Tag: Huntington

Harvard. Final exams in political economy and ethics of social reform, 1888-1889

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2021-04-12

J. Laurence Laughlin left the Harvard faculty in 1888. The hole he left in the department of political economy’s teaching program was filled by two junior hires whose names were noted in the enrollment statistics published in the annual report of the president of Harvard College for 1888-89: Francis Cleaveland Huntington (A.B. 1887, LL.B. 1891) and John Henry Gray (A.B., 1887).

Huntington ultimately went on to become a New York City lawyer. Judging from the reports of his 1904 marriage, he must have been fairly successful (and/or married into a very well-to-do family). His high-water market in political economy was achieved with this short stint as an instructor, one could say he was Frank Taussig’s wingman for the principles course.

John Henry Gray was another matter altogether, having left Harvard to do graduate work in Europe as a Rogers fellow that culminated in his 1892 doctorate under Johannes Conrad at the University of Halle. His thesis was published in German, Die Stellung der privaten Beleuchtungsgesellschaften zu Stadt und Staat. Die Erfahrungen in Wien, Paris und Massachusetts. Jena, 1893. A fuller c.v. will be the subject of a later post (Besides professorships at Northwestern, Minnesota and Carleton College, Gray served as the AEA president in 1914).

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Philosophy 11. The Ethics of Social Reform.

Enrollment 1888-89.
Philosophy 11.

Prof. Peabody. 11. The Ethics of Social Reform. — The questions of Charity, Divorce, the Indians, Labor, Prisons, Temperance, etc., as problems of practical Ethics. — Lectures, essays, and practical observations. Hours per week: 2.

Total 84: 3 Graduates, 51 Seniors, 23 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 71.

1888-89.
PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

[Omit one question].

“Estimating life by multiplying its length into its breadth, we must say that the augmentation of it results from increase of both factors.” — (Spencer, Data of Ethics, p. 14.)
Explain and criticise.
“I am one of those who believe that the Real will never find an irremovable basis till it rests on the Idea.” — (J. R. Lowell, Address on Democracy.)
Illustrate this in the conduct of Charity.
“To lift one man up we push another down” … ”A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be. If a policeman picks him up, the industrious and sober workman bears the penalty.” — (Sumner, Social Classes, pp. 128, 131.)
Comment on the ethics of this view.
Plato’s view of the duty of the State to the diseased and helpless (Republic, III., 407), compared with the view of Christian civilization. What is the philosophical basis of each view?
What do you regard as the most immediately practicable remedy for existing evils in the divorce question? And why?
The practical significance of a study of the evolution of the family as a contribution to the divorce question.
Explain the reaction of “marriage by capture” into polyandry, in primitive society.
“Only the group could weather the first ages.” What picture does this give of primitive society, and what transition has ethnology seen in this respect?
The natural status of woman as suggested by biology.
The place of the family in the Socialist programme. Criticise this view of the end of social evolution.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89.

1888-89.
PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Describe the present system of administering Indian Affairs, including education; its machinery, its relation to religious bodies, and the changes now proposed.
In dealing with the Indian Question, by what other social questions of our time are you confronted and what answers to them are suggested to you?
Ruskin’s doctrine of: (a) Exchange, (b) Value, with your own comments and criticisms.
The attitude of the Anarchist toward the social institutions of the United States.
The Socialist’s criticism of the Anarchist, and the Anarchist’s criticism of the Socialist.
“It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do:
“First, Work worth doing;
“Second, Work of itself pleasant to do;
“Third, Work done under such conditions as would make it neither over wearisome nor over anxious.” W. Morris, Art and Socialism, p. 45. — Under what social conditions does the author suppose that work will be thus done? Describe and criticize these conditions.
Why have the attempts to “Christianize” Socialism so often begun with hope and ended in failure?
Consider the objection to Profit-Sharing, that the Employed cannot share losses.
The conditions of success in Productive Coöperation.
How far does a judicious self-interest carry one towards abstinence from intoxicating drink?

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, First half-year.

Prof. Taussig and Mr. Huntington. 1. First half-year: Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. — Lectures on Social Questions. Hours per week: 3.

Total 232 (Four sections): 1 Graduate, 19 Seniors, 83 Juniors, 95 Sophomores, 4 Freshmen, 30 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]

How is the rapid recovery of countries devastated by war to be explained?
Is it for the advantage of the laborers that the rich should spend largely for unproductive consumption?
Is it desirable that a large proportion of the annual produce of a country should be consumed unproductively?
If all land were of equal fertility, equally distant from the market, and all were required for cultivation, would it pay rent?
Explain under which head, — wages, profit, rents, — you would classify the gains of (1) a shop-keeper; (2) a farmer tilling his own land; (3) a manufacturer; (4) a stock-holder; (5) a bond-holder; (6) a house-owner receiving rent for houses.
Can capitalists recoup themselves for a general rise in the cost of labor by raising the prices of their goods?
“Since cost of production fails us in explaining the value of commodities having a joint cost, we must revert to a law of value anterior to cost of production, and more fundamental.” What is this more fundamental law, and what is its application in the case referred to by Mill?
Suppose that
in England one day’s labor produces 25 yards of linens,
in England one day’s labor produces 30 yards of cottons,
in Germany one day’s labor produces 15 yards of linens,
in Germany one day’s labor produces 20 yards of cottons.
Would international trade arise between Germany and England?
If a day’s labor in Germany produced 25 yards of linens, would trade arise?
Suppose a new article of export to appear in the international trade of the United States; what would be the effect on the price in New York of sight bills on London? How long would that effect continue?
What causes the tendency of profits to a minimum (1) in a country whose population is stationary; (2) in a country whose population is advancing? What forces counteract the tendency, and how do they act in each of these cases?
If productive cooperation were universally adopted, how would rent, interest, wages, and “profits” (i.e. wages of superintendence) be affected? How, if socialism were adopted?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89.

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division A.

Prof. Taussig and Mr. Huntington. 1. Division A (theoretical). Second half-year: Cairnes’s Leading Principles of Political Economy. — Lectures on Banking and Finance. Hours per week: 3.

Total 127 (Two sections): 1 Graduate, 8 Seniors, 39 Juniors, 60 Sophomores, 4 Freshmen, 15 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Final Examination, 1889]
Division A.

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]

“The price of mutton on an average exceeds that of beef in the ratio of 9 to 8; we must conclude that people generally esteem mutton more than beef in this proportion, otherwise they would not buy the dearer meat.”
(a) Give your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the above conclusion.
(b) On Jevons’s theory of value, what conclusion should you draw from the given hypothesis?
If you suppose free competition, does Cairnes’s theory of normal value differ essentially from that of Mill? If so, wherein? If not, why not?
Longe “puts the case of a capitalist who, by taking advantage of the necessities of his workmen, effects a reduction in their wages, and succeeds in withdrawing so much, call it £1000, from the wages fund; and asks, how is the sum thus withdrawn to be restored to the fund? On Mr. Longe’s principles the answer is simple — ‘by being spent on commodities’; for it may be assumed that the sum so withdrawn will in any case not be hoarded….The answer, therefore, to the case put by Mr. Longe is easy on his own principles; and I am disposed to flatter myself that the reader who has gone with me in the foregoing discussion will not have much difficulty in replying to it upon mine.”
What is the answer, on Cairnes’s principles, to the case put by Mr. Longe?
What bearing, if any, has the wages-fund theory as expounded by Cairnes upon the question of the ability of trades unions to raise permanently (a) general wages, (b) wages in particular occupations?
“If labor will only be employed where work is to be done, and will be employed more largely in any given work in proportion as there is more of that work to do; and if, again, as the work becomes more urgent the laborer is more sought; why is it wrong to say that it is the interest of the laborer that the quantity of work to be done should be as large and the need for it as urgent as possible?”
Would a general fall of wages in the United States cause an expansion of the country’s international trade? Would a fall of wages in a particular industry?
Did Mill think there were grounds for a separate theory of international trade? Did Cairnes?
How much truth is there in the common opinion that the value of gold is the same the world over?
Mill lays down certain propositions as to the connection between the quantity of money and the general range of prices. How are they modified by what you have learned of deposit banking?
What general causes affected the market price of gold, or in other words the premium on gold, during the civil war? How far did the premium at a given moment indicate depreciation of the paper currency, and what would be a more exact test of such depreciation?

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division B.

Prof. Taussig and Mr. Huntington. 1. Division B (descriptive). Second half-year: Hadley’s Railroad Transportation. — Laughlin’s History of Bimetallism in the United States. — Lectures on Banking and Finance. Hours per week: 3.

Total 105 (Two sections): 11 Seniors, 44 Juniors, 35 Sophomores, 15 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
Division B.
[Final Examination, 1889]

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]

State the principles upon which the system of subsidiary coinage rests. When were these principles first applied by the United States?
State the causes assigned by Mr. Laughlin for the fall in the gold price of silver since 1873.
In what way, if any, was the change which took place in the value of gold after the gold discoveries in Australia and California different from what it would have been if, at the time, the mint of France had not been open for the free coinage of gold and silver into full legal tender money at a fixed ratio?
In the United States also there was at the same time free coinage of gold and silver into full legal tender money at a fixed ratio. Was the influence exerted by bi-metallism on the value of gold different in these two cases? If so, why?
How did the trade dollar differ in value from the standard dollar (a) in the United States, (b) in foreign countries?
Mill lays down certain propositions as to the effect of an increase or decrease in the quantity of money on general prices. How far are they modified by what you have learned of deposit banking?
Mill divides commodities into three classes, and lays down certain principles of value applying to the three classes, respectively.
In which class would you put the commodity of transportation by railroad, and by what principle is its value determined?
What is meant when it is said that “an effective pooling of through business leaves the hands of railroads free to serve local interests”?
What is meant by “charging repairs to construction”? Why should it ever be done?
In what countries does government ownership of railroads now exist, and how long has it existed in them?
Explain briefly the following terms: differential; long and short haul principle; “dollar of our fathers”; demonetization of silver.
What descriptions of paper, intended to serve as currency, did the United States issue during the civil war?

