fed up with being told that they had not been good enough for Oxford.
Finally, some adversaries claimed that the new system would benefit larger states at the expense of smaller ones. There was some truth to this. Formerly, all states had been on an equal footing. In the district plan, however, the final committee could chose a total of four scholars from the six states represented. This meant that at least two states would not produce a scholar that year. Furthermore, if the committee chose two candidates from a single state this would eliminate yet another state.
The reform's proponents, on the other hand, pointed out that it could in some cases favor the less populous states. Two of the candidates chosen by a district might just as well be from Rhode Island or Arizona as from a demographically larger state like Florida or Ohio. The final decision would depend on the caliber of the twelve finalists each year. Indeed, as Aydelotte was able to demonstrate within a few years, the smaller states, proportionate to their population, did outperform the larger ones in producing winning candidates.14
Growing Popularity
The end of the war produced a veritable flood of American and other Rhodes Scholars into Oxford. The appointment of scholars had continued between 1914 and 1918, but few of them went to Oxford. Most scholars in the dominions and colonies entered the armed forces to fight for the British Empire. The situation of the Americans was different. Most of those who were already in Oxford in 1914 stayed there to finish their work. Some obtained exemptions from part of their degree requirements so that they could take their exams early and return home. Newly appointed Americans were advised not to go to Oxford, and most of them accepted that advice. Not knowing when the war would end, Parkin stopped all Americans from “coming up” in the fall of 1918.
The result was that by 1919 there were a couple of hundred American and other Rhodes Scholars who had been forced to leave Oxford early or who had never come at all. The trustees decided in 1919 to allow all of these “war” scholars to take up their scholarships if they wished, and several did so in 1919 or 1920. The German scholarships, however, remained abolished. Only in 1929 were they re-established. In 1920 one new scholarship was created – for Malta.15 In addition, several extra Rhodes Scholars from all constituencies were appointed in the classes of 1919, 1920, and 1921.
Many of the scholars who had postponed coming up were in their mid- to late twenties by the time they reached Oxford. They were unusual in another respect too. Dozens of them had married during the war. After much soul-searching, the trustees decided to contravene Rhodes' will. These men were permitted to take up their scholarships and to bring their wives, and in numerous cases, their children, with them. Francis Wylie and his wife did their best to help these families find appropriate housing in the city. However, Wylie could never completely adjust to this novelty. He later wrote:
It was a distracted life the married Rhodes Scholars lived, torn, as they were bound to be, between the rival claims of wife, Schools and College. They could satisfy any two of these; but not, to the full, all three. I remember meeting one of them wheeling a perambulator down one of Oxford's dreariest streets, his wife being busy with a second baby. He was a first-rate man, and did in fact get a First: but, beyond an occasional game of football, he could seldom escape from his student nursemaid existence. I felt glad that Mr. Rhodes could not see that pram.16
The rise in the number of applicants in the 1920s resulted partly from the changes mentioned above. The increase also reflected the favorable word-of-mouth advertising by the hundreds of former Rhodes Scholars who were now active in their careers. Nearly all Oxford veterans were reporting that the experience was enriching and broadening, if not always “fun.” Dozens of these former scholars were teaching in public high schools or exclusive prep schools. By 1920 more than two hundred were professors at colleges and universities. These teachers were in a perfect position to encourage bright students to apply. Thus, from the 1920s to the present day, probably more than half of all Rhodes Scholars have taken courses from former scholars. Don Price (1932), for example, was inspired to apply because two of his English literature professors at Vanderbilt – John Crowe Ransom and Robert Penn Warren (1928) – had won the award.17 Daniel Boorstin (1934) learned about the scholarships from one of his Yale professors, F.O. Matthiessen (1923).18
Whereas prior to the war the number of applicants had hovered around one hundred per year, in the 1920s it averaged about four hundred and in the 1930s approximately six hundred.19 The popularity of the scholarships is also indicated in two other ways. Already in this period there were several cases of the awards being won by sons or younger brothers of former scholars. Obviously the new winners would not have applied if they had not heard favorable reports from their family members. Some examples include the three Morley brothers already cited, Clayton and Byron White (1935 and 1938), Don and Karl Price (1932 and 1937), and Matthew Brown (1908), father of Gerald Brown (1938). There were at least a half-dozen other similar cases prior to the Second World War. In most instances the sons and younger brothers even entered the same colleges as their predecessors, such as the Morleys at New College and the Whites at Hertford.
The popularity of the scholarships is also revealed by the fact that many college sophomores and juniors sought advice on how to prepare themselves so that by the time they were seniors they met the criteria for winning. Though no statistics are available, it is also evident that dozens of applicants who failed to win on their first try applied again a year later. They spent the intervening year in graduate school or in jobs, often working on projects that would impress the selection committees. Several of these applicants did win on their second or even their third tries.20
What did the scholars of the interwar period discover once they arrived in Oxford? That will be the topic of the next two chapters.
NOTES
1. Harrison, Twentieth Century, 6, 15; Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 57. Oxford, and nowadays a handful of other British universities, uses the term “D.Phil.” instead of “Ph.D.” Not to be outdone by its adversary, Cambridge established a Ph.D. program in 1920.
2. Items by and about Aydelotte in TAO are too numerous to list. For his obituary see 44 (1957): 49-62. Blanshard, Aydelotte, is thorough and valuable, though too partial toward its subject.
3. TAO, 6 (1919): 128-29; Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 27-29, 38.
4. Harrison, Twentieth Century, 29,37; TAO, 6 (1919): 38, 43, 49, 129.
5. TAO, 6 (1919): 51.
6. Elton, First Fifty Years, 112-13; TAO, 8 (1921): 102-6.
7. Between 1919 and 1925 several persons served as General Secretary. From 1925 to 1939 Philip Kerr (later Lord Lothian) held the post. He was succeeded by Lord Elton (1939-1959). Since 1959 the position of General Secretary has been held by the Oxford Secretary.
8. Elton, First Fifty Years, 23; TAO, 16 (1929): 120-21; 19 (1932): 164-65.
9. TAO, 16 (1929): 1-3, 163-91.
10. Elton, First Fifty Years, 26.
11. Aydelotte, American Rhodes Scholarships, 30.
12. In 1928 the word “alumni” was dropped from the association and the organization acquired a constitution and board of directors. See TAO, 15 (1928): 79-96, 179, 243.
13. Applicants from Washington, DC, had already for several years been placed with those from Maryland.
14. Aydelotte,
