My dissertation studies the conflict that preceded the creation of the first professional degree-conferring private universities in Argentina. This conflict, commonly referred to as the laica o libre conflict, took place between 1955 and 1958 and pitted supporters of a national university system monopolized by traditional "laic" or state-run universities against those who promoted a "free" educational system that allowed private Catholic universities to confer professional diplomas. I contend that the mass demonstrations, violent street confrontations, and clandestine political negotiations that characterized the laica o libre conflict permanently resolved one of the most divisive issues Argentines had faced since the mid-nineteenth century, the role of the Catholic Church in the nation's educational system. Using archival primary source material, periodicals, oral history interviews, and published accounts written by participants in the conflict, I explore four phases: the formation of a united front, the rupture of that front, a rethinking of the national project, and the final confrontation that concluded with the authorization of private universities. I employ two major methodological strategies: (1) I use individuals, including Jose Luis Romero, Atilio Dell'Oro Maini, and the brothers Arturo and Risieri Frondizi as avatars to explain the broader movements that selected them as their representatives; and (2) I look at the language, ideology and confrontational tactics used by political actors as they struggle to define the mission of Argentine universities. This methodology allows me to explain why the Argentine Catholic Church, which had failed to obtain its goal during the government of the military junta (1955--1958), was able to do so during the government of the military's constitutionally elected successor, Arturo Frondizi (1958--1962).