The United States Military Academy & The United States Naval AcademySophia Cassum

West PointThe United States Military Academy

Basic Facts

The idea for a military educational facility in America was first proposed by George Washington in 1783

Founded in 1802 through legislation signed by President Thomas Jefferson

Located 50 miles north of Manhattan along the Hudson River

Role in the Revolutionary War

Strategic location on the Hudson River’s west bank

Headquarters of George Washington in 1779

Heavily fortified in order to control travel along the Hudson River

Washington’s original proposal was met with resistance by critics who feared that such an institution would create a military elite

The Early Developments

Initially troubled by internal conflict and a lack of a mission

In 1817, Sylvanus Thayer (right) is appointed superintendent and serves until 1833

Pursued goal of building West Point into America’s national engineering school

Focused on high standards for students personally and academically

Academics

Students took a course load that balances engineering and technical studies with officer training

All students took the same classes while in school

After graduation, the students at the top of the class would pursue engineering, while other graduates would enter the lower-ranking branches

The Plain at West Point, 1828 engraved from a painting by George Catlin

AnnapolisThe United States Naval Academy

U.S. Naval History

The United States needed to build a navy to compete with the force of the Royal Navy

The 1785 Congress restrained the navy, citing economic necessity

In 1794, George Washington convinced Congress to allow the pursuit of a reinvented naval branch of the military

In 1797, the first ships of the reestablished U.S. Navy launched

In 1825, President John Quincy Adams encouraged the establishment of a naval academy

The U.S.N.A.

Located in Annapolis, Maryland

Preceded by the Philadelphia Naval Asylum School

On October 10, 1845, Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft (right) established the Naval School

The Naval School was renamed the United States Naval Academy in 1850

Academics

Students were required to study in the academy for four years

During the summers, students were expected to train and get on-board experience

Courses included military and boating instruction, such as gunnery and navigation, in addition to the social and natural sciences, French, and English

Sources

http://americanhistory.si.edu/westpoint/

http://www.usma.edu/wphistory/SitePages/Home.aspx

http://www.usma.edu/museum/SitePages/West%20Point.aspx

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar16.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thayer_Statue_at_West_Point.JPG

http://maps.bpl.org/id/10860?mtid=35

http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/convergence/mathematics-education-at-west-point-the-first-hundred-years-sylvanus-thayer-and-the-new-academy

http://www.usna.edu/USNAHistory/

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h49000/h49813.jpg

http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/bancroft_george.htm