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 2

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 2.

Prof. Taussig. 2. — Examination of selections from leading writers. — Lectures and discussions; one extended thesis from each student. Hours per week: 3. *Consent of instructor required.

Total 24: 13 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 2 Sophomores.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Mid-year and Final Examination, 1889]

Point out wherein the teachings of the mercantile writers on population and on the balance of trade were connected with the political and economic history of their time.
Under what conditions did Adam Smith believe that wages could long remain high? What reasoning led him to his conclusion? Do you think the reasoning sound?
Wherein did Adam Smith’s doctrines as to foreign trade differ from those of Hume and of the Physiocrats?
Ricardo’s chapter on value has been criticized on the following grounds: —
(1) Ricardo asserts, but in no way proves, that value depends on quantity of labor.
(2) He does not state whether he means labor expended on the production of goods, or labor needed for their reproduction.
(3) His principle holds good only of goods of which the production can be increased indefinitely, and as to which competition is free.
(4) The principle is at once modified by the statement that the general rate of profits affects values.
Discuss briefly each objection.
Malthus laid it down that (1) marriages and deaths bear a constant proportion in an old country; (2) with a rise in the standard of living, marriages become less in proportion to population; (3) births, like marriages, bear a constant proportion to deaths, in an old country.
What led Malthus to these conclusions? Does experience bear him out?
By what mode of proof did Malthus show that the wars of the French Revolution had not diminished the population of France? Point out wherein his discussion of this subject is characteristic of the Essay on Population.
Malthus, Ricardo, J. S. Mill, Cairnes, — note briefly how they are related in the history of economic theory.
What would be the movement of wages and prices in case of a general improvement in industrial processes?
What does Cairnes conclude as to the results which Trade Unions can permanently bring about (1) in England; (2) in the United States?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Final Examination, 1889]

On what grounds can you reason that the stock of consumable commodities is likely to be sufficient, or more than sufficient, to last, at the present rate of consumption, till a new stock can be produced? What bearing has the answer on the wages-fund controversy?
Discuss President F. A. Walker’s explanation of business profits in its bearing on the general theory of distribution.
By what reasoning does Cairnes reach the conclusion that, in the present state of society, “the rich will be growing richer, and the poor, at least relatively, poorer.”
Could Cairnes, consistently with his conclusions as to coöperation, oppose measures such as were urged by Lasalle?
Point out wherein Sidgwick’s exposition of the causes determining the rate of interest differs from Mill’s.
What was the attitude toward laissez-faire of Adam Smith? Of Ricardo? Of Cairnes?
What reasons are there why the term “socialist” should or should not be applied to (1) the Christian socialists; (2) advocates of German legislation on workmen’s insurance; (3) followers of Mr. Henry George.
Point out wherein Marx’s discussion of wages is similar to that of Rodbertus.
“From the history of the double standard we reach Gresham’s law, that where two currencies exist side by side the baser will drive the good out; from the prosperity of England we can reason to the principle of free trade, at least for industrially developed nations.” — R. M. Smith. What would Cairnes say to this mode of investigation for the specific questions mentioned?
Comment on the following extracts, separately or in connection with each other:—

“The value of most of the theorems of the classic economists is a good deal attenuated by the habitual assumption…that there is a definite universal rate of profits and wages in a community; this last postulate implying (1) that the capital embarked in any undertaking will pass at once to another in which larger profits are for the time to be made; (2) that a laborer, whatever his ties and feelings, family, habit, or other engagements, will transfer himself immediately to any place where, or employment in which, larger wages are to be earned; (3) that both capitalists and laborers have a perfect knowledge of the condition and prospects of industry throughout the country, both in their own and in other occupations.” — J. K. Ingram.

“In proof of the equalization of profits, Mr. Cairnes urges that capital deserts or avoids occupations which are known to be comparatively unremunerative; while if large profits are known to be realized in any investment there is a flow of capital toward it. Hence it is inferred that capital finds its level like water. But surely the movement of capital from losing to highly profitable trades proves only a great inequality of profits.” — Cliffe Leslie.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 3

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 3.
Omitted in 1888-89.

[3. Investigation and Discussion of Practical Economic Questions. *Consent of instructor required.]

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 4

Enrollment 1888-89.
Political Economy 4.

Mr. Gray. 4. Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War. — Lectures and written work. Hours per week: 3.

Total 95: 1 Graduate, 16 Seniors, 46 Juniors, 27 Sophomores, 5 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

[Give one hour to A. Under B omit any two questions except number 5.]

Make a concise statement of the English Navigation and Colonial system.
Give a careful sketch of the English Corn Laws. Discuss the wisdom of these laws and their relation to the general question of Protection.
The Emancipating Edict of Stein. Give the provisions in it; the reasons for it, and the results of it.

“It has been a generally received notion among political arithmeticians that we (the English nation) may increase our debt to £100,000,000, but they acknowledge that it must then close by the debtor becoming bankrupt” [Samuel Hannay, 1756].
Compare the English and Belgian Railway System in their origin, methods, and results.
Give a sketch of the introduction of Steam Navigation. What country felt the beneficial effects first? Why?
Say what you can about the geographical distribution of the Iron, Cotton, and Woolen industries of to-day, both as regards the different countries and also within each country. How did the new inventions and discoveries affect the location of these industries respectively?
Make a clear statement of our Commercial Relations with the West Indies since the independence of the United States. Pay particular attention to the laws under which that trade has been carried on, and the character and importance of that trade to the United States.
What was the attitude of the United States towards a Protective tariff in 1816? How do you account for that attitude?
Say what you can of the Economic effects of Slavery on the South.
The chief arguments used against the abolition of the Slave Trade in England. Were they sound? Why was the abolition postponed to so late a day?
Looking at the history of England since the adoption of Free Trade, what fact can you cite to show that Free Trade has been the best policy for her?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Final Examination, 1889]

[Take all of A, all of B, and two questions from C.]

Pitt’s “perfectly new and solid system of finance,” 1797.
At what actual rate could England borrow in 1797? What methods were used? What provision made for repayment? — [“The Finances of England, 1793-1815.” — Selections.]
Say what you can of the extent, the methods, the importance, and the prospects of the cotton manufacture in the United States. The possibility of successful competition with England in this industry. — [“The Cotton Manufacture.” — — Selections.]
What would have been the effect upon the United States, Australia, and India, respectively, of introducing a gold currency into India when the “new gold” came in? — [“The New Gold.” — — International Results. — Selections.]

The history, present extent, character, benefits, evils, and prospects of immigration to the United States.
At what general periods in this century have the exports largely exceeded the imports of the United States? The imports the exports? The medium by which balances were settled for the time being in each case. The chief commodities exported or imported by the United States in each period.
Describe the plans of Napoleon III. for aiding industry.
Sketch the English factory and workshop legislation. Its economic and political significance. Which political party has been most prominent in securing this legislation?
The coal supply as the basis of England’s industrial and commercial supremacy. The possibility of England’s decline because of the exhaustion of her coal supply.
State the chief provisions of the Resumption Act of 1875. How much cash did the Treasury collect for the purposes of this act before 1879? How was the cash obtained? How much of it was used? What was done with the balance?

The demands for gold, 1871-1883? How was it possible to meet them?
Explain the causes of the variation in the number of failures, and the peculiar local distribution of the failures in the United States, 1873-1879.
T-he causes of the fall in the price of silver in 1876.
The causes of the decline of American navigation since 1860.
What were the internal revenue taxes laid during the civil war, 1861-1865? The relation of those taxes to our customs revenue.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 5

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 5.
Omitted in 1888-89.

[5. Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France, and the United States. *Consent of instructor required.]

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 6

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 6, Second half-year.

Prof. Taussig. 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.—Lectures and reports on special topics. Hours per week: 2, 2^ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.

Total 34: 18 Seniors, 14 Juniors, 1 Sophomore, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]

[Arrange your answers strictly in the order of the questions.]

State the duties on cotton cloths, woolen cloths, pig iron, and coffee, in 1790, 1840, 1850, 1885, noting whether the duties were specific or ad valorem, and what tariff acts were in force at these dates, respectively [Use tabular form if you wish.]
“Beside the protection thrown over the manufacturing interest by Congress during this period (1789-1812), the war which raged in Europe produced a favorable effect. As the United States was a neutral nation, she fattened on the miseries of the European nations, and her commerce increased with astonishing rapidity. Our manufactures flourished from the same cause, though not to a corresponding degree with our commerce”
Did Congress protect manufactures during this period? Did the wars in Europe have the effect described on our commerce and manufactures?
Wherein were the duties on rolled iron in France, in the first half of this century, similar to those in the United States at the same period? How do you account for the similarity, and what was the effect of the duties in either country?
Why was a compound duty imposed on wool in 1828? Why in 1867? Is such a duty now imposed on wool?
Wherein does the present duty on worsted goods differ from that imposed on woolen goods in 1828? wherein from the present duty on woolens? What has been the effect of the difference between the present rates on woolens and worsteds?
Point out some general features in the tariff act of 1846 which were recommended in Secretary Walker’s Report of the year preceding.
What would be the effect of a treaty with Spain admitting free of duty sugar from Cuba?
Wherein has the effect of the duties of the last twenty-five years been different as to cottons, linens, woolens? Why the differences?
[Omit one of the following:—]
Mill says that certain conclusions which he reaches as to the effect on foreign countries of import duties, do not hold good as to protective duties. Is there good ground for distinguishing as he does between revenue and protective duties.
“The only case indeed in which personal aptitudes go for much in the commerce of nations is where the nations concerned occupy different grades in the scale of civilization…In the main it would seem that this cause does not go for very much in international commerce. The principal condition, to which all others are subordinate, must be looked for in that other form of adaptation founded on the special advantages, positive or comparative, offered by particular localities for the prosecution of particular industries.”—Cairnes, Leading Principles.
Discuss, with reference to the general line of reasoning in this passage, the international trade of the United States in (1) glassware, (2) hardware and cutlery, (3) hemp and flax [take any two].
Comment on the following:—
“The manufacture of silk goods in the United States at the present time [1882] probably supplies an example of an industry which, though comparatively new, can hardly be said to deserve protection as a young industry. The methods and machinery in use are not essentially different from those of other branches of textile manufactures. No great departure from the usual track of production is necessary in order to make silks….Those artificial obstacles which might temporarily prevent the rise of the industry do not exist; and it may be inferred that, if there are no permanent causes which prevent silks from being made as cheaply in the United States as in foreign countries, the manufacture will be undertaken and carried on without needing any stimulus from protecting duties.”— Taussig, Protection to Young Industries.

