IL [Whole Number 161] BUREAU OF EDUCATION CIRCULAR OF INFORMATION NO. 1, 1890 CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY EDITED BY HERBERT B. ADAMS No. 9 THE HISTORY OF FEDERAL AND STATE AID TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES •ilson BY FRANK W. BLACKMAR, Ph. D. SOMETIME FELLOW IN HISTORY AND POLITICS IN THE JOHNS HOPKINS WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1890 LETTER. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, D. C., February 19, 1889. SIR: 1 have the honor to transmit the monograph on Federal and State Aid to Higher Education in the United States, prepared by Mr. Frank W. Blackmar, fellow in history and politics in the Johns Hopkins University, which represents the progress of the State idea in education from the foundation of the colonies to the present time. It shows the attitude of each colony and of each subsequent State toward colleges and universities, and recounts that part of the legislative and financial history which relates to advanced learning in the several commonwealths. The writer discusses the rise of national education, with its relation to local, and brings forward the opinions of statesmen and scholars concerning the duties and functions of the Government in public education. A brief history, accompanied by valuable statistics, is given of the various methods adopted by Congress tó encourage and assist institutions of learning. But the main body of the work is devoted to the presentation in a condensed form of the plans pursued by the Legislatures of thirty-eight States in the treatment of higher education. The monograph represents a wide range of research, extending from the earliest colonial records and charters to the latest revised statutes. Many inquiries of late coming from statesmen and educators for information on this subject, have created a demand for a work of this nature. There is a desire on the part of the scholars of each State to see what has been done in other States, that mistakes may be avoided by experience and the best plans and models followed. There is, likewise, a general desire for a closer study of school management and school systems, based on wider information and more careful comparison of methods and results. The financial and legislative history of education furnishes a foundation for such study and comparison. The suc cessful management of the means of education is of prime importance; without this there is danger of complete failure. The control of the budget is the control of the State; this principle applies to institutions as well as to nations. State education has taken a strong hold, particularly in the South and West, but the problems pertaining to its management, its function, and its support, have not yet been fully solved. 3 |