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Harvard. Application for PhD candidacy. John H. Williams, PhD 1919

John Henry Williams was in his day a colossus whose feet were squarely planted in macroeconomic research and macroeconomic policy. Many posts here at Economics in the Rear-view Mirror include material from his Harvard courses. The particular contribution of this post is found in the transcriptions of the graduate course records from the Division of History, Government and Economics that document Williams’ own pursuit of the Ph.D. Not essential to any understanding of the development of modern economics is the flurry of letters, cards and telegrams required to coordinate the time of Williams’ Special Examination that followed the acceptance of his doctoral thesis. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

A timeline of his life and career has been appended to the post below.

_______________________

Current Literature

Pier Francesco Asso’s chapter “John Henry Williams (1887–1980)” in The Palgrave Companion to Harvard Economics edited by Robert A. Cord (1924), pp. 197-220.

_______________________

Ph.D. in Economics, 1919

JOHN HENRY WILLIAMS, A.B. (Brown Univ.) 1912, A.M. (Harvard Univ.) 1916.

Subject, Economics. Special Field, International Trade. Thesis, “Argentine International Trade under Inconvertible Paper Money, 1880-1900.” Assistant Professor of Economics, Princeton University.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1918-19, p. 82.

_______________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS

Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Ph.D.

[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the application; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]

I. Full Name, with date and place of birth.

John Henry Williams. June 21, 1887. Ystrad, Wales.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

Brown University. 1909-12.
Harvard University. 1915 to present.
Brown University. Instructor in English, 1912-15.

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

A.B. Brown University, 1912.
A.M. Harvard, 1916.

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your undergraduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc.)

General course in European history; English Constitutional history; European history since 1815; American history.
Elementary course in Economic Theory; Labor Problems;
Elementary courses in Political Science & in Sociology.
History of Philosophy. English composition (2 year courses).
Anglo-Saxon; English literature (two year courses); French (two years); German (two years); Latin & Greek (one year each). I obtained credit for a course in Spanish by special examination.

V. Department of Study. (Do you propose to offer yourself for the Ph.D., “History,” in “Economics,” or in “Political Science”?)

Economics.

VI. Choice of Subjects for the General Examination. (State briefly the nature of your preparation in each subject, as by Harvard courses, courses taken elsewhere, private reading, teaching the subject, etc., etc.)

  1. Economic theory, and the history of economic thought.
    Economics 11, Economics 14: – Harvard.
    (Elementary course in theory at Brown.)
  2. Economic history.
    Economics 2: – Harvard.
  3. Public Finance.
    Economics 31: – Harvard.
  4. Labor Problems.
    Economics 34: – Harvard.
    (one course at Brown.)
  5. Political Theory.
    Govt. 6a; Govt 6b: – Harvard.
  6. International Trade. Special Field
    Economics 33.
    Economics 20(a) (Research – full course) 

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

International Trade

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

The Foreign Trade of Argentina in the Period of Inconvertible Paper Money (1880-19009.
Professor F. W. Taussig.

IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

For the general examination. Early May, 1917.

X. Remarks

[left blank]

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

[signed] Charles J. Bullock

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: John Henry Williams

Approved: Jan 23 1917

Ability to use French certified by C. J. Bullock. 18 December 1916 – D.H.

Ability to use German certified by  C. J. Bullock. 18 December 1916 – D.H.

Date of general examination Passed – May 7, 1911 – D.H.

Thesis received [left blank]

Read by [left blank]

Approved [left blank]

Date of special examination [left blank]

Recommended for the Doctorate [left blank]

Degree conferred [left blank]

Remarks.  [left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Record of JOHN HENRY WILLIAMS
in the Harvard Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences

Grades
1915-16 Course Half-Course
Economics 2a1 A
Economics 2b2 A
Economics 11 A
Economics 13 B plus
Economics 31 A minus
Economics 34 A

 

1916-17 Course Half-Course
Economics 14 “Credit”
Economics 20a A
Economics 332 abs.
Economics 351 A
Government 6a1 A
Government 6b2 abs.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Certification of reading knowledge
of French

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
W.E. Rappard
H.L. Gray
E. E. Day

Cambridge, Massachusetts
December 18, 1916.

This is to certify that I have examined Mr. J. H. Williams and found that he has a satisfactory reading knowledge of French and German.

[signed]
C. J. Bullock

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General examination passed

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.

Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 9, 1917.

Dear Haskins:

Mr. J. H. William passed his general examination for the doctor’s degree on May 7th. He did pretty well in all subjects, and the vote of the Committee was unanimous. The examination was not, however, a brilliant one.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Charles J. Bullock

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Willing to take a professorship at Lafayette College if offered.

Department of Commerce
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce
Washington

June 20, 1918

I have your letter of June 17th, forwarded from the Cambridge Y.M.C.A., stating that I have been recommended for a professorship in economics and government at Lafayette College at $2,000. That prospect seems to me highly desirable and I hope I may get it. I am writing today to Dr. MacCracken.

For the past two weeks, as a result of your kind mention of me to Dr. Klein, I have been doing Latin American research work in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. My present appointment is temporary and in no way binding on either side. I understand, however, that I may arrange for a permanent appointment if I desire. The salary is about the same as that of the teaching position, but the cost of living here in Washington is terrific! I feel too that I should prefer teaching to this work, provided the salary were satisfactory, as it is in the case of this position at Lafayette College. If, therefore, you could assist me in any way to secure the place, I should be very grateful.

I take this opportunity to explain what is the present status of my thesis. Save for some minor changes it is completed, and is now in Professor Taussig’s hands. He hopes to have an opportunity to read it during his vacation, which I undertand is to begin soon. Once the thesis is returned to me I mean to put it into final shape and forward it to you. Do you not think that it might be examined by a committee in the late summer or early fall, and that, if it is satisfactory, arrangement might be made for me to take the final examination in October?

With many thanks for your kind letter, I am

Very truly yours,
[signed]
John H. Williams

Dean Charles H. Haskins.

(My safest address is the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Latin American Division, Washington, D.C. I am advising the Appointments Office of this address.)

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Dean Haskins reply to Williams

22 June 1918

Dear Mr. Williams:

I am glad to learn from your letter of 20 June that you are interested in the place at Lafayette. Your letter to President MacCracken will put you in touch with him; I had already given him the only address I conld get, 1937 Calvert Street.

In regards your thesis, I will undertake to see what we can do when it reaches me in final shape. It is hard to find men free to read theses during the summer, but at least it can be read early in the academic year, so that your special examination need not go far into the autumn.

Let me know if I can do anything about the place at Lafayette, or elsewhere. I mentioned Professor Bullock in writing to President MacCracken.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]

Mr. John H. Williams.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Undated File Note
Presumably late June 1918.

Miss Ham has telphoned that J. H. Williams wishes to take his special examination next fall. Professor Taussig has received his thesis and has read it. Who are to be the other members of the committee?

[Handwritten notes added:]
Bullock, Sprague, Klein, Carver.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Division asks Carver
to Read Williams’ thesis

7 October 1918

Dear Carver:

Will you serve as one of the committee to read the Ph.D. thesis of J. H. Williams, on “Foreign Trade of Argentina in the Period of Inconvertible Paper Money (1880-1900)”? The thesis will be sent to you.

