In most U.S. colleges and university at the turn of the 20th century, an economics department was basically a one-man band. The courses at Washington University for the academic year 1897-98 were taught by the University of Chicago Ph.D. alumnus (1897), Henry Rand Hatfield.
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Washington University
Announcement of Courses in
Economics
1897-1898
Department of Economics.
Henry Rand Hatfield, Ph.D., Instructor.
Course 1, to be followed by 2a, or 2b, is required of all taking work in the department, except of those taking Course 3, which is given independently and requires no other economic study.
The courses offered in Economics are as follows:
FIRST TERM.
COURSE 1. Elementary Economics.
A course for beginners, using Mill’s Principles of Political Economy (Laughlin’s edition) as text book. An attempt will be made to train the student in accurate economic reasoning and to show the vital connection between economic theory and the practical questions of the day. This course must be followed by either 2a or 2b.
COURSE 3. Economic History since 1763.
A course of lectures with collateral reading and reports, treating of the economic effects of the great inventions, of the American and French revolutions, of the free-trade movement in England, of the gold discoveries, of the civil war, of the crises of 1873 and 1893, etc.
No previous economic study is required for this course. Course 1 may, with advantage, be taken simultaneously.
COURSE 4. Financial History of the United States.
Lectures with collateral reading. The course will cover such topics as the management of the national debt, the use of customs duties as a revenue measure, the first and second United States Bank, the financial policy of the war of 1812 and of the civil war, the independent treasury, etc. An attempt will be made to trace the relation between the financial policy and the politics of the time, and, especially, to treat the financial history so as to throw light on the problems of today.
COURSE 6. Tariff History of the United States.
Lectures with collateral reading and study of Taussig’s Tariff History of the United States.
This course and Course 4 will be given in alternate years.
SECOND TERM.
COURSE 2a. Advanced Economics.
This course continues the training in theory begun in Course 1, using Marshall’s Principles of Economics as the text-book with reading in Cairnes, Taussig, Hadley and Böhm-Bawerk. It should be taken by all who wish to continue the study of Economics.
COURSE 2b. Descriptive Economics.
A practical course, designed to supplement Course 1, for those who desire only a general acquaintance with the subject. The topics discussed will be money, banking, coöperation, socialism, taxation and transportation.
COURSE 5. Money and Banking.
Discussion of the theory of money, bi-metallism, note issues and the function of bank credits. Short theses will be prepared by the students and discussed in class.
COURSE 7. Social Economics.
An examination of the economic aspects of certain social problems. The questions considered will be those relating to state interference including poor-relief, immigration, the control of monopolies, etc., and certain schemes of economic reform, such as coöperation, profit-sharing, and trades unions.
This course and Course 5 will be given in alternate years.
Source: University of Chicago. Office of the President. Harper, Judson and Burton Administrations. Records, Box 29, Folder #8 “Chicago, University of, professional schools, School of Commerce and Administration, 1896-1924”, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago.
Image Source: Found in several family trees at ancestry.com without citation.