This post provides (i) information on the life and career of Harvard’s tenth Ph.D. in economics, Frederick Redman Clow and (ii) the useful bibliography to his AEA publication, “Economics as a School Subject”.
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Frederick Redman Clow
(From his Oshkosh obituary)
Born Nov. 29, 1864 in Lysle, Minnesota.
High school in Austin, Minnesota.
Classical A.B. from Carleton college in 1889
1889-1890. Editor of the Weekly Independent at Northfield, Minnesota.
A.B. from Harvard university in 1891.
1892-93. Editor of Clow’s Political Circular and the Literary Northwest.
A.M. from Harvard in 1892.
Ph.D. from Harvard in 1899.
Instructor of economics at Harvard 1893-1895.
Oshkosh Normal 1895 through 1930.
Married Minnie Baldwin at Northfield Minnesota in 1895.
Daughters: Lucia Baldwin Clow (b. 1896) and Bertha Cochrane Clow (b. 1902). Son Nathan Clow (b. ca. 1904)
Summer 1904. Taught economics at the University of Chicago.
Summer 1912. Taught sociology at the university of Michigan.
1927 Quiver (Oshkosh Normal Yearbook) dedicated to Frederick Clow.
Died July 6, 1930. Following nine months’ illness.
Memberships.
National Society for the Study of Educational Sociology
American Economics Association
Philosophical Club
Pi Gamma Mu (National social science honor society)
Phi Beta Kappa (national honorary scholastic fraternity)
Phi Beta Sigma (educational fraternity)
Books:
Introduction to the Study of Commerce (Silver, Burdett and company, 1901).
A Syllabus for an Elementary Course in Economics, 3rd ed. (Castle-Pierce Printing Company, 1908).
Principles of Educational Sociology (Macmillan, 1920)
Book manuscripts completed before death (unpublished?) according to his obituary:
The School and Its Institutional Background
Personology: The Great Synthesis.
Source: The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) July 7, 1930 pp. 1,4.
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From Annual President’s Report of Harvard College
1890-1891
Appointed Proctor, June 23, 1891.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1890-1891. Page 206
1892-1893.
Appointed Instructor in Political Economy, June 27, 1893.
Appointed Proctor, June 27, 1893.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1892-1893. Pages 228-9.
1893-1894.
Listed among teachers for Economics 1. Professors Taussig and Ashley, Asst. Professor Cummings and Mr. Clow.
Appointed Instructor in Political Economy, May 28, 1894.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1893-1894. Page 61; Ibid., 1893-1894. Page 232.
1894-95.
Listed among teachers for Economics 1. Professor Ashley, Asst. Professor Cummings, Dr. Cummings, and Mr. Clow.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1894-1895. Page 62.
1898-1899.
Awarded Ph.D., Political Science. (Political Economy) in 1899
Frederick Redman Clow.
Public Finance.—A.B. (Carleton Coll., Minn.) 1889, A.B. 1891, A.M. (Carleton Coll., Minn.) 1892, A.M. 1892.—Res.Gr. Stud., 1891-92 and 1893-95.
Teacher of history and Economics, State Normal School, Oshkosh, Wis.
Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1898-1899. Page 144.
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Bibliography from Clow’s “Economics as a School Study” (1899)
PREFACE.
The following sources have contributed most of the information given in this paper or used in its preparation:
- The books and articles named in the bibliography, especially the Report of the Committee of Ten, and the writings of Professors J. Laurence Laughlin, Richard T. Ely, Edmund J. James, and Simon N. Patten. Much use has been made of an article by Dr. Frank H. Dixon, now of Dartmouth College.
- My own experience as a teacher of economics — for two years as instructor in charge of two sections of the beginning class in economics in a university, and for three years in a normal school.
- Data in manuscript. In the spring of 1897 I sent out a circular letter of inquiry to over two hundred educational institutions, and to a few university professors. The institutions included medium-sized colleges, public normal schools, and high schools in the larger cities, all so selected as to represent the various sections of the country. To the scores of people who so kindly responded to my inquiries, I am deeply indebted. Dr. Dixon generously allowed me to use a similar mass of material collected by him from schools which prepare students for the University of Michigan, and granted permission to use the data to controvert his own conclusions.
I have tried to include in the bibliography all books and articles relating to economics as a school study, or to methods of teaching economics, and also all text-books now offered by publishers. With a few exceptions, the bibliography is restricted to works published in the United States.
My chief aim has been to promote the further investigation of the place of economics in the school curriculum and of the methods to be employed in teaching it. Therefore much space has been given to the statement of the views of others, even when they conflict with each other and with my own. As far as possible these views are presented in the original words, although the result has been to introduce an excessive number of quotations.
F. R. CLOW.
State Normal School, Oshkosh, Wis.,
May, 1898.
[…]
APPENDIX B.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(The date after a title is the author’s date. All books are 12mo. unless otherwise indicated. Prices marked with an asterisk (*) are net; from others discounts will be given to schools or for introduction.)
BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON TEACHING ECONOMICS.
