A history of the University of South Carolina online

entered the sophomore class or a higher class, rarely the
freshman. Near the close of his term of office Dr. Cooper
reported to the board that for ten years there had been no
freshman class. The class was dropped in 1831 and restored
in 1834. It was always small. In 1843 it numbered two;
at the same time there were 49 in the sophomore class.
Efforts were made to increase the class by enlarging the
entrance requirements. By 1848 the number of freshman
was over twenty; it was 34 in 1859, while the sophomore
class of this year had 55 on its roll, a smaller proportion
than usual. After the South Carolina College closed in 1862
for the war there has not again been such a distribution of
students.

The applicant was examined orally in the presence of the
whole faculty. The laws of 1853 set the time as 9 o'clock
Tuesday morning after commencement in the lecture room of
the professor of Mathematics in the second story of the
center building of Legare College. According to these laws
the examiner noted down his results as "Good, Passable,
Deficient, Wholly Deficient." If an applicant was wholly



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 175

deficient in a single branch, or deficient in two branches, he
was not admitted. Laxness was occasionally charged; but
for the most part the requirements were strictly adhered to;
the record contains numerous references to deficiencies to
be made up and to applicants sent back for further prepara-
tion. In the laws of 1848 the opening of the college in
October was also a regular time for entrance; but the other
published laws give the December date as the only time at
which students from the State could enter except for
extraordinary reasons. Students from other states had the
privilege of entering at any time. With the University in
1866 the session began in October and ended July 1, so that
the date for entrance examinations naturally came at the
opening in October. Students might enter at the end of
any term. Applicants have for many years also had the
opportunity of standing entrance examinations in July at
the various county seats.

When the South Carolina College was opened in 1805, the
candidate for admission was required to "render from Latin
into English, Cornelius Nepos and Sallust, Caesar's com-
mentaries and Virgil's Aeneid; to make grammatical Latin
of the exercises in Mair's Introduction, and to translate into
English any passage from the evangelist St. John in the
Greek testament, and give a grammatical analysis of the
words, and have a general knowledge of the English gram-
mar, write a good legible hand, spell correctly, and be well
acquainted with arithmetic as far as the rule of three."
During President Maxcy's administration, 1805-1820, the
requirements underwent little change. At the reorganization
of the college in 1835 a candidate for admission was required
to have "an accurate knowledge of the English, Latin and
Greek Grammars, including Prosody; to have studied
Morse's, Worcester's or Woodbridge's Geography, and
Ancient Geography, and to be well acquainted with Arith-
metic including Fractions and the Extraction of Roots; to
have read the whole of Sallust ; the whole of Virgil, Cicero's
Select Orations, consisting of four against Catiline, pro lege
Manilla, pro Archia poeta, pro Milone, and the first



176 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

Philippic; Latin Composition or Mair's Introduction;
Jacob's Greek Reader; Xenophon's Cyropaedia, four books,
and one book of Homer." There was no change in these
requirements until 1848, when algebra was added as far as
equations of the first degree, and the last six books of Virgil's
Aeneid were dropped. The catalogue of 1853 gives the
further change of "the whole of Bourdon's Algebra," and
the addition of nine books of Homer's Iliad and six books
of Xenophon's Anabasis. The requirements in Greek were
cut down in 1858 to two books of the Iliad and two books
of the Cyropaedia ; but Professor Rivers resisted the change
so strongly that in the following year six books of the Iliad
and the same number of the Anabasis were required, to which
was added Ktihner's Greek Exercises, as far as syntax;
Jacob's Greek Reader held its own among the requirements.
There were no requirements or examination for entrance
to the University in 1866; but after that year applicants
under eighteen years of age had to bring a satisfactory cer-
tificate of proficiency or stand an examination for certain
departments. For students over eighteen there was no
requirement or examination during the second year. Until
1873 applicants for the school of history were "expected to
have studied Ancient and Modern Geography, and will find
it much to their advantage to have also studied some
elementary work on History." The applicant for Latin had
to offer "Latin Grammar, including Prosody; Caesar's Com-
mentaries; Sallust's Conspiracy of Catiline; Virgil's
Bucolics, and six books of the Aeneid ; Cicero's four orations
against Catiline, Pro Lege Manilia, and Pro Archia Poeta" ;
in Greek he offered "Greek Grammar, including Prosody;
Jacob's Greek Reader; Homer's Iliad, three books; Xeno-
phon's Anabasis, six books." It was also recommended that
he should read Eschenberg's or Bojesen's Grecian and
Roman Antiquities, and Mitchell's Ancient Geography.
There were no requirements in English. The school of
Mathematics and Civil and Military Engineering demanded
of the applicant "Arithmetic in all its branches, including
the Extractions of Square and Cube Roots. Algebra,



