USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Brunswick > General catalogue of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine, 1794-1894 > Part 8
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The purchase and removal of the old tavern in the corner near
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
the church, the inclosure of more land to the south and the grove on the east of the dormitories, the planting of the buckthorn hedge and the adjacent belt of trees, all took place in this administra- tion, and converted the college yard into the spacious campus of the present day. Unfortunately, neither the taste of the land- scape gardener nor the votes of the Boards had influence over the sandy soil. When the railroad was constructed through the village, a large amount of clay and loam was distributed over the inelosure with good results. Subsequent attempts at enrichment of the soil have been confined to very limited portions.
There were few changes in the curriculum during this admin- istration ; the languages, ancient and modern, and mathematics continued to hold far the largest part of the course. English literature was introduced as a voluntary study in 1855, and a few years later a term was taken from the higher mathematics and given to physics. The conservatism of the professor of chemistry and mineralogy, the restraint of narrow means, and especially the difficulty of finding a place in a curriculum over which the prin- ciple of required rather than elective studies held sway, prevented any material increase of instruction in the natural sciences in the academie department.
Professor Paul A. Chadbourne, subsequently president of Williams College, succeeded Professor Cleaveland in 1859. Not long afterwards the establishment of the Josiah Little professor- ship of Natural Science enabled the college to add to its teachers a graduate of 1859, Cyrus Fogg Brackett, now professor of physics at Princeton.
This professorship, and the bequest a year previous of ten thousand dollars from Col. George William Boyd, of the class of 1811, were the substantial beginnings of a series of testamentary gifts from alumni, which have been and must continue to be a most essential factor in the maintenance of the efficiency and prosperity of the institution.
President Woods's extreme independence in ecclesiastical mat- ters had repeatedly separated him from prominent clergymen in the Congregational denomination. His reactionary views in regard to political matters, which, though not proclaimed, were
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never concealed, and which the events of the civil war brought into prominence, had naturally produced much dissatisfaction in the dominant political party. These circumstances may have hastened a resignation which he intended to offer on attaining his sixtieth year. It was tendered in July, 1866. He carried from the position he had held so long the love and esteem of a larger number of Bowdoin students than any of his predecessors had been privileged to win ; and the sharpest critics of his actions- more frequently his inaction-willingly paid him their heartiest respect as a cultured gentleman and a profound scholar. The subsequent years of his quiet life were devoted to historical studies. He died, after a long illness, at Boston, December 24, 1878.
The twenty-seven years during which he presided over the college were, as a whole, a period of marked prosperity. The average number of students was slightly greater than in any following administration. The institution in part won, and surely maintained, an honorable position among New England colleges which has been a source of strength and influence to it in later years of transition from the old to the new in educational methods and ideals.
Since a majority of the nine hundred graduates of this administration are still living, the time has not come to mention individual names. It can safely be said, however, that no future student of the history of the nation, whether legal, political, military, religious or educational, will fail to find prominent actors who received their diplomas from the hand of President Woods.
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CHAPTER VII.
PRESIDENT HARRIS'S ADMINISTRATION.
President Harris -His views on collegiate instruction-Teaching of Natural Science-Changes in the corps of instructors-Memorial Hall- Student societies-The Peucinian and Athenæan-The Greek letter societies-Resignation of President Harris.
The fifth president of Bowdoin College was the first to be chosen from its alumni. Samuel Harris, a member of the class of 1833, was graduated from Andover Theological Seminary in 1838, and, after two pastorates in Massachusetts, was called to the chair of systematic theology at Bangor Seminary. The duties of this position he had discharged with marked success for twelve years, when, in 1866, he was chosen, at the suggestion of the retiring president, to fill the vacancy. He at first declined, but was persuaded, several months later, to accept, and entered upon his office in May, 1867.
His inaugural, delivered the following Commencement, was upon the necessity, the idea, and the methods of college instruc- tion. The following extracts will show the aims of this admin- istration :
"The college is preparatory to the professional school. It aims to develop the man, to ground him in the principles of knowledge, and to make him acquainted with its methods and instruments. The profes- sional school and the school of industry and arts aim to impart the special training and knowledge necessary to a special profession. . The college aims to effect a systematic and harmonious discipline of the whole man, and thus to prepare the student for the special study necessary to fit him for his special business in life. He is not shut up by his college education to one of the so-called learned professions, but is trained as a man so as to more readily master any business, and in whatever business to possess stronger powers, a better balanced mind, a richer culture and a broader sympathy with all true minds and true learning in other professions. Training, then, is the first and dominant design of collegiate education ; training that produces
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the happiest development of the physical, intellectual and moral powers. The second design is to impart knowledge. A well arranged college course will impart the largest amount of useful knowledge possible in securing the most complete mental discipline. But the value of the college course does not consist so much in the amount of knowledge as in its quality.
