The History of the University of Pennsylvania/Chapter VIII

by George B. Wood

 

Chapter VIII.

 

Re-establishment of the College.—Separate Existence of the Two Schools.—Union of the College and University.

 

In the mean time the late authorities of the college were not quiescent under their wrongs. Dr. Smith, especially, was indefatigable in seeking redress for the institution and himself. In repeated memorials, drawn up with no little ability, he represented the injustice and unconstitutionality of the legislative proceedings in their case, and complained that, in his old age, dismissal from an office which he himself had rendered valuable should have been the only reward of his long and important services. Petitions, moreover, were presented to successive legislatures, by the displaced trustees; and the support of a numerous party was not wanting to enforce their claims of justice. The feelings of the venerable Franklin, who was now returned from Europe, were known to be in their favour; for, though by the law which established the university he was declared one of the trustees, and afterwards, as president of the executive council, had an additional right to the station, he had always declined qualifying himself for a seat at the board, by taking the requisite oaths. Though the public ear may for a time be deafened by the rage of party, it cannot always be closed to the voice of justice; and the current of opinion at length began to turn in favour of the old establishment One effort, indeed, to restore the college charter by legislative enactment, proved abortive; but a bill subsequently introduced was more successful, and in the year 1789, a law was passed by a great majority, which reinstated the trustees and faculty in all their former estates and privileges. In the preamble of this law, the proceedings of the legislature by which these estates and privileges had been transferred to the trustees of the university, was stigmatized as "repugnant to justice, a violation of the constitution of this commonwealth, and dangerous in its precedent to all incorporated bodies;" so different are the views which will be taken of the same subject by men in the opposite states of calmness and excitement.

But the same sense of justice which led to the re-establishment of the college, forbade any farther interference in the affairs of the university than was necessary for the accomplishment of this purpose. The trustees of the latter institution, therefore, retained their corporate capacity; and, as the grant formerly made by the legislature out of the confiscated estates still remained to them, they were not left absolutely destitute of support. New buildings were provided for the accommodation of the schools; the faculties both in arts and in medicine continued their courses of instruction; and a yearly commencement was held as before, at which the various ordinary and honorary degrees were conferred. But the operations, which previously to this change, were not marked with vigour, now became still more languid; and after a feeble existence had been prolonged for the space of rather more than two years, it was found necessary, in order to avert total ruin, to propose a union with the rival seminary.

The trustees of the college had not been negligent in availing themselves of the act which had been passed in their favour. On the 9th of March, 1789, only three days after the final passage of the law, they met at the house of Dr. Franklin, who was the oldest member of the board, and the only survivor of the original founders of the institution. The infirmities of the venerable patriot confined him chiefly if not altogether within doors, and at his request the meetings continued to be held at his dwelling till the middle of summer, when the increasing severity of his disorder rendered him totally unable to attend to public duties. Of the twenty-four trustees who constituted the board at the period of its dissolution, about ten years before this time, only fourteen remained; the rest having either died in the interval, or deserted the country during the revolution. Their first measures were to obtain possession of the college buildings, to organize the different departments of the seminary according to the former plan, to fill up vacancies in the various professorships, and to supply the deficiency in their own number by the election of new members.^[1] Of the professors in the department of the arts, Dr. Smith and James Davidson were the only survivors. The former, as a matter of course, took the place of provost; and the latter, who, as was previously mentioned, had been employed in the university, accepted the invitation of the trustees to resume his office of professor of languages in the college. The faculty was completed by the appointment of the Rev. Dr. John Andrews and the Rev. William Rogers; the former to assist the provost in instructing the philosophical classes, the latter, with the title of professor of English and oratory, to superintend the English and mathematical schools.

Of the medical professors, Dr. Morgan was absent from indisposition, and died before the arrangements were completed; and Dr. Kuhn remained connected with the university: so that Dr. William Shippen, professor of anatomy and surgery; and Dr. Rush, who succeeded Morgan in the chair of the practice, were at this time the only members of the faculty. The original number was completed by the appointment of Dr. Wistar to the chair of chemistry and the institutes of medicine, and Dr. Samuel Powell Griffitts to that of materia medica and pharmacy. An additional professorship was created—that of botany and natural history; and Dr. Barton was chosen as its occupant This may be regarded as one of the most interesting eras in the history of the medical school. It was now that Dr. Rush took that station which his genius and eloquence afterwards rendered so illustrious; it was now that Barton found a field for the display of acquirements unrivalled among his contemporary countrymen; it was now, moreover, that Wistar entered within those walls, which the fame of his talents as a teacher crowded with pupils, and about which his warm benevolence of heart, and delightful urbanity of manner combined to throw a charm, which, amidst all subsequent changes, has retained a strong influence over the affections of those who had the good fortune to listen to his instructions.

Soon after the revival of the school, a department of law was added to those of the arts and of medicine. James Wilson, a member of the board, was chosen professor, and delivered one or more courses of lectures; but with what success, I have been unable to learn. Of the estimation in which his talents were held by the trustees, independently of the evidence afforded by his appointment, we may form some idea from the amount within which it was thought necessary to limit the fee for admission to his lectures. At the request of Mr. Wilson that the board should ascertain the compensation he should be allowed to demand from each pupil, it was resolved that the sum should not exceed ten guineas. At present, the first legal talent in the country would command but a slender attendance upon a course of lectures, were a fee of this magnitude required.

