University of South Carolina Columbia - Garnet and Black Yearbook (Columbia, SC)

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The History Behind USC Ccont.J expelled. But the air of dissatisfaction remained. When a legislative ,committee investigated the complaints, they found that President Maxcy's inability to act because of ill health was the cause of the unfavorable conditions. After the investigation, improve- ments were made. When 52-year-old Maxcy died in 1820, Thomas Cooper was named Governor john Drayton was instrumental in the ertablzklament ofSoutb Carolina College. The Euplyradian ba!! ojien served as the scene of weekbf animated debate: on almost any and every con- reivable subject. president of the College. Cooper was a 61-year-old New Englander whose controversial nature was well known in the North. He took control of the College, raised the weakened entrance requirements and restored Latin and Greek to the curriculum. He believed that the quality of the student body was worth more than numbers. So, when there were no freshmen in the 114 attending SCC in 1831, Cooper deemed it an uplift in academic excel- lence. Cooper favored the idea of a uni- versity and also said a free public . N - otm rm es on 1 .pwrggfiitva-4-qffmafaxfm-assi . -. . ' ' ' ' 1' 1 it aa.ifrwi,'-tu: my -f c 5 - r 5 -' g- . 'Q Zoumaigeisf up ' H South-Carolina, College, waiitri-iowa-t. . ti l 1 151 Mgtivt. of 134111152111 af Z1'tw-ww,- f ..,. R - 4, if MQ V Maas rctuis ' Q 0 09' iw 'l!EfO901Ied.ifor the receptiu ugvwit, lpcvi Studignn, on. the .second srfmgny fn J,m,m.y Mm. ' WWW-imhmi fi mf- i 0 i?nW3.i95 333050 what propos, 8 nm-si., xi - V: i. NlhQivLn'1' ren ,to that iixstituhiin, l0,PifCf'8i'8 r ,i ,rhomqftimar adlmssiom'theifoiluwipugggiggg bgbfoyisiouaily Agn igitm-tgt-the ,Amin Pyllrlac. 'Y You ssiiliyxhbieforse heplem-ed to in .girgirimjiyfirilifiiihigttl-ltitri M, Wie. iotslttia-omit my Ga-zezttas.onriwwry rw .INA sigma..-cific pi ,il This order be ciouuterrp-fimlgd'. ' P ' by Teivablh -:Lab 1 5' WILLIAM' Ti8Y1-0Ri f5vwetery. . .p Fnxw-z.xv1,+esq. A -In -5 'Ti'5if ?m, ..-. 1 that .,.,,W,.,,. . it ftl ct'i gl' ? 'g?'f5 .- , - cmusmr ' . gtsaufl other sides--by - , ,, i - - - fi, Atari, 29.11, 1864, ... -fait, .aff-1?-4' !fft'f '4tf?- 'w2 'rfi6v '-V 'f'1 'ff of If--f so f t, W i- ,, t y - i,g,i.fi,ii.v,Mi it 'mai 1- . M tn- if -' - tl- r Tlyir article announcing the Colleges opening war in the itrae of july 13, 1804, ofthe Carolina Gazette. 10 school system should be created by the state. His advocation of a medical school prompted the medical society in Charleston to seek a charter for such a school. During the Cooper presidency, classical societies prospered and offered all students political, fraternal and intellectual activity. Saturday debates and oratories often lasted long into the night. General Lafayette was elected as an honorary member of one of the classical societies when he vis- ited the campus in 1825. Despite the rise in intellectual stimulation, the students still lacked discipline. Campus window breaking resulted in a 3135 glass tax for each stu- dent. The tax did not curb the break- ing of windows, however, and Colum- bians became infuriated by Coopet's lack of control over the students. Cooper was put under further attack for his religious and political antics. He declared himself a theist, yet denied the existence of the soul, the Trinity and hell. He proclaimed Christianity to be in error and worked diligently to overthrow its teachings. In his geology classes Cooper refuted the divine creation of the Earth as explained in Genesis. The churches of the state were infuriated about this pompous heretic who was implanting false notions into the minds of their youth.

