“Traces of Vast Design”

The Panic of 1819 crippled America’s economy, forced endless business closures, and left many without the ability to repay loans. In Kentucky, the Debt Relief Party emerged and soon dominated both houses of the state legislature. A series of controversial legislative reforms followed, and the state was soon divided between competing visions of reform. The so-called relief controversy brought new and particularly unwelcome attention to Horace and his university; politically charged attacks against him manifested in charges of heterodoxy, corruption, and vice. This chapter examines the ensuing controversy and describes Presbyterian-backed efforts to dislodge Horace from the presidency.

Introduction

The introduction places the life of Horace Holley in the context of the history of education, the history of Kentucky, and the history of the early American republic. It begins with a summary of Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Lexington in May 1825, reviews Horace’s career at Transylvania University, and provides an overview of the book. It also includes a summary of scholarship related to the life and times of Horace Holley. The introduction outlines the scope and method of research as well as the significance of the project. It concludes with individual chapter summaries that outline themes and historical contexts developed throughout the book.

“Term of Severe Trial”

Horace grew to become one of Timothy Dwight’s greatest acolytes, and out of this devotion he developed a strict Calvinistic religious orientation. In reward for his dedication, Horace was named head minister at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church and headmaster of Greenfield Hill Academy, positions formerly held by Dwight. But Horace tired of life as a country minister, and so he looked for and found a more compelling situation as head pastor of Hollis Street Church in South Boston. Here, he cultivated a more refined understanding of the social benefits of cultured society. His position at Hollis Street allowed him to participate in many of Boston’s elite organizations, and his proximity to the city’s elite expanded the scope of his ambitions.

“Great Truths”

Chapter 1 begins with a short history of Horace’s childhood home in Salisbury, Connecticut, and then transitions to an overview of his educational experiences as an independent scholar and a student first at local grammar schools and then at Williams College and Yale. Horace’s reflections on Williams are mixed with those of his brothers John Milton and Myron to create a comprehensive understanding of collegiate life in the early republic. However, Horace’s education at Yale and his training under the Reverend Timothy Dwight in particular were fundamental to his later career, both as a minister and as an academic. This chapter also places Horace’s experiences in the context of the Second Great Awakening and the rise of American federalism.

“A Time of Fruits and Flowers”

This chapter considers the last years of Horace’s presidency, his departure from Lexington, his plans for a traveling academy, his arrival in New Orleans, and the last days and months of his life. The relief controversy speeded the rise of Jacksonian populism, and in 1824 Kentuckians elected Democratic Republican Joseph Desha as governor. Presbyterian opponents now joined with populists in common cause and helped force Horace’s resignation. But new challenges offered new opportunities, and Horace now set his sights on a traveling academy, a scheme to take the sons of Louisiana’s wealthiest planting families to Europe for an extended educational experience. He was frustrated by a lack of enthusiasm for this plan but then reinvigorated by another: the same families who sent their sons to Lexington for their education desired a university closer to home and encouraged Horace to become the institution’s first president. However, the promise of yet another educational venture would not come to pass, and Horace died from yellow fever just weeks after accepting the offer. This chapter places Horace Holley in the context of larger social and political trends and posits a different interpretation of the decades that proceeded his administration.

“A New Era of Literature”

This chapter describes the earliest years of Horace’s presidency at Transylvania. Bostonians lamented his absence but celebrated his desire to bring education to the dark places of the American West. To accomplish this aim, Horace gathered a unique collection of instructors, including Bostonian John Everett; Italian émigré P. D. Mariano; former University of Pennsylvania medical professor Charles Caldwell; twenty-eight-year-old Granville Pattison, former lecturer at Glasgow’s Medical School; and famed naturalist Constantine Rafinesque. Horace’s early ideas and innovations brought nationwide attention and marginalized those who might work against his goals. His efforts included the publication of the Western Review, a literary magazine he hoped would grow to rival similar eastern periodicals. More significant, however, was the reestablishment of Transylvania’s Medical Department, which under Caldwell’s supervision became the centerpiece of Horace’s efforts at Transylvania.

Conclusion

The final chapter concludes this study by following the lives of Horace’s wife, Mary, and his children, Harriette and Horace Jr., and by examining Horace as he was created and re-created in modern memory.

“The State of Society”

The trustees of Transylvania University offered Horace the presidency in the fall of 1817; he first declined but then agreed to suspend judgment until he visited the campus. His journey from Boston to Lexington commenced in the early spring of 1818. On his way, Horace hoped to investigate notable institutions of higher learning, the state of religious feelings in the United States, and the general condition of American society. He recorded his visits to Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, the medical college of Maryland, and the University of Pennsylvania in his travel diary and in letters to his wife and family. This chapter concludes with a discussion of Horace’s intentions and early attempts to modify established educational ideas within his new surroundings.