A D)D R E S S
OF THE
ALUMNI OF THE ] NiVERSITY OF MICHIGAN,
TO THE
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.
"At the commencement of their duties they
encountered some perplexing embarrassments,
which, for a time, retarded their efforts to infuse new life and energy into the institution.
They found the University in debt, the entire
income of the year anticipated, the warrants
dishonored at an empty treasury, one of its
most important departments unpopular, and
the prominent literary professots who still had
charge of this department, smarting under
what they and their friends regarded  as an in.
suiting public dismissal."   "  The peculiar organization of the University under the old sys.
ternm, particularly the absence of a permanent
executive officer or Pre'sident, to watch over
and control its internal affairs, more than any
other cause, led to the misunderstanding between the former Regents and Professors.  Under the existing system we trust a similar mis.
u derstanding will never occur."
So far had public confidence and respect been
withdrawn, that, notwithstanding the constant
increase in the population  of the State, and
notwithstanding the general appreciation of
the advantages of a gratuitous liberal education, the number of students in the department of letters had diminished to:he small
total of about forty, and, the hold upon Many
of thes e  wa s very   p     recarious.
We      cannot    find    more reliable
evidence of the change which was wrought
within the term of office of that Board, than
by again extracting from their report:
".As soon M the financial condition of the
University, and the information in possession
of the Board justified the measure, Henry P.
Tappan, L L. D., of New York city, was elected President of the University, and by virtue
of his office became its principal executive offcer, which duty he has steadily performed with
honor to himself and profi to the institution
over which he presides.'l Believing that his
views of a proper University education are liberal, progressive, and adapted to the present
age, we have sustained him to the (xteni of our
ability, in all measures lor the advancement of
the University, and it gives us pleasure to add
that we have rarely disagreed with him as to its
true interests, during the period we have; been
associated;in charge of the institution- The
prosperity of the University and its adaptation
to the highest educational wants of the people,
can no longer be questioned. The evidence of
this is found in its present freedom from financial embarrassment, and in the deservedly high
reputation it maintains at home and abroad."
The report shows that at its date (December
31st, 1857,) the number of students had increased in the department of letters to two
hundred and  seventy-rix (during a period of
great financial embarrassment) and in the other
departments, to such an extent, that there were
four hundred and fifty students then in attendance.
And, the Board of Visitors of that year (Hon.
J. D. Pierce, the first Superintendent-o! Pub
The  Alumni  of the Universi ty of Michig       an        d
assembled       at             the University  on the 9th day of
July, 1863, pursuant to general call, respectt
fully present to the p eopl e of the Stat     e the                re sult of their deliberations  in relation to the re c      ent a  c         tion of the Board  of Regents in    the re moval        of  th e  Rev. Dr. H. P. Tappan          from the
P       resid ency of the'        University.
Waiving all question in respect to the valid ity of such proceeding under the constitution
ot the State; recognizing, for the purposes of
this    pap er, i n     the Board  of Re gents the legiti mate        authority for such         removal wherever the
interests  of t    he        Univ ersity shall require it; and
acknowledging al so        tha          t a faithful and consid erate regard for su ch interests  requires of                    those
wh o  have         al ready   enjoye d    the  noble munificence
of       the i nstitution, the entire abnegation  of
merely personal preferences as well as
t    he      subj ection     of  all personal hostility; while
at the same time it demands a fearless and man ly statement of  their co nvi    ctions in         respet to
all measures            which pertain to such  interests,,   The Alumni now urge upon your attention
the following considerationes:
Tha   t  fr om t he  nature  of our            University; from
th     e       c h  aracter of its relations with the commup nity at large: from the                     great importance of
harmon ious aetion and        the c are     ful avoidance of
all par    tisan politic al or              sectarian i       rritation;
from  the dignity of educational interests;  and
from t he    m om entous consequences resulting
fro         m the disturbance of settled pol i cies           in insti tutions of                         t     his character: from  these consider ations, without reference to t       he manif est  inex pediency of forcing issues upon constitutional
questions of power a nd th e  d istribution of gov
ernmental au      th      ority;  t he action  of  the Re gen ts i       n th e             removal of the "I principal  execu tive officer" of the chief educational institution
in the State, can only be shown to have been
for "the true interests of the University" by the
existence of an imperative necessity.
