Dartmouth University
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Dartmouth University is a defunct institution in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
which existed from 1817 to 1819. It was the result of a thwarted attempt by the state legislature to make
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
, a private college, into a public university. The
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case that settled the matter, ''
Dartmouth College v. Woodward ''Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward'', 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision in United States corporate law from the Supreme Court of the United States, United States ...
'', is considered a landmark.


History (1817–1819)

Dartmouth University operated in
Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...
, on the campus of
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. The University was established by the New Hampshire Legislature in an act of June 27, 1816. The College Trustees had dismissed President
John Wheelock John Wheelock (January 28, 1754 – April 4, 1817) was the eldest son of Eleazar Wheelock who was the founder and first president of Dartmouth College; John Wheelock succeeded his father as the College’s second president. Early life John Wh ...
, and his allies in
Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
sought to reinstate him through legislation. The act ostensibly modified the existing Charter rather than establishing a new institution: it attempted to change the name to Dartmouth University, to increase the number of Trustees from twelve to twenty-one, and to create a board of twenty-five Overseers including, ''ex officio'', the Governor and Council, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. The Legislature had some reason to see the existing school as a state charity. Dartmouth used the terms "college" and "university" almost interchangeably in its early years. It accepted state grants of land and money, including the Second College Grant and state funding for the construction of its medical school in 1811. It included in its first board of Trustees the Governor, the President of Governor's Council, two Council members, the Speaker of the New Hampshire House, and an Assistant of the Colony of
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. Many of Dartmouth's existing Trustees refused to obey the Legislature's act, however, and the Trustees of Dartmouth University failed to obtain a quorum to conduct any business. In response, the Legislature voted on December 18, 1816, that the Governor had the power to fill the vacancies left by the Trustees who would not submit (eight known as "the Octagon") and decided to reduce the number required for a quorum. The University Trustees met and brought the University into being during 1817. John Wheelock was named President, but upon his death in 1817 was replaced by his son-in-law,
William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...
. Dartmouth University as the Legislature saw it would offer a broad professional program, including separate schools of law and medicine. The existing Medical School continued to operate, but the rest of the University remained small: professors taught classes to a small number of undergraduates in Dartmouth Hall. The University took possession of the College Charter and its Seal, hiding them in a nearby farmhouse. A small group of University professors and allied townspeople attempted to take the private libraries of the College's two literary societies, the Social Friends and the United Fraternity, which were located in Dartmouth Hall. Students living in the building heard the sound of an axe breaking down the door of the U.F. library at night and sounded the alarm. A group of students wielding sticks of firewood soon forced the professors out, and the societies removed their libraries to keep them from falling into the hands of the University. The College, meanwhile, rented rooms in a building north of Dartmouth Hall and filed a suit in the county court to regain its property. Though lacking its former buildings, the College retained most of its students and had a much larger enrollment than the University. Students of the two institutions would pass each other on the Green between classes, and the two schools competed to reserve the College Church for Commencements on the same day. Both schools graduated students in 1817 and 1818. Though the College effectively was fighting for its life against the legislature, its cause of action ostensibly sought the return of the Charter and the Seal from the University Treasurer, William H. Woodward. The school lost and appealed the case directly to the state's supreme court, where it lost again and appealed to the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
argued the side of the College in the
Dartmouth College Case ''Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward'', 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contracts Clause of the United States Co ...
, describing the Charter this way: "A charter of more liberal sentiments, of wiser provisions, drawn with more care, or in a better spirit, could not be expected at any time or from any other source." The Court decided the case near the end of 1818 and released Chief Justice
John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
's opinion in February 1819. The decision declared the Legislature's acts unconstitutional as interferences with the obligations of a contract, whether that contract was seen as the one that existed between College founder
Eleazar Wheelock Eleazar Wheelock (April 22, 1711 – April 24, 1779) was an American Congregational minister, orator, and educator in Lebanon, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had tutored Samson Occom, a Mohe ...
and the Crown, the one between the school's various benefactors and the Crown, or between some other combination of parties. When the news reached Hanover several days later, the College and University were between terms, with few students in town. Many townspeople who supported the College celebrated, however, cheering loudly in the streets and firing a cannon. That spring, Dartmouth College reoccupied its buildings. The New Hampshire Legislature would not attempt to establish another university until the 1860s, when it created the land-grant forerunner of the
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
, originally called the
New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (NHC) was founded and incorporated in 1866, as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College. In 1893, NHC moved to Durham, where it became the University of New Ha ...
– in Hanover, associated with Dartmouth College.


See also

*Charles Franklin Emerson, preparer,"Historical Sketch," in ''General Catalogue of Dartmouth College and the Associated Schools 1769-1910 including a Historical Sketch of the College'' (Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College, 1910-11) *Richard N. Current, "'It is... a small college... yet, there are those who love it:' Dartmouth College v. Woodward," ''American Heritage'' 14, no. 5 (August 1963). *''
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward ''Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward'', 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819), was a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contracts Clause of the United States Co ...
'', 17 U.S. 518 (1819).


External links


The Charter of Dartmouth College
{{Dartmouth College, state=collapsed 1817 establishments in New Hampshire 1819 disestablishments in New Hampshire Dartmouth College history Defunct universities and colleges in New Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1817 Educational institutions disestablished in 1819