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BRIEF HISTORY OF UA

The Early Years

Founded in 1831, The University of Alabama is the state of Alabama's flagship institution of higher education with a three-fold mission of teaching, research, and service. Chartered by the Alabama Legislature in 1819, the University opened its doors to white, male students in 1831 and grew steadily until 1865, when Union troops burned all but a few buildings.

Among the surviving buildings were the President's Mansion and its four outbuildings: a wash house, a kitchen, and two slave quarters. The University owned at least one slave as early as 1828 and hired other slaves, a common practice of the day, to help maintain campus buildings. In the 1840s, at least two slaves were buried in the University cemetery: Jack, a University-owned slave whom President Basil Manly referred to as "an African, a member of the Methodist Church — honest & faithful," and seven-year-old Boysey, a slave belonging to Manly, who died of whooping cough.

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