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| It was a miracle that the Catholepistemiad was established at all given that the people of the territory were more concerned with survival than a formal education. The French-Canadians who currently occupied Michigan showed little interest in the development of an American educational institution. Their primary business was the fur trade, which required only a knowledge of hunting and trapping -- not a classical education like that taught at the Catholepistemiad (Bordin, 2). |
| The first president of the Catholepistemiad was the Reverend John Montieth, a graduate of the College of New Jersey (what is now Princeton) (Bordin, 3). Father Gabriel Richard, a French priest who had been a schoolmaster in Detroit for many years was assumed the position of vice-president (3). As an eastern scholar Montieth was not alone in his decision to settle in the new territory. |
| Many settlers from the eastern states, a number of which were well educated, flocked to the territory during the first half of the 19th century (Shaw, 9). These people had a great deal to do with the growth of the territory and the University. They brought much needed skills and trades to the territory that facilitated commerce, enhancing the prosperity of territorial outposts. Additionally, the well educated settlers saw the benefits of public education in the territory. Educated people sent their children to be educated if they could afford it. Without the interest that the new settlers showed, the University might have failed. |