Political Economy 6. Grade Distribution 1888-89, 2d half-year.

Total (32)	Senior (16)	Junior (14)	Other (2)
A	2	2
A-	1
B+	3	2
B	4	4
B-	1	1
C	1	3	2
D	4
E		2

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 3, Papers set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College, June, 1889. Grade distribution source: Harvard University Archives. Examination papers in economics, 1882-1935. Prof. F. W. Taussig.

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POLITICAL ECONOMY 7

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 7.

Prof. Dunbar. 7. Taxation, Public Debts, and Banking. Hours per week: 3. *Consent of instructor required.

Total 7: 3 Graduates, 3 Seniors, 1 Junior.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 7.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

Commenting upon taxes on commodities, Mill remarks that “the necessity of advancing the tax obliges producers and dealers to carry on their business with larger capitals than would otherwise be necessary,” the excess being “employed in advances to the state, repaid in the price of the goods,” for which “the consumers must give an indemnity to the sellers.”
Compare in this respect the several methods of taxing tobacco.
Everything considered, which method appears to you the best, and why?
How much difference is there in theory between a tax of repartition like the French land tax and tax levied by a general rate, or tax of quotité?
Discuss the importance of the familiar proposition that taxation should not encroach upon capital or hinder its increase, with special reference to these three cases: —
(a) The taxation of business profits at the same rate as incomes from invested property, as g. in the English Schedules D and A;
(b) Succession duties, which Ricardo regards as in practice a deduction from capital;
(c) Graduated taxation, which lays a heavier percentage on the larger properties or incomes than on the smaller.
Supposing all difficulty in the way of obtaining a full disclosure to be removed and the returns to be complete, would it be better to tax the assessed value of property or the actual income derived from it?
In the following cases, which may serve for illustration, the assessment is supposed to fairly represent the selling value: —

	Assessed.	Income.
Improved real estate	$20,000	$1,200
Vacant land	$10,000	nil
Railroad stock, 50 sh.	$10,000	$400
Railroad stock, 50 sh.	$5,500	$200
Railroad stock, 50 sh.	$4,500	nil
Railroad bonds, $5,000	$3,000	nil
Railroad bonds, $5,000	$3,500	$200

Cossa, discussing the taxation of public debts, (1) favors it “on principles of justice and equity, which are opposed to fiscal privileges in favor of the creditors of the state, who should not be released from the fulfilment of the duties of citizens”; and (2) suggests in answer to the argument that public credit would be thereby injured, “that a moderate impost does not produce the anticipated evils, because the tendency towards a decline of the public credit may be balanced by a tendency to rise owing to financial improvement, partly due to the impost itself.”
Examine these two points.
In answering the proposition that

Every man ought to be taxed [solely] on all that property which he consumes or appropriates to his exclusive use,

President Walker says among other things that,

If wealth not devoted to personal expenditure is to be exempt from taxation on the ground that it is to be used for the public good, it unmistakably is the right, and it might even become the duty of the state, to see to it that such wealth is, in fact, in all respects and at all times put to the best possible use. Indeed, if any citizen protests against taxation on the ground that his tools “are working the business of the state,” — how can the state, without injustice to all other citizens, excuse him from contribution without requiring that he shall exhibit satisfactory evidence, not only that his tools are really working its business, but that they are doing this in the most thorough, efficient and economical manner? If this is not socialism of the rankest sort, I should be troubled to define socialism.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 7.
[Final Examination, 1889]

State the conditions under which loans will sell higher or lower by reason of
(a) annual drawings by lot for payment;
(b) reserved right to pay at pleasure;
(c) agreement to pay at or after some distant date;
(d) arrangement like that of the “Five-twenties.”
When the United States issued the 5-20 bonds (principal and interest payable in gold) they had the choice between three courses, viz.:—
(a) to sell the bonds for par in gold and make the rate of interest high enough to attract buyers;
(b) to sell the bonds for gold at such discount as might be necessary, their interest being at six per cent.;
(c) to sell the bonds at their nominal par in depreciated paper.
Which course now seems to you the best of the three, and why?
In discussing the Aldrich plan for converting the 4 per cents. into 2½ per cents. by paying the creditors the present worth of 1½ per cent. interest for the period 1889-1907, Mr. Adams says:—

“It will be noticed that there is one essential difference between the anticipation of interest-payments, and the anticipation of the payment of the principal of a debt by purchases on the market. This latter procedure, as has been shown, is expensive, because it requires a larger sum of money to extinguish a given debt than will be required after the debt comes to be redeemable; but no such result follows the anticipation of interest-payments. These are determined by the terms of the contract, and may be calculated with accuracy. The interest does not, like the market value of a debt, fall as the bonds approach the period of their redemption, and it is but the application of sound business rules to use any surplus moneys on hand in making advanced payments of interest.”— Public Debts, p. 278.
What do you say to this reasoning?

Explain the English method of using terminable annuities as a sinking fund, and its advantages or disadvantages.
As an ultimate arrangement of the right of issuing bank notes, should you give your preference (a) to a system which gives the right to a single bank or to few banks, as in the English and Continental practice, or (b) to a system of free banking like that contemplated by the law of the United States; and why?
Bonamy Price says “the Bank of England has become a non-issuing bank.”
How is this remark to be justified and yet reconciled with the course of events on those occasions when, as in November, 1857, it has been necessary to suspend the provisions of the act of 1844?
Give an outline of the German system of banks of issue.
Considering deposits as a part of the currency, how do you extend to them the usual reasoning as to the dependence of the value of currency on (a) its quantity, rapidity of circulation, and the quantity of transactions to be effected, and (b) the cost of the precious metals?

_____________________

POLITICAL ECONOMY 8

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 8, First half-year.

Prof. Dunbar. 8. History of Financial Legislation in the United States. Hours per week: 2. 1^sthalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.

Total 44: 28 Seniors, 12 Juniors, 4 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 8.
[Final Examination, Mid-year, 1889]

In what manner is it probable that the first Bank of the United States effected what Hamilton declared to be one of the principal objects of a bank, viz. “the augmentation of the active or productive capital of a country”?
The act of 1790, providing for the assumption of State debts, fixed the maximum which could be assumed for every State, as e.g. for Connecticut $1,600,000. What effect would it have on the fairness of the settlement of accounts with any State, if its outstanding revolutionary debt were found to be more or less than the amount thus to be assumed for it?
Comment on the following extract:—
“It is sometimes said that Mr. Hamilton believed in a perpetual debt, and when one notices the form into which he threw the obligations of the United States, the only escape from this conclusion is to say that he was ignorant of the true meaning of the contracts which he created.” — [H.C. Adams, Public Debts, p. 161]
How did Hamilton’s financial system tend to increase the political strength of the Government, and in what features of the system is this tendency most marked?
Describe the general condition of the public finances just before the news of peace arrived in 1815.
Inasmuch as Jackson’s general prepossessions were unfavorable to all banks, how are we to explain his resort to the plan of depositing Government funds in State banks after the removal of the deposits in 1833?
How did the specie circular of 1836 and the deposit of surplus revenue with the States affect the banks and help to produce the revulsion of May, 1837?
What law, if any, regulated the deposit of public funds by the Treasury in 1837, and what changes of system were made down to the passage of the Independent Treasury act of 1846?
What is to be inferred from the provisions of the Legal Tender act of February, 1862, as to the intention of Congress with respect to the payment of the principal of the five-twenty bonds in paper?
Several rulings made in the Treasury Department [House Exec. Doc. 1885-86, No. 158, p. 15] have declared a State’s unpaid quota of the direct tax of 1861 to be a debt due by the State as a body corporate, and so to be properly chargeable against any money which the General Government may chance to owe the State. What is to be inferred on this point from the provisions made for the collection of previous direct taxes?
What were the circumstances which gave such peculiar importance to Grant’s veto of the inflation bill of 1874?
What were the forms in which the question as to the power of Congress to make a paper legal tender presented itself, in the three cases,

Hepburn v. Griswold (1869),
Knox v. Lee (1872), and
Juillard v. Greenman (1884),

respectively?

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Mid-year examinations, 1852-1943. Box 2, Bound Volume Examination Papers, Mid-Year, 1888-89. Also, Harvard University Archives. Harvard University. Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 3, Papers set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College, June, 1889.

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 9, Second half-year.

Mr. Gray. 9. Management and Ownership of Railways. — Lectures and written work. Hours per week: 2. 2^ndhalf-year. *Consent of instructor required.

Total 13: 5 Seniors, 8 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Annual Report of the President of Harvard College 1888-1889, p. 72.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 9.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Take all in Group A; two in Group B.

