Between 1636 and 1769, the American colonists established nine institutions of higher learning: Harvard College, the College of William & Mary, Yale College, the College of New Jersey, the College of Philadelphia, King's College, the College of Rhode Island, Queen's College, and Dartmouth College. These nine centers of learning, stretching from New England to the Chesapeake, followed the religious traditions of five different Christian denominations. In comparison, the English founded only two universities before the nineteenth century, Oxford and Cambridge in 1096 and 1209 respectively. The two institutions were a mere eighty-five miles apart and both remained in the Anglican communion. This dissertation explores why such a disparity existed between the English homeland and its colonial dependencies. It argues that the colonists found English higher education lacking and went about creating colleges of their own that better fit the religious, curricular, pedagogical and lifestyle desires they had for their young men. Furthermore, it engages the larger cultural continuity versus cultural discontinuity debate by arguing that the colonists' decision to establish colleges of their own is indicative of a cultural transformation in the colonies. That development essentially guaranteed that future generations of colonists, and eventually Americans, would continue to be culturally differentiated from the English. By educating their own future clergy, civic leaders, educators, and intellectuals, the colonists had not only the ability to maintain successfully their own society without relying on England, but to perpetuate the distinct colonial culture they had created. The commitment they were making to the future of the colonies is what makes this study of higher education so different from other aspects explored in the cultural continuity versus cultural change debate. [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.]