Columbia has distinguished itself as a leader in educational excellence since its 1826 incorporation. Early residents so valued education that three institutions of higher learning were established there by the mid-19th century: Stephens College, Columbia College (formerly Christian College), and the University of Missouri. Located in the states center, this Midwestern city with a small-town feel has witnessed a nonstop influx of people since its first years. The Boones Lick Trail passed through Columbia, connecting the early National Road with the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. The flow of settlers migrating west led to Columbias rapid growth, as stores and businesses were established to provide needed supplies. Numerous battles were fought in Missouri during the Civil War, but none in or near Columbia. The group that protected Columbia against possible encroachers was called the Columbia Tigers Company. The Tigers was the name later adopted by the universitys athletic teams.
The years between 1865 and 1920 were eventful ones for the sake of Missouri. It was not only the time of Jesse James, Scott Joplin, and Mark Twain, of progressive governors Joseph Folk and Herbert Hadley, of the first general strike in St. Louis and some especially vicious vigilante activity, it was also the time when Missouri, like many other states, was being transformed by the tides of industrialism and economic growth. This social history examines the social and economic forces that resisted economic development in Missouri. Here, Thelen explores the various ways that people attempted to maintain their values and dignity in the face of overwhelming new economic, cultural, and political pressures, and analyzes the grassroots patterns that emerged in response to rapid social change. Thelen, who is one of the leading historians of the Progressive period in America, contends that people found their strength not in class solidarity or other Marxist responses but in what he calls "the resistance of folk memories", which allowed them to call upon the best elements of their collective past to help them cope with the new situation.
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