Early Republic

St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College

1818
Missouri
Date
1818
Location
Missouri
Type
founding

What happened

St. Louis Academy, later Saint Louis University, was established in 1818 as the first college west of the Mississippi River.

When this happened

St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College occurred in 1818, during the early republic period of American history.

Where this happened

St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College took place in Missouri. Explore the full history of Missouri and primary source records from this era.

Historical context — Early Republic

The early republic period saw the United States move from the weak Articles of Confederation to the federal Constitution ratified in 1788, with the Bill of Rights added in 1791. George Washington served two terms as president (1789–1797), establishing precedents for executive authority, and the federal capital moved permanently to Washington D.C. in 1800. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the nation's territory for roughly $15 million, opening vast trans-Mississippi lands to American expansion. The War of 1812 against Britain ended inconclusively but produced a surge of American national identity and eliminated most British support for Indigenous resistance east of the Mississippi. The Northwest Indian Wars (1785–1795) and the Creek War (1813–1814) broke Indigenous confederacies that had resisted US expansion. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily balanced slave and free states as the nation expanded westward, but embedded the contradiction of slavery in every subsequent territorial debate.

Source

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: Religion and society in early Missouri.

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About St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College

What was St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College?
St. Louis Academy, later Saint Louis University, was established in 1818 as the first college west of the Mississippi River.
When did St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College happen?
St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College occurred in 1818.
Where did St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College take place?
St. Louis Academy Established as First Western College took place in Missouri.

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