Image: Indiana State Seminary Act, 1820

Description: You can read the full text on Indiana Memory here (pages 82-83): http://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15078coll21/id/121738/rec/5. While this act would establish the institution that would later become Indiana University, it would not have been recognizable to modern eyes. For years the campus was just a few buildings, and enrollment was low compared to Vincennes University and Indiana Ashbury College (now DePauw). Vincennes and IU spent years in legal-political battle about who was the state school, and talk of moving IU to Indianapolis continued up until the 1920s. Despite this, the General Assembly stood behind the Seminary, upgrading it to Indiana College in 1828 and finally Indiana University in 1838. In 1854 IU's New College Building burned down, taking the University's copy of this charter along with it, along with most of the University's early records.
Title: Indiana State Seminary Act, 1820
Credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Indiana/comments/eq496a/the_state_seminary_act_establishing_what_would/
Author: General Assembly of the State of Indiana
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No