[2] Advocates for National in the mid-19th century favored the "grand idea" of a flagship American university in the style of prominent European institutions, as promoted by presidents George Washington, James Madison, and John Quincy Adams.
These advocates quoted Washington in his eighth State of the Union address: "I have heretofore proposed to the consideration of Congress the expediency of establishing a national university and also a military academy.
[8] By 1878, the school employed four professors[9] and by the late 1880s, the class size had increased to 70 graduates, with 30 earning advanced Master of Laws degrees.
[4] Other prominent early lecturers included Supreme Court justice Samuel Freeman Miller[2] and historian James Schouler.
After completing the course of study, Lockwood petitioned President Ulysses S. Grant for a diploma, in his role as chancellor ex officio of the school.
[13] In the early years, presidents Ulysses S. Grant, James A. Garfield, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, and Grover Cleveland acted as chancellors ex officio by virtue of their office.
After Cleveland, the board of regents abolished the office and elected Supreme Court justice Samuel Freeman Miller as the first chancellor in 1890.
[2][6] Due to the school's growth and other changes, National was reorganized as a university by a special Act of Congress (29 Stat.
[22] Initially, National University responded by restructuring, creating the position of President in 1953 and electing Rowland F. Kirks, a special assistant to the Attorney General and former professor of law at the school, to the post.
[23] Kirks intended to expand the university’s graduate programs, including a partnership with the Washington School of Psychiatry,[23] but this plan was short lived.
[26] As National had six African American students matriculating at the time, merging the schools would require a change in policy.