Hurst Diary, Hurst Papers

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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 A METHODIST EXPERIMENT IN GRADUATE EDUCATION: JOHN FLETCHER HURST AND THE FOUNDING OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, 1889-1914 by William Edwin Ross submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education Signatxires of Cor Chair:ŒO r Su. Dean off the College 1992 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 ^ ^ 0 0 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY tTBRJOT A METHODIST EXPERIMENT IN GRADUATE EDUCATION: JOHN FLETCHER HURST AND THE FOUNDING OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, 1889-1914 BY William E. Ross ABSTRACT The founding of The American University in 1891 was at once an extension of and a departure from the philosophical underpinnings of late nineteenth century higher education in the United States. Its founder, Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst, desired to create a German-style, graduate university in the Nation's Capital. Hurst viewed the pro posed university as an intellectual antidote to the growing secularism in American higher education. At the same time, it would counteract the founding, in Washington, of The Catholic University of America a few years before. The new university would be a capstone, graduate institution to serve all of Protestantism. It would draw on the education al resources of Washington to become a university of "na tional" importance without direct federal assistance or control. In 1892, the General Conference of the Methodist Epis copal Church voted to support the university, with the ii proviso that it raise five million dollars in endowment before opening. The fund raising challenge grew harder a year later with the onset of the economic "Panic of 1893." In addition to financial uncertainty, Hurst's efforts suf fered from contradictory goals, grandiose building plans, competition from existing Methodist institutions, and confu sion over efforts to create a federally-funded, national university in Washington. The American University's prob lems persisted through Hurst's death in 1903, and the lack luster tenure of his successor. Bishop Charles C. McCabe. The university opened in 1914, only after the General Conference withdrew its endowment requirement and Chancellor Franklin Hamilton dispensed with Hurst's unrealistic educa tional vision. Hamilton's modest program depended upon the resources and experts of the federal government, and operat ed as such until 1924, when the university admitted under graduates for the first time. In spite of Hurst's idealistic vision, his support for coeducation, and the operation of the university as a gradu ate institution, the early history of The American Universi ty has been largely ignored by educational historians. This study is intended to remedy this longstanding oversight. Ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This writer wishes to acknowledge the many people who generously shared with him their time, ideas, comments, and assistance. Foremost, is Dr. Bernard Hodinko, Professor of Higher Education, who coordinated the work of a degree candidate living over five hundred miles from The American Universi ty's quadrangle. The author also wishes to recognize the work of Dr. Charles McLaughlin, Professor of History at The American University, Dr. Charles Tesconi, Professor of Education at The American University, and Dr. William Fox, Emeritus Professor of History, Montgomery College. Each contributed mightily to what follows. Thanks to Dr. Karin Alexis, for sharing her past and ongoing research on the development of The American Univer sity campus. Chapter Seven would have been a trial without her munificence. To the memories of Miss Marion Logue and "Tad" Devan, both of whom taught me a thing or two about "American" history. And, to George Arnold and all the other archi vists, manuscripts curators, and librarians who opened their doors, shared their holdings, and returned the author's telephone calls. Lastly, and most importantly, my love and thanks to Pat: the wife, editor, and proofreader, par excellance, who has suffered through life with this writer for the past fourteen years (with double credit for the past two). WER Dover, NH March 1992 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................ v Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 2. THE SETTING: AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION IN 1890 ___ 16 3. THE FOUNDER: JOHN FLETCHER HURST ................. 45 4. THE ACQUISITION OF LAND AND EARLY SUPPORT ........ 63 5. THE INCORPORATION OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY..... 87 6. THE CHANCELLORSHIP OF JOHN FLETCHER HURST: THE STRUGGLE TO RAISE MONEY .................. Ill 7. THE CHANCELLORSHIP OF JOHN FLETCHER HURST: BUILDING A UNIVERSITY ........................ 157 8. THE DRIVE TO OPEN THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY .........200 9. JOHN FLETCHER HURST AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY .......................... 243 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... 264 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION I On May 27, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson and two of his cabinet secretaries took part in the opening ceremonies of a unique university in the District of Columbia. The ninety-acre campus near Tenally Town consisted of two build ings, one occupied and the other unfinished for lack of money. The university had no dormitories, no plans for a football stadium, and courted no prospective undergraduates. It would open as a graduate institution with an emphasis on research and collaboration with experts in the federal gov ernment . 1 This "new" university had been chartered over twenty ^Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan and Secre tary of the Navy Josephus Daniels also participated in the opening exercises. For a complete account of the ceremo nies, see: Lodestar and Compass: An Adventure of the Im mortal Part of Us, Franklin Hamilton, ed. (New York: Ab- ington Press, 1915). The text of speeches made also appear ed in the University Courier XXI (June 1914 and September 1914) . 2 years before. Its founder, Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, died more than a decade earlier, in 1903. The university's name, "The American University", implied grandeur and promise. Its history, prior to that time, suggested otherwise. On that special occasion, Wilson expressed his "imagi native excitement about witnessing the inauguration of a great adventure of the mind, an adventure of the immortal part of us . ." The President's lofty and inspiring words obscured the struggle that had marked nearly a genera tion in the University's existence. His speech did not convey the sublimated goals and compromises made to bring the institution to that point. Wilson did note the unique ness of this university, as it combined denominational sup port with graduate study only. That day marked the begin ning of The American University's eleven year existence as an exclusively graduate university. The experiment ended in 1925, when the school, once again at a crossroads, admitted undergraduates for the first time.^ II The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed what has been termed a revolution in the development of American higher education.^ A number of educators, fueled 2jbld. ^Richard Hofstadter, "The Revolution in Higher Educa tion," in Paths of American Thought, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and Morton White, eds. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963): 3 by an amalgam of American pragmatism, German-style scholar ship, and unprecedented philanthropy, began pushing institu tions beyond the bounds of traditional, liberal education. This led to the creation of new universities such as Cor nell, Johns Hopkins, Clark, Stanford, and the University of Chicago. The most famous American

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