Economic essays

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1753623200

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-136107

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Economic essays

Place of publication:: New York

Publisher:: Macmillan

Year of publication:: 1927

Scope:: viii, 368 S.; Ill., graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

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Title:: The early teaching of economics in the United States / Edwin R.A. Seligman

Collection:: Economics Books

310 ECONOMIC ESSAYS IN HONOR OF JOHN BATES CLARK Your letter of September 29th in re Economics in Dickinson College has given me much trouble, and yet I want to thank you for the trouble you gave me, as it has developed something of considerable interest to me. I took it almost for granted that no Economies has been taught here so early as you suggested. However, 1 have recently come into pos- session of the trustee minutes of that date, and I put them and our Alumni Record side by side and have found some things of interest. Henry Vethake from 1821-29 was a professor in Dickinson College, mathematics and natural philosophy apparently being his major inter- est—though he published “Political Economy” articles in the Encyclo- pedia Americana. So much came from the Alumni Record. The trustee minutes showed nothing on the subject at the time of his election nor for several years after; but in 1826 an action of the Board of Trustees permitted certain theological students being trained in Carlisle to attend lectures inter alia in “poltical economy.” In November of the same year is this minute in the trustee book: ‘Resolved, that to the professorship of Mr. Henry Vethake be added that in political economy, ‘which was agreed to” The above seems to me to show that Henry Vethake, professor of mathematics and science, had interest in political economy and probably gave lectures in it prior to its being formally added to the style and title of his professorship in Dickinson College. You ask how long the subject was taught in the College, and I should expect that it closed with Professor Vethake’s departure in 1829. The College for a time went into eclipse, but was reopened four years later and has continued its work ever since. I shall be grateful to you if you will let me know where you saw it stated that Mr. Vethake lectured on political economy here in the College. It appears from the above letter that Vethake became professor of Political Economy inter alia in 1826, so that Dickinson College has the distinction of having founded a chair in Political Economy only a year or two after Dr. Cooper’s chair was instituted at South Carolina College. In view of Vethake’s own statement, it is also beyond question that the subject was taught at Dickinson College in 1822, three years before Dr. Cooper had begun to lecture. As was stated above, when Vethake left Dickinson in 1829 he returned to Princeton and was Professor of Natural Philosophy from 1830 to 1832. During this period he continued the instruc- tion in Political Economy begun at Dickinson. There is in our library An Introductory Lecture on Political Economy delivered at Nassau Hall, January 31, 1831, by Professor Vethake, pub-

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