The middle of the 19th century was a high tide for utilitarianism. Many young scholars in the US advocated emphasizing applied sciences in the university curriculum rather than classics. The faculty report issued under Day thus stated that the purpose of the university "is not to teach that which is peculiar to any one of our professions, but to lay the foundation which is common to them all.
十九世紀中葉，正是實用主義學說興盛之時，當時美國不少教育學者主張大學課程應著重實用學科，而非古典學科。