"The demand that increased attention be given to the natural sciences is reasonable. The recent expansion of knowledge in this direction has been so great, that a collegiate education cannot be com- plete, nor adapted to the times, which does not introduce the student to these sciences. They provide also a peculiar intellectual discipline ; they train the powers of observation, of discrimination and classifica- tion ; they educate in inductive reasoning ; they hold the mind rigor- ously to facts ; they restrain, or at least ought to restrain, the tendency to fanciful speculation and theorizing."
In accordance with the opinion last expressed, a place was made in the last two years of the curriculum for the practically new studies of botany, zoology, physiology, and geology. The addition, in 1868, of Professor George L. Goodale, now professor of Natural History at Harvard and, two years later, of Pro- fessor Edward S. Morse, to the corps of instructors in science, and the introduction of required laboratory work from the students, gave especial interest and prominence to that side of the curricu- lum. A fortnightly publication, known as the Bowdoin Scientific Review, was conducted by Professors Brackett and Goodale for two years. The enthusiasmn they aroused is indicated by the circumstance that five per cent. of the students graduated during this administration have devoted themselves to scientific investiga- tion as their life work.
On the other side of the curriculum, marked changes resulted from the death or retirement of the older professors. In ancient languages, Professor Jotham B. Sewall, now master of Thaver Academy, succeeded Professor Packard; in mathematics, Pro- fessor Charles G. Rockwood, Jr., now of Princeton College, followed Professor Smyth. Professor Upham became professor emeritus, and President Harris assumed himself the duties of the department of mental and moral philosophy. The public appre- ciation which his Philosophical Basis of Theism and Self-Revela-
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tion of God have obtained on each side of the ocean, afford ample testimony to the quality and character of his instruction.
The civil war had hardly closed before it was proposed to erect a hall in memory of the Bowdoin students who had fallen or taken part personally in the struggle. The scheme enlisted the enthu- siastic labor of Professor William Smyth who, before his sudden death in 1868, had solicited upwards of thirty thousand dollars for this object, chiefly from the alumni and in small amounts. Plans by S. B. Backus, of New York City, for a structure in the French Gothic style of architecture were accepted in 1868, and the exterior of the building was erected of Hallowell granite at a cost of forty-seven thousand dollars. The interior was completed in General Chamberlain's administration through the liberality of Mrs. Valeria Stone, of Malden, Mass., who gave twenty-five thousand dollars for this object. The first floor contains a room for Faculty meetings, a large assembly room and two recitation rooms. The second floor is given entirely to the Memorial Hall proper, a spacious andience room used for the public exercises of the college. On the walls hang portraits of the presidents, benefactors, and distinguished graduates of the institution. On the east side ou bronze tablets, the gift of Gen. Thomas H. Hubbard, of the Class of 1857, are inscribed the names and rank of two hundred and ninety Bowdoin students who fought to maintain the Union. The number is significant, if one remembers that there were in 1864, less than twelve hundred living graduates.
The two general literary societies, the Peucinian and the Athenæan, have played an important part at Bowdoin not only in the social life of the students, but also in their education. Their establishment dates from the first decade of the century, and they gradually came to include in their membership the entire student body. Each held regular meetings for literary exercises for over fifty years. Many of the distinguished men whose names appear in their triennial catalogues-catalogues that rivaled in size and usefulness those of the college-are said to have gained as well as displayed oratorical skill in the carefully prepared debates which were a leading feature of these occasions. The anniversaries of
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the societies, at which an oration and poem were delivered by some prominent graduate or honorary member, stood next to Commencement as the chief events of the academic year. The intense rivalry that long prevailed between them fortunately extended to the character of their literary exercises and the growth and value of their respective libraries. The amounts contributed by undergraduates for the purchase of books were not infre- quently double that appropriated by the Boards for the increase of the college library. Much care was taken in the selection of new books; the advice of the President and members of the Faculty was often sought. Graduate members, as a rule, main- tained their old interest in the organization, and were often solicited for gifts, both of books and of money for their purchase. The Athenaan Society received as late as 1886, a bequest of one thousand dollars from the estate of a former member. The Ayer book fund established in his memory by the society, adds annually fifty volumes to the college library. Their two libraries, each numbering upwards of five thousand volumes, when, in this administration, their growth ceased, were remarkably complete. and valuable collections of the general literature and current periodicals of the forty years preceding. They occupied, with the assembly rooms of the societies, one-half the lower story of Maine Hall, which had been fitted up for their occupation in President Allen's administration. In 1880 they were merged in the college library.
