Labor's Millennium. Christianity, Industrial Education, and the Founding of the University of Illinois 12+

📒 Description:Historians have traditionally interpreted the American land-grant higher-education movement as the result of political and economic forces. Little attention has been given, however, to any explicit or implicit theological motivations for the movement. This book tells the story of how the Christian belief of many founders of the University of Illinois motivated their educational theory and practice. Constructing a social gospel of labor's millennium (their shorthand for God's kingdom being enhanced through agricultural and mechanical education), they initially proposed that the university would impart a millenarian blessing for the larger society by providing abundant food, economic prosperity, vocational dignity, and a charitable spirit of sacred unity and public service. Rich in primary-source research, Smith's account builds a compelling case for at least one such institution's adaptation of an inherited evangelical educational tradition, transitioning into a new era of higher learning that has left its mark on university life today.Endorsements:""Religious motivations were at the heart of the expansion of higher education in the United States. Brett Smith, using the University of Illinois as a case study, tells the fascinating story of the religious commitments, conflicts, and institutions that were at the heart of the founding of 'state colleges' of higher education. In today's more conflicted era, we too often forget how de...