Explain briefly any five:
1. Cost of Service.
2. Value of Service.
3. Differential rate.
4. Grouping (of rates).
5. Pooling.
6. Fixed Charges.
7. Operating Expenses.
8. Common Carrier.
9. Cumulative Voting.
10. “Railroad” (as used in the Act to Regulate Commerce).
State clearly under what conditions Competition “may make out the dissimilar circumstances entitling the carrier to charge less for the longer than for the shorter haul, etc.”, under the Interstate Commerce Act.
Discuss one of the following cases decided by the Interstate Commerce Commission:
(1) Boston Export Rates. Boston Chamb. Com. v. Lake Shore, etc., R.R. Co. — I.I.C.C.R. 436.
(2) Providence Coal Co. v. Providence & Worcester R.R. Co. — I.I.C.C.R. 107.
(3) Boards of Trade Union of Farmington, etc. v Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul R’y. Co. — I.I.C.C.R. 215.
State the principles which, in your opinion, ought to govern railroad rates.
Take either (a) or (b).
(a) The benefits and the evils of general railroad incorporation laws. The extent to which special charters can be obtained in the United States.
(b) Compare the security of railway investments in France, England and the United States.
Take either (a) or (b).
(a) Give a careful account of the powers and the work of the Massachusetts Railroad Commission.
(b) Compare the English Railway Commission of 1873-88 with the Interstate Commerce Commission.
History of the English Railway Clearing House. The Desirability and the possibility of such an organization in the United States.

Competition as a regulator of rates. Particulars in which Competition among railroads differs from ordinary business Competition.
Relation of the French Government to the Railroads compared with the Relation of the German Government to the Railroads.
What do you consider the “Railroad Problem” of to-day? What indications do you see of a reasonable solution of that problem?
Discuss the statement that whatever partakes of the nature of a monopoly can be better managed by the Government than by a private Corporation.

Image Source: Harvard University, Memorial Hall, 1923. Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

Tags Dunbar, GrayJH, Huntington, Peabody, Taussig

Courses Gender Harvard Radcliffe

Harvard. Pre-Radcliffe economics instruction for women, 1879-1893

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-12-03

Before there was a Radcliffe College, there was “A Society for the Private Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and other Instructors of Harvard College”. Below are excerpts mostly relating to political economy and economics courses from the fourteen reports that preceeded the official establishment of Radcliffe College in 1893/94. I have highlighted the economics references but definitely recommend reading the other text as well. For several years early on enrollments in economics were actually zero. By 1892 seventeen women were enrolled in the introductory economics course. The course descriptions get more detailed in the last half-dozen or so reports.

________________________

REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE FIRST YEAR.
[1879-80]

The Managers of the plan for the Private Collegiate Instruction for Women by Professors and other Instructors of Harvard College take pleasure in making the following Report to the supporters of the undertaking. Funds amounting to more than sixteen thousand dollars were subscribed, by a small number of persons payable at various times within four years from the beginning of the work, according to the needs of the Managers. The Report of the Treasurer, given below, shows the sums paid in, and the mode of their expenditure during the year. The movement was first brought to public notice by a circular issued February 22, 1879. The requisites for admission to the courses of instruction were published in a second circular, issued April 19, and the first examination was held at Cambridge, September 24-27, after which the classes began to receive instruction immediately. Twenty-seven ladies began the year, one of whom soon after left to study abroad, and another withdrew on account of the difficulty of coming to Cambridge regularly while living in another town. The remaining twenty-five continued through the year. At the examination four ladies were examined on a preparatory course the same as that required for admission to college, one on a course akin to that of the Women’s Examination and the remainder in one or more branches. Three began a regular course, the studies taken being the same as those of a first year’s course in college. Another began a four years’ course of advanced studies. The others were special students, of whom thirteen took one study, four took two, and four took four.

Of the different departments of study,

Greek was taken by 6;
Latin by 9;
Sanskrit by 1;
English by 5;
German by 5;
French by 6;
Philosophy by 4;
Political Economy by 6;
History by 4;
Music by 1;
Mathematics by 7;
Physics by 3;
Botany by 5.

In Greek, three read Lysias, Plato, and Homer with Mr. L. B. R. Briggs.

One studied Greek Composition and Written Translation with Mr. White.

Two read the Agamemnon and Eumenides of Aeschylus, and Thucydides with Mr Goodwin.

In Latin, five read Livy and the Odes of Horace with Mr. Hale.

Three studied Latin Composition and Translation at Sight with Mr. Gould.

Two read Pliny’s Letters and Tacitus with Mr. Lane.

In Sanskrit, one studied with Mr. Greenough.

In English, four studied Composition with Mr. Hill.

In German, four took the elementary course with Mr. Bartlett.

One studied German Composition and Oral Exercises, and German Literature from Luther to Lessing, with Mr. Sheldon.

Two studied Goethe and German Literature of the XIX. Century with Mr. Bartlett.

In French, three took Mr. Bôcher’s course in La Fontaine, Racine, Taine, and Alfred de Musset.

Two studied the Literature of the XIX. Century with Mr. Jacquinot.

In Philosophy, three studied Metaphysics and Logic with Mr. Palmer.

In Political Economy, six studied with Mr. [James Laurence] Laughlin.

In History, one studied the period of the Revival of Learning and the Reformation with Mr. Emerton.

Two studied the period of the French Revolution with Mr. Bendelari.

In Music, one studied Harmony and Counterpoint with Mr. Paine.

In Mathematics, two studied Solid Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, and Advanced Algebra with Mr. G. R. Briggs.

Three studied Analytical Geometry with Mr. Byerly.

Two studied the Differential and Integral Calculus with Mr. J. M. Peirce.

One received instruction from Mr. Benjamin Peirce in Quaternions.

In Physics, three studied Descriptive Physics, — Mechanics, Light, and Heat with Mr. Willson.

In Natural History, three received Laboratory Instruction in the Microscopic Anatomy, Physiology, and Development of Plants with Mr. Goodale.

Regular examinations were held in the middle and at the end of the year, which were passed by the students with credit.

Recitation rooms were rented in two private houses on Appian Way, and there was also provided a separate apartment for the convenience of students who need a place where they can spend the intervals between recitations. Here some of the instructors have left books of reference from time to time. The students have been encouraged to make free use of this room. Blackboards, tables, etc., have been provided for there citation rooms

During the year the Secretary has kept a list of the names of those private families in which students could find board and lodging. On this list only such names were recorded as were approved by the Managers.

There has been no difficulty in finding comfortable and suitable homes for those students who were not provided for by their friends.

There are now forty-two ladies in the following classes:—

In Greek,	4 classes, and	18 students.
In Latin,	4 classes, and	15 students.
In English,	2 classes, and	10 students.
In German,	3 classes, and	10 students.
In French,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Italian,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Philosophy,	2 classes, and	8 students.
In Pol. Econ’y,	1 class, and	1 student.
In History,	3 classes, and	8 students.
In Mathematics,	4 classes, and	10 students.
In Physics,	1 class, and	4 students.
In Botany,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Astronomy,	2 classes, and	3 students.

The twenty-nine classes are taught by seven Professors, four Assistant Professors and twelve Instructors.

Ten ladies are pursuing the regular course of four years. Of the remainder, twenty-one take one course, seven take two curses, and four take four courses.

ARTHUR GILMAN,
Secretary.

Cambridge, Nov. 10, 1880

Source: Private Collegiate Instruction for Women in Cambridge, Mass. Courses of Study for 1880-81, with Requisitions for Admission and Report of the First Year. Cambridge, Mass.: William H. Wheeler, 1880. Pages 12-15.

________________________

Courses of Study for the Year 1880-1881

Two hours of instruction a week will be given in all courses not otherwise designated.

VIII. POLITICAL ECONOMY.

Principles of Political Economy. Financial Legislation of the United States. Mr. Laughlin
Advanced Course. Cairnes’ Leading Principles of Political Economy. Blanqui’s History of Political Economy. Mr. Laughlin

________________________

WORK OF THE SECOND YEAR
[1880-81]

During the second year of the operation of the plan for the Private Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and other Instructors of Harvard College, forty-seven ladies were connected with the classes.

Numbers in the Classes.

The following table exhibits the numbers in the different classes: —

In Greek,	4 classes, and	21 students.
In Latin,	4 classes, and	17 students.
In English,	2 classes, and	9 students.
In German,	3 classes, and	11 students.
In French,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Italian,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Philosophy,	2 classes, and	9 students.
In Pol. Econ’y,	1 class, and	1 student.
In History,	3 classes, and	12 students.
In Mathematics,	4 classes, and	11 students.
In Physics,	1 class, and	5 students.
In Botany,	1 class, and	2 students.
In Astronomy,	2 classes, and	4 students.

The twenty-nine classes were taught by eight Professors, three Assistant-Professors and twelve Instructors of Harvard College, and the instruction given is a repetition of that of the College in the different departments.

Work in the Class Room.

There were four classes in Greek. Three ladies read in Aeschylus, Pindar and Aristotle with Mr. Goodwin.

Three studied Greek Composition and Written Translation at Sight with Mr. White.

Four read from Plato (Phaedo), Sophocles (Ajax) and Euripides (Medea) with Mr. Wheeler.

Ten read Plato’s Apology and Crito, and Homer’s Odyssey with Mr. Briggs.

The Latin classes were the following: – Mr. Lane had three in Pliny’s Letters, Horace, Plautus and Cicero.

Mr. J.H. Wheeler had three in Composition and Translation at Sight.

Mr. Greenough had three in Cicero’s Epistles, Terence and the Epistles of Horace.

Mr. Gould had nine in the Odes and Epodes of Horace, Cicero de Amicitia and Composition.

In English, Mr. Hill had four in Composition and five in Literature.

In German, Mr. Bartlett had three in Parzival and other mediaeval poems, and five in Elementary German.

Mr. Sheldon had three in the Romantic School, Lyric Poetry and the practice of writing German.

In French Mr. Jacquinot had two in the study of French Prose.

In Italian, two took the elementary course under Mr. Bendelari.

In Philosophy, Mr. Palmer had six in Metaphysics and Logic and three in the study of Locke, Berkeley and Hume.

In Political Economy, Mr. [James Laurence] Laughlin gave the advance course to one student who had begun the study the previous year.

In History, Mr. Emerton had three in the European History of the Middle Ages.

Mr. MacVane had one in the Mediaeval and Modern History of France and England, who had begun the previous year.

Mr. Young had eight in an Introduction to the Study of History. This was a course of lectures begun by Mr. Emerton, but resigned to Mr. Young on account of an unexpected pressure of other work.