In little more than a month from the first meeting of the trustees, the various schools were again opened upon their former plan. But most of the obstacles which were opposed to the success of the university, were no less in the way of the college; and it soon became evident that the separate existence of the two seminaries was incompatible with the prosperity of either. Their funds, managed with the utmost attention to economy, were utterly insufficient for the maintenance of two distinct sets of teachers and professors; and legislative assistance could not be demanded with propriety, as neither school could urge an exclusive claim to public bounty, and to endow both, would be to bestow treasure for the attainment of an inadequate object: for it was evident that the demands of the population would be abundantly satisfied by a single seminary of the highest order, which might be conducted at half the expense of the present establishments, and with at least equal efficiency. The same consideration which precluded the expectation of aid from the legislature, discouraged the trustees from resorting to that plan of soliciting private contributions, which had proved so useful to the college on former occasions, when no rival existed to divide the public benevolence and patronage. There seemed, therefore, no other means of averting the ruin, or at least of raising the character and extending the usefulness of the schools of Philadelphia than to effect a union of their interests and resources. Happily, feelings of hostility had not acquired such vigour as not to yield at length to considerations of public good. Overtures for a union, proceeding from the trustees of the university, were received with unanimous approbation by those of the college; and as both were earnestly desirous of seeing the object accomplished, little time was sacrificed in arranging the necessary preliminaries. A joint application was made to the legislature for such alterations in the respective charters as might give the sanction of law to the proposed measure. The requisite act was obtained without difficulty; and on the 30th of September, 1791, the two corporations were by law united into one.

The principal conditions of the union were, first, that the name of the institution should be the University of Pennsylvania; secondly, that twenty-four individuals, chosen equally by the two boards from their own numbers, should, with the governor of the state constitute the new board, of which the governor should be ex officio president; and thirdly, that the "professors who might be deemed necessary to constitute the faculty in arts and in medicine" should as far as possible be taken equally from each institution. It was moreover provided, that vacancies among the trustees, with the exception of the governor, should be filled by their own choice; and that no professor or officer of the faculty should be removed without due and timely notice, and by a less number than two-thirds of the members present at any one meeting, thirteen being necessary to constitute a quorum for such a purpose. In compliance with the provisions of the law, each board proceeded to the performance of its last official act by the choice of twelve individuals as its representatives in the government of the newly constituted university. The gentlemen thus appointed, together with Thomas Mifflin, the governor of the state, met, for the first time, on the 18th of November, 1791; and, having regularly organized themselves, proceeded without delay to restore to order the disjointed affairs which had been committed to their charge.^[2]

One of their first measures was to unite the offices of secretary and treasurer in a single person, to whom they gave a compensation adequate to the trouble and responsibility of his station, exacting, at the same time, satisfactory security for the faithful discharge of the duties intrusted to him. As treasurer he was bound not only to receive and disburse money, and to perform such other services as are usually attached to this title; but also to exercise a general care and superintendence over the estates of the university, and, with the approbation of the trustees, to execute all those measures, of a financial character, which it had hitherto been the custom to refer to the management of committees. It was thought that the attention of one individual of respectable character and standing, whose peculiar interests, moreover, were made to correspond with the duties of his office, would be more profitable to the institution, in the management of its pecuniary affairs, than the gratuitous services of members of the board, whose public spirit could not be expected to withstand, on all occasions, the calls of private business, or to bear, without a relaxation of effort, the irksomeness and fatigue which are incident to trusts of such a nature. Nor were the calculations of the board disappointed. The propriety of the measure has been demonstrated both by the neatness and accuracy of the records, and by the careful management of the finances, since the period of its adoption.^[3]

In the succeeding chapters I shall present a very general view of the organization of the university; and, without entering into minute particulars, shall trace the current of its affairs down to the present time.

1. Benjamin Franklin, one of the				Samuel Powell, chosen		"	1773
   founders, in the year		"	1749	Right Rev. William White,			1774
   Benjamin Chew, chosen		"	1757	Robert Morris,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	"	1777
   Edward Shippen,	"	"	1758	Francis Hopkinson,
   Thomas Willing,	"	"	1760	George Clymer,	$\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}$	"	1778
   Dr. John Redman,	"	"	1763	James Wilson,
   John Lawrence,	"	"	1765	Alexander Wilcocks,
   Thomas Mifflin,	"	"	1773

   The vacancies were supplied by the choice of the following gentlemen: Thomas Fitzsimmons, Henry Hill, Robert Blackwell, Samuel Miles, William Bingham, William Lewis, John Nixon, Robert Hare, Dr. Caspar Wistar, and Richard Peters. Edward Burd and David H. Conyngham were afterwards chosen to supply vacancies which occurred in the board. Dr. Franklin was made president, and after his death, was succeeded by Bishop White.
2. The gentlemen chosen by the trustees of the university were, Thomas McKean, Charles Pettit, James Sproat, Frederick Kuhl, John Bleakly, John Carson, Jonathan B. Smith, David Rittenhouse, Jonathan D. Sergeant, David Jackson, James Irvin, and Jared Ingersoll. Those selected by the trustees of the college were William White, D. D., Robert Blackwell, D. D., Edward Shippen, William Lewis, Robert Hare, Samuel Powell, David H. Conyngham, William Bingham, Thomas Fitzsimmons, George Clymer, Edward Burd, and Samuel Miles.
3. Edward Fox was the first secretary and treasurer of the university; and continued to retain the office till the period of his death. He was succeeded by Joseph Reed, Esq., recorder of the city.