American Economic Association. Economic Studies, Vol. III, No. I, supplement, 50¢. Discussions: The relation of the teaching of economic history to the teaching of political economy, pp. 88-101; methods of teaching economics, pp. 105-111.
Ashley, W. J., of Harvard. On the Study of Economic History, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, VII: 115-136. States the position of the Historical School of Economists.
Barnard’s American Journal of Education, X: 105-115, from the British Almanac for 1860. Describes the work in economics in the school founded by William Ellis at Birbeck, England.
Bullock, C. J. Political Economy in the Secondary School, in Education, XI: 539-47. Excellent discussion of methods.
Clow, F. R. Elementary Economics in Schools and Colleges, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, XII: 73-75. Statistics of schools, teachers, and text-books.
Committee of Ten. Report of the Committee on Secondary School Studies, including the report of the Conference on History, Civil Government and Political Economy, pp. 29, 181-3. Government printing office, Washington, for the United States Bureau of Education. Also by the American Book Co., 25¢. See Appendix A.
Commons, J. R. Political Economy and Sociology in the High School, in The Inland Educator, December, 1895. Favors observational study.
Cossa, Luigi. Introduction to the Study of Political Economy. Macmillan. 1893. pp. 587. $2.60. Treats well the value of economic knowledge and the relation of economics to other studies.
Dixon, F. H., of Dartmouth College. The Teaching of Economics in the Secondary Schools, in the third Year-Book of the National Herbartian Society, pp. 128-137; also in the School Review for January, 1898. Favors substituting economic history for economics in the secondary schools.
Ely, Richard T., of University of Wisconsin. On Methods of Teaching Political Economy, pp. 61-72, in Methods of Teaching and Studying History, edited by G. Stanley Hall. 2d ed., 1885. Heath: Boston. Contains useful practical hints.
________ Political Economy in the High School, in School Education, March, 1895. Treats educational value and methods.
Fulcomer, Daniel. Instruction in Sociology in Institutions of Learning, in report of Commissioner of Education, 1894-5, Vol. II, pp. 1211-1221. A collection of opinions and statistics.
James, Edmund J., of Chicago University. The Education of Business Men: a View of the Organization and Courses of Study in the Commercial High Schools of Europe. The University of Chicago Press, 1898. 8vo. pp. xxi, 232. 50¢. Also in Report of Commissioner of Education, 1895-6, Vol. I, pp. 721-831. A detailed account.
________ Place of the Political and Social Sciences in Modern Education, in Annals, Vol. X, No. 3; also Publications, No. 216. American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. 1897. pp. 30. 25¢. A strong article; urges greater prominence for the social sciences, including economics, in all grades of our educational system.
Jostad, B. M. How and What May We Teach of Political Economy in Grades below the High School? Wisconsin Journal of Education, XXIX, 12-14. Suggests several topics.
Keynes, J. N., of Cambridge, England. The Scope and Method of Political Economy. Macmillan. 1890. pp. xiv, 359. $2.25. Though not treating directly of methods of teaching, it gives the best discussion of the nature of economic science that exists in English.
Dunbar, C. F., of Harvard. The Academic Study of Political Economy, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, V: 397-416. Its place in colleges and universities.
Laughlin, J. L., of Chicago University. Teaching of Economics, in Atlantic Monthly, LXXVII: 682-688. Urges teaching of economics in secondary schools. Trenchant criticism of methods.
________ The Study of Political Economy. American Book Co. 1885. 16mo. pp. 153. $1.00. Designed for students and teachers. The best book of the kind. Contains brief bibliography, including French and German works.
Macvane, S. M., of Harvard. The Economists and the Public, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, IX: 132-150. Favors making the study concrete and working from actual facts.
Newcomb, Simon. The Problem of Economic Education, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, VII: 375-399. Discusses the low popular estimate of economic science and shows the value of studying economic theory.
Patten, Simon N., of University of Pennsylvania. Economics in Elementary Schools, in Publications, No. 136. American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. 1894. 8vo. pp. 29. 25¢. A philosophical discussion of the ethical value of economic study. Substantially the same ideas are given in a paper by Professor Patten in Addresses and Proceedings of the National Educational Association for 1892, pp. 415-421.
________ The Educational Value of Political Economy, in Publications of the American Economic Association. 8vo. pp. 36. 75¢. Confined to mental discipline; profound and original.
Sherwood, Sidney, of Johns Hopkins University. The Philosophical Basis of Economics, in Annals, Vol. X, No. 2; also Publications, No. 209. American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. 1897. 8vo. pp. 35. 35¢. Claims for economics the position of master-science in the group which includes ethics, aesthetics, politics, and sociology.
Taussig, F. W., of Harvard University. The Problem of Secondary Education as regards Training for Citizenship, in Educational Review, XVII: 431-439. Favors teaching economics and explains the poor results so far obtained.
Taylor, W. G. L., of the University of Nebraska. Write Your Own Political Economy, in The Northwestern Monthly, Lincoln, Neb. September, 1898. Each student is to develop economic theory in a series of essays.
Thurston, H. W. The Teaching of Economics in Secondary Schools, in School Review, IV: 604-616. Favors the laboratory method.