In Mathematics, Mr. Peirce had one student in Quaternions.

Mr. Byerly had two in the Differential Calculus.

Mr. H.N. Wheeler had two in Analytic Geometry.

Mr. Briggs had six in Solid Geometry, Plan Trigonometry and Algebra.

In Physics, Mr. Willson had five in Descriptive Physics, — Mechanics, Light and Heat.

In Botany, Mr. Goodale had four in Laboratory Instruction in the Microscopic Anatomy, Physiology and Development of Plants.

In Astronomy, Mr. Waldo had two students in Descriptive and Practical Astronomy.

Readings and Lectures.

The Calendar of the University has been regularly posted upon our bulletin-board, and the students thus notified of the Lectures by the Professors, and the Readings from classical authors, to which they were privileged to go. A number of them have been present at the readings by Professor Child from Chaucer, at the lectures of Professor Lanman on the Veda, and at the Greek readings of Professors Goodwin, White, and Palmer, and of Mr. Dyer and Mr. Briggs. The performance of the Oedipus Tyrannus in Sanders Theatre was an extraordinary opportunity for becoming acquainted with a phase of Greek literature and life which was of as great advantage to the young ladies as to the students of the University.

Courses Offered but not Called For.

A comparison of the studies actually pursued by the young ladies and the electives offered in the circular at the beginning of the year shows that thirty-one courses of instruction, offered by twenty-three instructors, were not called for by actual students. Though some of the present students will take some of these courses at other stages of their progress, the comparison seems to indicate on the part of women seeking the higher education a tendency towards the traditional classical curriculum and not towards science, and that the preparatory schools offer advantages for obtaining a knowledge of French and Italian sufficient for most women. All the courses in Greek were taken.

The following list shows the courses not called for:—

LATIN. Latin Poetical Literature, Lectures on the Latin Poets. MR. SMITH. – Cicero, Lucretius and Seneca. MR. GOULD.

SANSKRIT and Comparative Philology. MR GREENOUGH.

ENGLISH. Milton. Lectures on English Literature. MR. PERRY. – Elocution. MR. TICKNOR.

GERMAN. Niebelungenlied or Gudrun. Selections from Goethe or Schiller. MR. LUTZ. — German Literature (Goethe, Schiller and Jean Paul). DR. HEDGE.

FRENCH. Elementary Course. French Prose. MR. JACQUINOT. – Romance Philology. MR. SHELDON and MR. BENDELARI.

ITALIAN. Elementary Course. MR. BENDELARI. — Dante. MR. NORTON.

SPANISH. Course by MR. BENDELARI.

PHILOSOPHY. Psychology. DR. JAMES. – German Philosophy (Critical Study of Kant, Hegel or Schopenhauer). DR. EVERETT. – Ethics. DR. PEABODY. – Advanced Logic. DR. PEABODY.

POLITICAL ECONOMY. Principles. Financial Legislation of the United States. MR. [James Laurence] LAUGHLIN.

HISTORY. The French Revolution. MR. BENDELARI. – The First Ten Christian Centuries or Catholic Civilization of the Middle Ages. Mr. ALLEN.

MUSIC. Harmony and Counterpoint. History of Music. The Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and their successors. (Three distinct courses.) MR. PAINE.

MATHEMATICS. Cosmical Physics. Prof. BENJAMIN PEIRCE.

PHYSICS. Experimental Physics. (Mayer’s Treatise on Light and Sound.) MR. TROWBRIDGE.

MINERALOGY. Crystallography. Mineralogy. MR. MELVILLE.

NATURAL HISTORY. Physical Geography, Structural Geology and Meteorology. MR. DAVIS. – Elementary Botany. Under direction of MR. GOODALE. – Zoology. Lectures by MR. MARK. – Laboratory Work in the Anatomy and Histology of Animals. MR. MARK

[…]

The Future.

The Managers do not make prognostications regarding the future. Their simple purpose from the beginning has been to try the experiment of offering to women advantages that had previously been given to men only. They have in no way endeavored to attract students, but have merely proposed to supply the demands made upon them by duplicating the courses of instruction given in the College. Their success has been beyond their expectations. They have proved that there exists in the community a class of women capable of taking this grade of instruction, and requiring it. The co-operation of the Instructors of the College has been so cheerfully rendered and their work so carefully done that nothing is left to be desired in that direction.

The students have conducted themselves in a manner so exemplary and in all respects satisfactory, notwithstanding the almost entire freedom to which they have been left, that they have rendered the work of both Managers and Instructors pleasant, and have prepared the public to support the movement with heartiness.

The preparatory schools find that there is an increase in the number of young women taking the classical course, and they will soon become more effectual feeders to our classes. The prospect seems to be that the number of students entering for the course of four years will regularly increase, but a rapid augmentation of numbers can hardly be expected.

The Managers raised funds at the beginning of their work, sufficient, in their opinion, to carry it forward four years. Two of those have passed and the funds have not been drawn upon to so great an extent as was anticipated. It may be that the work can be continued for six years, but at the end of that time the Managers will consider that their work has been accomplished.

If, at that time, it appears that it is desirable to make the work permanent, the responsibility will be laid upon the public. Large funds will be required, and the Managers doubt not that they will be contributed.

The endowment at Cambridge of an Institution for Women of the high grade that the Managers have in view would be an honor to women, and women will be found ready to make it sure.

ARTHUR GILMAN.
Secretary

Cambridge, Mass.
December 10, 1881.

Source: Private Collegiate Instruction for Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Second Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary. Cambridge, Mass.: William H. Wheeler, 1881. Pages 3-6, 10.

________________________

THE SOCIETY FOR THE COLLEGIATE INSTRUCTION OF WOMEN.
THIRD YEAR.
[1881-82]

The year that has just closed marks an era in the history of the instruction of women by the Professors and other Instructors of Harvard College, for during it the. Managers have obtained a Charter under the seal of the State of Massachusetts, and a legal name, “The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women.”

The Charter states the objects of the organization to be to promote the education of women with the assistance of the Instructors in, Harvard University, “and for this purpose it empowers the Society to “employ teachers, furnish instruction, give aid to deserving students, procure and hold books, suitable apparatus ,and lands and buildings for the accommodation of officers, teachers and students,” to “perform all acts appropriate to the main purpose of the Association.” and to transfer “the whole or any part of its funds or property to the President and Fellows of Harvard College,” whenever the same can be so done as to advance the purpose for which the Society is chartered, in a manner satisfactory to the Association.

The Charter is ample for the present needs of the Society, and places it in a position to receive funds and to hold and administer them legally for the purposes of the collegiate instruction of women. It makes it practicable for the Society to raise a proper endowment to establish the work upon a permanent basis, and it seems that the moment has arrived when the contribution of an adequate fund will found an institution that will give women advantages in Cambridge equal to those enjoyed from time immemorial by their more favored brothers. The students are here in considerable numbers, and they are properly prepared for the instruction that is offered for them. Others are now passing through preparatory courses with the intention of coming here, and there is a prospect that the classes will be kept up year by year by a succession of earnest women who will go out to raise the average of intelligence throughout various portions of the land.

It may be said with some confidence that a fund of one-tenth the size of that represented by the property and endowments of Harvard University, contributed to this Society now, will give women greater privileges than are within their reach in America, and will make them permanent.

The Society not Creating, but Satisfying a Demand.

It is not the purpose of the Society to stimulate a demand for the education that it offers. Its directors have never held the doctrine that it is the duty of every young woman to pass through a regular course of study such as is represented by the four years’ course of the candidates for the Bachelor’s degree in College. It is their wish simply to offer to women advantages for this highest instruction, and to admit to the privileges of the Society any who may actually need them.

The teachers of America are to a large degree women, and it is desirable that all women who select this profession should be as well prepared to perform its duties as the men are who are engaged in similar work. But it is not teachers only who wish the highest cultivation of the mental powers. Many women study with us for the sake of the general addition to their knowledge. It is not demanded that every man who takes a collegiate course shall become a teacher, and more must not be expected of women.

Numbers of Students in the Different Classes.

Department	No. of Classes.	No. of Students.
Greek	4	23
Latin	4	16
English	4	25
German	4	14
French	2	4
Italian	1	1
Fine Arts	1	1
History	2	11
Mathematics	4	12
Physics	1	3
Botany	1	5

[…]

Courses Offered but not Taken

Latin. One course offered was not called for.
Sanskrit. Two courses.
English. One course.
French. Two courses.
Italian. One course.
Spanish. One course.
Philosophy. One course.
Political Economy. Two courses.
History. Three courses.
Fine Arts. One course.
Music. Three courses.
Astronomy. Two courses.
Mineralogy. Two courses.
Physical Geography. One course.
Meteorology. One course.
Botany. One course.
Zoology. Two courses. (One of Lectures and one of Laboratory Work.)

It appears that twenty-eight courses were given during the year, and twenty-seven that were offered were not given. This shows that the courses offered are for the present beyond the immediate demand for any one year, but, as the demand varies from year to year, with the progress of the different classes and the differing tastes and needs, of the students, the list of electives cannot be curtailed to advantage.

It will be seen that the managers have endeavored to use a liberal discretion in the application of the privilege reserved to them, of withholding any course not applied for by three properly prepared candidates. They have waived the rule in the case of any student whose stage of progress made any special course a necessity for her during the year. It must at times happen that the highest courses will be applied for by small numbers, and in such cases the rule must be occasionally waived, or the most advanced students discouraged.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Third Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary. Cambridge, Mass.: William H. Wheeler, 1882. Pages 3-5 ,7-8.

________________________

From Fifth Year [1883-84] Annual Report

Department	No. of Classes.		No. of Students
	1882-83.	1883-84.	1882-83.	1883-84.
Sanskrit	0	1	0	1
Greek	5	6	23	43
Latin	4	4	22	27
English	3	4	15	38
German	3	3	14	18
French	1	1	4	5
Philosophy	1	2	5	11
Music	0	1	0	3
History	3	2	9	12
Mathematics	2	2	11	10
Physics	1	1	8	5
Astronomy	2	0	4	0
Botany	2	1	5	9
Totals	27	28	120	182

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Fifth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1884. p. 9.

