Cooper Union

Founding and early history

The Cooper Union was founded in 1859 by American Industrialist Peter Cooper who was a prolific inventor and a successful entrepreneur. A self-made millionaire, Cooper had not received formal education and he made it his lifelong mission to provide opportunity for the poor by offering "education that was as free as the air we breathe and the water we drink." The Cooper Union began with adult education in night classes on the subjects of applied sciences and architectural drawing, as well as day classes for women on the subjects of photography, telegraphy, typewriting and shorthand. Discrimination as to race, religion, or sex was expressly prohibited.

Related Topics:
American - Industrialist - Peter Cooper - Adult education - Photography - Telegraphy - Typewriting - Shorthand

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Early board members included Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant.

Related Topics:
Horace Greeley - William Cullen Bryant

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Important Speech

On February 27, 1860, the school's Great Hall became the site of an historic address by an unknown attorney from Illinois, then an undeclared candidate for the Republican Party's Presidential nomination. Abraham Lincoln's dramatic speech opposed Stephen A. Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery to the federal territories and new States. Widely reported in the press and reprinted throughout the North in pamphlet form, the speech galvanized support for Lincoln and contributed to his gaining the Party's nomination for the Presidency. Coincidentally, Peter Cooper also ran for President in 1876.

Related Topics:
February 27 - 1860 - Attorney - Illinois - Republican - Abraham Lincoln - Stephen A. Douglas - Slavery - Presidency - Peter Cooper

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Since then, the Great Hall has served as a platform for many historic addresses by American Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and most recently Bill Clinton on May 12, 1993 in his major economic address on reducing the federal deficit. To this day, the Great Hall continues to serve as an important metropolitan art space, hosting lectures and performances by key figures such as Steve Reich, Salman Rushdie and Rudy Giuliani.

Related Topics:
American Presidents - Grant - Cleveland - Taft - Theodore Roosevelt - Woodrow Wilson - Bill Clinton - Steve Reich - Salman Rushdie - Rudy Giuliani

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