2 76 Memorial of George Brozvn Goode. 



education adapted to the new and peculiar situation of the country, the 

 most essential instrument for which should be a Federal university. 

 Indeed, the tone of this article, to which my attention has recentl}^ been 

 directed ty President Welling, was so harmonious with that of the pre- 

 vious and subsequent utterances of Madison as to suggest the idea that 

 he, at that time a resident of Philadelphia, may have been its author. 

 It is more probable, however, that the writer was Benjamin Rush, who 

 in 1787 issued an Address to the people of the United States,' which 

 began with the remark that there is nothing more common than to con- 

 found the terms of American Revolution with those of the late Ameri- 

 can war. 



" The American war is over," he said, "but this is far from being the 

 case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the 

 first act of the great drama is closed. It remains yet to establish and 

 perfect our new forms of government, and to prepare the principles, 

 morals, and manners of our citizens for these forms of government after 

 they are established and brought to perfection. '"^ 



And then he went on to propose a plan for a national university, of 

 the broadest scope, with post-graduate scholarships, a corps of traveling 

 correspondents, or fellows, in connection with the consular service, and 

 an educated civil service, organized in connection with the university 

 work. 



In Economica, the work just quoted, printed in 1806, the first work 

 on political economy written in America, Blodget referred to the national 

 university project as an accepted idea, held in temporary abeyance by 

 legislative delays. 



Blodget urged upon Congress various projects which he thought to 

 be of national importance, and among the first of these was To erect, 

 or at least to point out, the place for the statue of 1783, and either to 

 direct or permit the colleges of the universit}- formed by Washington 

 to commence around this statue after the manner of the Timoleonteon 

 of Syracuse.^ 



' See Appendix B. 



-The Society of Sons of the American Revolntion, recentl}' organized, and com- 

 posed of descendants of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, has for one of its 

 objects "to carry out Washington's injunction 'to promote as objects of primary 

 importance institutions for the diffusion of knowledge,' and tints to create an 

 enlightened public opinion." 



3 1806 Blodget, Samuel, jr., Economica : | A Statistical ManiTal | for the | United 



States of America. | = | The legislature ought to make the people 



happy I Aristotle on government | = | " Felix qui potuit rerum cognos- 



cere causas" | = | City of Washington : j Printed for the author. | = | iSq6, 128 

 i-viii, 1-202 i-xiv. 



The certificate of copyright is in this form: 



Be it remembered that * •• - Samuel Blodget, junior, hath deposited in this 

 office, the title of a book the right whereof he claims as author, but for the benefit in 

 trust for the free education fund of the university founded by George Washington 

 in his last will, etc. 