________________________

From Sixth Year [1884-85] Annual Report

Department	No. of Classes. 1884-85.	No. of Students. 1884-85.
Greek	4	25
Latin	5	31
English	4	59
German	3	16
French	2	12
Philosophy	3	16
Political Economy	1	9
History	4	20
Mathematics	3	16
Physics	1	6
Zoology	1	4
Totals	31	214

[…]

Political Economy.

Nine heard lectures from Professor [James Laurence] Laughlin on Banking and on Finance, and studied under him Mill’s Principles of Political Economy.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Sixth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1885, p. 9, 11

_______________________

From Seventh Year [1885-86] Annual Report
November 16, 1886

[…]

Political Economy.

Professor [James Laurence] Laughlin. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. Lectures on Banking and the Financial Legislation of the United States.—6 [students].

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Seventh Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1886, p. 12

________________________

From Eighth Year [1886-87] Annual Report
October 25, 1887

[…]

Political Economy.

Professor [James Laurence] Laughlin. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. Dunbar’s Chapters on Banking. Lectures.—7 [students].

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Eighth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1887, p. 11.

________________________

From Ninth Year [1887-88] Annual Report
November 5, 1888

[…]

Political Economy.

Professor [James Laurence] Laughlin and Mr. Coggeshall. — Mill’s Principles of Political Economy. Dunbar’s Chapters on Banking. Lectures on Money, Finance, Labor and Capital, Coöperation, Socialism and Taxation.—5 [students].

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Ninth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1888, p. 18.

________________________

From Tenth Year [1888-89] Annual Report
October 29, 1889

[…]

Political Economy.

Professor [Frank William] Taussig and Mr. [Francis Cleaveland] Huntington. 1^st half year. “Principles of Political Economy.” J. S. Mill (Laughlin’s Edition) Books I, II, III, and IV. Lectures on Co-operation (Mr. Taussig). 2^nd half year, “Some Leading Principles of Political Economy.” J. E. Cairnes. The whole book except Chapters 4 and 5 of Part I. “History of Bimetallism in the United States.” J. L. Laughlin.—7 students.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Tenth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1889, p. 16.

________________________

From Eleventh Year [1889-90] Annual Report
October 28, 1890

[…]

Political Economy.

Mr. [Edward Campbell] Mason. First half year. Principles of Political Economy. J. S. Mill. Books I, II (omitting Chapters V-X), III (Chapters I-XVI). Second half-year. The working Principles of Political Economy, by S. M. Macvane. Chapters XXV XXVI. Principles of Political Economy. J. S. Mill. Books III (Chapters XVII, XVIII), V (Chapters I-VII). Some Leading Principles of Political Economy, by J. E. Cairnes. The whole book except Chapter 5, Part I.—5 students.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Eleventh Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1890, p. 25.

________________________

From Twelfth Year [1890-91] Annual Report
October 27, 1891

[…]

Political Economy.

Mr. [Edward Campbell] Mason and Mr. [William Morse] Cole — Mill’s Principles of Political Economy: Book I; Book II, Chap. XI et seq; Book III, to chap. XXIV; Book IV, to chap. VII. Cairnes’s Some Leading Principles of Political Economy. Lectures: Socialism; Banking; Recent Financial History in U. S. During the first half year attention was given to the main principles of Political Economy. In the second half-year the object was to illustrate the application of principles dealt with in the first half-year, and to give general information on certain economic questions of practical importance. The work was mainly descriptive and historical and was carried on partly by lectures and partly by the discussion of the books mentioned above.—8 students.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Twelfth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1891, p. 23.

________________________

From Thirteenth Year [1891-92] Annual Report
October 25, 1892

[…]

Political Economy.

(Primarily for Undergraduates.)

Professor [Frank William] Taussig and Mr. [William Morse] Cole. — Mill’s Principles of Political Economy: Production; Wages, Profits, Rent; Value; Money and Credit; International Trade; Progress of Society; Taxation. Cairnes’s Some Leading Principles of Political Economy. Lectures; Social Questions, Banking, Recent Financial History in the United States. During three-quarters of the year attention was given to the main principles of Political Economy. During the remainder of the year the work consisted of the application of principles and the description of some leading economic features of society. — 17 students.

(For Graduates and Undergraduates.)

Mr. [Edward] Cummings. — The Principles of Sociology. — Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions.

An introductory course in sociology, intended to give a comprehensive view of the structure and development of society in relation to some of the more characteristic ethical and industrial tendencies of the present day.

The course began with a hypothetical consideration of the relation of the individual to society and to the State-with a view to pointing out some theoretical misconceptions and practical errors traceable to an illegitimate use of the fundamental analogies and metaphysical formulas found in Comte, Spencer, P. Leroy Beaulieu, Schaeffle, and other publicists.

The second part followed more in detail the ethical and economic growth of society. Beginning with the development of social instincts manifested in voluntary organization, it considered the genesis and theory of natural rights, the function of legislation, the sociological significance of the status of women and of the family and other institutions — with a view to tracing the evolution of certain types of society based upon a more or less complete recognition of the social ideals already considered.

The last part dealt with certain tendencies of the modern state, discussing especially the province and limits of state activity, with some comparison of the Anglo-Saxon and the continental theory and practice in regard to private initiative and state intervention in relation to public works, industrial development, philanthropy, education, labor organization, and the like.

Each student selected for special investigation some question closely related to the theoretical or practical aspects of the course; and a certain amount of systematic reading was expected. — 6 students.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Thirteenth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1892, pp. 25-26.

________________________

From Fourteenth Year [1892-93] Annual Report
October 31, 1893

[…]

History

(Primarily for Graduates.)

Professors [William J.] Ashley and [Abert Bushnell] Hart.— Seminary in Economic and American History. The purpose of this research course was to train students in the use of sources, in the collection of material, and in reaching independent results on important questions. Each student had frequent conferences with one or other of the instructors; the general exercises were lectures on methods by the instructors, and papers prepared by the students as reports of their work. The subjects studied were Manumission in America; the early phases of the Anti-slavery movement; the Freedman’s Bureau; Serfdom in England; the Black Death; and the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. The students had the use of the Harvard College Library and of the various Boston libraries. — 6 students (1 graduate).

[…]

Economic [sic].

(Primarily for Undergraduates.)

Professor [William J.] Ashley and Mr. [William Morse] Cole. — The first half-year was devoted to a consideration of the main conceptions of Political Economy, and the work took the form of recitations based upon Mill’s Principles.
The class read the chapters on the functions of labor, capital and land and the laws governing their increase; on the distribution of produce among laborers, capitalists and landholders; on the exchange value, both domestic and international, of commodities; on the functions of money and the laws governing its value; on the influence of progress upon the production and distribution of wealth. The class-room work consisted of general informal discussion suggested by the chapters read, with the intent that the students should acquire facility in independent thinking upon economic subjects.
The second half-year was chiefly occupied by lectures on Socialism, Methods of Industrial Remuneration, Taxation, Protection, Banking and Currency. Students were required to read certain portions of Rae, Contemporary Socialism, Schloss, Methods of Industrial Remuneration, Dunbar, Banking, Taussig, Silver Situation, and other works. — 8 students.

Professor [William J.] Ashley. — The Economic History of Europe and America, down to the Eighteenth Century. This course of lectures and exercises dealt with the following topics, among others; the scope and purpose of economic history; the agricultural and industrial organization of the Roman Empire, — the villae and collegia; the tribal system of the Celts, Teutons, and Slavs; the problem of the origin of the manor; the manor in its complete form, and its subsequent transformation; the rise of commerce and industry, and the history of merchant gilds and craft gilds in relation thereto; the organization of international trade in the Middle Ages; the agricultural changes of the Sixteenth Century in England and elsewhere; the great trading companies; the woollen trade of England, and the domestic system of industry; the transition from English to American agrarian conditions. — 8 students.

(For Graduates and Undergraduates.)

Mr. [Edward] Cummings. — The Principles of Sociology. — Development of the Modern State, and of its Social Functions. An introductory course in sociology, intended to give a comprehensive view of the structure and development of society in relation to some of the more characteristic ethical and industrial tendencies of the present day.
The course began with a hypothetical consideration of the relation of the individual to society and to the State — with a view to pointing out some theoretical misconceptions and practical errors traceable to an illegitimate use of the fundamental analogies and metaphysical formulas found in Comte, Spencer, P. Leroy Beaulieu, Schaeffle, and other publicists.
The second part followed more in detail the ethical and economic growth of society. Beginning with the development of social instincts manifested in voluntary organization, it considered the genesis and theory of natural rights, the function of legislation, the sociological significance of the status of women and of the family and other institutions — with a view to tracing the evolution of certain types of society based upon a more or less complete recognition of the social ideals already considered.
The last part dealt with certain tendencies of the modern state, discussing especially the province and limits of state activity, with some comparison of the Anglo-Saxon and the continental theory and practice in regard to private initiative and state intervention in relation to public works, industrial development, philanthropy, education, labor organization, and the like.
Each student selected for special investigation some question closely related to the theoretical or practical aspect of the course; and a certain amount of systematic reading was expected. — 3 students.

Source: The Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women by Professors and Other Instructors of Harvard College. Fourteenth Year Reports of the Treasurer and Secretary, 1893, pp. 34-38.

Image Source: Fay House, Radcliffe College Archives W359459_1.