Yours sincerely,
[unsigned copy]

Professor T. N. Carver

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Taussig’s Daughter to wed in November 1918. Good time to schedule Williams’ Special Examination

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
E. E. Lincoln

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 14, 1918.

Dear dear Haskins:

Taussig writes that he is going to be in Cambridge about November 10th to attend his daughter’s wedding, and obviously that will be the best time for having Williams’s final examination. Let us tentatively put that down for November 9th, 10th, or 11th, the exact date to be fixed after the date of the wedding is definitely set.

Williams’s thesis will undoubtedly be accepted. Taussig and I are now ready to approve it, and find it a very excellent piece of work. Carver is now reading it.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Charles J. Bullock

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Dean Haskins Begins to Assemble Special Examination Committee

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Division of History, Government, and Economics

16 October 1918

My dear Sir:

Can you serve as a member of the committee for the special examination of John Henry Williams for the Ph.D. in Economics, which is provisionally fixed for November 9 or 11? Mr. Williams’s special field is International Trade, and his thesis subject is Foreign Trade of Argentina in the Period of Inconvertible Paper Money (1880-1900). The committee consists of Professors Taussig (chairman), Bullock, Carver, and Persons.

Yours sincerely,
[unsigned copy]
CHARLES H. HASKINS

[To: Taussig, Bullock, Carver, Persons]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Division sets tentative dates for
Special Examination

16 October 1918

Dear Mr. Williams:

Your special examination has been fixed provisionally for November 9 or 11. The committee consists of Professors Taussig (chairman), Bullock, Carver, and Persons.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Mr. J. H. Williams.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Division checking whether
Taussig would be available for the Special Examination

16 October 1918

Dear Taussig:

I understand from Bullock that you are to be here these days. Can you indicate so far in advance whether you could act on Williams’s examination and what hour would be convenient for you?

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Professor F.W. Taussig.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Persons can serve on
Special Examination Committee

My dear Dean Haskins:

I will be able to serve on the committee to examine J. H. Williams on Nov 9 or 11.

[signed]
Warren M. Persons

Oct. 18–1918

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION
WASHINGTON

F. W. Taussig, Chairman
Thomas walker Page, Vice Chairman
David J. Lewis
William Kent
William S. Culbertson
Edward P. Costigan
Wm. M. Steuart, Secretary

Address reply to
United States Tariff Commission

October 18, 1918.

Dear Bullock:

I enclose the certificate on Williams’s thesis, duly signed. I should hope to be able to get to Cambridge about November 12th. I can make no unqualified promises, but just now there is something of a let up, and prospects for an easier year are good.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Professor C. J. Bullock,
Department of Economics
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Enclosure.

[Short-hand note at bottom of page]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION
WASHINGTON

F. W. Taussig, Chairman
Thomas walker Page, Vice Chairman
David J. Lewis
William Kent
William S. Culbertson
Edward P. Costigan
Wm. M. Steuart, Secretary

Address reply to
United States Tariff Commission

October 19, 1918.

Dear Haskins:

I have your letter of the 16th. I could take part in Williams’ examination about November 12th or 13th. It will be a pleasure to have a hand again in Cambridge doings.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Mr. Charles H. Haskins,
Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Bullock has Taussig’s letter to him
forwarded to Dean Haskins

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 21, 1918.

Dear Dean Haskins:

Professor Bullock wished me to send you the enclosed letter from Professor Taussig, and to suggest that you provisionally set November 12th as the date for Mr. Williams’s examination and find out whether Professor Taussig now can agree to come at that time.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
A. Pauline Ham

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special Examination Date Change
(to the Committee)

21 October 1918

Dear Bullock:

Mr. Williams’s examination has been changed to Tuesday, November 12, at 3 p.m. I hope that this will be convenient for you.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Professor C. J. Bullock
Professor T. N. Carver
Dr. W. M. Persons.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special Examination Date Change
(to Williams)

21 October 1918

My dear Mr. Williams:

It has been found necessary to change your examination, and it has been set provisionally for Tuesday, November 12, at 3 p.m.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Mr. John H. Williams.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special Examination Date Change
(to Taussig)

21 October 1918

Dear Taussig:

I have arranged Mr. Williams’s examination for Tuesday, November 12, at 3 p.m. I hope that hour will be convenient for you.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Professor F. W. Taussig.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Carver agrees to serve on Williams’ Special Examination Committee

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
E. E. Lincoln

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 22, 1918.

Dean Charles H. Haskins,
Cambridge, Mass.

Dear Sir:

I can serve as a member of the committee for the examination of Mr. Williams on either date, given, preferably on November 9.

Very sincerely yours,
[signed]
T. N. Carver (P)

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Bullock can’t make
the new Special Examination date

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
E. E. Lincoln

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 23, 1918.

My dear Haskins:

It now appears that I shall be away from Cambridge the week of November 10-16 in attendance at the annual conference of the National Tax Association. Since Taussig is going to be here that week, I think it would be better to adhere to your date of Noverber 12th for Williams’s examination. You have Taussig, Carver, and Persons, so that you could perfectly well replace me by Burbank or some historian or a government man. It is more important that Taussig should be on hand than that I should be there.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Charles J. Bullock

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Carver agrees to new date for
Williams’ Special Examination

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J. S. Davis
H. H. Burbank
E. E. Lincoln

Cambridge, Massachusetts
October 24, 1918.

Dean Charles H. Haskins,
Cambridge, Mass.

Dear Dean Haskins:

The date for Mr. Williams’s examination, November 12, at 3 p.m. is satisfactory to me.

Very sincerely yours,
[signed]
T. N. Carver

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION
WASHINGTON

F. W. Taussig, Chairman
Thomas walker Page, Vice Chairman
David J. Lewis
William Kent
William S. Culbertson
Edward P. Costigan
Wm. M. Steuart, Secretary

Address reply to
United States Tariff Commission

October 24, 1918.

Dear Haskins:

I have your note concerning Williams’ examination on Tuesday, November 12th. I will be on hand.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Mr. Charles H. Haskins,
Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Asking Burbank to substitute for Bullock

25 October 1918

Dear Burbank:

Could you serve as a member of the committee for the special examination of J. H. Williams on Tuesday, November 12, at 3 p.m.? Professor Bullock, who was to serve, is obliged to be out of town that week, and the date of the examination has to be fixed with regard to Professor Taussig’s presence in Cambridge. Mr. Williams’s special field is International Trade, and his thesis is on Foreign Trade in Argentina, 1880-1900. The other members of the committee are Professors Taussig (chairmen), Carver, and Persons.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Dr. H. H. Burbank.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Bullock informed

25 October 1918

Dear Bullock:

I have asked Burbank to serve in your place at Williams’s examination.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Professor C. J. Bullock.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Taussig needs to postpone
the Special Examination

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Dean Agrees to Postponing Special Examination

6 November 1918

Professor F. W. Taussig, U. S. Tariff Commission, Washington, D.C.

Examination can be changed to Friday fifteenth if your presence assured then. Telegraph.

Charles H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Williams informed of Special Examination date change

7 November 1918

Dear Mr. Williams:

It has been found necessary to change your examination to Friday, November 15, at 4 p.m. in Widener U.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

Mr. J. H. Williams.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Committee members informed of
Special Examination date change

7 November 1918

My dear Sir:

It has been found necessary to change Mr. Williams’s examination to Friday, November 15, at 4 p.m. in Widener U. I trust this hour will be convenient for you.

Sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]

[Carver, Persons, Burbank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Special examination passed

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

F. W. Taussig
T. N. Carver
W. Z. Ripley
C. J. Bullock
E. F. Gay
W. M. Cole
O. M. W. Sprague
E. E. Day
B. M. Anderson, Jr.
J.S. Davis
H.H. Burbank
E.E. Lincoln

Cambridge, Massachusetts
November 16, 1918.

Dear Sir:

I beg to report, in behalf of the Committee appointed to conduct the special examination of J. H. Williams, that he passed the examination by unanimous vote of the Committee.

Very truly yours,
[signed]
F. W. Taussig

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Notice to President’s Office
of the Award of Ph.D.

[Format matches the listing in the Annual Report of the President of Harvard College]

3 December 1918

The Division of History, Government, and Economics reports that the following candidate for the degree of Doctor of philosophy has presented a satisfactory thesis and passed his final examination successfully:

John Henry Williams,

A.B. (Brown Univ.) 1912, A.M. (Harvard Univ.) 1916.

Subject, Economics. Special Field, International Trade.

Thesis. “The Foreign Trade of Argentina in the Period of Inconvertible paper Money (1880-1900).”

[unsigned copy]
Chairman

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, Ph.D. 1923-24. (UA V 453.270), Box 05, Folder “Degree Granted”.

__________________________

Course Names and Instructors

1915-16

Economics 2a 1hf. European Industry and Commerce in the Nineteenth Century. Professor Gay assisted by Mr. A.H. Cole and Ryder.

Economics 2b 2hf. Economic and Financial History of the United States. Professor Gay assisted by Mr. A.H. Cole and Ryder.

Economics 11. Economic Theory. Professor Taussig.

Economics 13. Statistics: Theory, Methods, Practice. Asst. Professor Day.

Economics 31. Public Finance. Professor Bullock.

Economics 34. Problems of Labor. Professor Ripley.

1916-17

Economics 14. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. Professor Bullock.

Economics 20a. Economic Research (Economic Theory and International Trade and Tariff Problems). Professor Taussig.

Economics 332. International Trade and Tariff Problems. Professor Persons (Colorado College).

Economics 351. Problems of Business Cycles. Professor Persons (Colorado College).

Government 6a1. History of Political Theory. Asst. Professor Holcombe.

Government 6b2. Political Theories of Modern Times. Asst. Professor Holcombe.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College for 1915-16, 1916-17.

__________________________

John Henry Williams
Timeline of his life and career

1887. Born June 21 in Ystrad, Wales.

1889. May. Family emigrates to the United States, settling in the Blackinton section of North Adams, Massachusetts.

1900. October 13. Became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

 1908[est.] Graduated from Drury High School, North Adams, Massachusetts.

1912. A.B. Brown University.

1912-15. English instructor at Brown University.

1915. Married Jessie Isabelle Monroe (she died in 1960). Two daughters.

1916. A.M. in economics, Harvard.

1917-18. July to May, Sheldon Travelling Fellow to Buenos Aires.

1918-19. Instructor of Economics. Harvard. Also assistant editor of the Review of Economic Statistics.

1919. Ph.D. in economics, Harvard. Thesis awarded the Wells Prize.

1919. Accompanied Professor Edwin Walter Kemmerer of Princeton University, who was serving as adviser to the Guatemalan government in currency matters, to Guatemala and Cuba. (They departed July 12 from New Orleans). Williams traveled as secretary to Kemmerer.

1919-20. Assistant professor of economics, Princeton University.

1920. Publication of the doctoral thesis, Argentine International Trade Under Inconvertible Paper Money, 1880-1900.

1920-21. Associate Professor of Banking, Northwestern University.

1921-25. Assistant Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

1925-26. Westinghouse professor in Italy.

1925-29. Associate Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

1929-33. Professor of Economics, Harvard University.

1933-57. Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy, Harvard University.

1932-33. Delegate to the Commission that prepared the World Monetary and Economic Conference.

1933. Spring. Joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as Assistant Federal Reserve Agent. Full-time until October 1934.

1936-47. Vice-president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In charge of the Research Function.

1937-47. First Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Public Administration.

1944. First edition of Postwar Monetary Plans and Other Essays published. Second edition (1945). Third edition (1947). Fourth edition (1949).

1947-52. Economic Advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

1948-51. Member of the European Cooperation and Administration advisory committee on fiscal and monetary problems.

1951. President of the American Economic Association.

1952-ca.1963. Consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

1953. Economic stability in a changing world; essays in economic theory and policy.

1953. One of seven named by President Eisenhower to a commission to study foreign economic policy.

1953-54. Member of the United States Commission on Foreign Economic Policy.

1957. Retires from Harvard University.

1957-63. William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

1962. Married second wife, Katherine R. McKinstry
[note: she was thanked for her editorial help in preparing the publication of Postwar Monetary Plans and Other Essays (1944); also in Economic stability in a changing world; essays in economic theory and policy (1953)]

1980. December 24. Died in Southbridge, Massachusetts.

Timeline sources: Obituary in North Adams Transcript (Jan 5, 1981), p. 12; FRBNY Quarterly Review (Winter, 1980-81), pp. 1-2; Who’s Who in America 1952, p. 2622.

Image Source: Passport picture from John Henry Williams’ passport application July 8, 1919. Low resolution scan enhanced by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Enrollment and exams for Principles of Sociology. Carver, 1908-1909

Artifacts from a time when Sociology roomed with Economics…at least at Harvard. But make no mistake, economics was paying the rent back in that day.

One presumes the course text was Thomas Nixon Carver’s book of course readings (over 800 pages!): Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology. Boston: Ginn & Company, 1905.

The teaching assistant for the course was Carl William Thompson (1879-1920). After receiving an A.M. from the University of South Dakota in 1903, he added a Harvard A.M. in 1904 where he had an appointment as Assistant in Elocution. He re-entered Harvard graduate school in 1908 as a professor of economics and sociology and director of the School of Commerce at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. He passed his general exam on June 2, 1909. In his application for candidacy for the Ph.D. he wrote “Am teaching a course in General Sociology this year, based on Carver’s ‘Sociology & Social Progress’, Ward, Spencer etc.” [Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics Division Archives. PhD. Material, Box 3, Folder “Ph.D. (illegible)”]. There is no indication that he completed the other requirements for the Ph.D. in his file. From Harvard Thompson was the director of the bureau of research in agricultural economics and associate professor of economics at the University of Minnesota. In May 1913 he accepted a position in the rural organization service of the U.S. department of agriculture. He died of influenza in 1920.

__________________________

Sociology exams from earlier years.

1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)

1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field) Includes the reading list for the course and additional biographical information.

1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)

1907-08 (taught by T. N. Carver)

__________________________

Course Enrollment
1908-09

Economics 3. Professor Carver, assisted by Mr. Thompson. — Principles of Sociology. Theories of Social Progress.

Total 42: 7 Graduates, 4 Seniors, 21 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 6 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1908-1909, p. 68.

