Rhodes Scholars, Oxford, and the Creation of an American Elite. Thomas J. Schaeper
introduction to this entire topic see Michael Howard, “Empire, Race & War in pre-1914 Britain,” History Today, 31 (December 1981): 4–11.
14. For Rhodes' career in Africa, Rotberg's The Founder supersedes all earlier biographies. Also see Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The Randlords: The Exploits and Exploitations of South Africa's Mining Magnates (New York, 1986).
15. David Cannadine, review of Rotberg, The Founder, in The New Republic, 19 December 1988, 34.
16. Rotberg, The Founder, p. 678.
17. Ibid., 403.
18. G.K. Chesterton, A Miscellany of Men (London, 1912), 203–04.
19. Rotberg, The Founder, 5.
20. George Shepperson, “Cecil John Rhodes: Some Biographical Problems,” South African Historical Journal, 15 (1983): 55.
21. Like Rhodes himself, Rotberg's book is a flawed colossus. See the following perceptive reviews: that of David Cannadine cited in n. 15 above; J.D.F. Jones in Financial Times, 6 May 1989, weekend section, xii; Geoffrey Wheatcroft, in New York Times, 1 January 1989, sec. 7, 4; Conor Cruise O'Brien, in Atlantic Monthly, December 1988, 92–95; T.R.H. Davenport, in South African Historical Journal, 21 (1989): 95–100; David Alexander in TAO, 76 (1989): 132–43.
22. Rotberg, The Founder, 679.
23. Quoted in Rotberg, The Founder, 44. Throughout his book Rotberg deals extensively with Rhodes' racial attitudes and policies.
24. Quoted in Clark, Cecil Rhodes, 7.
25. Rotberg, The Founder, 361.
26. Warden's Christmas letter, December 1996, 10.
27. Daily Mail, 10 September 1996, 8; Sunday Times, 15 September 1996, section 10, 4; Times Literary Supplement, 11 October 1996, 22. Expanding on the script he wrote for the television series, Antony Thomas has published a balanced, solid book for the general public: Rhodes: The Race for Africa (London, 1996). Shortened to six hours, the mini-series was first aired on PBS in the United States early in 1998.
28. Christopher Hitchens, Blood, Class, and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies (New York, 1990), 298.
29. Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 1.
30. Earlier authors who studied the wills counted seven of them. For example, see Sir Francis J. Wylie in TAO, 31 (1944): 129–38. Rotberg shows that there were eight. Prior to the seven that can be found today in Rhodes House, there was an earlier one, dated 1871. Unfortunately, no copy of that one has survived. See The Founder, 74, 662–67, 700 n.39.
31. Quoted in Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 4.
32. Rotberg, The Founder, 680.
33. For extensive discussions of the wills see Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 1–19; Wylie, TAO, 31 (1944): 65–69, 129–38, and 32 (1945): 1–11; Rotberg, The Founder, 101–2, 663-68.
34. Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 8.
35. Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 14.
36. Rhodes' will granted two scholarships to Canada and one to Newfoundland. The latter was still a separate British territory and did not officially become a Canadian province until 1949.
37. Quoted in Rotberg, The Founder, 663.
38. Williams in TAO, 81 (1994): 12.
39. TAO, 80 (1993): 245.
GETTING STARTED
Having discussed the matter with many Oxford men, I have not the least hesitation in saying that the Colonials and Americans who may benefit under Mr. Rhodes' Will may rest assured that Oxford will offer them a hearty welcome.
Letter to the editor, Varsity, 29 April 1902
We cannot quite agree with Mr. Rhodes' policy of encouraging the influx of transatlantic Anglo-Saxons into this country. The pushful Yank may be fond of us (if he is, he manages to conceal it fairly well), but we never knew an instance of his visiting our shores without pocketing a good pile of the less nimble Britisher's money before returning home. In view of this, it seems at first blush a trifle rash to pay others to come and continue the practice.
Article by an Oxford student, Isis, 3 May 1902
Reactions to the Will
The Rhodes Scholarship today is certainly the most famous and most prestigious student award in the United States – and perhaps the world. Each year's crop of new scholars is lionized in the national press and even more in each student's college and home-town newspapers. Winning one of these coveted prizes is often considered to be a ticket to success in later life.
Yet in 1902 when Cecil Rhodes' bequest became known, the reception was decidedly mixed on both sides of the Atlantic. Newspapers and magazines across the United States and Britain lauded Rhodes' vision and generosity but questioned the wisdom of the scholarship plan.1
Most Oxford administrators and dons were flattered that their institution had been singled out in the will. They groused, however, that the money would have been better spent if Rhodes had simply donated it all to the university. Only £100,000 went directly to the university, and it was restricted to Rhodes' alma mater, Oriel. Even worse, several persons noted that the arrival of dozens of new foreign students each year would place a financial burden on the colleges. The scholarship would pay for each student's fees (including room and board), but the amount charged to each student was actually less then the cost of educating and housing them. To make up the difference, the colleges relied on their endowments. Several members of the university discreetly mentioned this to the Rhodes Trustees and expressed the hope that the latter would in the years to come make contributions above the ordinary expenses of each student.2
Many other dons and students voiced more serious misgivings. Some joked that these “perfect men” would be too good for the mere mortals of Oxford. They feared that the oldest university in the English-speaking world was about to be invaded by a horde of cowboy barbarians. Several dons complained that the scholarships would bring an end to Latin and Greek studies, which were the pride of the university. Every applicant had to pass an examination (called Responsions) in both these languages plus mathematics, before being admitted to one of the colleges. Rhodes Scholars from abroad, especially those from the vast American wilderness, would certainly be deficient in classical studies and would thus contribute to a lowering of standards. One writer expostulated that without Greek in Oxford “the human mind will decay” and feared that civilization everywhere would descend into chaos.3
Numerous other critics asserted that uncouth American yahoos would not only lower academic standards but also endanger the lives of serious students. Through their brute strength these frontiersmen would dominate college sports – thereby destroying the chances of ordinary British students to compete in healthful amateur athletic contests. One Oriel don consoled himself with the thought that American savages would be so busy on the sports fields that at least they would have little impact on the rest of college life.4 The Oxford Union, the oldest student debating society in the world, discussed a motion to condemn the scholarships. The motion was defeated, but it revealed that a sizable proportion of the student body had doubts about the plan.5
One Oxford magazine, Varsity, printed cartoons depicting the American