Thwing, C. F., President of Western Reserve University. The Teaching of Political Economy in Secondary Schools, in Addresses and Proceedings of the National Educational Association, 1895, pp. 370-374. Shows how the subject can be made intelligible to the young.
TEXT-BOOKS.
Andrews, E. B. Institutes of Economics. 1889. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston, pp. xii, 227. $1.30. New arrangement. Contains references to works in foreign languages. Excessively condensed.
Bowen, F. American Political Economy. 1870. Scribner. 8vo. pp. ix, 495. Formerly a popular text-book for colleges. Protectionist.
Bullock, C. J., of Cornell University. Introduction to the Study of Economics. Silver, Burdett & Co. 1897. pp.511. $1.28. Contains much descriptive matter, bibliography, and references. An excellent all-around text-book.
Cannan, E. Elementary Political Economy. Macmillan. 16mo. 25¢.
Champlin, J. T. Lessons in Political Economy. 1868. American Book Co. pp. 219. 90¢. Gives much attention to the financial question of thirty years ago.
Davenport, H. J. Outlines of Elementary Economics. Macmillan. 1897. pp. xiv, 280. 80¢. Contains excellent pedagogical helps. No descriptive matter is given, and the work is strictly theoretical. New arrangement. The same author has written Outlines of Economic Theory. 1896. $2.00.*
Devine, E. T. Economics. Macmillan. 1898. pp.404. $1.00. Designed as an introduction to the study of social problems.
Ely, R. T., of the University of Wisconsin. Outlines of Economics. 1893. Flood & Vincent, Meadville, Pa., Chautauqua edition, pp. xi, 347, $1.00. Hunt & Eaton, now Eaton & Main, Boston, college edition, 1893, pp. xii, 432, $1.25. Extensively used. Contains questions and references to other authorities. The college edition contains a list of topics for special work and a bibliography.
Fawcett, Mrs. Political Economy for Beginners. Macmillan. 2nd edition, 1872. 18mo. pp. xii, 216. 90¢. An English work for secondary schools. With questions and problems.
Gregory, J. M. New Political Economy. 1882. American Book Co. pp. 394. $1.20. By an experienced teacher. Numerous suggestive diagrams and tables.
Jevons, W. S. Political Economy (Primer). American Book Co. 35¢.
Laughlin, J L. The Elements of Political Economy. 1887. American Book Co. pp. xxiv, 363. $1.20. Contains pedagogical questions at end of each chapter, charts and other descriptive matter, and the same bibliography as the Study of Political Economy. Part II treats of practical questions of the day.
Laveleye, Emil de. The Elements of Political Economy. 1888. Putnams. pp. xxxvii, 288. $1.50. By the eminent French economist. With introduction and supplementary chapter by Professor Taussig.
Macvane, S. M., of Harvard University. The Working Principles of Political Economy. Maynard, Merrill & Co. 1889. pp. x, 392 $1.00. Intended for high schools, “with a constant eye on actual affairs.”
Mason and Lalor. The Primer of Political Economy. 1875. McClurg, Chicago, pp. 67. 60¢. Definitions and propositions to be memorized.
Newcomb, Simon. Principles of Political Economy. Harper. 1885. pp. xvi, 548. $2.50. Purely theoretical; contains pedagogical questions. Some portions are unsurpassed for clearness.
Perry, A. L., of Williams College. Principles of Political Economy. Scribner. 1898. pp. 600. $2.00. New arrangement. Nearly thirty years ago the same author wrote Elements of Political Economy and Introduction to Political Economy, which are still in use as text-books.
Seligman, E. R. A., of Columbia. Elements of Political Economy; with Special Reference to American Conditions. In preparation. Longmans, Green & Co.
Steele, G. M. Rudimentary Economics. 1891. Leach, Shewell & Sanborn, now Sibley & Ducker. pp. xvi, 213. 80¢. Based on Carey. Suitable for high schools. Simple enough to use as a reader.
Symes, J. E., of England. Political Economy. Longmans, Green, & Co. pp. 204. 90¢.* With problems for solution and hints for supplementary reading.
Thompson, R. E. Political Economy. 1895. Ginn. pp. 108. 55¢. Intended for secondary schools. Protectionist.
Thurston, H. W. A Beginner’s Book in Economics and Industrial History. In preparation. Scott, Foresman & Co. Part I, a laboratory study of existing economic structure. Part II, economic history of England and the United States. Part III, theory. Based on the author’s experience in a high school. Discusses methods of teaching and contains much pedagogical matter; also bibliography.
Walker, F. A. Political Economy. Holt. Briefer course, 1884, pp. 415, $1.20.* Advanced course, 3rd ed., 1887, pp. 537, $2.00.* First Lessons in Political Economy. pp. x, 323. $1.00. Contain the author’s peculiar view of distribution. Were the most popular text-books in existence for a decade.
Source: Frederick Redman Clow, A.M. Economics as a School Study. Economic Studies, Vol. IV, No. 3 (June, 1899), pp. 242-246
Image Source: Faculty portrait of Frederick R. Clow in Quiver, Yearbook of Oshkosh Normal School 1906, p. 16.