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 177

through equations of the second Degree." A knowledge of
the first four books of Geometry was regarded as desirable
but not absolutely necessary. The school of Natural and
Mechanical Philosophy and Astronomy expected the student
to have a knowledge of Algebra and Geometry. For the
school of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Mineralogy, and Geology all
that was necessary was a good elementary knowledge of
arithmetic and algebra ; and acquaintance with physics was
recommended. The schools of law and medicine had no
entrance requirements.

For admission to the South Carolina College of Agricul-
ture and Mechanics applicants were examined on English
Grammar, Geography, Arithmetic and Algebra through
equations of the second degree.

When the South Carolina College came again into exist-
ence in 1882, for entrance to mathematics the applicant
offered algebra through equations of the second degree. To
enter Latin he needed a thorough acquaintance with the
grammar and "a portion of Caesar or Virgil with practice
in composition.'' In Greek he presented acquaintance
with the grammar, the composition and a , portion of
Xenophon. "Proper attention" was given to accent. The
requirement for entering English is not stated. A knowledge
of Modern Geography (Europe and the United States),
Ancient Geography (the land bordering on the Mediter-
ranean), Modern History (United States), Ancient History
(Greece and Rome, or General History to the death of
Augustus). There was a sub-collegiate course with lower
requirements by a year for these departments. No student
was admitted to this class who was under sixteen if unpre-
pared in more than one study, or under eighteen who was
unprepared in more than two studies. The course had to
be completed in one year and was not open to special
students. This course was found to be unnecessary after
1887. In 1884 the English department required "the usual
English branches", including orthography, grammar, and
analysis. History at this time asked for general history and
geography. Mathematics remained the same. The grammar

12 H. U.



178 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

and composition remained the same in Greek and Latin ; but
a definite requirement of four books of Caesar, six books of
Virgil's Aeneid, and four books of Xenophon's Anabasis was
made.

The requirements in Mathematics were raised to include
three books of Geometry during the life of the University
from 1888 to 1891 and after it became again the South
Carolina College until 1894, when the Geometry was dropped.
These books were restored in 1908. The Latin requirements
have continued practically the same, although Cicero's Cati-
line orations are generally offered instead of Virgil. Owing
to the inadequacy of the preparation, Caesar and a good
training in grammar and composition were for some years
accepted. After 1888 the requirements were increased by
the addition of a composition on a set theme and a prescribed
course in reading, which has varied too much to be here
given in detail. The Geography of South Carolina, Modern
Geography, the History of South Carolina, and United States
History have been since 1888 the admission requirements in
history, except that in 1909 English History and later civics
have been added. With the opening of the session of 1907
the University began to conform to the "Uniform Entrance
Requirements." Each unit of preparatory work is measured
by five weekly recitation periods of forty minutes each for
thirty-six weeks. The present requirement is eleven units,
which must be in English, History and Mathematics to the
amount of seven and a half units, with two and a half to be
offered from language or science at the will of the applicant.

It has not been necessary since the opening of the Univer-
sity of South Carolina in 1866 for a student to have Greek
or Latin for graduation. Courses have been provided in
which these languages have not been required.

At the opening of the college in 1805 the students studied
Latin, Greek, Mathematics, English, Criticism, Logic,
Astronomy, Geography, Metaphysics, Natural Philosophy,
Moral Philosophy and History. French was added in 1807,
but was declared a failure and dropped in 1818. It was
taught again from 1829 to 1831. George McDuffie, president



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 179

of the board of trustees ex-officio as governor, 1835-37, vainly
tried to have a chair of modern languages established. Pro-
fessor Perrault taught geology lecturing to the seniors in
1809. Chemistry was introduced in 1811. Mineralogy became
a part of the chair of chemistry in 1818. Geology came into
the curriculum with Dr. Cooper; Lardner Vanuxem was
made professor of Mineralogy and Geology in 1821, and the
trustees purchased Dr. Cooper's cabinet of minerals. Begin-
ning with 1824 Dr. Cooper gave lectures in political economy.
Oriental and Modern Languages were taught by M. Michael-
owitz in 1829-31. A chair of Sacred Literature, later Sacred
Literature and Christian Evidences, was created in 1835.
At the same time Professor Lieber entered on his duties as
professor of History and Political Economy. Lectures on
agricultural chemistry were introduced in 1845. Professor
Williams taught Mechanical Philosophy after 1846 in con-
nection with Mathematics. A new chair of Natural and
Mechanical Philosophy was created for Dr. John LeConte
in 1856.

