Abstract
As the title indicates, this study deals with nineteenth century higher education—specifically Methodist endeavors in Nebraska during its frontier period. As was true with most of the institutions offering so-called higher education on the western fringes of settlement—and some institutions throughout the country—the name was more for show than for correctly describing the level of learning taking place. While some colleges offered collegiate level instruction, many others could not even meet high school standards. Some institutions called academies probably offered a higher level of education than some universities. Denominational and local rivalries demanded that schools be symbols of culture and success and many trustees yielded to pressures and named their schools "colleges" and "universities" without regard for the implication such names carried. So, in Nebraska there were Methodist seminaries, colleges, and universities—all operating at the same academic level. However, in all cases, the level of instruction has been ignored and the schools are referred to by their given titles, i.e., Simpson University, Mallalieu University, Mount Vernon College, and so on.|This paper grew out of a seminar studying the number and kinds of institutions of higher education anticipated or begun in Nebraska before 1900. Although some works have made mention of early Methodist attempts in Nebraska, no general study exists for the denomination with the largest number of schools. While filling a gap in Methodist and Nebraska history, this paper should serve as an example of the general pattern of higher education in the United States one hundred years ago.