Ser.1 Charter and related documents, 1864-1964
Scope and Contents
Includes: the Act of Incorporation (i.e. the Charter) and its various amendments and by-laws in printed and typed copies, and miscellaneous correspondence and legal documents relating to the Charter and its amendments.
Conditions Governing Access
Permission to this material is restricted and requires the permission of the President of Swarthmore College or the Chairman of the Board of Managers of the College. Contact the repository for details. Where available, access is through microfilm.
Biographical / Historical
On April 1, 1864, Swarthmore College was chartered as a corporation by action of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, with authority to establish an educational institution. To accomplish this goal, the Act of Incorporation authorized the College governing body, the Board of Managers, to raise funds ($50,000 and up to $300,000) for the College through the sale of shares of stock in the Corporation. Once $50,000 was subscribed, the College was authorized to begin the process of land purchase, building construction, and hiring faculty. Swarthmore College opened to students in October 1869.
On April 14th, 1870, the Pennsylvania State Legislature approved A Supplement to the Act of Incorporation of Swarthmore College, which authorized further sale of capital stock in the Corporation, to the limit of $500,000 (an increase of $200,000). The amendment also included a requirement that 16 of the 32 members of the Board of Managers were to be women, a formalization of the de-facto Board membership. Other amendments in 1889, 1893, and 1894 increased the maximum capitalization of the Corporation and the maximum value of real estate holdings. In 1908, in order to qualify for funds under the Carnegie Corporation plan for faculty pensions, the College secured a Charter revision, which eliminated the requirement that members of the Board of Managers be members of the Religious Society of Friends.
In 1910 application was made to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County for a revision of the Charter to annul stock support of the Corporation. On October 22, 1910, the decision of the Court to this effect was issued thus changing the character of the Corporation. This Charter amendment eliminated the Swarthmore Stockholders Association and the Stockholders of Swarthmore College, required the return of stocks held by those groups to the Swarthmore College Corporation, and declared the College as an Educational Corporation under full control of a self-perpetuating Board of Managers, numbering thirty-two members.
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