__________________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 3

Mid-year Examination, 1908-09
  1. Can social progress be defined in terms of human well-being and, at the same time, in terms of the universal evolutionary process? Explain.
  2. Are human interests harmonious as antagonistic, and what is the relation of this question to the problem of evil?
  3. How does military life, in different stages of social development, operate as a factor in human selection.
  4. What are some of the leading factors tending toward, (a) race improvement, (b) race deterioration, at the present time in the United States?
  5. Discuss the probable future of ceremonial institutions as described by Spencer.
  6. How does the transition from the militant to the industrial type of society affect the status of women?
  7. Trace briefly the historical relationship among the leading professions, as set forth by Spencer.
  8. Discuss briefly, territory, race, creed, and occupation, as bases of group consciousness, together with some of the results of each special form of group consciousness.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1908-09.

__________________________

ECONOMICS 3
Year-end Examination, 1908-09

  1. What, according to Spencer, is the relation between the development of domestic institutions and the economizing of individual life?
  2. How do you distinguish between passive and active adaptation? Give illustrations.
  3. Discuss the views of Galton and Pearson on the social aspects of biological selection.
  4. What, according to Tarde, is the place of imitation as a social factor?
  5. Compare Kidd and Buckle on the relation of religion to progress.
  6. State, in brief, and criticize Spencer’s sociological theory of morals.
  7. State the democratic and republican theories of representation and the application of each to the conditions of modern government.
  8. Would you draw any line between those industries which are suitable for government enterprise and those which are not? If so, where? If not, why not?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1909), p. 34.

Image Source: Thomas Nixon Carver. The World’s Work. Vol. XXVI (May-October 1913) p. 127. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Economists Harvard

Harvard. Academic record of Vervon Orval Watts, Ph.D. 1932

 

Vervon Orval Watts (1898-1993) was a faithful libertarian disciple of Harvard economics professor Thomas Nixon Carver. One of his course outlines from his time at Antioch College in Ohio has been transcribed and posted earlier.

In this post you will find the paper record of Watts’ march through the Division of History, Government and Economics that was rewarded with the award of a Ph.D. by the department of economics in 1932.

_______________________

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS

Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Ph.D.

[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the application; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]

I. Full Name, with date and place of birth.

Vervon Orval Watts, March 25, 1898, Walkerton, [Ontario] Can.

II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)

University of Manitoba, 1914-1918; Harvard University, 1921—
Teaching Positions: Brandon College, Jan. 1 – July 1, 1919; Gilbert Plains, high school, 1919-1921; Harvard, Assistant in Economics, 1923-24 (Asst.); 1926-27 (gr.); T + T 1927-29.

III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)

A.B., University of Manitoba, 1918
A.M., Harvard University, 1923.

IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your under-graduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc. In case you are a candidate for the degree in History, state the number of years you have studied preparatory and college Latin.)

History:— Greek + Roman, 1 course; European, 2 1/2 courses; English History, 2 courses; Canadian History 1/2 course.
Economics:— Courses in Theory, Economic History, Public Finance, Money + Banking, Foreign Trade + Finance.
Government:—  1 course, Logic:—  1 course.
Languages:— Greek + Latin.

V. Department of Study. (Do you propose to offer yourself for the Ph.D., “History,” in “Economics,” or in “Political Science”?)

Economics.

VI. Choice of Subjects for the General Examination. (State briefly the nature of your preparation in each subject, as by Harvard courses, courses taken elsewhere, private reading, teaching the subject, etc., etc.)

  1. Economic Theory and Its History.
    At Harvard – Ec. 11, Ec. 14; at Manitoba – course in Theory + its History. Private Reading.
  2. Public Finance.
    At Harvard, Ec. 31; at Manitoba – 1 course. Private Reading.
  3. International Trade + Tariff Policy.
    At Harvard – Ec. 9b, Ec. 39;
    At Manitoba – 1 course; Private Reading.
  4. Economics of Agriculture.
    At Harvard – Ec. 9a, Ec. 32;
    – Assistant in Ec. 9a, 1923,
    Private Reading.
  5. Sociology.
    At Harvard, Ec. 8,
    –Assistant in Ec. 8, 1923
    Private Reading.
  6. History of England since the Reign of Henry VII.
    At Harvard: Hist. 12; Auditor in Hist. S9 + Hist. 11.
    At Manitoba: 1 course
    Teaching of English History in high school; Private Reading.

VII. Special Subject for the special examination.

Sociology.

VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)

The Development of the Technological Concepts of Production in Anglo-American Thought.

IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)

I should prefer the General Examination not before Feb. 1. Middle of March or few days after. [Handwritten note: “May 27/32”]

X. Remarks

Professor Carver.

Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.

[signed] T. N. Carver

*   *   *   [Last page of application] *   *   *

[Not to be filled out by the applicant]

Name: Vervon Orval Watts

Approved: January 11, 1924

Ability to use French certified by C. J. Bullock, May 29, 1923.

Ability to use German certified by C. J. Bullock, May 29, 1923.

Date of general examination Monday, March 31, 1924. Passed. T.N.C.

Thesis received March 28, 1932

Read by Professors Carver and Taussig

Approved May 16, 1932

Date of special examination Friday, May 27, 1932

Recommended for the Doctorate June 9, 1932

Degree conferred  June 23, 1932

Remarks.  [left blank]

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Certification of reading knowledge
of French and German for Ph.D.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Cambridge, Massachusetts
May 29, 1923

Dear Haskins:

This is to certify that I have examined Mr. V. O. Watts and find that he has such a knowledge of French and German as we require of candidates for the Ph.D. degree.

Very sincerely yours
[signed]
C. J. Bullock

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General Examination, date and
examiners
[carbon copy]

Division of History, Government, & Economics
Harvard University

21 March 1924

My dear Mr. Watts:

We are arranging your general examination for the Ph.D. in Economics for Monday, 31 March, at 4 p.m. Your committee will consist of Professors Carver (chairman), Abbott, Williams, Bullock, and Dr. Meriam.

Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division

Mr. V. O. Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General Examination
Information Sent to Examiners
[carbon copy]

Division of History, Government, and Economics
Harvard University

24 University Hall
25 March 1924

My dear Professor [blank]

Since the Ph.D. pamphlet is not yet out, I am sending you herewith the information which will appear in it about V. O. Watts, whose general examination is to be held on Monday, 31 March, at 4 p.m.

Very truly yours,
Secretary of the Division.

Carver
Abbott
Williams
Bullock
Meriam

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General Examination, Watts Reminder
[carbon copy]

27 March 1924

My dear Mr. Watts:

This is to remind you that your general examination for the Ph.D. in Economics is to be held on Monday, 31 March, at 4 p.m. in Widener N.

Very truly yours,
Secretary of the Division

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

General Examination, Carver Reminder
[carbon copy]

27 March 1924

My dear Professor Carver:
This is to remind you that you are chairman of the committee for the general examination of Mr. V. O. Watts for the Ph.D. in Economics, to be held on Monday, 31 March, at 4 p.m., in Widener N. I enclose Mr. Watts’s papers herewith. The other members of the committee are Professors Abbott, Williams, Bullock, and Dr. Meriam.

Very truly yours,
Secretary of the Division.

