Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA. Only fifty-nine days after Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846, the General Assembly chartered a "State University of Iowa." It was not, however, until 1855 that classes were held. (1)
The main reason for the delay was the effort made by various groups through several sessions of the legislature to divide the financial resources of the university by establishing branches. These were to be located at Mount Pleasant, Fairfield and Dubuque with normal schools at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mount Pleasant. A bill creating branches of the university at Fairfield and Dubuque actually passed in 1849. (2)
The issue was finally settled at the Constitutional Convention in 157. Article XI, Section 8 "permanently established" the capital at Des Moines and the state university in Iowa City. (3)
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Source:
1. Sage, Leland L. A History of Iowa. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974, p. 103
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 104
