ABSTRACT
Rapid social and economic change intersected with the ambitions and ideals of college authorities. Debates over student life and curricula that were expressed in the rhetoric of democracy and social mobility were often disputes among different generations with similar economic and social status. Debates within the colleges were primarily over life-style and cultural identity rather than more fundamental economic or social divides. Certain colleges—primarily older, private Protestant ones—acquired the mantle of social acceptability. In addition to becoming a prerequisite for professional success, colleges successfully convinced affluent parents of the social and moral superiority of private colleges. As Colin Burke postulated, accessibility to private colleges probably declined after the Civil War, and students were drawn increasingly from wealthier families. For most students and parents the sense of community and the social rewards of college life no doubt overshadowed the intellectual attractions.
