A Beginning of Collegiate Education West of the Appalachians, 1795-1833: The Achievement of Dr. Charles Coffin of Greeneville College and East Tennessee College

In the transitional period between 18th century Enlightenment rationalism and 19th century romanticism, Charles Coffin set out in hopes of transplanting his native New England culture to the southwestern frontier, laboring to establish a Harvard-like college in Greeneville, East Tennessee. The educational theory of his institution assumed that the purpose of collegiate learning was to foster a class of gentlemen who would lead their communities by practicing their professions and occupying positions of political influence. Charting Coffin s successes and trials, this study illustrates the life of a man who sought to establish Atlantic seaboard culture and a classical collegiate curriculum in the American frontier