Professor T. N. Carver

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Passed General Examination

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics

Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 1, 1924

Dear Professor Haskins:

I beg to report that the general examination for the Ph.D. degree of Mr. Vernon [sic] Orval Watts was held in Widener N, Monday afternoon, March 31. The committee voted unanimously to accept Mr. Watt’s examination as satisfactory.

Signed: T.N. Carver
Chairman of the Committee

Dean C. H. Haskins

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Thesis summary still needed
[carbon copy]

March 29, 1932

Dear Mr. Watts:

Your thesis has arrived in good shape. I do not find any summary with it, however. Each thesis is required to be accompanied by a summary, not over 1200 words, which is later published by the University, along with others, in a volume. I note that you have a Digest at the beginning of your thesis; perhaps you intended this to be the summary. However, it should not be bound in with the thesis, and the form should be consecutive and not in outline as you have it. It will be a simple matter for you to re-write this Digest into an appropriate summary.

I believe I wrote you as to the date for your examination, May 27. I should be glad to hear from you confirming this, as the pamphlet goes to press soon, and I cannot hold dates open after April 1st.

Sincerely yours,
Secretary

Mr. V. O. Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Last-minute thesis preparation

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

March 5, 1932

Secretary of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dear Sir:

I have almost completed my doctoral dissertation in the field of economics, and I wish to be informed if there are any rules concerning the nature of the binding for the volume.

I am writing the thesis in Sociology under Professor Carver. Shall I send it to you or to him when it has been completed?

Very truly yours,
[signed] V. Orval Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Scheduling Special Examination

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

March 15, 1932

Miss Helen Prescott
772 Widener Memorial Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass.

Dear Miss Prescott:

I should like to have my special examination placed at the end of May or the beginning of June if that will be convenient for Professor Carver.

Sincerely yours,
[signed] V. Orval Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

V. O Watts: Apology for late thesis summary

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

March 31, 1932

Dear Miss Prescott:

I regret that my delay in writing you and in sending the summary of my thesis should have caused you the trouble and annoyance of writing me age in about it. For the past two weeks I have been exceedingly busy finishing the thesis while carrying the work of four courses. We also have an economics seminar which meets every week and I am serving on two faculty committees, one of which meets every week.

At the last moment, moreover, last Tuesday, I decided to have most of the thesis re-typed because the previous typing had been so faint. It may have been that the chemicals which are used on that ripple-finish paper may have caused the ink to fade on the earlier copy. At any rate, the work of supervising the typing and doing the proof-reading in addition to my regular teaching load led me to postpone everything I could as long as possible. I sent the summary off yesterday by special delivery, however, so that you should have received it by April first.

I should very much appreciate it if you could let me know soon whether or not my thesis appears to be acceptable. I am naturally anxious about it, especially since the last half of it has been written without Professor Carver’s supervision. It has certain merits, I believe, but I am very conscious of its short-comings. It would have been better if I had showed the earlier drafts of it to Professor Carver to secure his criticisms and suggestions; but every time I wrote a chapter I saw so many things I knew myself should be corrected that I disliked to show it to him, or to any one whose good opinion I valued, until I had done it as well as I could with it myself. In fact I still wanted to give it another revision before turning it in.

I trust that you and your sister are well. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that you were working with Professor Carver again. I am looking forward to seeing you and him again this spring, and I may bring my family along with me.

Very truly yours
[signed] V. Orval Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Letter to Carver

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

April 8, 1932

Professor Carver:

Professor Taussig read a short article I wrote in criticism of Stuart Chase’s Tragedy of Waste when I first considered the topic of waste as a thesis subject. At that time my ideas concerning my plan of procedure were vague, and Professor Taussig merely approved the general subject of economic waste as one worthy of further development. I did not return for further conferences with him.

Most of my conferences, other than those with yourself, were with Professor Young, whom I used to consult frequently during the last year he was at Harvard. The distinction between the economic and the engineering point of view and the historical approach which I took are largely the result of those conferences.

I had several conferences with Professor R. B. Perry of the philosophy department, and he read and discussed at some length with me the first chapter. Professor Mason also read a few of my earlier essays, and I had a few talks with him concerning the general subject. I have felt, however, that he never approved
either of me or of my ideas. Professor Black has  stated the central idea of my thesis — the distinction between the economic and technological points of view — more clearly than any one else with whose work I am familiar, but I never had any conferences with him.

It seems to me that, all things considered, Professor Taussig is the most logical choice in the Economics Department for the examining board. He is very conscientious and honest in his criticisms and evaluations of students, yet I believe he is just and sympathetic towards new ideas.

I feel more keenly than ever at this time the loss of Professor Young, and I realize now that I may have made a mistake in not seeking the advice of Professor Taussig in writing my thesis after Professor Young left us. I always felt very reluctant to show my work to anyone, however, until I had done all I could with it myself. The distinction I have made in the thesis has not been clearly drawn by any other English writer, as far as I could discover, except by Professor Black, and I therefore felt it all the more necessary to state the idea as well as possible before
seeking criticism for it.

I expect to visit Cambridge and to see you and Professor Sorokin next Thursday or Friday. I am rather concerned about my ignorance of European sociology in view of Professor Sorokin’s interest in that field. I have been reading diligently in the history of sociological theory, but it is a very large field to cover, and I am hoping that Professor Sorokin may have some suggestions which will make my efforts more effective.

Sincerely yours,
[signed] V. Orval Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

V. O Watts: List of Positions

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

May 3, 1932

Dear Miss Prescott:

I have just recalled that you asked me some time ago to send you a list of the positions I have held. If you wanted the list for the pamphlet which was being printed three weeks ago when I was in Cambridge it will be too late to send it now. But in case you may have a further use for it I am giving it herewith. You have my permission, however, to mention any or all of these titles if you wish.

1918-1919. Instructor, Brandon College, Canada
1919-1921. Assist. principal, Gilbert Plains High School, Gilbert Plains Canada.
1922-1923. Thayer Scholar, Harvard University
1924-1926. Instructor in Economics and Sociology, Clark University
1926-1927. Weld Scholar, Harvard University
1917-1929. Tutor in History, Government, and Economics, Harvard University
1929-1930. Lecturer in Economics and Sociology, Wellesley College
1930–. Assoc. Professor of Economics, Antioch College

As you may guess I am very anxious concerning the progress of my thesis through the gauntlet of the readers. I should very much appreciate it if I could obtain a hint of good news from the scene of action, but I suppose that the long list of theses presented this year is delaying the progress of all of them.

Yours sincerely,
[signed]
V. Orval Watts

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Passed Special Examination

The committee appointed to conduct the special examination of Mr. V. Orval Watts on Friday, May 27, 1932, voted unanimously to accept the examination. It was agreed by all three examiners that it was a brilliant examination..

Signed: T. N. Carver

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Antioch College informed
that Watts completed his Ph.D.

Antioch college
Yellow Springs
Ohio

Office of the President

June 6, 1932

Dr. T. N. Carver
Department of Economics,
Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Dear Dr. Carver:

I thank you for your note about Mr. V. O. Watts. It is good to know that he did so well. His interest and enthusiasm in his work with us make his scholarly qualifications all the more productive.

Sincerely yours,
[signed] Arthur E. Morgan,
President.

