ABSTRACT
To explain the growth and democratization of modern higher education in the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century, this dissertation examines the political and social contexts that influenced academic and educational policies. The paradoxical nature of higher education for women became apparent in the period between 1880 and 1925. Women gained access to colleges and universities at an incredible rate during this period and took advantage of the opportunities a higher education provided. Recent histories of the University of North Carolina trivialize the institution's support for white supremacy during slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow, while denying that this unjust past affects the university today. Higher Education's golden era, stretching from roughly after the First World War to the 1960s, has received much attention from scholars. Higher Education's golden era, stretching from roughly after the First World War to the 1960s, has received much attention from scholars.
