Harvard was chartered in 1636, becoming the first institution of higher learning in the American Colonies. Early colleges provided religious training together with training in classical studies. Some have become today's private non-profit colleges or state universities. The first state-chartered university was the University of Georgia, chartered in 1782, and originally named "Franklin College."

Initially, Harvard students had to learn classical Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. After the U.S. became independent from Great Britain, students could replace one of the classical languages with modern French, the language of Voltaire, according to Morison and Commager's history, Growth of the American Republic.

The Rise of Secular Studies, and Land-Grant Universities

The Academy of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania, was founded in 1751 through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin. Its curriculum was based on ideas that a college should offer practical as well as classical instruction, originally described in Franklin's "Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsilvania" (1749). It prepared students for non-religious careers, including business. Land grants were made available to fund higher learning at the time of the Civil War, and specifically, to allow students to study subjects like agriculture and engineering instead of the traditional classical curriculum. In 1890, land grants were made available to Black schools as well, according to " Historically Black Colleges & Universities."

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