Although the word "freshman" has been around for centuries, the idea of the freshman as someone who is in need of special care and services in college or university is much newer. While much research has been done on the effectiveness of first-year student programming, little has been published about the origins and evolution of the concept of caring for the freshman through programming in American higher education. While a few scattered services were developed in the late 1800s, my research points to Harvard President Albert Laurence Lowell's 1909 inaugural address as inspiring a national conversation about the need to care for freshmen. Data regarding the proliferation of new programs and structure devoted to freshmen from 1905 until 1930, the justifications institutions provided for allocating resources for freshmen, and the identification of forces that drove the development of such programs provide a historical picture that lays the foundation for current first-year student programming practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]