The story of the decline of these societies is that of similar organizations in the other New England colleges. For a series of years the secret, or Greek Letter, fraternities existed side by side with them. Gradually, however, the latter gained in influence and importance and engrossed the time, thought, and interest formerly given to organizations more avowedly and distinctively literary. Of several attempts to revive undergraduate interest in them, the most notable occurred in this administration, when the Bowdoin Association of the East offered, for several years, a prize of fifty dollars to the best debater in a public contest between the two. Since these contests there have been no literary exercises conducted by the societies.
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BOWDOIN COLLEGE IN 1862.
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A chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity was established at Bowdoin in 1841, one of the Psi Upsilon in 1843, one of the Delta Kappa Epsilon in 1844, one of Theta Delta Chi in 1854, revived in 1872, one of Delta Upsilon in 1857, revived in 1893, and one of Zeta Psi in 1867. For thirty years it has been cus- tomary for a large majority of each entering class to accept invitations to membership in some one of these societies. They are recognized by the Faculty, many of whom as former members are welcomed at their meetings. Each has a well furnished hall. While social intercourse and good fellowship are frankly avowed objects, literary work has a hardly less important part in their activities. Though their rivalries occasionally lead to a partisan- ship in the selection of class officers, as foolish as it is unfortunate, it is believed they supply a valuable means for acquaintance and helpfulness between the upper and lower classes, and tend to neutralize some of the bad effects of the strong class feeling which always prevails in the smaller colleges. The element of secrecy has not been, to any extent worthy of notice, a means of hiding dissipation or unlawful practices. On the other hand the society pride has occasionally been evoked as a restraining force in the case of those inclined to evil courses.
The responsibilities of the college presidency weighed heavily upon Dr. Harris. He felt, furthermore, a distrust of his personal qualifications for obtaining the large increase of endowment necessary to a successful accomplishment of his plans. These circumstances led him, to the sincere regret of the friends of Bowdoin, to accept, in 1871, the professorship of theology in Yale University, a position he still occupies.
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CHAPTER VIII.
PRESIDENT CHAMBERLAIN'S ADMINISTRATION.
President Chamberlain-Changes in college methods-The scientific department-Course in engineering-Its discontinuance and rearrange- ment of the curriculum-The military drill-The Alumni Association- Representation of the alumni on the Board of Overseers-The Winkley and Stone professorships-President Chamberlain's resignation.
The sixth president, like his predecessor, was chosen from the alumni. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, of the Class of 1852, after completing a course of theological study at Bangor Seminary, was recalled to Bowdoin as an instructor, and held in succession the chairs of rhetoric and oratory, and of modern languages. In 1862 he received leave of absence, entered the army, and served to the end of the contest. He was twice wounded, once so seriously that its effects are still felt; was promoted by Gen. Grant on the field of battle to be brigadier- general "for gallant conduct in leading his brigade in a charge"; was assigned to receive the surrender of Lee's army at Appo- mattox Court House ; and left the army with the rank of brevet major-general and the command of a division. 3 After a brief service as acting president, at the close of President Woods's administration, he resigned his professorship of rhetoric and oratory to accept the office of governor of the State, to which he was chosen in 1866, and to which he was thrice re-elected by large majorities.
On entering upon his administration President Chamberlain, under the authorization of the Boards, and in response to a wide-spread demand and expectation, inaugurated several changes in former college methods, and a distinct and considerable enlarge- ment of the curriculum. Morning prayers were held after break- fast, and all the recitations of the day followed at consecutive hours. Evening prayers, except on Sunday, were discontinued. The so-called "dignity days" were given up, all classes had the
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ame muuber of exercises (fifteen each week), and there were no ecitations on Saturday. The long winter vacation was abolished, Commencement was placed in June, and the summer vacation correspondingly lengthened. The account of scholarship was sept entirely separate from that of deportment. Previously, rregularity of attendance upon religious and other required exer- cises affected, to some extent, the standing of the scholar in the assignment of college honors. Physical exercise was required. The gymnasium had long been established, was under the care of an accomplished instructor, but those who most needed athletic culture had least frequently availed themselves of its advantages. The college library was made more accessible to the students by a large increase in the number of hours it was open. The tuition, which had been made to include various incidental charges and raised to sixty dollars in the previous administration, was placed at seventy-five dollars. Room rent, which for half a century had been ten dollars a year for each person, was now determined by the desirableness of the rooms occupied.
To meet the call for a more extended study of the natural sciences, to satisfy in part the ever-recurring demand for a course, practical rather than classical, and to supply the needs of those who desired a college training, but from age or circumstances were unable to devote three years of preparatory study to the ancient languages, a scientific department was established, parallel with, but quite distinct from, the classical department. The latter was expected to maintain the traditions of the past, while the new course met the wants of those anxious for collegiate culture, but also for an carly entrance into relations with the active world. The curriculum of the public schools of the state rendered impracticable an entrance requirement in modern lan- guages or in natural science, and, as Greek could not be demanded with consistency, admission to the scientific department, despite extra examinations in history and English, was, for a year or two, more easily obtained than to the classical department. A large increase, however, in the amount of Latin required, soon shut off all applicants who had not pursued a full three years' course of study in well-conducted high schools and academies.
