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Agassiz
===19th century===
===19th century===
The takeover of Harvard by the [[Unitarians]] in 1805 resulted in the secularization of the American college. By 1850 Harvard was the "Unitarian Vatican." The "liberals" (Unitarians) allied themselves with [[Federalist Party|high Federalists]] and began to create a set of private societies and institutions meant to shore up their cultural and political authority, a movement that prefigured the emergence of the Boston Brahmin class. On the other hand, the theological conservatives used print media to argue for the maintenance of open debate and democratic governance through a diverse public sphere, seeing the liberals' movement as an attempt to create a cultural oligarchy in opposition to Congregationalist tradition and republican political principles.<ref>Neil Brody Miller, "'Proper Subjects for Public Inquiry': the First Unitarian Controversy and the Transformation of Federalist Print Culture," ''Early American Literature'' 2008 43(1): 101-135; [http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0100_Christianity_in_U.S..html A Brief History of Christian Influence in U.S. Colleges]</ref>
The takeover of Harvard by the [[Unitarians]] in 1805 resulted in the secularization of the American college. By 1850 Harvard was the "Unitarian Vatican." The "liberals" (Unitarians) allied themselves with [[Federalist Party|high Federalists]] and began to create a set of private societies and institutions meant to shore up their cultural and political authority, a movement that prefigured the emergence of the Boston Brahmin class. On the other hand, the theological conservatives used print media to argue for the maintenance of open debate and democratic governance through a diverse public sphere, seeing the liberals' movement as an attempt to create a cultural oligarchy in opposition to Congregationalist tradition and republican political principles.<ref>Neil Brody Miller, "'Proper Subjects for Public Inquiry': the First Unitarian Controversy and the Transformation of Federalist Print Culture," ''Early American Literature'' 2008 43(1): 101-135; [http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0100_Christianity_in_U.S..html A Brief History of Christian Influence in U.S. Colleges]</ref>
In 1846, the natural history lectures of [[Louis Agassiz]] were acclaimed both in New York and on his campus at Harvard College. Agassiz's approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans' 'participation in the Divine Nature' and the possibility of understanding 'intellectual existences.' Agassiz's perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that one can grasp the 'divine plan' in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on a presumed archetype for his evidence. This dual view of knowledge was in concert with the teachings of [[Common Sense Realism]] derived from Scottish philosophers Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, whose works were part of the Harvard curriculum at the time. The popularity of Agassiz's efforts to 'soar with Plato' probably also derived from other writings to which Harvard students were exposed, including Platonic treatises by Ralph Cudworth, John Norris, and, in a Romantic vein, [[Samuel Coleridge]]. The library records at Harvard reveal that the writings of Plato and his early modern and Romantic followers were almost as regularly read during the 19th century as those of the 'official philosophy' of the more empirical and more deistic Scottish school.<ref>David K. Nartonis, "Louis Agassiz and the Platonist Story of Creation at Harvard, 1795-1846," ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 2005 66(3): 437-449, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654189 in JSTOR]</ref>
Charles W. Eliot, president 1869-1909, eliminated the favored position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, but by Transcendentalist Unitarian convictions. Derived from [[William Ellery Channing]] and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], these convictions were focused on the dignity and worth of human nature, the right and ability of each person to perceive truth, and the indwelling God in each person.<ref>Stephen P. Shoemaker, "The Theological Roots of Charles W. Eliot's Educational Reforms," ''Journal of Unitarian Universalist History'' 2006-2007 31: 30-45, </ref>
Charles W. Eliot, president 1869-1909, eliminated the favored position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, but by Transcendentalist Unitarian convictions. Derived from [[William Ellery Channing]] and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], these convictions were focused on the dignity and worth of human nature, the right and ability of each person to perceive truth, and the indwelling God in each person.<ref>Stephen P. Shoemaker, "The Theological Roots of Charles W. Eliot's Educational Reforms," ''Journal of Unitarian Universalist History'' 2006-2007 31: 30-45, </ref>
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Abelmann, Walter H., ed. ''The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology: The First 25 Years, 1970-1995'' (2004). 346 pp.
* Abelmann, Walter H., ed. ''The Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology: The First 25 Years, 1970-1995'' (2004). 346 pp.
* Bethell, John T.; Hunt, Richard M.; and Shenton, Robert. ''Harvard A to Z'' (2004). 396 pp. the best guide [http://www.amazon.com/Harvard-Z-John-T-Bethell/dp/0674012887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264371175&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Harvard U. ''Education, Bricks and Mortar: Harvard Buildings and Their Contribution to the Advancement of Learning'' (1949) [http://www.questia.com/read/59261318?title=Education%2c%20Bricks%20and%20Mortar%3a%20Harvard%20Buildings%20and%20Their%20Contribution%20to%20the%20Advancement%20of%20Learning online edition]
* Harvard U. ''Education, Bricks and Mortar: Harvard Buildings and Their Contribution to the Advancement of Learning'' (1949) [http://www.questia.com/read/59261318?title=Education%2c%20Bricks%20and%20Mortar%3a%20Harvard%20Buildings%20and%20Their%20Contribution%20to%20the%20Advancement%20of%20Learning online edition]
* James, Henry. ''Charles W. Eliot: President of Harvard University, 1869-1909'' (1930) [http://www.questia.com/read/1107046?title=Charles%20W.%20Eliot%3a%20President%20of%20Harvard%20University%2c%201869-1909 online edition]
* James, Henry. ''Charles W. Eliot: President of Harvard University, 1869-1909'' (1930) [http://www.questia.com/read/1107046?title=Charles%20W.%20Eliot%3a%20President%20of%20Harvard%20University%2c%201869-1909 online edition]