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tution was adopted in 1790. The-lleaders of the Low Country realizing their days of dominating the uncultured Piedmont were num- bered, suddenly saw an urgent need for a state college to educate the future Upland leaders to the Charles- tonian standards. Five colleges were chartered throughout the state, but all failed because of a lack of support and funds. The dawn of a new century proved to be a time ripe for change. The state elections in 1800 ousted the Federalist party and the chairs of the South Car- olina Assembly were filled with Republicans. john Drayton, the new Governor, having been himself denied a college education because of the death of his father, saw the need for a local, state-supported institution. Drayton also saw that sectional dif- ferences over power and college could be ameliorated, if not ended, by the formation of the college itself in a central location such as Columbia. On February 25, 1801, Drayton presented his proposal to the Legisla- ture. It was the first public advocation of the state college in the United States since the end of the Revolu- tion. N urtured by a monetary surplus, a result of Alexander I-Iamilton's fed- eral Assumption Program which returned the 355 million South Caro- lina had spent in the Revolution, the proposal was adopted. The resulting bill, granting 51s5o,ooo for the first year for construction of classrooms and dormitories as well as 356,000 each successive year for sala- ries, was passed by both the House and the Senate. On December 19, 1801, the South Carolina College ceased being just a dream. n the 10th of january, 1805, a board of trustees, less than half of whom had gone to college, opened the doors of the South Carolina College to nine students seeking higher learning. The College consisted of the land bordered by Bull, Pendleton, Sumter and Devine streets and had 1M buildings and two faculty members. To wel- come them was the first President of the College, jonathan Maxcy, a for- mer Rhode Island minister and New York College president, later nick- named Old jock by the students. The roll increased to 56 students by August, 1806: 14 freshmen, 56 sopho- mores, five juniors and one senior. The graduation ceremony granting eight BA degrees was held in Decem- ber, 1807. By 1810 South Carolina College was well on its way to becoming a noteworthy institution when an epi- demic of turkey stealing shook its foundations. The faculty, had they foreseen the streakers of 1974, would have counted their blessings instead of levying a seven-month suspension on the pranksters. After all, the stu- dents were due a little frolicking for theirs was no easy life. Entrance requirements consisted of translating Cornelius Nepos, Sallust, Caesaris Commentaries, and Virgil's Aeneid from Latin to English , passing a Latin and English grammar exam, translating a Greek passage from the Bible, and proof of legible handwrit- ing, accurate spelling and some knowledge of mathematics. Upon becoming a bonified SCC student, a strict curriculum of Latin, Greek, phi- losophy, algebra, French and speech had to be followed. There were no electives. Dormitories - South CRutledgej and North CDeSaussurej Buildings - had been designed by the board of trustees in the form of tenements, with stairways between every other two rooms so that any student disrup- tion might be easily quenched. Profes- sors were also housed in the dorms and classes were held in the larger rooms. A code of conduct dictated the students' lives from sunrise to sunrise. At 6 a.m. everyone convened in the chapel for prayers and then went back to their rooms to study. The rest of the day went as follows: 8 a.m. - breakfast. 9 a.m.-noon - back to the dorm for study or recitation. 1 p.m. - dinner. 2 p.m. - back to the dorm to study or recite. 5 p.m. - prayers fol- lowed by supper. After the evening meal, the schol- ars had free time until 9 p.m. when they had to return to their rooms. This regimen flowed smoothly for three years until several students Cwho had downed a few too many at a local tavernj broke windows and destroyed furniture in the dining hall. Along with the increasing student body came shooting of firearms, drunken tirades, harassment of Con- garee boatmen, and turkey theft. The faculty, in protest, banned all student fun: firearms, dogs, private servants, entertainment of guests in rooms, spirituous liquors, and visits to taverns and brothels were forbid- den under penalty of expulsion. Dance attendance was restricted to juniors and seniors unless presidential permission was granted. Some faculty even proposed building a high wall around the university. As the code grew more oppressive, the student spirit continued to inflate and turkey stealing soared to a record high. Not a bird in town was safe. s the novelty of turkey stealing wore off, students turned their attention to other aspects of campus life. Filthy buildings, wormy, ill-prepared food and harassment by an overly-strict professor, caused many to don dis- guise and burn .an effigy of the pro- fessor. They then marched in a drunken frenzy with a drum and fife to Worth Building where the Riot of 1814 ensued. The angry students broke down the doors, destroyed part of the library and battered the bell that awakened them each morning. Columbia's militia calmed the ruckus and ring leaders of the mob were 9

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' v Students prepare for a horse-amihuggy ride in this pifture taken of the upper part of the Honeshoe over 100yea1:v ago. Notice the ala' house fPrasidentCf Mansion j where MrKissirk Library now stands. , A , t . - t 4 . ' Thomas Coo er was a tron v - .,,Q7'2, .fa-muff 51fmaAL.f4i11-qlaor1Ja-ng :tml 3:.as1n.4ug Ifawefmtg fo me, Cate of Statesfprighrs aid vghagnoa .L , K . Jatldg. .ffm-tmfrd 'ldntba-QQ-V f-fm gviflga- , national tariff was levied, he pro- ' .A c. a claimed that South Carolina would V 4 k U'q 'fr 1' -95 'fjhg ffl-0 ' soon be questioning the value of 'A A ' A A remaining in the Union. A A A A A A A A ' AA A A ' During the 1830's Cooper was put i ir M jflfv. under investigation initiated by the . T L 5 0 ' Q ALli'iYrll5 lwflf3fltQefi52'i.?ffl Ql,,53Q..felflg legislature and carried out by the Wd' if 3 'Nl wwffxf faofibd ya' Board of Trustees. They charged him A pa rnwmfw 05 TK. 33-tag- ffka JW-wailing WLWTCW with several offenses related to his A A Ka Krishna aryl Ma Lum Gwinn, ,L an T s threats of established religion. Cooper - , , JL? ' IT' 0 g 'f'j ' ' cornbatted the accusations on the it. .fo..',,5'fK.,,,,Q, wfn..mu.flul,m-1.5 flirt Mui 3 5,3 'A grounds that the Constitution allowed A T gynivcu YL A , I6 , A him to think and say what he pleased. 17 f'f'j? A'JV ' f '1'W a' .. 'Mfg 5i '?f?f' Cooperis academic record was tmwmwmlihan, 7541 5541 Af,.,,y,2.,,.,1 may Mm A01 3 highly successful. He raised entrance . .Q ,, , s requirements and remodeled the cur- ' 'gif Ke- G m- ff 5'H0fif-Tf'W -fgd riculurn. The fame of this brilliant J TMC mug xoiu hin 5,4 ,gum Jawa , T L hgfsdhilgigiiiiiihie the institution Letter of john Quincy Adams endorsing an application from South Carolina for a Chapter W' Phi Beta Kappa. 11