Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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' Our college associated byname wilh I ' lieiuls, and establishcfl by them and those in symi)athy with their views, might be expected to be sectarian in its character, and in one sense it may be so, but in another, a broader and more correct one, we trust it will not be. We have no creed, no con- fession of faith, no formalism in worship. We ])ropose, as far as practi- cable, to influence the students in the recognition of general principles of well-doing, that each individual is sovereign in his responsiljility to the higher law of his Creator, manifested in his own heart, from the dictates of which spring all the Christian virtues, leaving all questions of theology for individual judgment and disclaiming the right of any to dictate. This we claim to be too broad for sectarianism, and we trust tliat the students of Swarthmore will leave its halls impressed with principles which all their after-knowledge and reflection will only deepen and confirm, but never contradict. Of the students who had presented themselves for examination twenty- six were found prepared to enter the Freshman class, according to the stand- ard then established. As these constituted at first the entire body of college students it will be seen that the institution was at the beginning chiefly a preparatory school. Helen G. Longstreth had been appointed Matron of the college (a title which in later years has been changed to that of Dean), and Edward H. Magill, Principal of the preparatory school. The Faculty for the first year consisted of but four members — the President, the Matron, the Principal, and Clement L. Smith, who left at the end of the first year to accept a professorship at Harvard College, which he still holds at the end of nearly a quarter of a century. The first year the President gave instruc- tion in ethics, chemistry, and natural science: the Principal, in the Latin and French languages, and Clement L. Smith in Greek and German, he being also by title Acting Professor of Mathematics, although pure mathe- matics was taught from the beginning by Susan J, Cunningham, who subse- quently became Professor of Mathematics and a member of the Faculty. The other branches were divided among seven resident teachers and three non-resident lecturers. But one regular course of study in the college was at first established — that leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. This 25

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New Jersey, New York, and Maryland. At length, a sufificient amount having been received to make it safe to begin the work, on the loth of Fifth month, 1866, the corner-stone of Swarthmore College (so called at the suggestion of the wife of Benjamin Hallowell, from the name of the home of George Fox, in England), was formally laid with appropriate public exercises. These were conducted by Edward Parrish, who, as the most active and efficient promoter of the work, had been ele cted by the Managers the first President of the college. Among the letters read upon this interesting occasion was one from Samuel M. Janney, of Loudoun County, Va., one of the signers of the address issued to Friends five years before, and in this letter he expresses his warm sympathy for the work in these characteristic words: It is the purpose of our higher schools and colleges to place within the reach of the student the stores of knowledge accumulated by the wise and good of former ages, and to assist in developing the intellectual powers and moral principles. In executing this great trust, the teacher of youth should ever remember that the development of the intellect, though highly important, is of far less value than the cultivation of moral excellence, and that the benign principles of Christianity can alone secure happiness here and prepare the soul for eternal felicity here- after. ' ' After the laying of the corner-stone in ' 66, the building progressed slowly, as the necessary funds were raised, Friends determining, with their usual care and foresight, not to begin this great work encumbered by a burden of debt. It was more than three years later when, on the 8th of Eleventh month, 1869, the college was opened with about one hundred and seventy students, of both sexes, an almost equal number of each. Two days later, on the loth of Eleventh month, the formal inauguration of the college took place, and in his inaugural address President Parrish outlined the general policy of the college and the several courses of study to be pursued. Addresses were also delivered by Lucretia Mott and William Dorsey, of Philadelphia, and by John D. Hicks, of New York. As an- nouncing the broad, unsectarian principles upon which the college was founded, I quote these significant words from the address of John D. Hicks : 24

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degree Avas at first given without a required knowledge of Greek, but in other respects the requirements differed but little from those of existing colleges. An attempt was made to introduce electives, especially in the later years of the course, as far as the corps of instructors employed would permit. At the close of the first college year Helen G. Longstreth, the Matron, whose duties, except in matters of instruction, had been the same for the young women as the President ' s for the young men, resigned her position, and her place was filled by the election of Phebe W. Foulke, whose hus- band, Thomas S. Foulke, was then chosen Superintendent, the duties of this office having been previously performed by a member of the Board, and temporarily by Joseph Lewis, Jr. On the opening Of the second year of the college the Faculty was in- creased by the appointment of Wm. B. Phillips, in the place of Clement L. Smith, Maria L. Sanford as Professor of History, and Thos. S. Foulke, Superintendent. Some other additions were made in the corps of instruc- tion, and notably by the appointment among the non-resident officers of Dr. Joseph Leidy to the Chair of Natural History. The first college class, now having become Sophomores, numbered twenty-two, and the new Freshman class numbered twenty-nine. These fifty-one now constituted the body of college students, but the whole num- ber of students was two hundred and sixty-one, two hundred and ten of whom were members of the three classes of the preparatory school. At the close of the first term, in Second month, 1871, Edward Parrish resigned the Presidency, and the organization was then changed by uniting more closely the college and the school, and assigning the duties of the President ' s office to the Principal. It will be seen that with the force thus far employed, the diff erent professors and teachers being required to give instruction in various branches, the complete organization of a college upon a true college basis was exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. The burden of responsibility resting upon the small Faculty (four at first, and then six), in these early years can scarcely be appreciated by those who have not passed through a similar experience. With the government and instruction of so large a body of resident students, the difficulties wholly inseparable from the complica- 26