COLLEGE CHARTER

Handwritten on two large sheets of vellum, the charter founded Dartmouth “for the education & instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in the Land…for civilizing & christianizing Children of Pagans….” College founder Eleazar Wheelock drafted the charter, though the original version incorrectly spells his name “Eleazer.” Royal Governor of the Province of New Hampshire John Wentworth granted the charter on December 13, 1769, making Dartmouth's the ninth and last royally granted charter before U.S. independence. The charter also holds legal significance. In the 1819 U.S. Supreme Court case Dartmouth College v. Woodward, the New Hampshire legislature attempted to force the College to become a public institution. The Supreme Court ruled to uphold the charter, thanks in part to a compelling argument by Daniel Webster, class of 1801.