The origins and development of the public junior college movement, 1850-1921

The purpose of this study was to investigate the origins and development of the public junior college movement from about 1850 until 1921. This study examined the socio-economic background of the movement, the major trends in education between 1850 and 1921, the ideas and activities of the outstanding leaders of the movement, and the salient characteristics of the public junior colleges operating at the time of the founding of the American Association of Junior Colleges in 1920-1921. Particular emphasis was given to Henry P. Tappan, William Watts Folwell, William Rainey Harper, David Starr Jordan, and Alexis F. Lange, the major junior college pioneers during this period, and to the development of the junior college movement in the Midwest and California, where the movement was centered. This study used the historical method of investigation. It was based on primary and secondary sources, using the former whenever possible. Employing external and internal criticisms to determine the authenticity and value of the sources, this study attempted to present the research data in a narrative, interpretative, and documented form