University of Arizona

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Lectures on Learning and Religion

Charles Debrille Poston (1825-1902) was an Arizona pioneer, the first Arizona delegate to Congress in 1864, the founder of the Society of Arizona Pioneers in 1884 and later the Arizona Historical Society.

The collection includes an unbound holographic volume, written in ink, containing two groups of lectures: Part I: "On learning" and Part II: "On religion"; Poston wrote instructions about editing and his intentions on the front cover. The first page contains a dedication to the Regents of the University of Arizona, and is signed by Poston, Washington D.C.; January 1, 1890. The lectures were written as advice to students at the University of Arizona. They set forth Poston's visions and opinions regarding the function of higher education, and the separation of church and state. A complete photocopy of the manuscript is also present.