money that went into founding early colleges as craig wilder discussed in his book, came from people who were participants in the slave trade or who were merchants of slave producers. slavery drove the colonial of the early american economy. it is not surprising that those funds were part of the basic funds for colleges and university. the other important piece is that enslaved people were the main labor force in many parts of early america, so they theributed to building buildings, clearing the grounds, all the things you need to get ready for students. after colleges and universities were founded, many places had people as servants, staff members, cooks did personal services for individual students and staff and also the general upkeep and maintenance of the school. the other major thing is the intellectual work. colleges and universities throughout the whole civil war period debated slavery. was it a good system or not? many colleges had faculty who developed proslavery ideology. some developed anti-slavery ideology. that was part, not all of, but a major part of the curriculum du

money that went into founding early colleges as craig wilder discussed in his book, came from people who were participants in the slave trade or who were merchants of slave producers. slavery drove the colonial of the early american economy. it is not surprising that those funds were part of the basic funds for colleges and university. the other important piece is that enslaved people were the main labor force in many parts of early america, so they