ABSTRACT
"The German universities constitute a principal bulwark of ideal culture in our age," the American philosopher A. C. Armstrong summarized his impressions in 1913. Inquiry, research, discovery retain their central position in the scheme of university life." The contradiction between contemporary praise and later condemnation has been heightened by historians of the Imperial University. Younger West German historians also view "the school as administrative instrument of state rule" and decry the narrow recruitment of universities which on the whole "served as bulwarks of the status quo" instead of as agents of change. The quality of information about German universities and schools, though superficial in travel literature, was impressive in professional publications. A number of perceived intellectual and practical advantages drew American youth to German universities. American intellectuals around the turn of the century admired German universities for their excellence in scholarship, professional training and, somewhat less so, liberal education.
