Did all of the alumni featured in Forging Fifty States graduate from the University of Pennsylvania?
No. Three out of four (87 of 114) of the alumni featured in Forging Fifty States earned a Penn degree. Four of the alumni earned multiple degrees from Penn. Study at the collegiate level during the 18th and 19th centuries was a monumental undertaking compared to todays world of flexible learning. Often a death in the family, especially of a students father, meant the student had to abandon his coursework and return home to assume the role of provider for surviving family members. The major wars of the 18th and 19th centuries: the American Revolution (1775 to 1783), the War of 1812 (1812 to 1814) , the Mexican-American War (1846 to 1848) and the Civil War (1861 to 1865) also had a profound impact on students and their families. These conflicts interrupted the studies of tens of thousands of college students across the nation. Lastly, health issues, pertaining both to the student and to his family members, weighed heavily on whether or not a student would finish academic work. Since medi