This officer was called to the position by the
predecessors of the present Board; by the men
upon whom- the constitution had imposed the
duty and the responsibility of selecting a suit able person for the important functions
of   the  office; -by   those   who   had
previously  had   large  experience  in  the
management   of    the   University,   and
through whose counsel the office was created,
with the express otject of remedying  the
lamentable evils which had theretofore arisen
in the administration of the institution on ac count of the want of a visible and responsible
and permanent head of the University.
The person so deliberately  chosen by a
body of men of such high standing in
the State, and possessed of such opportuni ties for right judgment, entered upon his
duties in the month of October. 1852. And,
we cannot better describe the condition of the
institution at that time than by placing befoi e
you an extract from the:dnal report of the
Board of Regents then in power.
-1,ks
,% S'5 7
N\5
p 
2
lie Instruction, and Hon H. C. Knight), in their
report set forth "what the University has be
come:"                                            p       
"It has been founded about twenty yeas
Within that period much usefel experience has 
been acquired, and some erroneous ideas have
been corrected.  The experiment of a govern ment wUhout a hd hu been tried and abandon. Whilst much  good  has been done and
foundations have been laid during all these
twenty years, the decided prosperity of the
Univefrsity is quite recent.  Within three years,
it has, by a sudden leap, reached a rank in rep-s
utation and actual efficiency, not perhaps equal
with the very first of American institutions,
but certainly interior to very few."
Let it be marked by all that at this most dif ficult period in the administration of affairs,
there was no conflict of authority between the
President and the Regents, no allegation that
there had been any arrogation by the former of
the powers and prerogatives of the latter.  On
the contrary, by mutual confidence, respect and
cordiality, by earnest co operation and concil.
latory bearing,without jealousies or unjust bus picions or unworthy depreciation of motives,
the work of building up the institution had
gone forward with entire harmony and most
gratifying success. 
It is quite evident from these facts and this
experience, that there was no necessary con flict in the legitimate duties of the President
and the Board-no inevitable occasion for any
misunderstanding between them, in the honest
effort to fulfill their responsibilities, without
sinister objects or ulterior ends. And it seems
also fairly inferable that there was nothing in
the character, conduct or views of the Presi dent at all incompatible with a due regard for
the proper authority of the Regents, or calcu lated to embarrass them in any legitimate'ac tion.
t was not until the present Board acceded to
power that any difficulties arose.  A  recur 
rence to the history of those difficulties will
enable the public to judge whether any imper ative necessity, or even any considerate regard
for the interests of the University, demanded
or justified the recent action   of the Board in
the removal  of the President.
Before doing this, however, it should be stated   th       ve p lied t that every published report f the Board of
Regents, and the respective Boards of Visitors,
down to the present time, has represented the
University to be in a most prosperous condition, and constantly improving in reputation
and efficiency. And it las never been intimated to the people that there was any occasion for
any important change in the management of
the institution.
A reference to the published "School Reports" of the past ten years will verify our
statement, and will also aid us in the consideration of the causes which instigated the removal of the President.
No formal statement of reasons for this ac.
tion has been given to the public, or placed upon the records of the Board.
Whv not P Was it because the charges were
of such a monstrous character that from a con
siderate regard to Dr. Tappan the Board ha
manely avoided publication to the world?
Hila open challenge to the Board at the time
of their action, and the reiterated demands of
his friends since that day, stamp with falsity the
Wae innuendo.
Was it. becaus the Regents so highly recognize the dignity of their office that they do not
consider it compatible with their elevated duty
to make known their grounds of action?
