20

A  Study  of  Student  Loans  and

of  free  public  education  began  to  take  root  and  gradually  the  leaders  of
America  came  face  to  face  with  the  question  of  school  support.  The  first
moves  toward  state  support  of  higher  education  came  in  the  form  of  land
grants  and  later  taxation.  This  was  in  fact  a  duplicate  of  what  took
place  in  England,  presumably  due  to  English  influences.  These  sources,
however,  were  only  a  Supplement  to  religious  and  private  support  and
were  at  all  times  surpassed  by  the  latter.  This  predominance  of  private
support  has  persisted  even  to  the  present  day  (as  the  figures  in  the  following
  chapter  show),  if  we  view  higher  education  in  the  United  States
as  a  whole.
Early  National  Period—(1776-1825)
The  close  of  the  Colonial  period  and  opening  of  the  early  National
period  in  the  United  States,  marks  the  beginning  of  the  states  taking  a  hand
in  the  initiating  and  in  the  support  of  higher  education.  The  break  with
England  naturally  cut  off  the  sources  of  support  from  the  mother  country
and  caused  the  leaders  in  the  United  States  to  take  the  matter  in  their  own
hands.  This  was  only  in  so  far  as  financial  support  was  concerned,  for
there  was  no  special  break  in  the  main  forces  that  had  been  building  up
Colleges  in  the  Colonies.  The  difference  came  in  an  expansion  in  the  number
  of  Colleges  and  in  the  educational  aim  and  type  of  studies.
The  turmoil  of  the  revolution  and  financial  reconstruction  of  the  new
nation  caused  state  support  of  higher  education  to  slump  and  during  the
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  and  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  Century  the
question  of  the  state’s  function  in  higher  education  was  much  discussed.
The  doctrine  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  state  to  advance  knowledge  through
higher  education  and  thus  make  better  citizens  spread  and  led  to  the
establishment  of  several  state  universities  and  Colleges  supported  by  the
appropriation  of  state  funds.
The  Present  Period—(1865-1925)—And  the  New  Purpose
After  1865  the  United  States  entered  upon  a  period  of  vast  expansion
both  in  state  and  private  institutions  of  higher  learning.  Large  fortunes
had  been  accumulated  by  this  time  and  many  donated  a  large  proportion
of  their  wealth  in  the  form  of  unconditional  gifts  or  gifts  for  specific
purposes  to  institutions  of  higher  learning  already  in  existence.  New
institutions,  such  as  Johns  Hopkins  and  Leland-Stanford  Universities,
were  founded  upon  a  single  gift.
A  new  development  appeared  in  higher  education  during  this  period.
The  Student  demanded  an  education  not  only  to  increase  his  intellectual
powers  and  thereby  gain  social  or  political  preferment,  but  also  asked  for