Customer Reviews

The American College and University: A History

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Rudolph's study of the history of American higher education is considered a premier work in this body of knowledge. It traces the development of the American college and university from the pre-revolution seminary through today's large, multi-line land grant and private instituions and provides insight into the people and events which shaped these institutions and our country. A must for any historian or education scholar.

Frederick Rudolph is a master of graceful historical narrative, and this classic account of the development of American higher education should be on the shelf of everyone who teaches in a college or university. From heart-breaking stories of college buildings that burned down before they were completed, to the history of liberal education, to arguments over importance of the extracurriculum, to anecdotes of nineteenth-century professors imported from Germany who found themselves chasing after students with stolen turkeys ("Ach, all dis for two tousand dollars!"), Rudolph will delight you and educate you all at the same time. This is a volume not to be missed.

Both of you who have read any of my other reviews about college and university history books know that I like to gripe about the lack of academic quality in this genre, particularly regarding the histories of individual institutions. This book is different. It passes the test.

For the story of how American higher education evolved from tiny rustic roots into the world-leading, mega-institution it became by the late 19th century, this book is a joy, and the justified leader. Its rendering of the critically important evolution of institutions from local sectarian academies to colleges (after the Revolution) and from colleges to research universities (after the Civil War) is both essential and superb reading. American history told without this important social component is incomplete. We ARE our colleges. That's why we love them so much.

Rudolph's "struggling hilltop college" thesis has long been superseded by more sophisticated scholarship, as we know that our earliest colleges were far from the tiny, decrepit, under-supported institutions we quaintly recall. A reader can easily misunderstand the importance of a small college by simply assuming that enrollment figures tell the whole story. Rudolph makes that mistake. William & Mary was always a tiny institution by modern (and contemporary) standards. Does that, in any way, diminish its profound impact on American (and world) history? When Webster argued for Dartmouth before the Supreme Count in 1817, how many students did the College enroll? You get the idea. Before 1900, size really didn't matter.

Rudolph's conclusion that the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, in place of Hamiltonian Federalism, created a "crisis" in American higher education is just plain wrong, and a typical New England perspective. Institutions simply evolved to represent the changes in the society. Before 1860, Yale, North Carolina and Virginia displayed prosperity and excellence. Rudolph's book is a product of his time and place. Henry Adams would have loved this book.

The book lets me down in two areas: First, there are no illustrations of any kind. Second, the author ignores the rapid advancement of serious higher education away from the East during the 20th century. This is very much a Massachusetts-centric view of things, which was eroding rapidly by the time the first edition appeared in 1962. As people migrate, so go their attendant institutions.

After more than 35 years Dr. Rudolph's pioneer journey into the history of American Higher Education stands as the model for others to follow.

Rudolph has crafted a fairly exceptional account of a history of student life in "American College and University: A History." Overall, this text focuses on the cultural changes that occur in society that impact the college student and the college life.

I also recommend the following texts to be consulted while reading this book:

"A History of American Higher Education" by John Thelin
"American Higher Education" by Christopher Lucas
"Campus Life: Undergraduate Cultures from the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present" by Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

Finally, if you are interested in the history of co-operative living I highly recommend the following historical account about the University of Kansas: "Making Do and Getting Through" by Fred McElhenie (it is locally published for the University of Kansas by Oread Books).

Rudolph examines the contextual forces that have shaped higher education, ranging from Presidential elections to greek lettter societies. Very little attention is paid to internal factors driving the college curriculum, but these forces are examined in detail elsewhere (e.g., Lawrence Veysey).

An excellent overview of the college as part of society, but should be read in tandem with other more "internal" works.

Just read this book if you are really interested where it started and how it started! I am very happy and honored to have this book as my desk book! It has all the info about the emergence of American colleges and universities! Some dramatic events occured therein! Thanks to the author of the book! he deserves special recognition!