Butler University

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

Butler University “Education, Research, Service”

On January 15, 1850, the Indiana State legislature adopted Ovid Butler’s proposed charter for a new Christian university in Indianapolis. After five years in development, Butler University opened on November 1, 1855, as North Western Christian University at 13th Street and College Avenue on Indianapolis’ near north side at the eastern edge of the present Old Northside Historic District. Attorney and university founder Ovid Butler provided the property.

In Indianapolis, Ovid established a law firm with partners Calvin Fletcher, Simon Yandes and future Indianapolis mayor, Horatio C. Newcomb. Butler became interested and active in political and social issues. In 1849, Butler established the political and abolitionist newspaper Free Soil Banner. Due to bad health, Butler gave up his law practice in 1849, seeking retirement.

Curriculum Connections: Sectional Issues, Founder Ovid Butler, Abolition

University of Wisconsin

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

University of Wisconsin “Numen Lumen” (The divine within the universe, however manifested, is my light)

The University of Wisconsin–was founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin, and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. It became a land-grant institution in 1866

Miners who moved to the area in the 1820s and 1830s wasted little time in constructing shelters. Without shelter in the winter, they had to “live like badgers” in tunnels burrowed into hillsides, earning miners the nickname “badgers.” The tools and techniques involved in lead mining in these early years were relatively simple and inexpensive, allowing lucky miners to strike it rich with little personal expense.

University of Wisconsin Professor Frederick Jackson Turner

Vietnam War era at University of Wisconsin: 50 years ago, ‘Dow Day’ left its mark on Madison

University of Tennessee

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

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University of Tennessee “You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

On September 10, 1794, two years before Tennessee became a state and at a meeting of the legislature of the Southwest Territory at Knoxville, the University of Tennessee was chartered as Blount College. Tennessee has had several nicknames, but the most popular and well-known is “The Volunteer State,” a nickname earned during the War of 1812 (thousands of volunteer soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role in this war, especially during the Battle of New Orleans).

This reputation for volunteering was reinforced during the Mexican War when the secretary of state asked for 2,800 Tennessee volunteers and got 30,000 respondents

Henry Clay Jr. (April 10, 1811 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Congressman Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term. A graduate of West Point, he served in the Mexican-American War and was killed in 1847 at the Battle of Buena Vista.

Curriculum Connections: (Mascot) “The Volunteers”, War of 1812, Mexican War| Henry Clay Jr., The Civil War

James Madison University

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

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James Madison University “Knowledge is Liberty”

Founded in 1908 as a women’s college, James Madison University was established by the Virginia General Assembly. It was originally called The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg. In 1914, the name of the university was changed to the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg. At first, academic offerings included only today’s equivalent of technical training or junior college courses; however authorization to award bachelor’s degrees was granted in 1916. During this initial period of development, the campus plan was established and six buildings were constructed. The university became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg in 1924 and continued under that name until 1938, when it was named Madison College in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States whose Montpelier estate is located in nearby Orange, Virginia. In 1976, the university’s name was changed to James Madison University.

I work the James Madison into my course when I cover the following topics:

Plain, Honest Men – Philadelphia 1787 In an atmosphere of crisis, fifty five delegate met in Philadelphia and forged a radically new of government through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus.

Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution [1787-1788]The ratification debate, waged in the newspapers, through pamphlets, and on the floor of the state conventions, led to heated arguments about our new government’s structure and function.

San Diego State Aztecs

This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.

San Diego State University “Leadership Starts Here” San Diego State University (SDSU, San Diego State) is a public research university in San Diego, California, and is the largest and oldest higher education institution in San Diego County. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university in the 23-member California State University.

After the athletic teams were established in 1921, media referred to the teams as “Staters” or “professors”. The school newspaper tried to encourage “Wampus Cats” during its coverage of the 1923-24 school year. In the fall of 1924, Athletic Director C.E. Peterson urged the students to select a nickname and the school newspaper, The Paper Lantern, invited suggestions. Over the next few issues, names such as Panthers, Balboans and Thoroughbreds were suggested and submitted to a committee of Dean Al Peterson, C.E. Peterson and a student. In 1925, student leaders chose the nickname “Aztecs” over such other suggestions as “Balboans”. They felt the terminology was more representative of a southwest image and the selection met with no dissent. In February of 1925, President Hardy gave his formal approval to the “Aztec” nickname and teams adopted that identity within a week.

I work the San Diego State Aztecs into my course when I cover the following topics:

From Pangaea to Paradise – The Americas Before European Conquest [1491] Pre-Columbian indigenous populations were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness, rather, a vastly more populous and sophisticated civilizations that actively shaped and influenced the land around them .

The Spanish Mission System – “A Wealth of Souls to Harvest”The Spanish clergy, particularly Jesuits and Franciscans, played a critical role in settling the Southwest using the mission system.Over the centuries, this became the most effective means of “civilizing” natives.