Charles Darwin published his monumental treatise The Origin of Species in 1859. It has proved to be a major contribution to scientific theory but highly contentious as well. In the United States, more than in any other country, Darwin's theory of evolution became, and remains, a matter of "political" controversy, from the famous "monkey trial" of 1925 to efforts, even in the 21st century, to diminish its influence in American public schools. Many people think of the Darwinian disputes as a matter of science versus religion. This book looks back to the first half-century or so of the Darwinian reception in the United States and portrays a much more complex situation. It shows that among many religious thinkers evolution received a welcome and formed the basis of a "new theology." The Evolutionists reminds us that America's most prominent scientist furnished a thoroughgoing criticism of Darwin. The Evolutionists has a special feature in its chapter structure. After examining the pre-Darwinian world of European science and then reviewing the career of Darwin, it offers pairings of American thinkers in the several categories of American thought where Darwinian ideas had their largest impact. Thus, reviewing the scientific reception of Darwin it compares Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray; among Orthodox Protestants Charles Hodge and James McCosh; in Protestant Liberalism, Henry Ward Beecher and John Bascom. It reviews evolution's impact on American sociology through William Graham Sumner and Lester Frank Ward, and on feminism, the ideas of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Eliza Burt Gamble. A chapter on Methodologies pairs Thorstein Veblen with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and the concluding chapter on philosophy examines William James and John Dewey.

The Evolutionists: American Thinkers Confront Charles Darwin, 1860-1920 (Critical Issues in American History)

History

Hoeveler, David J.

Americas

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Charles Darwin published his monumental treatise The Origin of Species in 1859. It has proved to be a major contribution to scientific theory but highly contentious as well. In the United States, more than in any other country, Darwin's theory of evolution became, and remains, a matter of 'political' controversy, from the famous 'monkey trial' of 1925 to efforts, even in the 21st century, to diminish its influence in American public schools. Many people think of the Darwinian disputes as a matter of science versus religion. This book looks back to the first half-century or so of the Darwinian reception in the United States and portrays a much more complex situation. It shows that among many religious thinkers evolution received a welcome and formed the basis of a 'new theology.' The Evolutionists reminds us that America's most prominent scientist furnished a thoroughgoing criticism of Darwin. The Evolutionists has a special feature in its chapter structure. After examining the pre-Darwinian world of European science and then reviewing the career of Darwin, it offers pairings of American thinkers in the several categories of American thought where Darwinian ideas had their largest impact. Thus, reviewing the scientific reception of Darwin it compares Louis Agassiz and Asa Gray; among Orthodox Protestants Charles Hodge and James McCosh; in Protestant Liberalism, Henry Ward Beecher and John Bascom. It reviews evolution's impact on American sociology through William Graham Sumner and Lester Frank Ward, and on feminism, the ideas of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Eliza Burt Gamble. A chapter on Methodologies pairs Thorstein Veblen with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and the concluding chapter on philosophy examines William James and John Dewey.

The nine colleges of colonial America confronted the major political currents of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, while serving as the primary intellectual institutions for Puritanism and the transition to Enlightenment thought. The colleges also confronted the most partisan and divisive cultural movement of the eighteenth century—the Great Awakening. Creating the American Mind is the first book to present a synthetic treatment of the colonial colleges, tracing their role in the intellectual development of early Americans through the Revolution. Distinguished historian J. David Hoeveler focuses on Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, the College of New Jersey (Princeton), King's College (Columbia), the College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania), Queen's College (Rutgers), the College of Rhode Island (Brown), and Dartmouth. Hoeveler pays special attention to the collegiate experience of prominent Americans, including Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison. Written in clear and engaging prose, Creating the American Mind will be of great value to historians and educators interested in rediscovering the institutions that first fostered American intellectual thought.

Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges

Hoeveler, J. David

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hoeveler, David J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hoeveler, David J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hoeveler, David J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Evolutionists: American Thinkers Confront Charles Darwin, 1860-1920 (Critical Issues in American History)

The Evolutionists: American Thinkers Confront Charles Darwin, 1860-1920 (Critical Issues in American History)

Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges