AMERICAN ANNALS OF EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION. FEBRUARY, 1835. YALE COLLEGE. MUCH has been said in our country, of the 'aristocracy of learning,' which is fostered by our colleges; but still it is found indispensable to resort to them, for those who are to become the guardians of our property, and our health, and the interests of religion. Among the multitudes who have declaimed against them, probably there is not one in a hundred, who is not indebted to them for some benefit conferred upon himself, or his family, by means of the knowledge they have diffused; to say nothing of the general benefit they confer upon the country, and thus upon every one of its citizens. There is another fact in regard to our colleges, which ought not to be forgotten by those who regard religion as hostile to learning, and refuse to admit any association between them. It is, that most of these institutions owe their origin to the love of learning and benevolence of religious men, and generally of clergymen. It is well known that this was the origin of nearly all those established at the early settlement of our country. The oldest Collegiate Institution in the United States is Harvard University, in Massachusetts, and we believe it is now the most liberally endowed. The next established was that of William and Mary, in Virginia, which has had very large funds, but whose spirit, we fear, has long since passed away. We have not yet been able to procure an engraving of either of these institutions, and therefore commence a series of brief sketches 52 Origin of Yale College. which we propose to give, with an account of the third institution established on this side the Atlantic,-Yale College, in the Colony of New Haven.* For some time after the authorities of this colony had resolved on the establishment of a college, they were induced to delay it by the remonstrances of the friends of Harvard College, and in place of this, sent an annual contribution of a peck of wheat or the value of it' for the relief of poor scholars, to be collected from ' every one in this plantation whose heart is willing to contribute thereunto.' In 1652, the subject was agitated before the General Court, but again deferred, on account of the feeble state of the Colony. In the year 1700, ten of the principal ministers in the Colony, were agreed upon by general consent, to stand as trustees for the erection and government of a college. They assembled at New Haven, and instead of contenting themselves with the cheap, modern plan, of forming a constitution and appointing officers, each laid upon the table several folio volumes, amounting in the whole to forty, with the simple expression, I give these books for the founding a college in this Colony.' In contrasting this course with the progress of some of the societies of the day, we could not but think of the significant expression, Words and deeds!" In the following year, a charter was granted to secure the property of the institution; a set of regulations was formed, a rector appointed, and eight students received members. In 1702, the first commencement was held at Saybrook. Here the college continued until 1716, when it was resolved to remove it to New Haven. The first college building was now erected of wood; one hundred and seventy feet in length, twenty in width, and three stories high, containing a dining hall, (used also as a chapel,) library, kitchen, and fifty rooms for students, at an expense of one thousand pounds sterling-a sum of no small magnitude at this early period. In 1718, the first commencement was held at New Haven, and thirteen graduates received the honors of the institution. Liberal donations were received from friends of learning in England; among whom were Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Richard Steele, Burnet, Woodward, Halley, Bentley, Kennet, Berkley, Sherlock, Watts, and Doddridge. The most liberal donor was Governor Yale, of the East India Company; and in acknowledgment of this aid, which enabled them to complete their building, the trustees gave his name to the infant institution. The spirit of disorder which prevailed in the colony about this period, is said by the historians of the institution, to have produced corresponding disorder in the college,-are mark which might, perhaps, assist us in explaining the rebellions of later days—and years elapsed before the effect of this spirit, and of the changes *The engraving appeared originally in the People's Magazine. and controversies about the jurisdiction of the state which followed, had entirely passed away. In 1747, the number of students had increased to one hundred and twenty, under the presidency of Dr. Clap. A new college building of brick was then erected, and in 1763, a chapel, the second and third of the buildings represented in the engraving. In 1782, a dining hall became necessary; in 1792, a second college building. During the presidency of Dr. Dwight, two others were erected; and since his death, two additional edifices, making in the whole a range of seven buildings, not pretending to architectural beauty, but finely situated, at the summit of the gentle slope which forms the public square, and contains the public buildings of New Haven, and furnishing accommodations for about three hundred students. In 1814, the organization of a medical school was completed, and aided by a grant from the state; a building was purchased for its accommodation, at some distance from the rest, and a botanical garden commenced in the neighborhood. The increasing number of students, and the purchase of the splendid cabinet of Col. Gibbs, effected chiefly by the liberality of the citizens of New Haven and the officers of the institution, led to the erection of a new and beautiful building for a dining hall, in the rear of those represented, with an upper story devoted to this invaluable collection, the finest beyond debate in our own country, and yielding to few in Europe, in its extent and beauty. Within a few years, the officers of this college have been led to take the first step towards the cultivation of a taste for the fine arts in a literary institution, by the offer of our historical painter, Col. Trumbull, to deposit, in the college, and ultimately bequeath for its use, the original sketches of his principal pieces, and other historical paintings. The last building erected is that designed for this collection, the income from which, after the death of Colonel Trumbull, is to be devoted to the support of indigent students. But it is more interesting to trace the internal history of the Institution. At first, the care of the students devolved exclusively on the Rector or President, and the studies were designed chiefly to prepare them for the clerical profession. Until 1770, the only new officers appointed, were a Professor of Divinity, and three tutors; and the Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy was the only one added until 1801, although the number of students, as well as the demand for a more extended education, had so greatly increased. On the accession of Dr. Dwight to the Presidency, in 1795, he found no other assistants than the Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and three tutors. In 1801, a Professor of Law was appointed; in 1804, a Professor of Chemistry and Min 54 Improvements in the Course of Instruction. eralogy; in 1805, a Professor of Languages; and the list of tutors was gradually increased to six, during his Presidency, chiefly by his influence. The Academical Faculty now consists of a President, six Professors, an assistant Professor of Chemistry, a Lecturer on Natural History, and eight tutors, to each of whom, a distinct class of studies is assigned-a body of seventeen Professors, besides two other Instructors in modern languages, with three hundred and fifty-four students under their care. In addition to these, two Professors have been appointed, to complete the organization of a Theological School; two for the instruction of a Law School; and six for the Medical School;-an organization which gives to this institution a fair claim to the title of University, according to the usage of our country. The progress of the institution in regard to its course of instruction has been great. Much more classical knowledge is now required for an admission to the lowest class, (and which of course is acquired in the preparatory grammar schools,) than was then given in the whole collegiate course. Homer,' says an early student, we knew not.' In place of arithmetic and surveying, there is a full course of mathematical studies. The course of instruction and the apparatus in Natural Philosophy has advanced with the science, and Rhetoric, Chemistry, and Mineralogy are added to the list of Professorships. Indeed, we believe that this institution, by the noble zeal of one of its professors, by the Journal of Science which he issues, and by the purchase of its cabinet of minerals, has contributed more than any other in our country to the diffusion of Natural Science. It is highly creditable to the guardians and officers of this institution, and encouraging to others which are struggling with poverty, that all this has been accomplished with very limited funds. From a report made to the Legislature in 1831, it appears, that the whole amount of funds granted by the state, for the support of an institution which has been its greatest ornament, was only seventy thousand dollars-less than has been granted in several other states, in a single year. A subsequent donation of seven thousand dollars is the only item to be added for the state bounty to the Academical Department, twenty thousand dollars having been granted for the establishment of the Medical School. Private donations for the library, cabinet, and apparatus, have been liberal, but at a very recent period, the whole income of the institution from its funds, did not much exceed two thousand dollars, leaving it almost entirely dependent for its support, on the fees for tuition. private subscription has recently been completed of one hundred thousand dollars; and a fund of ten thousand dollars has been A |