Higher education during the antebellum period wasnt, as many scholars have claimed, devoid of government intervention. Moreover, land and cash subsidies for schools, the establishment of state institutions, government loans, monopoly protections, and other government policies put academia on a different path than it would have taken in the absence of intervention.
Myth Busting
The Laissez-Faire Origins of American Higher Education
By Daniel L. Bennett
This
article
appeared in
the Spring 2014 issue of The Independent Review.
Economic History and DevelopmentEconomyEducationFederal Education PolicyFree Market EconomicsGovernment and PoliticsHigher EducationPolitical HistoryRegulation