It encompassed religious novitiates. preparatory and grade schools and a manual labor school. but its classical collegiate curriculum never attracted more than a dozen students a year in the early decades. Despite these humble beginnings. however. Notre Dame from its founding enjoyed two significant advantages. First. its establishment coincided with the great opening of the Midwest by railroads and canals and with the immigration of many Catholics from Europe. The universitys second. and even greater advantage. was the character and perseverance of its founder. Father Sorin. whose vision of a great American university has Inspired Notre Dames growth over its entire history.
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immigration