After the college changed into the university the subjects
of instruction remained nearly as before with the addition of
law and medicine, and modern languages. Professor LaBorde
also undertook to give instruction in English Language and
Literature in connection with his other work.

The curriculum of the South Carolina College of Agricul-
ture and Mechanics embraced English Literature ; President
Miles, who taught this subject, endeavored to include
History, Political Economy, Logic, Intellectual Philosophy,
and, "if practicable," Mental and Moral Philosophy and the
Evidences of Christianity; Geology, Mineralogy, Botany,
Zoology, Mathematics (pure and applied), Natural Phil-
osophy, Analytical and Agricultural Chemistry.

The curriculum of the South Carolina College in 1882 was
enlarged by the addition of Ancient Languages, Modern
Languages and English, Philosophy and Belles Lettres,
History and Political Science, and Agriculture and Horti-
culture.

The departments in the University of South Carolina,



180 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

into which the college was changed in 1888, were Greek,
Latin, Modern Languages, English Language and Literature,
History and Political Science, Logic and Rhetoric, Mental
and Moral Science, Mathematics and Astronomy, Physics
and Engineering, Chemistry, Geology and Mineralogy,
Biology, Hygiene and Bacteriology, Veterinary Science,
Pedagogy, Mechanical Engineering, Materia Medica, Phar-
macy, and Law. There was another division into a Gradu-
ate Department, a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a
College of Pharmacy, a Normal School, and a Law School,
each with its own faculty.

After the University was suppressed in 1891 and the South
Carolina College was again organized, the departments of
instruction were Ancient Languages, Modern Languages;
English Language and Literature and Rhetoric; History,
Political Economy, and Civics; Mental and Moral Science;
Mathematics; Physics and Astronomy; Chemistry; Biology,
Geology, and Mineralogy ; Law. Normal courses were added
in 1894. Women were admitted in 1894 by act of legislature.
A Special Normal Course was added in 1903.

In February, 1906, the present University of South Caro-
lina received its charter. The department of Biology, Min-
eralogy, and Geology was divided into two full departments,
Biology, and Geology and Mineralogy. The department of
pedagogics became the department of Education. The school
of engineering was founded. Sociology and allied studies
were introduced. Economics was made a separate chair.
Industrial chemistry was added to the chemical course. Two
full professors in Ancient Languages and three in English
were created. The State health department was located on
the grounds of the University and furnished several courses.
All departments were extended.

The various subjects as studied in 1806, 1836 and 1860
will be sufficient to illustrate the changes in the curriculum
of the old South Carolina College. They follow :



OF SOUTH CAROLINA



-181



1806.



LATIN.

1836.



Freshman: Virgil (Bucol- Horace (complete),
ics and Geor-
gics)

Cicero's Ora-
tions.



Sophomore : Horace.



Tacitus (Histories,
Germania, Agricola).
Juvenal (six satires),



Junior : Cicero De Oratore. Cicero De Oratore

Juvenal (four satires).



Senior : Palladius De Re Select Latin.
Rustica.



1860.

Livy, Bk. XXI
Horace (except Ars
Poetica).



Tacitus (Germania,

Agricola).

Select Satires of Juvenal

and Persius.

Cicero's De Officiis or
Lucan's Pharsalia.
Horace's Ars Poetica.

Terence's Andria.
Plautus's Captivi.



1806.



GREEK.



1836.



1860.



Freshman: New Testa- Xenophon's Anabasis (six Homer's Iliad completed
ment. bks.) (eighteen bks.).

Xenophon's Homer (eleven bks.)

Cyropedia.

fDemosthenes's De Corona
and selections from his-
torians and orators.



Junior: Longinus's De Homer (two bks.)
Sublimitate. Demosthenes.



Senior : Demosthenes, Se- Greek Dramatists,
lect Orations.



Aeschylus, Septem, Sopho-
cles, Oed. Tyr., Euripides,
Medea.

Pindar, Plato, Aristotle
(selections).



MATHEMATICS.



1806.



Freshman : Arithmetic.



1836.



1860.