This Board, unlike any other, have courted
notoriety; from the day of their accession to
office, they have proclaimed that their meetings
were open to all; they have urged newspapers
to send reporters, and, in the absence of such,
one of their own number has himself " kept
the public fully informed" of such measures as
would help on his purposes. If it was thought
proper to pat before the public the most unim  portant as well as the least creditable details of
theircen,   t  s  cacl  proceedings it is sarey pro bable that
this m at  t er was   suppressed from a delicate
sense of propriety.
Was it because they feared the effect   of " a i tation" upon the  inter ests of the University 
We protest tnhat if sound r e as ons e xisted  a
calm, -fair and impartial exposition would In-no
wise have  induced  such excited  disc us sion  or
such violent  feeling as the     metho d adopted th
was calculated to provoke. The   pe rmane nt//
welfare of such an institution  will hardly  be"
p romoted by the  silent,  unexplained expulesion
of a chief officer   whose servic es have been pub licly acknowledg ed and appreciated during  a
long series of years.
No! such motives did not actuate the  men in
power o  we believe th at ev ent  s will showa-(no
matter how it may be hereafter attempted  to
frame a  subtle  defense  of the action, )-that
the Regents did not dart e   to place then upon
the record  and before the people their real
reasons.
The determination of th ose  favorin g the  re-t
moval was secret. It was  not  e ven     mentioned
to  a part of the Board until th      e day before the
a ction.  No discussion  was had in the  Boar d   or
by any formal meeting.
The proceeding was purposely abrupt and
disrespectful. All ordinary courtesy        was ig nored. The resolutions were curt and  betok ened daince-they d id not  recognize any  merit,
nor acknowledge the    slightest service, nor ad -
mit the  disch     arge of any duty by the officer
who h a d labored  in t he institution for many
years  And, to make their  action  more   per sonally offensive, they pursue  a similar course
with a member of his familv who had quietly,
unobtrusively  and acceptably discharged  the
humble duties of Librarian.
wWe  believe t e es  w l h   that events will sho   thatthe
removal of Dr. Tappan is to be attributed to
the personal hostility and selfish ambition of,
one member   and  to the   cold, mo n ey-grasping
purposes of another  member  of the Boa rd. 
They came into power on the let of January,
1858.  Immediately the columns of one of the
Detroit papers were occupied with lengthy let ters from anonymous correspondents, purport ing to be located in different portions of the
State, while in fact they all clearly marked the
same author.  These letters, with occasional
articles, were continued through a series of
years; they  contained low bred attacks apon
the President, insulting inuendoes impeaching
his integrity, ridiculing his character and depre.
ciating his efforts: they fomented difficulties
among the professors and paraded before the
public their petty bickerings; they disparaged
the astronomical observatory, and sought to
wound  the sensibilities of the director; they
cavilled at the slightest expenditure for the
purpose of aiding him in his efforts, and they
made light of his studies and the results of his
observation.
The unfortunate incident of his connection
with the President condemned him as an additional object of assault from ignorant malice.
The venom of these articles proved its own
antidote, The spirit which dictated them was
so manifestly malignant that they ceased to
have any influence upon the public mind except disgust toward the author.
Unsuccessful in this effort, and learning wisdom from experience, a more covert and insidious plan was adopted. The public avowal had
keen made that the President should be removed before the Board went out of office;  and the
person making it waston persistent to be baffled
or discouraged by a single failure.
tinder the pretext that the rules for the gov-~
ernment of the University required compilastion and revision, he obtained such action that
t. 
