Thomas Adam has provided an invaluable historical perspective on the role of college education in the United States. At a time when ‘college for all’ has become a little-understood mantra in electoral politics, Adam shows how American attitudes toward undergraduate education have changed radically. Over the course of the last two centuries, Americans moved from understanding college as a public good, a preparation for public service, to seeing college as a personal interest, an investment in the student’s future career. The question that now arises is: what will justify universal college education in the twenty-first century? This is an important book.

Stanley N. Katz, Princeton University

This book is a well-researched, comprehensive overview of how U.S. college tuition was funded from the beginning of the country through WW II and the G.I. Bill. The book offers insights into how college student support might be structured. It will be of interest to historians, educators, and policy makers.

Sam Stern, Oregon State University

In this interesting and informative study, Thomas Adam argues persuasively that the 1920s and 1930s marked related shifts in undergraduate demography, tuition charges, and financial aid policies that profoundly shape American higher education today.

Bruce A. Kimball, Ohio State University