AEM:HG

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Ohio State Not Hiring

the ohio state university
George W. Wrightmeyer, President
Columbus

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
M. B. Hammond Alma Herbst
A. B. Wolfe R. H. Rowntree
H. G. Hayes J. D. Blanchard
H. F. Walradt J. M. Whitsett
Grace S. M. Zorbaugh H. J. Bittermann
F. E. Held C. J. Botte
L. Edwin Smart R. T. Stevens
E. L. Bowers Louis Levine
R. L. Dewey Maurice A. Freeman
C. L. James R. L. Horne
R. D. Patton Wm. H. Mautz
Louise Stitt J. H. Sloan
Virgil Willit

June 6, 1932

Professor T. N. Carver
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dear Professor Carver:

I thank you for calling to my attention Mr. V. O. Watts, now teaching Economics at Antioch College. With your recommendation I do not doubt his ability to satisfy. However, the situation is about the same with us as it is at other western
institutions. We are not likely to make additions to the staff during the coming year. Those who are already employed are fighting hard to hold their jobs and there is a steady pressure on the part of graduate students to secure employment as assistants, readers, or in any other capacity, so that I do not anticipate any chance for Mr. Watts to find employment here. However, I will pass your letter to Dr. Bowers, who is acting chairman of the department, so that he can make use of it if there should be any change in the situation which calls for a new man.

I am, with best wishes,

Cordially yours,
[signed] M. B. Hammond

MBH:KU

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Record of V. O. Watts in the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

1921-22 Course

Half-Course

Economics 9a

A

Economics 9b1

A

Economics 11

B plus

Economics 322

A

Economics 392

A

German A

A minus

1922-23 Course

Half-Course

Economics 8

A

Economics 14

A minus

Economics 31

A

History 12

A minus

1923-24 Course

Half-Course

Economics 20

 

Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, Ph.D. Degrees Conferred 1929-30. (UA V 453.270), Box 12.

__________________________

Course Names and Instructors

1921-22

Economics 9a 1hf. Economics of Agriculture [primarily for undergraduates]. Professor Carver.

Economics 9b 1hf. International Trade and Tariff Policies. Professor Taussig.

Economics 11. Economic Theory. Professors Taussig and Young.

Economics 32 2hf. Economics of Agriculture [primarily for graduates]. Professor Carver.

Economics 39 2hf. International Finance. Asst. Professor Williams.

German A. Elementary Course. Professor Bierwirth et al.

1922-23

Economics 8. Principles of Sociology. Professor Carver.

Economics 14. History and Literature of Economics to the year 1848. Professor Bullock.

Economics 41. Statistical Theory and Analysis. Professors Young and Day.

History 12. The History of England from 1688 to the Present Time. Professor Abbott.

1923-24

Economics 20. Course of Research in Economics.

Image Source: Portrait of Vervon Orval Watts in the Harvard Class Album, 1932.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Socialism

Harvard. Exam questions for Social Reform, Socialism, Communism. Carver, 1907-1908

Harvard’s Thomas Nixon Carver, individualist to a fault, played less a devil’s advocate in his courses on social economic reform than he engaged with the theories behind the social movements of his time to disabuse his students’ of the economic schemes of reformers and revolutionaries that attracted them like moths to a flame. 

While  Bakunin, Marx and George are seen in the Rear-view Mirror of today, they were still objects seen in the side-view mirrors of Carver’s time — objects he probably believed to be closer than they appeared. In any case, objects to avoid for safety’s sake.

__________________________

Previously posted

Pre-Carver:
Carver’s courses

Post-Carver:

________________________

Course Enrollment
1907-08

Economics 14b 2hf. Professor Carver. — Methods of Social Reform. Socialism, Communism, the Single Tax, etc.

Total 20: 5 Graduates, 7 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 1 Sophomore.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1907-1908, p. 67.

________________________

ECONOMICS 14b
Mid-year Examination, 1907-08

  1. In what particulars does the socialist movement resemble a religious rather than a rationalistic movement?
  2. What are the leading doctrines of “Orthodox Socialism”?
  3. In what particulars are socialism and anarchism alike, and in what particulars are they unlike?
  4. State and comment upon Karl Marx’s theory as to the origin of capital and of interest.
  5. Compare the single tax movement and the socialist movement.
  6. Have you any clearly defined conclusion as to the proper, or logical, limits of state enterprise? If so, explain. If not, state the difficulty in the way of arriving at such a conclusion.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09 (HUC 7000.25), p. 38.

Images: Mikhail Bakunin, Karl Marx, Henry George from the Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.  New York Public Library Digital Collections.

 

 

Categories
Distribution Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Exam for Distribution of Wealth. Carver, 1907-1908

 

Thomas Nixon Carver was originally hired by Harvard for his work in economic theory. His course portfolio expanded to cover agricultural economics, sociology, economic reform schemes, and methodology, but his course on distribution probably is the best single reflection of his core economic understanding (beliefs?) regarding economic theory. 

________________________

From earlier semesters

1904-05
1905-06

The course content is undoubtedly captured in Carver’s 1904 book The Distribution of Wealth which was reprinted several times during his lifetime.

________________________

Course Enrollment
1907-08

Economics 14a 1hf. Professor Carver. — The Distribution of Wealth.

Total 19: 5 Graduates, 4 Seniors, 5 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 3 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1907-1908, p. 67.

________________________

ECONOMICS 14a
Mid-year Examination, 1907-08

  1. Assuming that the labor of a man and team, with the appropriate tools costs the farmer the equivalent of 5 bushels a day, how many days could he most profitably devote to the cultivation of each of the four fields described in the following table:—
Number of days’ labor of a man and team with the appropriate tools. Total product, in bushels, of each of four fields under
varying applications of labor.

Field A

 Field B Field C

Field D

5

 50 45 40 35
10 150 140 130

125

15

 270 255 240 220
20 380 360 300

270

25

 450 420 350 310
30 510 470 390

340

35

 560 510 420 360
40 600 540 440

375

45

 630 560 450 385
50 650 575 455

390
  1. Assuming that the relation of the labor supply to the land supply is such that for four fields like those assumed in the table there are 130 days labor of the kind assumed, what, in bushels, would be the normal rate of wages — i.e., what is the highest rate of wages at which the farmers could find it more to their advantage to employ all the labor than to leave some of it unemployed.
  2. Under the conditions assumed in Problem 2, how much, approximately, would the total product of the community be reduced if field A were withdrawn from cultivation.
  3. Exactly what do you understand by capital and how does it come into existence.
  4. How, if at all, is the supply of capital related to the rate of wages? What authors have you read upon this point and how does your opinion compare with theirs?
  5. What do you understand by the standard of living, and how does it affect wages?
  6. How is the productivity of an instrument of production determined? How is its value determined? How and where, in the process of valuation, does interest arise?
  7. What is the risk theory of profits? What writers, among those whom you have read, hold to this theory, and how do their views compare?
  8. What classes of incomes do you regard as earned, and what as unearned? Justify your position.
  9. What are the leading theories, so far as you have studied, as to how wealth ought to be distributed? Which do you prefer? Why?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1907-08.

Image Source: Portrait of Thomas Nixon Carver from the Harvard Class Album 1913. Colorized and enhanced by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Methodology

Harvard. Semester Exams for Methods of Economic Investigation. Carver, 1907-1908

The following exam questions on Methods of Economic Investigation were for a course listed as primarily for graduate students, taught by Thomas Nixon Carver at Harvard, 1907-08. It is hard for me to imagine there was any period in the last 120 or so years when anyone might have been impressed by this shallow dive into questions of methodology. Am I missing something?

