Northwestern University - Syllabus Yearbook (Evanston, IL)

Page 16 text:

1853-AFRIAL OF CHICAGO, twenty years old, boasting a rapidly growing population of over 30,000. to the new 875,000 Tremont House at the corner ofLake and Dearborn Streets, and duly resented the description by a down-Easter of Chicago as of all the prairie towns, the most repulsive to every human sense. To the north, along the lakeshore, and west of the swamp that ran between the present Chicago and Ridge Avenues, lay the township of Ridgeville. Here lived some 443 persons, among them some outcasts and ne'er-do-wells from Chicago. Communication with Chicago was along the Green Bay Road which wound its way through swamps and oak forests toward Milwaukee. The civic and social center of the community was the Buckeye Tavern. Foufldifzg the University, 1850-1855 On the last day of May, 1850, nine friends met in the oHice of Grant Goodrich, on Lake Street in Chicago. After a prayer they set themselves to consider the establishment of a university for the Northwest, under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The need for a university in the Northwest was certainly apparent. The Ordi- nance of 1787 had declared that: Religion, 12 , morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of man- kind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. Nevertheless higher education in Illinois in 1850 was represented almost solely by a few denomina- tional colleges far downstate. Such institutions as Professor Hathaway's Academy, which offered to teach any part of a collegiate course desired, were hardly to be considered. That the lNIethodist Church took the initiative in improving this situation was, in part, an indication that the great intellectual development of American Methodism, which had begun with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke, was in full tide. The General Con- ference of 1820 had proposed the establish- ment of schools and colleges and the General Conference of 1848 determined that their nature should be liberal, neither Godless nor narrowly sectarian. In addition to a strong belief in the future of Chicago, denomi- national pride was a major factor in determining the establishment of North- western. Matthew Simpson, distinguished Methodist clergyman of Indiana and, with Dr. John Evans, one of the originators of the idea of the University, expressed this denomi-

Page 15 text:

THE BEGINNINGS l851f-fl 9 O 7?- T was a year of uncertainty. North and South had become more than geographic terms. Presi- dent Zachary Taylor puzzled over the slavery problem while Henry Clay wrote a Compromise to preserve the Union. In the Wlest, Manifest Destiny and gold made California a state, and the Latin neighbors of the Republic watched apprehensively as the frontier pushed west and south. In Illinois, too, the pace was quickening. Stephen A. Douglas was already a familiar name and an ex- Congressman from Springfield named Abraham Lincoln was riding the court circuit in the southern part of the state. Along the shore of Lake Michigan the booming city of Chicago, just seventeen years old, already counted almost thirty thousand people, but scoffed at the fantastic prediction of one of her citizens that she would reach 200,000 within a generation. Mud, plank roads, and land speculation, lake traHic, the grain trade and Cyrus McCormick's reaper were things of daily concern. People seeking culture turned from the materialism of 1850 to the higher things and at- tended Professor,' 0. S. Fowler's lectures on phren- ology at the City Hall, or borrowed books from the wonderful new thousand-volume library of the Lyceum. The City Fathers struggled with the problems of lack of sewers, recurrent epidemics, grog shops, and the prevalence of pickpockets. Citizens pointed with pride WITH THE UNIVERSITY CHARTER featured in the center are some of Northwestern's historical landmarks. Clockwise starting at upper left are Chicago Medical College, Hall of Science, YVomen's College, Preparatory School, Life Saving Station, Snyder farm house, and University Hall tower. I l l I 1 i I l I l ohn Evans Grant Goodrich Orrington Lunt 11

Page 17 text:

national concern in his statement: If there is a single point on which the' public regard us unfavorably, it is the matter of education. They acknowledge our piety, they know our numbers, they admit our energy and enter- prise, but they have not given us credit for being deeply interested in education. The meeting of the nine in Chicago on May 31, 1850, passed a single resolution, to appoint a committee of live to draft a charter to be submitted to the legislature and to notify the Rock River and neighboring con- ferences of the Methodist Church of the proposed plan, asking their support. Another committee of three was appointed to lind the money for the new institution. The University, in the liberal tradition of Methodism, was to be broadly inclusive as 'to religious policy. Perhaps its most important characteristic, however, was that it was designed to serve the whole Northwest Territory. Of the twenty- eight colleges in the Middle 1Vest chartered prior to 1850, twenty-three denominational and live under state control, none claimed to serve anything more than local needs. lt was the hope of the founders that Northwestern University would, in the Middle Yvest, achieve the same position as a great center of higher learning as that held in the Old Wlorld by Oxford, the birthplace of Methodism. Dr. John Evans, the most remarkable of this very remarkable group of young men, was made chairman of the finance committee. He was a dreamer of great dreams, with ability and force of character to make them come true. In his varied occupations then and later, ofpioneer physician, founder ofhospitals, real estate promoter, builder of railroads and Lincoln's war governor of Colorado territory, he combined a high degree of determination, courage and business acumen with a strong and practical Christian faith. Historical evi- dence supports the fact that Dr. Evans was the originator, inspired by Matthew Simpson, of the idea of Northwestern University and for more than forty years he was the chief support of the University, devoting time, money and energy in large quantities to secure the successful foundation and survival of this, his most important achievement. The remaining eight founders of the Uni- R1DG1iYI1.LE'S BUCKHYF T.-XYFRN served town patrons and welcomed travelers on Green Bay Trail ff sx '. fl 1840-LOG HOUSE, built by Carl Eiseman on Niles Road, was a picturesque landmark of early days. 13