19th century was an era
when few instructors in academic institutions held advanced degrees, such as Master of
Arts, Master of Science, or Doctor of Philosophy. This was simply because few aca-
demic institutions in America awarded advanced degrees. America’s academic institu-
tions were in their infancy, with many of the early colleges being established by various
religious denominations, for the primary purpose of training men for the ministry. Con-
sequently, the great majority of instructors at these early academic institutions were
men, and predominantly clergymen. During this time, other than the ministry, the two
most commonly chosen professions requiring any type of an academic education were
medicine and law.
