EARLY COLLEGES
The early Legislatures of Illinois manifested no little unfriendliness toward colleges.
The first charters for institutions of this character were granted in 1833, and were for the incorporation of the "Union College of Illinois" in Randolph County and the "Alton College of Illinois," at Upper Alton.
The first named was to be under the care of the Scotch Covenanters but was never founded. The second was in the interest of the Baptists, but the charter was not accepted. Both these acts contained jealous and unfriendly restrictions notably one to the effect that no theological department should be established and no professor of theology employed as an instructor nor should any religious test be applied in the selection of trustees or the admission of pupils.
The friends of higher education however made common cause and in 1835 secured the passage of an omnibus bill incorporating four private colleges:
The Alton
The Illinois in Jacksonville
The McKendree at Lebanon
Jonesboro
Similar restrictive provisions as to theological teaching were incorporated in these charters and a limitation was placed upon the amount of property to be owned by any institution but in many respects the law was more liberal than its predecessors of two years previous.
Owing to the absence of suitable preparatory schools these institutions were compelled to maintain preparatory departments under the tuition of the college professors. The college last named above (Jonesboro) was to have been founded by the Christian denomination, but was never organized. The three remaining one stand in the order of their formation,
McKendree
Illinois
Alton (afterward Shurtleff)
In the order of graduating initial classes,
Illinois
McKendree
Shurtleff
Preparatory instruction began to be given in Illinois College in 1829 and a class was organized in the collegiate department in 1831.
The legislature of 1835 also incorporated the Jacksonville Female Academy the first school for girls chartered in the State. From this time forward colleges and academies were incorporated in rapid succession many of them at places whose name have long since disappeared from the map of the State. It was at this time that there developed a strong party in favor of founding what were termed rather euphemistically, "Manual Labor Colleges."
It was believed that the time which a student might be able to "redeem" from study could be so profitably employed at farm or shop-work as to enable him to earn his own livelihood. Acting upon this theory the Legislature of 1835 granted charters to the "Franklin Manual Labor College," to be located in either Cook or La Salle County, to the "Burnt Prairie Manual Labor Seminary" in White County, and the "Chatham Manual Labor School," at Lick Prairie, Sangamon County.
University powers were conferred upon the institution last named and its charter also contained the somewhat extraordinary provision that any sect might establish a professorship of theology therein.
In 1837 six more colleges were incorporated only one of which (Knox) was successfully organized. By 1840 better and broader views of education had developed and the Legislature of 1841 repealed all prohibition of the establishing of theological departments as well as the restrictions previously imposed upon the amount and value of property to be owned by private educational institutions.
The whole number of colleges and seminaries incorporated under the State law (1896) if forty-three.