106 of the first 108 colleges were started on the Christian faith. By the close of 1860, there were 246 colleges in America. Seventeen of these were state institutions; almost all others were founded by Christian denominations and by individuals who avowed religious purposes.

Harvard College, 1636:

An Original Rule of Harvard College: "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, (John 17:3), and lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."

William and Mary, 1691:

The College of William and Mary was started mainly due to the efforts of Rev. James Blair in order, according to its charter of 1691, "that the Church or Virginia may be furnished with a seminary of ministers of the gospel, and that the youth may be piously educated in good letters and manners, and that the Christian religion may be promulgated among the Western Indians to the Glory of Almighty God."

Yale University, 1701:

Yale University was started by Congregational ministers in 1701, "for the liberal and religious education of suitable youth ... to propagate in this wilderness, the blessed reformed Protestant religion...."

Princeton, 1746:

Associated with the Great Awakening, Princeton was founded by the Presbyterians in 1746. Rev. Jonathan Dickinson became the first president, declaring, "cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ."

University of Pennsylvania, 1751:

Benjamin Franklin had much to do with the beginning of the University of Pennsylvania. It was not started by a denomination, but its laws reflect its Christian character. Consider the first two University Laws, relating to Moral Conduct (from 1801): "1. None of the students or scholars, belonging to this seminary, shall make use of any indecent or immoral language: whether it consist in immodest expressions; in cursing and swearing; or in exclamations which introduce the name of God, without reverence, and without necessity. 2. None of them shall, without good and sufficient reason, be absent from school, or late in his attendance; more particularly at the time of prayers, and of the reading of the Holy Scriptures."

Other Colleges:

Some other colleges started before American independence include: Columbia, founded in 1754 and called King's College until 1784; Dartmouth, founded in 1770; Brown, started by the Baptists in 1764; Rutgers, started by the Dutch Reformed Church in 1766; Washington and Lee, founded in 1749; and Hampton-Sidney, founded by the Presbyterians in 1778.

The Bible as the Textbook:

It may surprise many to know that the Bible was truly the first textbook. The New Haven Code of 1655 required that children be made "able duly to read the Scriptures ... and in some competent measure to understand the main grounds and principles of Christian religion necessary to salvation."

The Bible was the central text. John Adams reflected the view of America's Founders in regard to the place of the Bible in society when he wrote: "Suppose a nation in some distant region, should take the Bible for their only law-book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! What a Utopia; what a Paradise would this region be!" (John Adams, February 22, 1756)

Hornbooks:

Hornbooks were brought to America, from Europe, by the colonists. Hornbooks were common from the 1500s to the 1700s. A hornbook was a flat piece of wood with a handle, upon which a sheet of printed paper was attached and covered with transparent animal horn to protect it. A typical hornbook had the alphabet, the vowels, a list of syllables, the invocation of the Trinity, and the Lord's Prayer.

Catechisms:

There were over 500 different catechisms used in early American education. Later, the Westminister Catechism became the most prominent one.

The New England Primer:

The New England Primer was the most prominent schoolbook for about 100 years and was used through the 1800s. It sold over three million copies in 150 years.

Webster's Blue-Backed Speller: First published in 1783, this textbook sold over 100 million copies. It was one of the most influential textbooks and was based on "God's Word."

The McGuffey Readers:

Written by minister and university professor William Holmes McGuffey, the McGuffey Readers represent the most significant force, other than the Bible, in framing our national morals and tastes.

While there were many other textbooks (especially in the 1800s), the ones just mentioned were some of the most important.

Education in religion was central to our Founders. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, wrote, "the only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in religion. Without this, there can be no virtue, and without virtue, there can be no liberty, and liberty is the direct object and life of all republican governments." The type of education that shaped our Founders' character and ideas was thoroughly Christian. It imparted Christian character and produced honest, industrious, compassionate, respectful, and law-abiding men. It imparted a Biblical world view and produced people who were principled thinkers.

April Shenandoah is the author of SO HELP ME GOD! (Eden Street Productions, 1999), served as the Los Angeles press contact for the 1988 Pat Robertson presidential campaign, spent more than ten years researching and gathering material pertinent to the changing world we live in, conducts Freedom Tea Party forums which educate those unaware of the stripping of America's freedoms, sits on the board of the National Council of Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and wears the unofficial title of Ambassador of Prayer. Her weekly column, "Politics & Religion," appears in the TOLUCAN TIMES in Los Angeles, and her political commentary is posted through the Internet.

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