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Some biographical details
for Thomas N. Carver

https://www.irwincollier.com/harvard-course-readings-final-exams-and-enrollment-for-principles-of-sociology-carver-and-field-1904-1905/

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Exams from earlier years

1900-01
1901-02
1903-04
1904-05

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Course Enrollment
1907-08

Economics 13 hf. Professor Carver. — Methods of Economic Investigation

Total 3: 2 Graduates, 1 Divinity.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1907-1908, p. 67.

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ECONOMICS 13
Mid-year examination, 1907-08

  1. How can the method of difference be applied to the determination of the shares in the distribution of wealth.
  2. What do you understand by the analytical method in economics? Give examples.
  3. Is the mathematical and diagrammatic method capable of being used in investigation, or it is only a method of exposition? Give reasons for your answer.
  4. Is there a noticeable tendency among certain writers to treat economics as though it were the science of surplus wealth, and among others to treat it as a science of human well-being? What is the real difference between the two points of view.
  5. How would you subdivide economics into departments; (a) if you were going to write a text-book; (b) if you were going to organize a department of economics in a university where you could have a teaching staff, say, of 8 specialists, and could get men who would fit into whatever special fields you might plan for them?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1907-08.

ECONOMICS 13
Year-end examination, 1907-08

  1. To what extent is the question of method determined by the kind of information which the investigator is seeking? Illustrate.
  2. Is the question of method ever confused with the question of the source from which information must be gathered? Illustrate.
  3. Is the mathematical method a method of investigation or of exposition? Explain and illustrate.
  4. What quantitative concepts are, or should be, used when we speak of a quantity of land, of oats, of capital, of labor, of money?
  5. Describe and criticise three methods of ascertaining to what extent immigration, since 1820, has increased the population of the United States.
  6. Contrast three methods of ascertaining the causes of poverty.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09 (HUC 7000.25), pp. 36-37.

Image Source: Harvard football poster (1907) by F. Earl Christy. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

 

 

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Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Exam questions for principles of sociology. Carver, 1907-1908

Thomas Nixon Carver was back at the lectern in 1907-08 following his European sabbatical year. His teaching portfolio was pretty broad and it included the field of sociology which had not yet escaped the gravitational pull of the economics department.  

One presumes the course text was Thomas Nixon Carver’s book of course readings (over 800 pages!): Sociology and Social Progress: A Handbook for Students of Sociology. Boston: Ginn & Company, 1905.

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Sociology exams from earlier years.

1901-02 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1902-03 (taught by T. N. Carver and W. Z. Ripley)

1903-04 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1904-05 (taught by T. N. Carver and J. A. Field)

1905-06 (taught by T. N. Carver)

1906-07 (taught by J. A. Field)

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Course Enrollment
1907-08

Economics 3. Professor Carver. — Principles of Sociology. Theories of Social Progress.

Total 49: 8 Graduates, 12 Seniors, 17 Juniors, 10 Sophomores, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1907-1908, p. 66.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 3
Mid-year Examination, 1907-08

  1. Discuss the relation of sociology to economics.
  2. Describe the development of ancestor worship according to Spencer, and show the influence of a system of ancestor worship upon political organization.
  3. What does Spencer mean by “industrialism”?
  4. Can education effect any progressive improvement in the innate physical and mental capacities of a race?
  5. Explain the term “eugenics,” and discuss the obstacles to the practical application of eugenic principles.
  6. How does Kidd define religion? What is the function of religion thus defined?
  7. Explain and criticise Stuckenberg’s theory of “Sociation.”
  8. In what sense can interests be said to be harmonious, and in what sense are they antagonistic?
  9. What is meant by “consciousness of kind,” and how is it related to sympathy?
  10. Discuss the question, Is work a blessing?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 8, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Year 1907-08.

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ECONOMICS 3
Year-end Examination, 1907-08

  1. Comment upon the following passage: “Every great historical epoch and every variety of social organization must be explained on the basis of factors and forces now at work, and which the student may study at first hand.”
  2. Can you, consistently with modern evolutionary philosophy, define social progress in terms of well-being? Explain.
  3. Comment upon the following passage:—
    “So that as law differentiates from personal commands, and as morality differentiates from religious in junctions, so politeness differentiates from ceremonial observance. To which I may add, so does rational usage differentiate from fashion.”
  4. Comment upon the following passage: “The fundamental fact in history is the law of decreasing returns.”
  5. Compare Gidding’s conception of the “ultimate social fact” with that of Adam Smith.
  6. Describe some of the agencies for the storing of social energy.
  7. What is meant by “animated moderation” and how is it developed.
  8. Compare the mediaeval prince and the modern political boss.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1908-09; Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1908), p. 29.

Image Source: Thomas Nixon Carver. The World’s Work. Vol. XXVI (May-October 1913) p. 127. Colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror.

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Exam Questions Harvard Sociology

Harvard. Enrollment and exam questions for principles of sociology. J.A. Field, 1906-1907

 

Thomas Nixon Carver was on a European sabbatical with his wife and three children during the academic year 1906-07 so substitutes were needed to cover his courses on sociology, agriculture and income distribution. The graduate student James A. Field took over the principles of sociology course in Carver’s absence.

Note: Materials from some courses have already been transcribed and posted. Whenever that is the case, I’ll just add a link to the relevant post. Falling between Economics 1 and Economics 3 was Frank W. Taussig’s course, Economics 2 (“Principles of Economics–Second Course”). It was the “advanced” economic theory course in the curriculum.

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Previous Posts about James A. Field

Chicago. Decennial Harvard Class Report of associate professor of political economy James A. Field, ABD, 1913.

Harvard. Economics Graduate School Records of James Alfred Field, ABD. 1903-1911.

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Course Enrollment
1906-07

Economics 3. Mr. J.A. Field. — Principles of Sociology. Theories of Social Progress.

Total 44: 4 Graduates, 9 Seniors, 16 Juniors, 11 Sophomores, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1906-1907, p. 70.

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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
ECONOMICS 3

Mid-year Examination, 1906-07

I.

  1. [Elective reading(s)]
    1. Name the author and the title of the book which you chose for elective reading (or of each of the books, if your reading involved more than one).
    2. Indicate and briefly describe that which seems to you the central thought or the most interesting thought in the book (or in each of the books) thus read.
    3. Criticise the book (or one of the books) with regard to both merits and defects, giving special attention to the part you have described in your answer to question (b) above.

II
Omit one question of this group.

  1. What do you consider to be the true conception of social progress?
    To what extent does social progress in this sense promote the welfare of individuals?
  2. What is an acquired character?
    Assuming that acquired characters are not inherited, in what ways is that fact advantageous for society?
    Does this assumed non-inheritance of acquired characters become more advantageous or less advantageous as civilization advances?
  3. Describe the three stages traced by Comte in the progress of human society.
    Is Comte’s scheme in harmony with Kidd’s belief regarding the conditions of progress?
  4. What is meant by social heredity?
    Show the relation between social heredity and the theories of Baldwin, Fiske, and Tarde which have been considered in this course.