Bourdon's Algebra to equa-( Rev . of Algebra (in theory
tions of 3rd degree, ratio J of logarithms), Arith.,



I Re
Oof
! <Th



and proportion, infinite < Theoretical (Loomis),
| series, logarithms, Le- j Geometry (Loomis).



[gendre's plane geom.



Sophomore : Vulgar a n d f f

decimal frac- \ Legendre's solid geometry. { Plane Trig.
tions, Algebra. [ L Conic Sections.

Junior : Geometry, theoret- f Desc. Geom., Conic Sec- { Spherical Trig.

ical and practical, I tions, Analyt. Geom., Flux- ( Analytical Geom. (Davies)
{ ions, Quadrature, Curva- 1 Lectures on Differential
Iture, etc. land Integral Calculus.



Senior : Parts of higher
Math.



182 HISTORY OP THE UNIVERSITY



ENGLISH.

1806. 1836. 1860.

Freshman : Eng. Grammar. Blair's Lectures and Rhet-

orical exercises.

Sophomore : Sheridan's Elocution.

Lectures on
Elocution.



Junior: Elements of Criticism Whateley's Rhetoric, Ele-

Rhetoric. ments of Criticism.

Senior: Criticism and Elocution.

President Maxcy taught Belles Lettres, as did President
Preston. The subject was attached to one of the chairs, Logic
for the most part.

HISTORY.



1806.


1836.
Tytler's History.


1860.
Ancient History.
History of Middle Ages,








History of Bible.


Senior : Millot's Elements
of History.


History, Political
Economy.


Political Economy, Poll
cal Ethics.



By 1838 Professor Lieber had introduced History into the
junior and senior classes. In 1847 the sophomores studied
History of the Middle Ages; the juniors studied Modern
History, this last being changed to Political Philosophy in
1849. History of the Bible, Connexion of Sacred and Pro-
fane History, came in for the first time in 1859.

LOGIC.
From the beginning in the junior class.

MOKAL PHILOSOPHY.

From the beginning in the junior year.

METAPHYSICS.



Always in the senior year.



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 183

SACRED LITERATURE AND EVIDENCES OF
CHRISTIANITY.

This course was instituted at the time of the reorganization
in 1835 and was given to both the juniors and seniors. In
1858 Professor Barnwell substituted for it in the senior class
a study of Butler's Analogy.

CHEMISTRY.

Professor Perrault lectured the seniors in 1809 on chem-
istry. The chair of chemistry was established in 1811: the
seniors were lectured. The catalogue of 1836 shows that both
the juniors and seniors received instruction in this branch,
which continued until 1859, when chemistry was placed also
among the sophomore studies.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY.

Mineralogy was introduced in 1817 and attached to the
chair of chemistry; Geology came in two years later with
Dr. Cooper. These subjects were a part of the work of the
seniors, never of a lower class.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

Studied by juniors. In 1836 it appears as a senior study.
Heat, light and electricity, as taught in the library of useful
knowledge, became at this time a part of the work of the
sophomores, to which galvanism, magnetism and electro-
magnetism were later added. Under Professor John LeConte
the sophomores received further instruction in this subject.
After 1841 Mechanical Philosophy appears in the list of
junior studies. Natural Philosophy was studied by the
seniors after 1857.

CIVIL ENGINEERING.
A senior study from 1848 to 1858.

ASTRONOMY.

At all times a senior study.



184 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

PHYSIOLOGY.

Introduced as a junior study in 1847, later placed in the
sophomore group. The importance of this study was first
insisted on by Professor Thornwell, who found a knowledge
of it necessary in his teaching of philosophy.

At the opening of the college in 1805 the faculty as elected
consisted of four members, who held the chairs of Belles
Lettres, Criticism and Metaphysics (President Maxcy),
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, First Professor of
Languages, Second Professor of Languages. French was
added for a few years. At the close of Dr. Maxcy's adminis-
tration, in 1820, there were chairs of Logic and Moral Phil-
osophy, Chemistry, to which Mineralogy was attached,
Languages (one chair), Belles Lettres, Criticism and Meta-
physics, and Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, five in all.

Under President Cooper there were chairs of Mathematics
and Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, to which was attached
the professorship of Mineralogy and Geology from 1821
to 1827 this professorship was held by Lardner Vanuxem as
a distinct chair; with Robert W. Gibbes as assistant Dr.
Cooper conducted the three subjects during the remainder
of his term of office Logic, Elements of Criticism and Phil-
osophy of Language, Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics, and
Languages. Logic was assigned until 1824 to the professor
of Moral Philosophy. There were six chairs for the greater
part of Dr. Cooper's administration.

