| To explain the growth and democratization of modern higher education in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, this dissertation examines the wider interwoven political and social contexts that influenced academic and educational policies. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the scope of American higher education shifted from classical, an exclusive endeavor, to modern, a more inclusive one to accommodate the current age. The classical traditions of higher education waned with the advent of the modern university that was politically motivated to respond to democratic political movements and social changes of the time. Drawing on a combination of primary sources from the nineteenth century and recent major research, this dissertation develops a new framework to explain the direct involvement of American politics and social forces in the process of the modernization and democratization of higher education. Based on the findings, the study divides modern democratic higher education in the second half of the nineteenth century into four major areas on the basis of their theoretical importance and historical relevance to the growth and democratization of modern higher education. These four areas are: (a) modern scientific, political, and social forces involved in the higher education transformation, (b) new ideal of political and social democracy leading to unprecedented changes in higher education such as, (c) the creation of black higher education, and (d) the expansion of women's higher education. The struggle to achieve modern democratic higher education was a long complex process and required massive political and social movements at different levels, reaching out for a larger segment of the public. Within the ideal of democracy and modernism, the expansion of higher education resulted in both bringing educational opportunities to a larger majority and contributing to the economic and technological growth of the country. The findings support this study's proposition that modern democratic American higher education reflected current political and social dynamics. |
