cademies flourished in a modest way, though they never
enrolled more than 400 students in any one year. But this effort, which
originally aimed to cover every county in the State, soon arrived at the
place which might have been foreseen from the beginning. The branches
began not only to overshadow the parent institution but actually to eat
up all of the University's resources. The necessary action followed
quickly when the University began to demand all the available income; in
1842 the Regents gave notice that the appropriations for the branches
would be reduced and by 1846 all support was definitely withdrawn.

This was practically the end of these schools, though some of them
managed to maintain a precarious existence for a few years. They had,
however, served a useful purpose. Without the students they trained it
is difficult to imagine where the first classes to graduate would have
received the preparation which enabled the University to maintain
collegiate, instead of preparatory, courses,--the rock upon which so
many institutions stumbled. Then, too, they accustomed the people of the
State to the idea of schools affiliated with the University and prepared
the way for the local high schools which within a short time came to
serve the same purposes as had the branches. Finally they performed a
valuable service in the preparation of teachers for the common schools.
The $35,000 spent by the Regents on these branches was therefore far
from wasted. Rather it was one of the series of fortunate measures,
somewhat blindly entered upon, which served the University well; but it
is equally true that the abandonment of the policy came only in the nick
of time, for the Regents were already in serious financial difficulties.

With all of these favorable influences, the horoscope of the University
was at least propitious. The people of the State were familiar with the
idea of a state educational system; the immigrants from the East were
for the most part homogeneous and of a progressive spirit; it was
believed that an adequate income for the educational program was assured
from the sale of state lands; provision had been made for the proper
preparation of matriculates in the University; and above all, wise and
far-sighted men had devised a scheme of organization which showed
familiarity with the best there was in educational development at that
time. We can now take up the story of the University itself.

CHAPTER III

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