Higher education in the United States has enjoyed a long and revered history. It began in colonial times with students who primarily were looking to enter the clergy. Though the system has endured many changes since its beginnings, the tradition of attending colleges and universities has remained strong through USA history.

Inspiration and Philosophy

The first USA universities took their structural cues from existing German research institutions and British undergraduate schools. U.S. philosophical ideals played a key role in shaping the nation's first sites of higher education. Jeffersonian values in colonial America underscored free expression, a limited government, capitalism and small religious communities. The first colleges and universities were built on the premise that academic competition would produce the best results. What began as an elite and exclusive practice became an early gateway to success for women and minorities as society advanced.

Harvard College

What we now know as Cambridge, Massachusetts, was referred to as Newtowne in 1636, when Harvard College was founded as the very first U.S. institution of higher education. Minister John Harvard of Charlestown provided inspiration for the school's name, and Henry Dunster became Harvard's president in 1640, teaching all of the classes himself. The Massachusetts Bay School Law, passed in 1642, required all parents to teach their offspring about religion and commonwealth law; at this point, spiritual teaching was central to the mission of higher education.

Successors to Harvard

The year 1693 marked the founding of the College of William and Mary, a research institution in Virginia. This school is the alma mater of Thomas Jefferson, who later, in 1819, founded the University of Virginia. The country's next colonial college, after William and Mary, was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin; it is known today as the University of Pennsylvania and is in Philadelphia. The liberal arts Salem College became the first educational institution for women in 1766. It aimed to offer women the same access to quality academic instruction that the young men of the time were already enjoying in established USA universities.

Government

Since colonial Jeffersonian philosophy emphasized small government and individual freedom, USA universities have never been controlled by a ministry of education, which is commonly found in other countries. The U.S. Constitution says nothing about a federal responsibility to provide an education. Academic institutions were largely unaffected by outside governing entities until federal funding was deemed necessary in 1944. During the Civil Rights Era, equal access to higher education became a major concern, leading to federal scholarship and loan programs based on low-income and minority status.