3
a "Code cf By-laws," &c, was presented to
the Board wvthin a few months after their ac.
cession to office, and when they were compara tively unacquainted with the administration of
the institution.  The spirit and purpose of the
Code was to take from the President very many/ 
of the powers which had been conceded to him
by the previous Board, some of which were es sential to his efficiency as the "chief ex ecu -
tive officer of the University."  By specious
argument the Regents were induced to adopt
this code, were led to believe that upon them
alone rested the entire responsibility of the ad ministration of the institution, without refer ence  or deference to the  President.  Ten
standing committees were appointed, among
whom the power was nominally divided; but,
in fact, one Regent was chairman of seven of
the most important committees.  And, in pro cess of time, almost the entire duties of the
Board were devolved upon the two Regents
whose proximity to the University enabled
them to assume the power most readily.  One
of these men being Chairman of the Finance
Committee, and also custodian of the funds,
and    having    obtained    the   appoint ment  of   a near  relative  as  Steward,
made  it  his  special  task  to  demon strate by his practices the complete  sub.
ordination of the President to his arbitrary au thority.  Without prolonging this review, we
believe that we are justified in charging that
the removal of the President is to be attributed
to the constant scheming and unwearied efforts
of a small minority in the Board.  In saying
this we do not ignore the fact that written evi.
dence exists showing a secret intrigue on the
part of two persons —one formerly connected
with, and another, now a member of the Facul ties-having in view the supplanting of Dr.
Tappan, and the elevation of his elected suc.
cessor.  It may hereafter transpire that this
influence working upon the Board during the
past five years, has assisted in the accomplish ment of the result.  But, it is to the system atic operations of this minority in the Board
that the State is chiefly indebted for the pres ent condition of things.  By personal detrac tion through the press, by insult in the meetings of the Board, by studied disrespect in the
presence of under graduates, the head of the
University has been beset for the past six
years.  Instead of advice and support and,ordial co-operation, he has met with contempt;
instead of a hearty sympathy in his efforts to
ibtild up a complete and finished University,
his plans have been ridiculed, his projects
hampered and embarrassed, and his action repudiated.
Members of the Faculties have been chosen,
and others removed, without consultation with
him.  And when in the organization of a most
important department, he suggested the expe diency of selecting some person widely known
and of extended influence throughout the coun tay, the intimation was not only disregarded but
was made use of to prejudice the opinions of
those who were elected.
Hostility to the President with members of
the Faculties has been purposely engendered
and kept alive; jealousy of his authority and
his reputation has been incited, and complaints
to the Regents have been encouraged.  To such
an extent have members of the Faculties been
made to feel their independence of the Presi dent and their complete subjection to the Re gents, that when the latter required of them
some open "acquiescence" in the recent ac tion, they put before the public a garbled
statement of the proceedings of the meeting
of ten (out of twenty-two) members of the
University 8enate,-a statement which did not
truly set forth the action then taken.
Flagrant falsehoods in respect to the moral
influence of the Presi~dent over the students,
.and as to the character of University discipline
have been  s lan derous ly put forth t o destroy his
hold upon right minded people.
Through these various  ins trumen talities, the   neUnirt     o
removal  has been  effected; and with  it,   a s an
inevitable fh   andanticipated result,   the Regents
have also  gained the resignation of  Dr.  Brun.
now,the Director  of the Ast ronom ical Observatory,-a modest, unobtrusive gentleman,whose
genius  and   scholarly   attainments    are
recognized by the highest scientific men in his
department, both in Europe and America. We
do not cast the responsibility upon all the members of the Board. We believe that the major.
ity of those favoring the action were the unwitting instruments of others, and that they
were misled. Unworthy purposes in reference
to the election of a successor-improper con.
siderations which every friend of the University should frown upon, doubtless rendered some
members more open to conviction and more
ready to believe.
Certainly, if they had met the question in
the proper manner, if they had required an
open and impartial hearing of charges, they
would have sho-w-tbmse lves more worthy of
their high position, and would, perhaps, have
arrived at a different conclusion.
They are responsible for the discourteous,
unjust and arbitrary manner in which the pro.
ceedings were conducted.
The simple fact of their adopting such an
important measure at the close of their term
of office, without the slightest consultation
with their successors, justifies the suspicion
that their purpose was to forestall the action of
the new Board, and to embarrass them in the
consideration of the subject.
