Princeton University - Bric A Brac Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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Henry heads the list of outstanding in- structors of the period; students flocked to his courses in natural sciences, and his fame as a scientist was widespread. Faculty, townspeople, and undergraduates gathered in amazement around his elementary tele- graph which ran from his office to his home. By way of demonstrating its utmost practicality Henry would signal the maid when he wanted his lunch, and before an astounded audience, she would bring it over to him. The college was greatly de- jected when Henry left in 1846 to become the first director of the Smithsonian Insti- tution. He returned at intervals, however, to conduct courses or give once more his popular lectures. Dr. Carnahan was greatly aided in his program by the growing interest and as- sistance of the alumni. In 1826, at com- mencement, the Alumni Association of Nassau Hall was organized. James Madi- son, fourth President of the United States, was elected president and John MacLean as secretary. Thus, alumni interest was fostered, a common ground was established, and, most important, a counterbalance to the trustees was created. Through the Alumni Association a tradition of large commencement reunions develof ed. Already commencements were a colorful afiFair. Up until 1844 they were held in September. Since this was just prior to State and national elections, many people gathered who had little interest in the actual commencement. Hawkers set up shop on the sidewalks, the Tavern was full of politicians, and political orators gave forth on every comer. The actual process of final examina- tions and graduation were very different than those of later days. Examinations were, for the most part, oral, and consisted of repeating tedious passages and catechisms from memory. Speechmaking, Latin and Greek orations, and debates played a large part in the graduation proceedings. The ceremony, which took place in the Presby- terian Church, lasted six hours. Bands were brought from Philadelphia to sere- nade the spectators and guests between orations. Finally, the political side-show threatened to overshadow the commence- ment proceedings, and in 1844, the g du- ation time was changed to June. The two great literary societies, Whig and Clio, held much of the undergradu- ate ' s attention during his college life. Founded in 1765 and 1769, they were first known as the Well-Meaning Club and the Plain-Dealing Club. In 1769 they changed to their present names. For years they ex- ercised a moderating influence on the un- dergraduate body, and student life cen- tered around them. Elections and initia- tions were serious affairs, and continual friendly rivalry always existed between the two clubs. The Society which had the sen- ior selected for the valedictory was con- sidered with utmost envy by the other. The first faint charges of being a country club were aired at this time. As in later years, this was generally unfair. There was a large number of sons of vealthy aristocrats and merchants in col- lege, but there was also a sizable group of men who were aided financially through grants and scholarships. Princeton did, however, take on a somewhat aristocratic atmosphere which many will claim still exists. This was indeed a colorful period, not only in Princeton ' s history, but in the nation ' s life, and many national figures appeared at Princeton. In 1824 LaFayette was received at Nassau Hall and given an honorary degree which had been awarded him in 1790. This was a gala event and the front campus was decorated in ornate style for him. 16

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a wrathful President Green in his night shirt. The facuky finally tracked down the perpetrators, but not before several nights of revelry and excitement. Eleven students were found guilty, and five expelled. Grad- ually the rioting tapered off. Three years later trouble broke out anew. On January 19, 1817, the students began Princeton ' s worst riot in protest against unduly long reading assignments. They nailed every entrance shut and locked the tutors and religious students in their rooms. To add to the confusion, they yelled Rebellion and Fire! as they raced through the halls. The bell was rung violently for minutes at a time. Vice-Presi- dent Slack sneaked into the building through a basement entrance, but after a glass decanter flew past his head he retired hastily, crying, Ah! you missed your aim! When the riot quieted down. President Green dismissed fourteen students. Forth- with, the violence flared up again. Again the building was barricaded, the Prayer Hall practically wrecked, the walls scrib- bled with charcoal, and the hallways ob- structed with firewood. Some of the less violently inclined students escaped the building, and those remaining prepared for a siege. They threw firewood down on a posse