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The courses in the scientific department were prescribed, and consisted, in Freshman year, of French, mathematics, English and ancient history ; in Sophomore year, of chemistry, mathe- matics, logie, botany, and mineralogy ; in Junior year, of German, physies, zoology, physiology, and astronomy ; in Senior year, of geology, mental and moral philosophy, political economy, eonsti- tutional and international law.1 Applied science was represented by a separate course made up of civil and mechanical engineering, combined with the above by the addition of drawing in place of the ancient history of Freshman year, and of the logie of Sopho- more year, and by the omission, during the last two years, of the other studies except German, physies, and political ceonomy. This four years' course in engineering was, from the first, under the personal direction of Professor George L. Vose, afterwards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an instructor whose text-books and pupils alike testify to the character of the work he did at Bowdoin.
During the deeade throughout which the Seientific Department was maintained, about thirty per eent. of those applying for admis- sion to college, entered it, and about twenty-five per cent. of the graduates for the same period received the degree of Bachelor of Science. During its entire history, the college has been largely dependent upon tuition charges to pay the salaries of instructors. The experience of ten years showed that the demand for what this department afforded, was not sufficient to warrant an institu- tion with so few endowed professorships in a longer maintenance of it. On the one hand, it had, as a competitor, the State Agricultural College, with free tuition and lower requirements for admission ; on the other, the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, with facilities in the way of material applianees and labor- atories which it could not equal.
The discontinuanee of the Seientific Department was followed by a careful re-arrangement of the eollege curriculum, in which
1 The necessity for an immediate increase in the teaching force, which the new department caused, was met in part by the detail of the army officer referred to . in a subsequent paragraph, and also by instruction rendered by an official in the service of the United States Coast Survey.
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the principle of elective studies was frankly adopted, though with limitations as to their number and position in the course. The result was a mean between the old prescribed course and the modern university scheme of either departmental or entirely elective studies.
The important place taken by the officers of the volunteer forces during the civil war, led to a general movement at its close to introduce both military drill and the study of military science into the higher educational institutions of the country. The government was authorized to detail army officers for that purpose. Under this system the college enjoyed for ten years the services of several gentlemen whose instruction was excellent and highly appreciated in the recitation room. The military drill, however, which was required of all during half the year, soon became extremely unpopular with the students. They complained that the time it required was excessive and that the exercise itself was irksome. The suspension of a few students in the spring of 1874 for disrespect shown this part of the course, led to one of those sudden college rebellions, which possess an inexplicable power to carry into foolish and indefensible action not only the excitable and wayward, but also young men ordinarily clear-headed and well-disposed. With few exceptions all the members of the three lower classes signed a compact not to drill again. Despite the representations and arguments of the Faculty, they persisted in maintaining that they were obliged to keep this agreement with their associates. Consequently far the greater part of the student body were sent to their homes, followed by a circular letter to their parents stating that each student must renew within ten days his matriculation pledge of obedience to all the regulations of the col- lege, including the requirements as to the military drill, on penalty of expulsion. This resulted in the return within the specified time of all save two or three. At the following Commencement, the Boards, not without strenuous opposition, made the military drill elective with work in the gymnasium. This arrangement con- tinued until 1882, when instruction in military science was entirely discontinued.
A general association of the alumni was first formed in Pres-
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ident Allen's administration ; it was revived and reorganized in 1857, and has since, with the exception of a few years before and during the civil war, held annual meetings. Together with the subsidiary associations in several of the larger cities of the country, it has through its membership exerted much influence upon the conduct of college affairs, and through its various committees been of great service in increasing the endowment of the institu- tion. Perhaps most notable of these undertakings was the raising in 1873 and the following years, of an alumni fund of one hundred thousand dollars to meet in some measure the urgent needs arising from the extension of the course of study.
The subject of the direct representation of the alumni on the Boards was naturally brought forward by the active manifestation of interest shown in this and the previous administration. After prolonged discussion and deliberation it has been found inexpe- dient, in the opinion of a large majority of the Board of Overseers, to attempt any modification of the charter of the college as to the method of filling vacancies in their body, but for over twenty years they have, in accordance with a formal vote passed in 1870, selected for one-half of these vacancies the nominees of the alumni association. The association chooses its nominee by a system of preliminary nominations from the entire body of the alumni, fol- lowed by a formal balloting which is carried on through the mail.
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