Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Jan. 7, 1841.

An ACT to incorporate the Benton Academy in Franklin County.
1

Persons created body politic.

Name and style.

Perpetual succession.

Powers

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Walter S. Akin, John Ewing, John P. Maddox, Zachariah Sullens, Thomas Thompson, John Edgerly, Benjamin Smith, Daniel D. Thomas, Abraham Rea, William Browning, Able Ward, Silas M. Williams, John R. Williams, Elijah Taylor, Moses Neal, John Dillon, Robert T. Townes and Lemuel R. Harrison, be and they are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate, to be known by the name and style of the “Trustees of the Benton Academy,” and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and have a common seal, with power to change (it) at pleasure, and as such, shall be authorized to exercise all powers and privileges that are enjoyed by the trustees of any academy, college or university in this State not herein limited or otherwise directed.

First meeting of trustees.

Location of academy

Sec. 2. That the said trustees, or a majority of them, shall hold their first stated meeting at the town of Benton, in the county of Franklin, on the first Monday of September next, or as soon thereafter as may be convenient, and they or a majority of them, shall, as soon as they think proper, fix upon a permanent location for said academy, within one mile of the said town of Benton, and proceed to erect a building or buildings thereon as soon as convenient and the interest of said institution may require.

Powers of trustees.

Sec. 3. The said trustees or their successors by the name aforesaid shall be capable in law to purchase, receive and hold to themselves and successors, for the use and benefit of said institution, any lands and tenements not exceeding six hundred and forty acres at any one time, or rents, goods and

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chattles, of what kind soever, which shall be given or devised (to,) or purchased by them for the use of said academy.

Sec. 4. The said trustees, by the name aforesaid, may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, in any court of law or equity in this State.

Further powers.

Sec. 5. In case a sufficient number of members do not attend to constitute a board at any meeting, those who do attend may adjourn to any day thereafter, or to the next stated meeting, and shall give ten days previous notice thereof.

Quorum.

Sec. 6. A majority of the members shall be a sufficient number to constitute a board for the transaction of all business for said academy, except those cases particularly excepted.

Salaries of officers how fixed.

Sec. 7. The assent of the majority of the whole number of trustees shall be necessary to perform the following business, to-wit: to fix the salary of the president, to fix upon the permanent seat of the academy, to alienate, sell or convey any lands, tenements or rents belonging to said academy.

By-laws and ordinances.

Sec. 8. The trustees shall have power from time to time to establish such by-laws, rules and ordinances not contrary to the Constitution or laws of this State, as they shall deem necessary for the government of said institution.

President and other officers.

Sec. 9. The trustees shall elect a president, treasurer and clerk to their own body, and so many inferior tutors or masters as may be necessary.

Vacancies, supplied by trustees by ballot.

Sec. 10. Upon the death, resignation or legal disability of any of the trustees, president or other officers of the said institution, the board of trustees shall supply the vacancy by ballot.

Officers to give bond.

Process against corporationhow served.

Sec. 11. The treasurer of said institution, always, and all other agents, when required by the trustees, before entering upon the duties of their appointments, shall give bond for the security of the corporation in such penal sum and with such securities as the board of trustees shall approve, and all process against the said corporation shall be by summons, and service of the same shall be by leaving an attested copy with the treasurer of the institution at least twenty days before the return day thereof.

Institution to be open to all denominations

When persons may be suspended.

Sec. 12. The said institution and their preparatory department, shall be open to all denominations of christians, and profession of any religious faith shall not be required of those who become students. All persons, however, may be suspended or expelled from said institution whose habits are idle or vicious, or whose moral character is bad.

Term of office of trustees.

Sec. 13. The president and other officers of said institution shall be subject to the direction of the board of trustees, and shall continue in office during good behaviour.

Special meetings.

Sec. 14. The president of the board of trustees shall have power to call special meetings of the said trustees, and it shall be his duty upon the request of three of them to do

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the same; but upon any called meeting ten days notice shall be given by the president previous to the meeting.

Courses of studies.

Rate of tuition.

Compensation of officers

Buildings of corporation.

System of manual labor.

Additional departments.

Proviso.

Sec. 15. The trustees of the corporation shall have authority from time to time, to prescribe and regulate the course of studies to be pursued in said institution and in the preparatory department attached thereto, to fix the rate of tuition, room rent and other college expenses, to appoint instructors and such other officers and agents as shall or may be needed in managing the concerns of the institution, to define their powers, duties, and employments; to fix their compensations, to displace or remove either of the instructors, officers and agents, to erect the necessary buildings, to purchase books, chemical and philosophical apparatus, and other suitable means for instruction, to put in operation a system of manual labor for the purpose of lessening the expense of education and promoting the health of the students, to make rules for the general management of the affairs of the institution, and the regulation of the conduct of the students, and to add, as the ability of the said corporation shall increase, and the interest of the community shall require, additional departments for the study of any or all the liberal professions: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall authorize the establishment of a theological department in said institution.2

When seat of trustee to be vacated.

Proviso.

Sec. 16. If at any time a member of the board of trustees shall absent himself for three stated meetings successively, or for some disorderly conduct, for good cause shown or approved of by the said trustees, in such case his seat shall be considered to be vacant, and the board shall proceed to fill his seat with a member: Provided, The trustees of said establishment shall at all times be accountable for their conduct in the managment of the business aforesaid, in such manner as the Legislature shall by law direct.3

Approved, January 7, 1841.

1Braxton Parrish introduced SB 16 to the Senate on December 2, 1840, and the Senate referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary. The committee reported back on December 10 and recommended an amendment, to which the Senate concurred. The Senate passed the bill the next day. The House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee on December 12. The committee reported back on December 16 and recommended amendments, to which the House concurred. The Senate concurred with the amended bill on December 30. The Council of Revision approved the bill on January 7, 1841, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 109, 110, 122, 142, 168; Illinois Senate Journal. 1840. 12th G. A., 38, 64, 70-71, 104, 126, 129, 146.

2In February 1841, the General Assembly adopted an act repealing the restriction on theological departments at Benton Academy and other colleges.

3Prior to 1849, Illinois had no general incorporation law governing colleges, universities, and other educational institutions. Incorporators of prospective institutions were required to petition the General Assembly for individual charters. Early Illinois general assemblies were less than enthusiastic about colleges and universities, as many legislators were unconvinced about the value of higher education and suspicious of the movement to establish institutions of higher learning. The fact that the impetus for schools came from Baptists, Presbyterians, and other Protestant denominations added to the legislators’s discomfort. Prohibitions on theological departments, restrictions on land ownership, and strictures against religious tests for admission reflected fears about undue religious influence in education and divisive sectarianism. By 1840, however, views on education had changed, prompting repeal of restrictions on theological departments and land ownership. In January 1849, the General Assembly ended the practice of individual charters by enacting a statute for the general incorporation of institutions of higher learning. This statute placed no restrictions on theological departments, but it did limit land holdings to one thousand acres at any one time.
Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois: Cook County Edition (Chicago: Munsell, 1905), 1:111-12, 291; Charles E. Frank, Pioneers’s Progress: Illinois College, 1829-1979 (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1979), 29-30; “An Act for the Incorporation of Institutions of Learning,” January 26, 1849, Laws of the State of Illinois (1849), 86-87.