of citizens, and President Green was hit by a piece of flying ice. The riot was finally broken with the injudicious arrest of seven rioters, who were ultimately expelled and were almost subsequently jailed. This was the last of the great riots. There were some later outbreaks, but the growing interest in athletics, the tradi- tional cane-spree and cannon rushes, and the increasing age at matriculation of the typical student accounted for the gradual let-down. But the rioting was not the only prob- lem of the college in this period. President Smith was succeeded by Ashbel Green in 1812. At the same time that this change was taking place, the dispute over the teaching of religion reached a climax. There had been an active movement since 1808 for the establishment of a separate theological seminary. In 1812, just at a time when the college needed unified sup- port, a grant was received and a separate Seminary was approved. Thus the college lost a great number of religious students, and the Church separated its interest into two distinct parts. Green ' s administration was character- ized by the riots and considerable difficulty with the trustees. Many fine teachers left the college for more lucrative positions elsewhere. Phillip Lindsley, an extremely capable teacher and administrator, left Princeton after he felt the trustees were completely apathetic toward the improve- ment of the college. He accepted the third oflFer from the University of Nashville, but he had previously been offered ten chances to become president of other colleges. Ul- timately, the trustees grew tired of their wranglings with Green, and eased him out of the pre sidency in 1821. On May 28, 1823 James Camahan was elected as the ninth president of the Col- lege of New Jersey. In the three decades during which he served as at least nominal head of the college, much of the ground lost under Smith and Green was recovered. Camahan knew how to recognize and fol- low out good advice. This ability ac- counted for much of his success. Soon after he took office, he was faced with the riot of 1823. He dealt firmly and fairly with the participants, and was not bothered by any more serious riots during his administration. He exerted every efiFort to build up an endo vment and create a scholarly faculty. In both these aims he succeeded. Joseph 15

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In 1833 a plainer man, Andrew Jack- son, visited Princeton, and received an equally ovenvhelming reception. Henr)- Clay, who had a son in the Class of 1840, also paid a visit. During the course of his stay, he joined the Cliosophic Society. While calling on Dr. Carnahan, Clay met with misfortune; the chair in which he was sitting collapsed. Always the politician and true to his fame as a ready orator, he remarked, I hope the other chairs in the college are on a more permanent basis. In 1847, the Princeton Centennial was celebrated. At the same time, a short-lived Law School was launched. With appropri- ate ceremonies, many distinguished edu- cators and leaders gathered in honor of the event. Beneath a large tent the cele- brants convened, reminiscing, toasting each other, and, at times, bursting forth in song. Amidst the excitement of the period and the internal stresses of the college. President Carnahan continued to improve Princeton. When he retired in 1853, there was good reason to be proud of the rec- ord. The faculty was excellent, enrollment and the librar ' gradually expanded. Furthermore, there were at least six Sena- tors, a dozen Representatives, a cabinet officer, a major-general, four governors and numerous distinguished ministers who graduated in the first fifty years of the nineteenth century. The college had weath- ered a difficult period, had passed its crises, and now %vas striving upward. To Dr. John MacLean fell the task of carry- ing on Dr. Carnahan ' s work. Johnny MacLean was well fitted to the task. He had been on the faculty for over three decades, and was well-liked by students, trustees, and fellow instructors. His greatest failing, if it may be called such, was his blind adherence to religion. He at once put forward a curriculum in which religious studies far outweighed other courses. He adopted a policy of ap- pointing only Presbyterians to the faculty and often sacrificed scholarship for re- ligious leanings. However, from the date of his inauguration, June 28, 1854, the ad- vancement of the college continued. His pleasant perso nality, administrative ability, and understanding of his students ' prob- lems overcame his fetish of religious matters. MacLean had scarcely begun to meet the problems of his new administration Avhen he was faced with the reconstruction of Nassau Hall. On a March night in 1855, the halls of Old North echoed to the cries of fire for the second time in its history. The fire broke out as a result of an ember falling out of the brazier in a room on the second floor. At 8:30 the fire