Charles Pratt founded the Institute in 1887 with a mission to provide education “to people from all walks of life, irrespective of their standing in society.” This project explores Pratt’s archival sources about Pratt Institute’s founding and early history with a particular focus on Charles Pratt and how his ideas reflected many of the beliefs of the Progressive reformers at the time. The archival sources amplify the voice of Charles Pratt and illuminate the Institute’s founding values, including philosophical perspectives that continue to influence the Institute today in a very different historical context.