Tags Ashley, Coggeshall, ColeWM, CummingsEdward, Huntington, Laughlin, MasonEC, Taussig

Barnard Berkeley Economists Gender Harvard Radcliffe

Harvard. Nine Radcliffe graduate students petition to attend “Economics Seminary”, 1926

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2017-09-30

Harvard’s Economic Seminary was a men-only affair going into the mid-1920’s. Before the beginning of the second semester of the 1925-26 academic year, a group of nine Radcliffe graduate students respectfully petitioned Allyn Young, the chairman of the Harvard Economics Department, to allow them “the privilege of regular attendance at the seminary”. Four of those women went on to earn Ph.D.’s in economics or economic history, three of them had substantial academic careers (Harvard, Berkeley and Pomona). At least one of the others had a full career as a government economist.

Besides transcribing this priceless artifact for the chronicle of women in economics, I have conducted a preliminary sweep of internet sources, including genealogical resources available at ancestry.com to construct partial timelines for this gang of nine. I have even come up with pictures of all nine of them!

__________________________________

The Petition

January 21, 1926

To
Professor Allyn A. Young
Chairman of the Economics Department
Harvard University
Cambridge, Mass

The undersigned Radcliffe graduate students who are doing work in Economics at Harvard, would like permission to attend the weekly seminary in Economics. On two occasions they have been invited to be present at special meetings. They found the lectures stimulating and informative and are inclined to feel that the customary exclusion of Radcliffe students from these meetings puts them at some disadvantage. They must forego the opportunity of hearing both the informal lectures of experts in the various fields of Economics, and the results of the research of their fellow students. They also miss an invaluable chance for discussion less formal than that of the classroom.

Therefore, they petition the Economics Department for the privilege of regular attendance at the seminary.

[Signed]

Elizabeth L. Waterman
Mary C. Coit
Emily H. Huntington
Margaret R. Gay
Eunice S. Coyle
Miriam Keeler
M. Gertrude Brown
R. Guppy
A. Gilchrist

Source: Harvard University Archives. Department of Economics, Correspondence and Papers (1902-1950). Box 25; Folder: “Economics Seminary 1925-33”.

__________________________________

Elizabeth Lane Waterman
(1903-1973)

1903. Born September 24 in Boston to Arthur J. Waterman from England and Amy H. Lane of Boston.

1924. A.B. (honors in economics and sociology, Phi Beta Kappa) from Barnard College.

1925. A.M. from Radcliffe College.

1926-28. Received an Augustus Anson Whitney and Benjamin White Whitney Fellowship to study at the London School of Economics.

1928-29. Instructor at Wellesey College.

1929. Ph.D., Radcliffe College. Thesis title: Standard of Living of Eighteenth Century English Labor, 1700-1790.

1930. Married Glennon Gilboy (Professor of Engineering at MIT 1925-1937) April 19.

1929-30. Executive secretary of the Harvard Committee on Research in the Social Sciences.

1934. Wages in Eighteenth Century England. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

1930-41. Executive Secretary of the Harvard Committee on Research in the Social Sciences.

1940. Applicants for Work Relief: A Study of Massachusetts Families under the FERA and WPA. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

In World War II she served as economist for the Office of Strategic Services in Washington.

After the war she returned to Harvard as associate director of the Harvard economic research project, graduate school consultant and economics lecturer.

1953. Divorced in November.

1960-64. Consultant to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1961. Secretary-General of the International Conference on Input-Output Techniques in Geneva.

1968. Publishes A Primer on the Economics of Consumption (New York: Random House).

1973. Died October 10 in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Sources: A Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists, ed. by Robert W. Dimand, Mary Ann Dimand and Evelyn L. Forget. Also, see her obituary published in The Boston Globe, October 12, 1973. Thanks to Hendrika Vande Kemp for correcting an error and for pointing to omissions in the original post.

Image Source: Barnard College, Mortarboard 1925, p. 62.

__________________________________

Mary Chandler Coit
(1895-1984)

1895. Born May 7 in Winchester, Massachusetts to Robert Coit and Eliza Atwood.

1917. Received A.B. with Distinction in Economics from Radcliffe College.

1920. Living with parents in Winchester, Massachusetts working as a secretary at a college.

1925. Received A.M. from Radcliffe College.

1930. Married Oscar Hatch Hawley March 11 in Ames, Iowa. In the 1930 census his occupation is listed as college music instructor (in the 1930 Iowa State College yearbook he is the conductor of the Iowa State Band) and hers as college instructor.

1939. Oscar Hatch Hawley died June 29 in Bolton Massachusetts.

1940. Census lists her as a widow farmer living in Worcester, Massachusetts with two sons, 8 and 6 years of age.

1984. Died 17 July in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Sources: From genealogical data found at ancestry.com. The Iowa State College yearbook, Bomb, 1930.

Image Source: Radcliffe Yearbook, 1917, p. 34.

__________________________________

Emily Harriet Huntington
(1895-1982)

1895. Born October 22 in Sacramento, California to Dr. Thomas W. Huntington and Harriet Olive Pearson.

1917. A.B. awarded from University of California.

Worked on a cost of living study at the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Attended graduate department of Bryn Mawr College.

Attended London School of Economics.

1924. A.M. awarded by Radcliffe College.

1926-7. Instructor in Economics at Simmons College in Boston.

1928. Ph.D. from Radcliffe College. Thesis Cyclical Fluctuations in the Cotton Manufacturing Industry.

1928. Returns to the University of California at the rank of instructor at the faculty of economics.

1930. Appointment to assistant professor

1937. Promotion to associate professor

1944. Promotion to professor.

1961. Retirement.

1982. Died April 20 in Berkeley, California.

Source: University of California, Bancroft Library/Berkeley. Regional Oral History Office. Emily H. Huntington: A Career in Consumer Economics and Social Insurance. Interview conducted by Alice Greene King. 1971. From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Image Source: 1921 passport photo.

__________________________________

Margaret Fitz Randolph Gay
(1901-1989)

1901. Born December 17 in Toledo Ohio to Edwin Francis Gay and Louise Fitz Randolph

1922. A. B. awarded by Radcliffe College. Phi Beta Kappa with distinction in history.

1923. A. M. Radcliffe College.

1928-29. $1,200 Augustus Anson Whitney and Benjamin White Whitney Fellowship to study abroad.

1931-36. Tutor in history and economics at Radcliffe.

1936-41. Assistant professor of history at Scripps College, Claremont, CA

1939. Married Godfrey Davies, member of the research staff of the Huntington Library and editor of its Quarterly.

1942-45. Analyst for Douglas Aircraft Co.

1948-1967. Instructor through professor ranks at Pomona College in Claremont.

1952. Ph. D. in History. Presumably thesis published as The Enforcement of English Apprenticeship: A Study in Applied Mercantilism, 1563-1642 (Harvard Economic Studies 97, Harvard University Press, 1956).

1967. Retirement.

1989. Died August 3 in Santa Barbara, CA.

Sources: Radcliffe College Annual Reports. John H. Gleason’s In Memorium: Margaret Gay Davies (1901-89). From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Image Source: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Margaret G. Davies awarded fellowship 1961

__________________________________

Eunice Shipton Coyle
(1895-1982)

1895. Born October 3 in Boston to James Michael and Agnes M. Eisner.

1918. A.B. Radcliffe College.

1926. A.M. Radcliffe College.

1936. Census Bureau

1940. According to the Census her occupation listed as research worker at the Department of the Treasury.

1982. Died December 29 in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Source: From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Image Source: Radcliffe Yearbook 1918, p. 35 .

__________________________________

Miriam Keeler
(1897-1998)

1897.Born September 30, 1897 in Malden Massachusetts to Charles H. Keeler and Susan R. Fisher.

1920. A. B. Magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke. Phi Beta Kappa.

1926. A.M. in economics from Radcliffe College.

1927. Married Samuel E. Cornelius. (died in 1965).

1929-1936. National Child Labor Committee of New York.

1938. Move to Washington area. Worked at Labor Department, editor of the monthly magazine The Child. issued by the Children’s Bureau.

1957. Wrote pamphlet “What Social Security means to Women”

1960. Retirement.

1998. Died November 12 in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

Source: Obituary “Miriam Keeler, Economist” in Washington Post, Dec. 3, 1993, B10. From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Image Source: Mt. Holyoke Yearbook, Llamarada, 1920, p. 194.

__________________________________

Gertrude Brown
(1903-1989)

1903. Born Mary Gertrude Brown on February 26 in Carre, Vermont to Joseph E. Brown and Dora Ellen Reagan.

1924. A. B. Mount Holyoke College. (Mary E. Wooley Fellowship)

1926. A. M. in economics. Radcliffe College.

1926. Assistant in the Department of Economics and Statistics, M.I.T.

1927. Married Elmer J. Working (Harvard economics Ph.D.) June 11 in Somerville, Massachusetts.

1928. Residence in St. Paul, Minnesota. Husband employed as associate professor in the College of Agriculture.

1932. Ph.D. in Economic History at Radcliffe College. “The History of Silk Culture in the North American Colonies.”

1930. Residence in Washington, D.C. Husband employed as a government economist.

1935. Residence in Washington, D.C.

1940. Living in Urbana, Illinois. Husband professor at the University of Illinois.

1989. Died January 9 in Denver Colorado.

Source: From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Image Source: Mt. Holyoke Yearbook, Llamarada, 1924, p. 68.

__________________________________

Ruth Guppy
(1899-1991)

1899. Born June 11 in Marblehead, MA to George Guppy (architect, born in New York City) and Florence R. Gray (born in Chelsea, MA).

