Puritan Influences Upon Harvard College And Yale University In American Colonial Period (1636S-1775S)

American higher education origins from religion.Religion had played a importantrole in American higher education in colonial period. Among these religions, puritanimpacted on American higher education most. In the early seventeenth century,puritans who moved to the United States focused on higher education. Their desire topromote religious philosophy and religious mission ,bring up senior talents of church,and expand the team of priests is the source of the birth of American highereducation.The thesis takes Harvard and Yale for example to mainly describes the targetof bringing up puritans.The puritans put the religious doctrine to college’sestablishment, management mode ,employment of teachers and curriculums.Through the discussion of specific cases of Harvard and Yale, we try to prove thatPuritan is a kind of impetus of the development of American higher education. Andthis also becomes the beginning which promotes the formation of essentialcharacteristics of American education in colonial times。The thesis consists of three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion.In the introduction, it mainly elaborates the cause and innovation of the paper,the material originates, and the domestic and foreign research results.The first chapter expounds the thought and system of puritan which relates to thedevelopment of higher education. To adapt it , half of the graduates become puritans,who are the vital people to spread Puritanism.The second chapter analyzes the situation of the establishment and graduates. Inorder to cultivate puritan pastor and transmit puritan culture, the puritans foundedHarvard and Yale.The third chapter expounds the influence of Puritanism on mode of school management.The puritan’s " equality , co-government" idea prompted Harvard’s andYale’s democratic management. But puritan preacher is the core of creating collegeand mastering of power.Harvard’s double hospital system is different from Yale’sunicameral management mode in form. Essentially, they formed under the guidance ofpuritanism.The fourth chapter and the fifth chapter is this main body of the article .Thefourth chapter focuses on Harvard’s and Yale’s criteria about teacher’s selection. Withanalysis of the cases ,both of Harvard college and Yale college persist on theprimary condition of teacher’s selection ,which is that the teacher must own purepuritan beliefs . If the teachers spread heresy , they will be judged and fired.This is thenecessary measures for college to maintain puritan’s orthodoxy.The fifth chapter discusses the curriculum and student management in Harvardcollege and Yale college .In order to realize the goal of puritan minister, both of thecolleges set up theological courses and debate courses. On student management,colleges are strictly with students, who must obey the puritan’s daily behaviorstandards.The conclusion part summarizes the full text, which points out that Puritanismdid in colonial times higher education development occupies an indispensableposition. With the development of social evolution, although the college ’s puritanattribute weakens, secular is strengthened gradually, but the college managementmode and the core spirit is deeply branded on the puritan brand.