Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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1 Page 6A ? GAMECOCK ? August 25,1981 A Look At Tlio History Of Our University 1 ... continued from previous page plaints, they found that President Maxcy's inability to act because of ill health was the cause of the unfavorable conditions. After the investigation, improvements were made. When the 52-year old Maxcy died in 1820, Thomas Cooper was named president of the College. Cooper was a 61-year-old New Englander whose controversial nature was well known in the North. He took control of the College, raised the weakened entrance requirements and restored Latin and Greek to the curriculum. He believed that the quality of the student body was worth more i-U UlclII IIUIIIUCI ?. So, when there were no freshmen in the 114 attending SCC in 1831, Cooper deemed it an uplift in academic excellence. Cooper favored the > t [ am ! R b | UN idea of a university and also said a free public school system should be created by the state. His advocation of a medical school prompted the medical society in Charleston to seek a r^hartpr for such a school. DURING THE COOPER presidency, classical societies prospered and offered all students political, fraternal and intellectual activity. Saturday debates and oratories often lasted long into the night. General Lafayette was elected as an honorary member of one of the classical societies ?1 U wiieii ne vibiicu uic campus in 1825. Despite the rise in intellectual stimulation, the students still lacked discipline. Campus window breaking resulted in a $5 glass tax for each student. The tax did not curb the breaking of windows, however, ? wel russell House Cafet wade's Place capstone Cafetei South Dining Ha Top of Caroline Gamecock Snack l Bates House Cafet Sandwich Factoi Mobile cart Sidewalk Cafe from the H/limnomQMf inH Cfif< IVICII layci i ICI IL ai IV^I jloi i IVERSITY DINING SE and Columbians became infuriated by Cooper's lack of control over the students. Cooper was put under further attack for his religious and political antics. He declared himself a theist, yet denied the existence o the soul, the Trinity and hell. He proclaimed Christianity to be in error and worked diligently to overthrow its teachings. In his geology classes, Cooper refuted the divine creation of the Earth as explained in fienpsis The churches of the state were maddened about this "pompous heretic'' who was implanting false notions into the minds of their youth. THOMAS COOPER was a strong advocate of states' rights and when a national tariff was levied, he proclaimed that South Carolina would soon be come j Back! | mm :eria ! < ria J ill i 3 Bar < eria 3 ry ' < i mSmMMsrnim < < ' :':. .' Wj < ! :rvices questioning the value of remaining in the Union. During the 1830's, Cooper was put under investigation initiated by the legislature and /\nf Kir fho cai i icu wut %j j u>v Board of Trustees. They charged him with several offenses related to his threats of established religion. Cooper combatted the accusations on the grounds that the Constitution allowed him to think and say as he pleased. Cooper's academic record was highly cunnnccfi ll Hp raicpH OUWVUUAVU. 4 AN/ A entrance requirements and remodeled the curriculum. The fame of this brilliant intellectual gave the institution national prominence. When the Board of Trustees took a good, long look at the sad condition of South Carolina College in 1834, they asked the whole faculty to resign and started all over B again. < With no president < and only 20 remaining < students, the Board I decided a little ! reorganization was ] called for. j Robert Henry, 1 Oftmrinrt 1C nrpciHpnt < OCt V lilg UO vuiuwo . pro tempore, and four ' faculty members were ] asked to remain until ] the College could elect a new president the ] following year. After the explosive : administration of the , controversial Thomas Cooper, politicians of the state wanted _____ _ r someone 01 impeccable qualities. They could have found no one better to fill their needs than Robert Barnwell, a graduate of Harvard and a native South Carolinian. Barnwell, elected in 1835, gave them little to fear for he was a staunch Episcopalian, a Southerner, and most i *v> n iirrvl 1 uiipui lam, a wcuknown slave trader. Barnwell's emphasis ^"^3- ,~r~' : M * j >n the need for an extensive book collection prompted the building of the South Caroliniana Library, probably the . First building in the ^ U.S. to be used solely as a college library. J Pho rnoHinO rnnm ic q M. 11V i VUVlllA^ M. vVlil &U U model of Bulfinch's Library of Congress Room in Washington D.C. Under Barnwell's influence, at least $3,000 started being allocated each year for the purchase of books j and by 1850, with more than 18,400 volumes, the library was larger than the one boasted by Princeton. South Carolinian Library was ranked one of the two top libraries in the South as well as one of the best in the nation. Elliott, Pinckney v and Lieber Colleges were constructed during this time to accommodate the needs of the expanding faculty and student body. Barnwell's continued on next page... ARUM % - a j&Si H i % MPjBS&lfffi ' '^ :- !'-"t r. ;nS3 MM <