1926. A.M., Radcliffe College.

1930. According to Census, Ruth Guppy was single, living in Brooklyn and working as an economic researcher for a bank.

1930. Married Lawrence G. Ropes in 1930.

1940. Residence in Beverly, Massachusetts. Husband’s occupation listed as hydraulic engineer.

1991. Died Jan 7. Last residence Short Hills, New Jersey.

Source: From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

* * * * * * *

Lynne Ranieri, a former neighbor of Ruth Guppy Ropes, came across this page in Economics in the Rear-view Mirror during the course of her research on her former neighbor. Ms. Ranieri graciously provided me the image of Ruth Guppy, age ca. 15 years and wrote me via Facebook:

At the end of her life my neighbor, Ruth Guppy Ropes lived with her brother here in NJ and when he moved to MA to be with his son (by which time Ruth had died), I attended his estate sale and bought some artifacts of their lives, including photos of Ruth. I saw your blog post had photos of some of the Radcliffe petitioners, but none of Ruth. In the event you would like to add her to your archives, I have attached here one of my favorite photos of her at her desk. The photo is dated 1914 and as Ruth was born in 1899, I would assume this was when she was in high school. If it is too small to see, I can email you a larger version. I have also attached here a photo of an obviously-older Ruth [see below]. FYI, it seems she married Mr. Ropes in 1930 and I have not yet found any evidence of her having returned to her work in economics…
I am happy to see Ruth get a bit more recognition for her accomplishments. She was much older than I am and I didn’t have much time to get to know her well, but in the little time I spent with her it was clear she was a bright, gentle woman.

__________________________________

Anna True Gilchrist
(1882-??)

1882. Born January 17 in Arlington, Massachusetts to George E. Gilchrist (born in Canada) and Annie J. Warren.

1900. Pupil at Northfield Seminary in Northfield, Massachusetts.

1901-02. Lived in Europe.

1910. Residence in Melrose, Massachusetts with parents.

1906. A. B. Boston University. Member Delta Delta Delta and Phi Beta Kappa.

1920. Listed in the Simmons College yearbook Microcosm as a graduate student.

1922. Passport renewal application for travel to England, Egypt, Palestine, Greece, France, Italy and Switzerland with scheduled departure on the Lapland (President Wilson) on January 18, 1923. Her occupation is listed as social worker, residing in Melrose.

1926. A.M., Radcliffe College.

1940. Residence at 110 Sewall Ave. in Brookline, MA.

Source: From genealogical data found at ancestry.com.

Tags BrownMG, Coit, Coyle, GayMR, Gilboy, Gilchrist, Guppy, Huntington, Keeler, Waterman, Young

Courses Harvard

Harvard. Political Economy Courses, 1888-89

Post author By Irwin Collier
Post date 2016-02-28

We saw in an earlier posting that political economy was a one-professor affair with Charles Franklin Dunbar doing virtually all the economics teaching at Harvard in 1874-75.

Over a decade later in 1888-89, Dunbar is still at it with young Frank Taussig and two junior instructors expanding the Harvard economics course offerings. It is interesting to note that “Coöperation , Socialism” are included in a list of topics that include now standard fields Money, Finance (i.e. Banking), Taxation and “Labor and Capital” (i.e., labor economics, income distribution).

_______________________________

Political Economy.
[Harvard, 1888-1889]

First half-year: Mill’s Principles of Political Economy.—Dunbar’s Chapters on Banking.
Second half-year: Division A (Theoretical): Mill’s Principles of Political Economy.—Cairnes’s Leading Principles of Political Economy. Division B (Descriptive): Topics in Money, Finance, Labor and Capital, Coöperation, Socialism and Taxation. , Wed., Fri., at 9. Asst. Professor Taussig, Messrs. Gray and F. C. Huntington.
All students in Course 1 will have the same work during the first half-year, but will be required in January to make their election between divisions A and B for the second half-year. The work in division A is required for admission to Courses 2 and 3.
History of Economic Theory.—Examination of selections from Leading Writers.—Lectures. , Wed., (at the pleasure of the Instructor), and Fri., at 2. Asst. Professor Taussig.
[Omitted in 1888-89.] Investigation and Discussion of Practical Economic Questions.—Short theses. , Th., at 3, and a third hour to be appointed by the Instructor.
Economic History of Europe and America since the Seven Years’ War.—Lectures and written work. , Wed., Fri., at 11. Mr. Gray.
Course 4 requires no previous study of Political Economy.
[Omitted in 1888-89.] Economic Effects of Land Tenures in England, Ireland, France, and Germany.—Lectures and theses. Half-course. Once a week.
History of Tariff Legislation in the United States. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 2, and a third hour at the pleasure of the Instructor (second half-year). Professor Taussig.
Taxation, Public Debts, and Banking. , Wed., Fri., at 3. Professor Dunbar.
History of Financial Legislation in the United States. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 2, and a third hour at the pleasure of the Instructor (first half-year). Professor Dunbar.
It is recommended that Courses 6 and 8 be taken together.
Management and Ownership of Railways. Half-course. Tu., Th., at 10, and a third hour at the pleasure of the Instructor (second half-year). Gray.

As a preparation for Courses 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 it is necessary to have passed satisfactorily in Course 1.

Special Advanced Study and Research.—In 1888-89, competent students may pursue special investigations of selected topics under the guidance of any one of the Instructors.

Course 20 is open only to graduates, to candidates for Honors in Political Science, and to Seniors of high rank who are likely to obtain Honorable Mention in Political Economy. It may be taken either as a full course or as a half-course, as may be determined by the Instructor concerned.

Source: Harvard University. Announcements of Courses of Instruction provided by the Faculty of Harvard College for the Academic Year 1888-89. Cambridge, May 1888. pp. 18-19.

Image Source: Statue of John Harvard ca. 1891, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

Tags Dunbar, Gray, Huntington, Taussig

Philosophy 11. The Ethics of Social Reform.

Enrollment 1888-89. Philosophy 11.

1888-89. PHILOSOPHY 11. THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM. [Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89. PHILOSOPHY 11. THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM. [Final Examination, 1889]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 1, First half-year.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 1. [Mid-year Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division A.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 1. [Final Examination, 1889] Division A.

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division B.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 1. Division B. [Final Examination, 1889]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 2

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 2.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 2. [Mid-year and Final Examination, 1889]

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 2. [Final Examination, 1889]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 3

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 3. Omitted in 1888-89.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 4

Enrollment 1888-89. Political Economy 4.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 4. [Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 4. [Final Examination, 1889]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 5

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 5. Omitted in 1888-89.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 6

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 6, Second half-year.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 6 [End-Year]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 7

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 7.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 7. [Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 7. [Final Examination, 1889]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 8

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 8, First half-year.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 8. [Final Examination, Mid-year, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89 Political Economy 9, Second half-year.

1888-89. POLITICAL ECONOMY 9. [Final Examination, 1889]

REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE FIRST YEAR. [1879-80]

Courses of Study for the Year 1880-1881

VIII. POLITICAL ECONOMY.

WORK OF THE SECOND YEAR [1880-81]

Numbers in the Classes.

Work in the Class Room.

Readings and Lectures.

Courses Offered but not Called For.

The Future.

THE SOCIETY FOR THE COLLEGIATE INSTRUCTION OF WOMEN. THIRD YEAR. [1881-82]

The Society not Creating, but Satisfying a Demand.

Numbers of Students in the Different Classes.

Courses Offered but not Taken

From Fifth Year [1883-84] Annual Report

From Sixth Year [1884-85] Annual Report

Political Economy.

From Seventh Year [1885-86] Annual Report November 16, 1886

Political Economy.

From Eighth Year [1886-87] Annual Report October 25, 1887

Political Economy.

From Ninth Year [1887-88] Annual Report November 5, 1888

Political Economy.

From Tenth Year [1888-89] Annual Report October 29, 1889

Political Economy.

From Eleventh Year [1889-90] Annual Report October 28, 1890

Political Economy.

From Twelfth Year [1890-91] Annual Report October 27, 1891

Political Economy.

From Thirteenth Year [1891-92] Annual Report October 25, 1892

Political Economy.

From Fourteenth Year [1892-93] Annual Report October 31, 1893

History

Economic [sic].

The Petition

Elizabeth Lane Waterman (1903-1973)

Mary Chandler Coit (1895-1984)

Emily Harriet Huntington (1895-1982)

Margaret Fitz Randolph Gay (1901-1989)

Eunice Shipton Coyle (1895-1982)

Miriam Keeler (1897-1998)

Gertrude Brown (1903-1989)

Ruth Guppy (1899-1991)

Anna True Gilchrist (1882-??)

Political Economy. [Harvard, 1888-1889]

Enrollment 1888-89.
Philosophy 11.

1888-89.
PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89.
PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, First half-year.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division A.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Final Examination, 1889]
Division A.

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 1, Second half-year, Division B.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
Division B.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 2.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Mid-year and Final Examination, 1889]

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 3.
Omitted in 1888-89.

Enrollment 1888-89.
Political Economy 4.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 5.
Omitted in 1888-89.

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 6, Second half-year.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[End-Year]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 7.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 7.
[Mid-year Examination, 1889]

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 7.
[Final Examination, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 8, First half-year.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 8.
[Final Examination, Mid-year, 1889]

Enrollment 1888-89
Political Economy 9, Second half-year.

1888-89.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 9.
[Final Examination, 1889]

REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE FIRST YEAR.
[1879-80]

WORK OF THE SECOND YEAR
[1880-81]

THE SOCIETY FOR THE COLLEGIATE INSTRUCTION OF WOMEN.
THIRD YEAR.
[1881-82]

From Seventh Year [1885-86] Annual Report
November 16, 1886

From Eighth Year [1886-87] Annual Report
October 25, 1887

From Ninth Year [1887-88] Annual Report
November 5, 1888

From Tenth Year [1888-89] Annual Report
October 29, 1889

From Eleventh Year [1889-90] Annual Report
October 28, 1890

From Twelfth Year [1890-91] Annual Report
October 27, 1891

From Thirteenth Year [1891-92] Annual Report
October 25, 1892

From Fourteenth Year [1892-93] Annual Report
October 31, 1893

Elizabeth Lane Waterman
(1903-1973)

Mary Chandler Coit
(1895-1984)

Emily Harriet Huntington
(1895-1982)

Margaret Fitz Randolph Gay
(1901-1989)

Eunice Shipton Coyle
(1895-1982)

Miriam Keeler
(1897-1998)

Gertrude Brown
(1903-1989)

Ruth Guppy
(1899-1991)

Anna True Gilchrist
(1882-??)

Political Economy.
[Harvard, 1888-1889]