After the reorganization in 1836 the faculty consisted of
professors of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy (held by
the president) ; Logic and Belles Lettres; History and Politi-
cal Economy; Greek and Roman Literature; Mathematics,
Mechanical Philosophy and Astronomy ; Chemistry, Geology
and Mineralogy; Sacred Literature and Evidences of
Christianity. After Greek and Latin were divided in 1845,
there were eight professors.

The faculty of 1860 consisted of the president, who taught
History, Political Economy, Political Philosophy and Elocu-
tion ; and of professors of Logic, Rhetoric and Philosophy of
the mind ; Roman Literature ; Greek Literature ; Natural and



OF SOUTH CAROLINA 185

Mechanical Philosophy ; Moral Philosophy, Sacred Literature
and Evidences of Christianity; Chemistry, Geology and
Mineralogy; Mathematics and Astronomy.

There were two tutors, one in Mathematics, the other in
Languages (or Classics) from 1807 to 1844, in which year
the position was abolished. French was taught by a tutor
from 1807 to 1818.

In the University that was opened in 1866 the student
could choose any subject he wished, provided he took at least
three subjects. He was given a diploma or certificate when
he finished a subject or school. If he wished to take the
A. B. degree he must graduate in any two of the literary
schools of the University and in any two of the scientific
schools, making in addition distinction in the intermediate
and final examinations in the junior class of any two of the
remaining schools. The students entered for the most part
into the schools of Mathematics, Ancient Languages, History
and Political Economy, and Rhetoric and English Language
and Literature. There were two classes, juniors and seniors,
so that a school could be completed in two years.

In the school of History, Political Philosophy and Political
Economy the juniors studied Ancient and Modern History ;
the seniors devoted their time to Political Philosophy and
Political Economy.

Students in the school of Ancient Languages and Litera-
ture took in junior Latin Prose Composition, Livy Bk. XXI,
Horace except Ars Poetica, Tacitus' Germany and Agricola,
Select Satires of Juvenal; in senior Latin, Prose Compo-
sition, Selections from Cicero's Philosophical Treatises,
Horace's Ars Poetica, a drama of Plautus, a drama of
Terence. The junior in Greek had Exercises in Greek
Syntax, ten books of Homer's Iliad, Selections from Hero-
dotus and Thucydides, Xenophon's Memorabilia, Demos-
thenes' De Corona; in Senior Greek the course consisted of
Composition, Selections from Plato's Dialogues, a drama of
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, a play of Aristophanes,
and Selections from the Lyric Poets. In all the classes
private collateral reading was assigned.



186 HISTORY OF THE UNIVBBSITY

Where the course of the school of Modern Languages arid
Literature is given in the catalogues the first year contained
French and German, the second year only French. Pujol's
French Course was used in both years, with the addition of
Ploetz' Manuel de la Litterature Frangaise in the senior.
The German students were taught only Otto's German
Grammar and Schiller's Wilhelm Tell.

Professor LaBorde gave instruction to his juniors in the
school of Rhetoric, Criticism, Elocution, and English Lan-
guage and Literature the History and Philosophy of the
English Language, Rhetoric, Verbal Criticism and Composi-
tion; to his seniors he gave Outline of English Literature
and Notices of Distinguished Authors, with criticism of their
works. Argument, or Conviction and Persuasion, as given
in Whately's Rhetoric, formed a part of the senior course.

The school of Mental and Moral Philosophy, Sacred Litera-
ture and Evidences of Christianity offered juniors a course
in Logic and Mental Philosophy (begun), seniors Mental
Philosophy (finished), Moral Philosophy, Butler's Analogy
and lectures on recent forms of scepticism.

Those who took the course of study in the school of Math-
ematics, and Civil and Military Engineering and Construc-
tion received instruction in the junior class in Algebra (com-
pleted), Geometry, Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Sur-
veying and the use of instruments; in the senior class,
Descriptive Geometry, Analytical Geometry, Calculus, and
Mathematical Drawing. The course of the class in Engi-
neering embraced Civil Engineering, Architecture, Stone
Cutting, Engineering Drawing, Military Engineering.

The work of the school of Natural and Mechanical Phil-
osophy and Astronomy was divided into three classes, two
in Natural and Mechanical Philosophy extending through
the junior and senior years, and one in Astronomy.

In the school of Chemistry, Pharmacy, Mineralogy and
Geology there were three classes, two, junior and senior, in