If they had only created the vacancy, and
committed the choice of a successor to those
who were soon to fill their places, and upon
whom the responsibility of the choice would,
of necessity, largely devolve, there would have
been less reason tor the belief that it was the
purpose to surround the measure with such infiu-nces that it would require much firmness,
independence and determination to investigate
the grounds of their action.
The University belongs to the people of Michigan. Its endowments were made for your
benefit. Its growth and prosperity are matters
of personal interest to you.
We shall not undertake to show that the
presence of Dr. TapPan, and his character and
influence are essential to its continued efficiency. The object of this paper is to place before
you the grounds upon which the alumni believe that great wrong to the person, and great
injury to the institution have been accomplished by the recent action of the Board.
Many of us were students under the old regime when there was no head to the Universi.
ty.  Many have been students under the  pres.
ent administration; all concur  with him who
has been so unexpectedly (to us) called to take
charge of the institution, that " the strength
and reputation which the noble University of
Michigan has attained is to be attributed to
the supervision of the" late  "President."
With that gentleman, too, we have had occasion to admire "6 the enterprise and faithfulness
with which the " late " President has educated
the public opinion of Michigan." W~ith him,
the Alumni do " gratefully remember his former kindness, and our very pleasant and, to
ejected from his office, and notified to quit his
house, without uttering our solemn protest
to the people of the State, whose servants have
abused their trust. 
In conclusion, the alumni do not think themselves bold to say that, from their knowledge.
of the career of Dr. Tappan as President, from
their acquaintance with his system of discipline, his demeanor with the students, his efforts
I( 
4
quainted; from the various evidence which
they possess, Dr. Tappan is the most fit and
desirable incumbent of the office of President
of the University-most acceptable to the great
body of the people of the State, and less likely
than any other  person t o    create discord, irritae
tion and opposition; and the Alumni therefore
urge his reappointment to the Presidency.
In behalf of the Alumni, by the Committee.
S. D  Mi.T,ER, ]
M. H. GOODRI   CH'.'
C. H.Y POND8,  [Committee.
C. H. D)ENIsoN,j
with the people to make known the University
and its real character, and to ircreas, the publie interest in its welfare; from his enlarged
views of, and elaborate dissertations upon, the
educational interests of the State, and from his
earnest and successful appeals among our citi
zens for the establishment of the " Detroit Observatory of the University;" from the exalted
character which he has attained as an able and
eloquent divine, a Christian gentleman of just
and liberal spirit, a philosophical scholar, unsurpassed in attainments, and a,patriot who has
infused the noblest sentiments and aspirations
into the hearts of all with whom he has been
associated; from the dnthusiastic and almost
unanimous verdict of the entire body of students who have been commited to his instruction; from the strong testimony of the great
body of his neighbors in Ann Arbor, and of all
citizens with whom  he has been familiarly ac
meeting; and it is not necessary to count either
"va -aneies or nominal professorships" to make up
that number.
We are prepared to show that there was not a qucrum of the tenate in attendance at that meeting.
The Law Faculty allege that this was' the regular quarterly meeti,g convened at the  t:me and
place appointee by the standirg rules."
We arlege that during the entire period since the
rules were adopted,-some four or five ) ears-there
ha$  never been more than one "quarterly" meeting;
th, y have always been allowed to lapse.
It is somewhat singular that it should have been
de, med necessary to hold this' regular" rnmeeting
during vacation in all the departments. while many
of the professors were absent  and almost immediately after the meeting of the Regents.
For what purpose was that session convened,
and what was done there?
It was called for the purpofe of receiving a communicatio, from the Bosrd of ]Regents announcing
the aop' intment of Professor Haven to the Presider cy, and his acceptance of the position.
No other business was brought before the-meeting.
As tbhe fact communicated was a matter of general
notoety,-well kn wn to all the members of the
Senite. it does not seem to 1ave been important to
call this extraordinary session. unless the Regents
r~ quir,d or desired Fome action.
The memhers came together. The clasrman de.
cided that there was no quorum for business: an
appeal was taken. and the deciston3 reversed.  Tne
Secretary of the Regents made his communication.
