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

Page 23 text:

scribed on it is: ' We mourn our loss, April 19, 1865. George H. Stone. Many students took leave of the college to go to Philadelphia to see Lincoln lying in state. Princeton was apparently one of the few towns through which the body of Lincoln did not pass on its circuitous route to Illinois. The college also suffered its losses in the war, for seventy Princeton men fell in battle, some wearing the grey, others the blue. Despite the sobering effects of the Avar students ' pranks and minor riots contin- ued. A stunt which gathered considerable constituents was to sneak to the outskirts of town and set fire to an outhouse. In spite of the fact that this did little harm, it caused considerable inconvience, and the authorities finally put an end to it. Undaunted, the students soon found another means of annoying the faculty and providing themselves with amusement. In March 1864 the first intrepid student scaled the belfry and made off vith the clapper. The next morning the janitor had to climb a ladder and strike the bell with a ham- mer to summon the students to morning prayers, much to their enjoyment. There- after, attempts to steal the clapper became more frequent and a lasting tradition grew from it. In 1858, the faculty finally authorized the construction of a gymnasium, half of which was paid for by the students them- selves. It stood where Witherspoon Hall is today, but in 1865 the torch was put to the building after a rumor spread that a tramp with yellow fever had slept in it the night before. The building of the gym, however, signified that the faculty was at last coming to appreciate the worth of athletics. If they had done so fifty years earlier, they would have saved themselves a lot of rioting and trouble. Baseball began in 1858 and was an immediate success. In 1860, the Nassaus played their first outside game. In 1862 they won the championship of New Jersey. By 1863, they were a recognized power- house. pRr ' I RS S H P In that year they had an auspicious record; first they whipped the Athletics, who, it is said, were better then than they are now. The Nassaus then proceeded to challenge and beat Brooklyn! Evidently the Bums raised a cry of We was robbed! , for the Princeton team returned to beat them twice more in the same year. The growing number of Greek letter fraternities caused President MacLean a great deal of anxiety. Beta Theta Pi made its appearance on campus in 1843, soon to be followed by nine others. MacLean was afraid they would detract from the influ- ence of the Literary societies as well as harm discipline. He the refore had the fac- ulty and trustees pass resolutions calling for a pledge from each student saying that he Avould join no secret society. Many stu- dents signed the pledges, but continued their membership. However, through con- tinued surveillance, he was able to elimi- nate, he thought, all the fraternities. At the same time the eating club movement be- gan to develop. In 1864 there were twelve clubs, many with colorful names— Old 19

Page 22 text:

was discovered; by midnight all that re- mained of the building were the walls. The blaze attracted people from outlying sections, who cheered as the students hauled the pictures from the Prayer Hall and pried the head of Homer loose from its stand over the building ' s entrance. As the students gathered in Joline ' s Tavern to discuss the fire, many realized they were less fortunate and had lost everything. Even the bell melted into a mass from which it could never be reclaimed. However, with a little readjustment, college life continued. John Notman was called to design the reconstruction. Again Nassau Hall was subjected to the whims of an architect suffering more from the in- fluence of a passing fancy than a sense of history. And, again, because of the still- standing walls, his chief aims were unful- filled. Nevertheless Notman did all he could to redesign the Georgian building into an Italian villa. He added the towers which still stand on either end of the build- ing. The ill-proportioned cupola is like- wise his work. In 1856, the first students moved back into the building, although the library and some parts weren ' t com- pleted until several months later. The Civil War brought further prob- lems to Princeton and MacLean. Almost one third of the student body lived below the Mason-Dixon line. Within the college there was little antipathy between north- ern and southern students. It was, in fact, a day of sad farewells when the southern boys left because secession had really come. The campus went through periods of great patriotism as well as times when it was accused of being a stronghold of South-lovers. Mixed emotions predomi- nated until hostilities broke out. At times the students paraded up and down Nassau Street carrying signs saying Down with Seward and John Brown, the horsethief and murderer. Another time, they burned Seward and Beecher in effigy on the front campus. After the war broke out, the boys made various attempts to show their loy- alty. There was a mild rush to enlist, but there were often greater advantages to re- maining in campus. Few people took the hostilities too seriously at first, anyway. Once, however, a group of students suc- ceeded in raising the flag over the cupola. The authorities removed it. The next day, one Captain Margerum personally climbed ! , the cupola and replaced the flag. This time 1 it ' (vas allowed to stay. Traditionally, it is said that the fluttering of the flag caused the weather vane to bend so that it pointed north for the rest of the war. The end of the war brought a great deal of jubilation. The students rang the bell for hours on end, and impromptu pa- rades sprang up from time to time. The joy of peace was soon contrasted with the sadness which followed Lincoln ' s assassina- tion. A window pane in Nassau Hall still bears mute vitness to the tragedy, for in-

Page 24 text:

Hickory, Shucks, Gideon ' s Band, and Old Bourbon. The clubs were not established on a permanent basis, but the idea contin- ued to grow. Under MacLean the clubs first assumed importance in the life of the undergraduates. In 1867, Dr. MacLean decided to re- sign because of his advancing age. He had successfully guided the college through a critical period in both its own and the na- tion ' s history. And he had set the stage for the great expansion which was to follow. The trustees felt a keen sense of the importance of selecting an extremely able man as MacLean ' s successor. American edu- cation was entering a new era, as was vir- tually every other phase of American life. The college had to go along with the tide or be swept into anonymity in the back- wash. The choice fell upon Reverend Henry Green of the Seminary. Green, how- ever, declined, and the trustees had to reach a new decision. The choice this time went to James McCosh, a professor of Queen ' s College, Belfast, and a thorough-going Scot. He had visited the United States in 1866, and made a deep impression as an able teacher and scholar. There was, too, the precedent set by Witherspoon. who had come over just a century before. Furthermore, Mc- Cosh had visited many European univer- sities and was in a position to transport the best of their ideas to Princeton. On April 29, 1868 he was elected and accepted almost as soon as he received notice of his election. Five months later, he arrived in Princeton amidst a tremendous celebra- tion. He was met at the train by coaches carrying orange streamers embossed with black class numerals. But the significance of this first use of Princeton ' s colors was lost in the excitement of the arrival. That night, the students cheered and sang around a huge bonfire, and as McCosh was introduced, rockets burst in the skies over- head. Thus was to begin the most colorful and expansive period in Princeton ' s his- tory. McCosh set the keynote for his admin- istration when, speaking vith a deep Scot- tish burr, he emphasized the importance of individual learning. He would attempt to draw the best out of the student, while imparting useful knowledge to him at the same time. The program would utilize a student ' s power to think, rather than to memorize, as had always been the case before. In an effort to fulfill his aims, McCosh started to build up the faculty. It took time to organize a group of scholars around him, but in ten years the faculty was con- sidered one of the best in the country. The names of C tus Brackett, Granny Hunt, and Heni7 B. Fine are still remembered as outstanding educators. McCosh believed in greater freedom for the individual student. However, he would not allow the same freedom of course elections which prevailed in some other colleges. There developed a lively interest in the question among educators. The result was a debate between President 20