III
Omit one question of this group.

  1. What is Buckle’s conclusion as to the relative importance or moral and the intellectual factors of progress, and on what reasons is his conclusion based?
    Do you accept his conclusion and his reasoning as correct?
  2. How may self-interest act as a socializing influence?
  3. In what sense can a social mind be said to exist?
    How is it related to the individual minds of the members of society?
  4. What is religion, according to Kidd?
    How much has it in common with “the struggle for the life others”? How much has it in common with Idealization?
    Would Kidd agree that the function of all religions is to reconcile us to the inevitable?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year Examinations, 1852-1943. Box 7, Bound Volume: Examination Papers, Mid-Years 1906-07.

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ECONOMICS 3

Year-end Examination, 1906-07

[Omit one question.]

  1. Briefly explain:
    1. Exogamy.
    2. Anthropomorphism.
    3. Refraction of Imitation.
    4. Vicarious Leisure.
    5. General Social Sanction.
  2. What are the functions which are organized in the institution of the family?
    Describe the Religious-Proprietary Family.
  3. Criticise Spencer’s antithesis of the militant and industrial types of society and compare it with Robinson’s theory of the relation between war and economics.
  4. What is the Standard of Living?
    For what reasons, and under what conditions, is a high standard of living desirable?
  5. Compare economic competition with the biological struggle for existence.
  6. What are the relations of cause and effect which connect competition, specialization and capitalism?
  7. Explain and criticise Veblen’s theory of the Instinct of Workmanship.
  8. Discuss the relation of women to the competitive process, to conservatism and reform, to religion and to the institution of the leisure class.
    How do you explain the psychic differences between men and women which this discussion suggests? To what extent do you regard these differences as merely the result of social conventions?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound vol. Examination Papers 1906-07 (HUC 7000.25), pp. 27-28.

Image Source: Original black-and-white image from the Special Diplomatic Passport Application by James Alfred Field (January 1918). Cropped and colorized by Economics in the Rear-view Mirror. (Note: left third of the image is slightly distorted because of a transparent plastic strip used to hold pages in the imaging process)

Categories
Agricultural Economics Exam Questions Harvard

Harvard. Exam questions for agricultural economics. Carver, 1905-1906

In 1911 Harvard economics professor Thomas Nixon Carver published a textbook Principles of Rural Economics  that undoubtedly encompassed the content of his course on agricutural economics first taught in 1903-04. Somewhat unusually the book is prefaced with an eight page bibliography. The eight question final exam for this semester course from 1905-06 is found below.

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From a previous year

ca. 1904 Problem set

1903-04 Final exam

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Course Enrollment
1905-06

Economics 23 2hf. Professor Carver. — Economics of Agriculture, with special reference to American Conditions.

Total 42: 4 Graduates, 10 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 14 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1904-1905, p. 73.

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ECONOMICS 23
Year-end Examination, 1905-06

  1. Describe the two principal stages in the development of commercial agriculture.
  2. Describe the methods by which a citizen could acquire a title to government land at the following dates: 1850, 1870, 1890.
  3. What are the chief advantages of large-scale farming and of small-scale farming? Which system has the United States government favored, and by what means?
  4. What are the advantages of diversified farming, and under what conditions is it practicable?
  5. What experiments are being carried on under the direction of the United States Department of Agriculture in the breeding of animals?
  6. Describe three types of farm management as practiced in the United States.
  7. Name, in the order of their value, the five leading crops of the United States, and if any of them are grown in special regions or belts, state approximately their limits.
  8. What are the principal factors tending, at the present time, to affect the character of the rural population of the United States?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound volume: Examination Papers, 1906-07;  Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1906), p. 46.

Image Source: “The American farmer – where he has to sell, and where he has to buy,” print by Louis Dalrymple in Puck, v. 35, no. 910 (August 15, 1894). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Print shows Uncle Sam as an American farmer trying to sell his products labeled “Pork, Wheat, Butter, Beef, Oats”, and corn overseas where there is stiff “Open Competition” at the “Market of the World” represented by John Bull labeled “England” and “Germany, Russia, South America, [and] Australia”. In a vignette, Uncle Sam is shown at “The McKinley Home Market and High Prices” looking at the merchandise for sale, where all the items that he needs have been “Marked Up” 35% to 45%; McKinley offers him a new coat that has been “Marked Up 35%”.

 

Categories
Exam Questions Harvard Socialism

Harvard. Exam questions for Social Reform, Socialism, Communism. Carver, 1905-1906

Courses on utopias, schemes of social reform, shades of socialism and communism were offered by the Harvard economics department from its early years through the twentieth  century. Thomas Nixon Carver taught such a course for several decades as an exercise of know-thy-enemies. His autobiographical Recollections of an Unplanned Life (1949) makes it clear that there was not a collectivist bone in his body. 

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Previously posted

Pre-Carver:
Carver’s courses
Post-Carver:

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Methods of Social Reform,
Socialism, Communism…
Economics 14b
1905-06 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Course Enrollment
1905-06

Economics 14b 2hf. Professor Carver. — Methods of Social Reform. Socialism, Communism, the Single Tax, etc.

Total 29: 10 Graduates, 6 Seniors, 8 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1905-1906, p. 73.

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ECONOMICS 14b
Year-end Examination, 1905-06

  1. Describe one Eutopian scheme, covering the following points:
    (a) supposed location, (b) time, (c) form of government, (d) organization of industry, (e) system of exchange, (f) family life, (g) distribution of the products of industry.
  2. What periods in American history have been most prolific in non-religious communistic experiments? Describe a characteristic experiment of each period.
  3. Do communistic experiments, so far as you have studied them, throw any light upon the question of the probable success or failure of communism or socialism on a national scale? Explain.
  4. Characterize the social philosophy of one writer who is not an economist, covering the following points: (a) Is his philosophy religious or non-religious? (b) Does the writer discriminate between the obligation of the individual and that of the state? (c) Is his philosophy constructive or merely critical? (d) Has he a clearly defined principle of justice? If so, what is it?
  5. Is there a clearly defined principle of justice embodied in the competitive system? Explain.
  6. How does Marx account for the interest of capital?
  7. Does every government enterprise necessarily narrow the field for private enterprise and diminish the amount of competition? Explain.
  8. Would socialism entirely eliminate competition? If so, under what conditions?
  9. What is meant by the proposition that a single tax on land values is paid for all times by the one who owns the land at the time the tax is first imposed?
  10. Is an inheritance tax a socialistic measure? Explain.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University, Examination Papers 1873-1915. Box 8, Bound volume: Examination Papers, 1906-07;  Papers Set for Final Examinations in History, Government, Economics,…,Music in Harvard College (June, 1906), p. 40.

Image Source: “The trouble, my friends, with socialism is that it would destroy initiative” by Udo J. Keppler. Centerfold in Puck, v. 66, no. 1715 (January 12, 1910). Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Illustration shows a large gorilla-like monster with human head, clutching clusters of buildings labeled “Public Utilities, Competition, [and] Small Business” with his right arm and left leg, as he crushes a building labeled “Untainted Success, Initiative, Individualism, Independence, [and] Ambition” with his left hand, causing some citizens to flee while others plead for mercy. He casts a shadow over the U.S. Capitol, tilting in the background.