The Nineteenth CenturyThe University of Michigan was established in 1817 by the Michigan Territorial legislature as one
of the United States' first public universities on 1,920 acres (8 km²) of land
ceded by the Chippewa, Ottawa, and
Potawatomi people "…for a college at Detroit." The school moved from Detroit to Ann Arbor in 1837, only 13 years after the latter city had been founded.The first university president, Henry Tappan, was appointed in 1851. Tappan was a former professor of philosophy at New York
University, and was recommended for the post by George Bancroft, a
former United States Secretary of War and a noted historian. Tappan modeled the university’s curriculum on the broad range
of subjects taught at German universities, rather than the classical models employed at institutions such as Harvard and Yale. Michigan’s curriculum grew into
a model for other universities, including Johns Hopkins.By 1865-66, the university’s enrollment bulged to 1205 students, many of the new enrollees veterans of the Civil War. In
the July 1866 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, Harvard
Professor F.H. Hedge depicted the university as the model public institution of higher education for the growing nation. Michigan
began to draw students from across the United States and abroad, and its student body included African Americans. In 1867, maize
and blue were voted class colors, and in 1868, the Chronicle, a forerunner of The Michigan Daily, was founded. The school’s first female student, Madeline Stockwell of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was admitted in 1870; by 1882, Michigan’s alumnae included the
president of Wellesley College, Alice Freeman. The growing student body
also led to unruliness. In 1872, Ann Arbor hosted 49 saloons, and the spectacle
of student intoxication and public donnybrooks concerned school administrators and state politicians. Harper’s Weekly
published an article in July 1887 that noted the school’s "broad and liberal spirit" and the wide-ranging freedoms of its
students.In 1871, James B. Angell, president of the University of
Vermont, was appointed president of Michigan, a position that he held until 1909. Angell aggressively expanded the
school’s curriculum to include and expand professional studies in dentistry, architecture, engineering, government, and
medicine. In 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed
Angell a special minister to China to negotiate the immigration of Chinese laborers.
Angell’s publicity efforts abroad eventually prompted a large influx foreign students to the university. Michigan also
began to draw renowned faculty, including pragmatist philosopher John Dewey, who taught at the school from 1884 to 1894, and Thomas M. Cooley, who left the
university when he was appointed the first chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission by President Grover Cleveland. Cleveland once stated, "When I was in office and needed help I usually turned to the
University of Michigan." Forty-seven of the university’s alumni served in the U.S. Congress during Cleveland’s two administrations. Michigan faculty members also were instrumental
in the founding and early leadership of Cornell University,
which recruited Michigan history professor C.K. Adams to serve as its president in 1885. As of 2005, six Michigan administrators
or faculty members have been appointed president of Cornell.
1900-1950The first two decades of the twentieth century saw a construction boom on campus that included facilities to house the dental
and pharmacy programs, a chemistry building, a building for the study of natural sciences, the Martha Cook residence hall,
Hill Auditorium, and large
hospital and library complexes. University President Marion Leroy Burton continued the construction boom through the 1920s,
including the construction of Michigan Stadium. Burton’s
tenure also saw the advent of major field research initiatives in Africa, South America, the South Pacific, and the Middle East.
Burton raised admissions standards and sought to heighten the academic rigors of the university’s courses, while taming the
often-rowdy social lives of his students. In 1924, Burton made the nominating speech at the Republican National Convention for Governor
Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts for president. Shortly after his place in the national spotlight, Burton died of a heart
attack. The memorial bell tower that bears his name remains a prominent campus landmark. Burton was succeeded by C.C. Little, a
highly divisive figure who, among other things, offended Roman Catholics with his vocal endorsements of contraception.The 1930s saw a major crackdown on the consumption of alcohol and the rowdiness that had characterized student life
practically from inception. In February 1931, local police raided five fraternities, finding liquor and arresting of 79 students,
including the captain of the football team and Michigan Daily editors. During the Great Depression, ritual and widespread freshman hazing all but ceased. Long known as a "dressy campus,"
student attire became less formal. Fraternities and sororities became less prominent in student life, as their finances and
memberships went into steep decline.The school’s position as a prominent research university gained momentum in 1920 with a formal reorganization of the
College of Engineering and the formation of an advisory committee of 100 industrialists to guide academic research initiatives.
During World War II, the university grew into a true research powerhouse,
undertaking major initiatives on behalf of the U.S. Navy and contributing to
weapons development with breakthroughs including the V.T. Fuse, depth bombs, and radar jammers. By 1950, university enrollment
had reached 21,000, 7,700 of which was comprised of veterans supported by the G.I.
Bill.