorable state, and the want, both of proper accommodation and of a creditable appearance in the edifice, continued for several years longer to embarrass and mortify the trustees and friends of the institution. Various schemes were at different times devised, for a new arrangement of the building, and for raising a greater revenue from the college grounds, and serious thoughts were more than once entertained of removing the college from the city. While these plans were in agitation, and before any had been brought to maturity, the medical school of Columbia college, was in November 1818, discontinued in consequence of the establishment of the college of physicians and surgeons, in New York.

"In the year 1816, Dr. Mason resigned the office of provost, and a resolution was thereafter passed by the board of trustees by which the power and duties of that office, except as to conducting the classical studies of the Senior class, devolved on the president.

"The college buildings still remained" in an unsightly and ruinous condition, —and the trustees, after an attentive examination of their funds, found that they might with safety, enter upon a thorough repair of the old edifice, and the erection of additional buildings. In September 1817, the general outlines of the plan, afterward executed, were adopted, and whilst the building was in progress, improvements were also made in the interior concerns of the seminary. On the election of a new professor of moral philosophy and rhetoric, the course of study in that department was extended by the addition of political economy, and the history of ancient and modern literature. An adjunct professor of the Greek and Latin languages, was appointed to attend exclusively to the freshman class. The professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy, was divided into two distinct branches,—one consisting of mathematics and astronomy, the other of natural and experimental philosophy and chemistry,—for which latter department, a new professor was afterward appointed.

"Before the expiration of the year 1820, the alterations and improvements of the college buildings and grounds were completed, and the usefulness and respectability of the institution, were afterward further increased by the reestablishment of the professorships of law—of the Italian, and of the French languages, and literature. In the year 1827, the grammar school annexed to

the college was revived upon an extended and liberal plan, so as not only to render it a preparatory school for the college, but to afford the means of enlarged instruction, to those intended for mercantile pursuits, without entering the college, and within the next two years, a new building was erected in the rear of the college, for the accommodation of this auxiliary establishment, and forming one wing of a large edifice, designed to be completed whenever the college might have need of more numerous apartments.

"In October, 1829, the office of president became vacant by the death of Dr. Harris, who had continued to an advanced age, with great zeal and fidelity, to preside over the institution; and early in the following December, the Hon. William A. Duer, then one of the circuit judges of the State of New York, was elected to supply the vacancy.

"On the first of January, 1830, the new president entered upon the duties of his office, and within the same month, the system of instruction was extended by the establishment of a literary and scientific course, distinct from the full course, in which latter the classical studies are included, and students were allowed to be matriculated for any of the various branches composing the new course, in which also were comprised the modern languages of Europe. Free scholarships were established by the bounty of the trustees, the nominations to which were vested in each of the religions denominations in the city, and in its leading institutions for the promotion of knowledge; and the professors of the college were authorized to deliver public lectures at extra hours in any of the branches of literature and science, falling within their respective departments.

"The sub-graduate course of instruction was subsequently enlarged by the addition of lectures on the evidences of Christianity,—by the extension of the English studies in the younger classes, and enlarging those in the departments of natural philosophy and chemistry. A course of lectures on the constitutional jurisprudence of the United States has since been added to the studies of the senior class, and directed to be delivered by the president. To enable the faculty to discharge these increased duties, one hour was added to the daily attendance of the students, so that each class now attends one hour every day in each department of its studies; or four hours daily, exclusive both of the previous religious service and exercises in declamation in the chapel ; and of the subsequent attendance of one hour of those who pursue the study of Hebrew, or of any of the modern languages.

"The grammar school of the college was also placed upon a footing which has rendered it more extensively useful, as well as more efficient as a preparatory seminary to the college, and the immediate superintendence of it committed to the Jay professor of the ancient languages, as rector of the grammar school. A junior department has since been added, and the number of instructors increased to eight in the classical, mathematical, and English departments, besides two of modern languages; so that a pupil may be received into the minor department of the grammar school as soon as he can read the English language, and in nine or ten years be conducted upon one uniform system of instruction, through both the preparatory school, and the college, and at the end of that time receive his first degree; or in five or six years he may receive a complete English and mathematical education, including any of the modern languages, so as to fit him for business without entering the college; or he may, if duly qualified, enter either the grammar school or the college at any stage of their respective courses.

"The general course of instruction in the college, may be considered as threefold, viz:

"1. The full course, including every branch of collegial study, and entitling the successful student to the degree of bachelor of arts.

"2. The literary and scientific course, which excludes the study of the ancient languages, but includes that of the modern. To the successful student in this course is given, upon a vote of the board of trustees, a college testimonial, differing but in name and extent, from the academical degree of the full course.

"3. The voluntary course, which is intended for graduates and others, who have made some proficiency in learning, and is limited solely by the wishes of

parents, or of the applicants themselves, both in regard to extent and duration, and admits, also, of a higher course of instruction in the Greek and Latin languages."

The text-books and the general course of instruction do not vary materially from those adopted by the other leading colleges in the United States. Particular attention is given to the subject of constitutional law, under the superintendence of chancellor Kent.

"The faculty of the college consist at present of:

WILLIAM ALEXANDER DUER, LL. D., President.

The Rev. JOHN MCVICKAR, D. D., Professor of Moral, Intellectual, and Political Philosophy, Rhetoric, and the Belles Lettres.

NATHANIEL F. MOORE, LL. D., Professor of the Greek and Latin Languages.

CHARLES ANTHON, LL. D., Jay Professor of the Greek and Latin Languages; and Rector of the Grammar School.

JAMES RENWICK, LL. D., Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry.

HENRY J. ANDERSON, M. D., Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy.

JAMES KENT, LL. D., Professor of Law.

LORENZO L. DA PONT E, Professor of Italian.

The Rev. ANTONIO VERREN, A. M., Professor of French.

MARIANO VELASQUEZ DE LA CADENDA, LL. D., Professor of Spanish.

The Rev. SAMUEL H. TURNER, D. D., Professor of Hebrew."