I'm reading a book that says the construction of both Harvard and Yale were partly funded by lotteries, and there was even an aborted plan to finance the Continental Congress with a countrywide lottery. How true is this?

by throwawizzlemahnizzl

The text in question:

It is worth noting that the construction of both Harvard and Yale was assisted by lotteries, and that a scheme to help finance the Continental Congress in 1776 by means of a country-wide lottery was abandoned only because of the difficulty of selling tickets at that troubled time.

Luc Sante - Low Life: Lures & Snares of Old New York, 1992

Machipongo

Several of the dorms in Harvard Yard have plaques on them stating that they were funded with the proceeds of the Massachusetts lottery. My recollection is that the dates are pre-revolution, so that would be a colonial lottery.