A protest and letter were  presentbd against any
action whatever by the Senate in refpectthereto.
These papers were signed bv six members of the
Senate. The protest took ground against any action,
because so few members were pres at, because the
Faculties c( uld not act intelligently until the Regenit had set Jorth a defenoe of their proceeding,aT,d because the  Secrtary of the  Boaid hadintimited that this was in course of preparation: it
demanded that there should be no expression of
opinion until all part;es could be heard
Now, why did not this appear in the published
proreedirgs of the meetirg? Thattthese thirs occurred we e mattera of general knowledge in Ann
Arbor, but they were not known throughout the
Btate.
Wes it believed that this- portion of the Serate
action was so unimpcrtant that there was no necessity for  it- publication?
The records of the Senate will vindicate the truth
of the foregoing Ftatement. The public may judge as
to the unanimity of that bonv upon' the propriety of
th-e reme o al of rr. Tsppan. The fact th. t at a n ecting
convened and he'd under such cir~ umstances, the
Regents only ottained a vote of " acquiescence' in
the action of the supreme " constituted authority,"
End that, only after prot.;st by sove of the oldest
and most promine. t professors —would Feem to indicate that the benate, as a body, neither sanctioned
nor endorsed the proceeding.
NOTE.-The members of the Law Faculty in a
communication to The Detroit Free Press comment,
with some severity, uoon two paragraphs in the foregoing address. They do so under misapprehension
aRd misapplication of the statements of fact; and,
as the views of such a body of men will doubtless
largely influence public sentiment, it is proper that
explanation should be made of those portions of the
address.
The first position taken bv that Faculty is, that
they did not know that Dr. Tappan had desired the
8ppointment of any particular person as a member
of that body, and that " the fact of such desired appointment was never made use of by the Regents to
preiudice the opinions of any" of that Faculty
against him.
A reference to the address will show that it was
not there stated or implied that Dr. Tappan had
namea any person, or was dissatisfied with the choice
made, or that any such fact was used to injure him.
Whether the policy desired by him of inau~urating that most important department, by the election
of some person of distinguished nationsa reputation,
has not indirectly affected the minds of some members of that Faculty, may be a question which men
mav fairly differ upon It involves the consideratioi of matter. which cannot be enlarged upon here.
It is sufficient to say that the statements " explicitly denied" were not contained ip the address.
Next; off-rnce is taken at an intincation that the
Regents have so far acquired contrc.l of -he consciences and opinions of some members of the Fsculties as to induce them to put before the public a
distort, d view of the action of the University ben
ate at its recent meeting.
The Law Faculty'only speak for themselves" in
relation to this and other allegations in the same
paragr, ph; and they could have readily received
concurrence in the statement that the Regents
could not " compel from them acquiescence in action
against the r,'wn c nvi, tions of duty."  Such an
assertion might, with propriety, have been regarded
as " offensive and insulting."
But if the offence and the insult consitted in the
gist of the allecation c nistained in that paragraphthat "the report of the Fen te meeting was not a
ti ue one"-the responsibility thereof is assumed by
the writer of this.
It may be an " extraordinary statement;" its correctness can be establishedW
Wi, h all deference to the gentlemen whose names
are attached to the article in question, the remark
must be permitted, that the public were misled and
deceived, (we do not now say wilfully,) by the ne- spaper repor of that meeting.
It purported to be the unanimous action of the
"Univwrsity censte."  Who constitute that bodyand, wh, a- e er titled to sit and Vote with them?
The Standing Rules say: "The Profeseor of all the
Faculties" make up the Senste; and the incum
bents of professorships, and in some cases, of assista7 t profi esorshirs, have seats and may vote.
There were twenty-two, members at the time of the
I J. S. NEWBERRY, President.
Rev. C. S. ARXSTBONG, Vice Presidents.
Rev. C. R. PA.TTISON, t.
R. M. UTLEY.  ) ecs-of th Converition.
C. H. Dziiitow, f9