The Department of Political Science was formally established at the University of Michigan in 1910. At the February meeting of that year, the Regents authorized Acting President Hutchins to make an investigation and report to the Board for appointment a professor of political science, "this chair to be regarded as part of the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts" (R.P., 1906-10, p. 660). At the April meeting, the election of a professor of political science was made upon Dr. Hutchins' recommendation. Jesse Siddall Reeves (Amherst '91, L.H.D. hon. ibid. '26, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins '94, LL.D. Williams '33), then an assistant professor of political science at Dart-mouth College, was so chosen and entered upon his duties in September, 1910.
Instruction in the field which has come to be set apart as the Department of Political Science seems to have been begun in 1860, when the Regents voted as follows:
Resolved, That the resident Law Professor be required during the vacation of the Law Department to deliver before the Senior Class of the Academical Department a Course of Lectures on Constitutional Law and History and that he receive therefore an additional salary of $500 per annum.
(R.P., 1837-64, p. 907.)
That this resolution was adopted in 1860 is significant. It was a time when the great American constitutional crisis impended, and the Regents recognized the duty of a state educational institution to inform its students on the constitutional system under which they were living. The resident professor of law was Thomas McIntyre Cooley, then just beginning his long and invaluable services to the University. It was fortunate that such a man could be called upon. It may be surmised that it was in these lectures, given to the senior class of the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts, that Judge Cooley began that exposition of the Constitution the influence of which came in time to extend far beyond the confines of the University in his classical works, Constitutional Law and Constitutional Limitations. The coming of the Civil War seriously reduced the attendance at the University. The students were in the field, engaged in maintaining the theory of the Constitution, which they might have had from Cooley had they remained in college. The lectures seem to have continued until 1865, when, by action of the Board, Professor Cooley was "excused from his present duties connected with the Literary Department" (R.P., 1864-70, p. 80).
When next the curriculum provided for instruction in the field of government, it was under the auspices of the Department of History, and there it remained, for the most part, until 1910. This was a natural arrangement at the time. Except at Columbia University, where a school of political science was founded in 1880 under Professor John W. Burgess, the study of political science was centered about the history of political institutions, and even at Columbia the influence of the historical school was strong. At Johns Hopkins, Professor Herbert B. Adams refused to make a distinction between history and political science. Upon the wall of his seminar room appeared in large letters the words of Freeman: "History is past politics and politics present history" — a half-truth which he took as his motto. The teaching of history at the University of Michigan, as elsewhere, was largely political, and the meaning of institutions was sought in their origin and development.
In 1868-69 Charles Kendall Adams ('61, A.M. '62, LL.D. Harvard '86) offered in the Department of History lecture courses entitled the Growth of Liberty in England and the History and Characteristics of the Constitution of the United States (see Part IV: Department of History). It was the abiding interest and activity of three men — President Angell, Thomas M. Cooley, and C. K. Adams, that led to the development here of studies in political science, although for a long time that generic term was not used. With the coming of President Angell (see Part I: Angell Administration), there was added to the curriculum Public International Law, a course available to the students of the Department of Law as well as to those in the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts. From 1872 until 1910, except when he was absent from the University as Minister to China and as Minister to Turkey, President Angell gave this course in international law, which was soon supplemented by another course, the History of Treaties. The development of the Department of History under Charles Kendall Adams provided for additional courses — Political Institutions, English and American Constitutional History, and Comparative European Government.
During Angell's absence as Minister to China in 1880 and 1881, International Law was given by Herbert Tuttle, who was designated Lecturer in International Law. Tuttle had been a student under Angell at Vermont, and this was his first academic appointment. With Angell's return, Tuttle gave lectures in history at the University of Michigan for another year, when Andrew D. White called him to Cornell University. There he had a brilliant career as a professor of modern history, until his death in 1894.
During Angell's absence in China, there was organized a School of Political Science within the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts, with Charles Kendall Adams as Dean in charge. As announced in the University Calendar, "the aim of the School is to afford exceptional opportunities for students interested in public questions to specialize in History, Political Economy, International Law, and kindred subjects under guidance of their instructors." The students were required to complete two years in the University before being eligible for admission to the School. The work of the School of Political Science was organized within the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts, but was not limited to the undergraduate years. Although the Graduate School was not organized until 1892 and graduate studies were then integrated within the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the plan of the School of Political Science extended through to the doctorate of philosophy:
Besides the regular examinations at the close of the semesters, every candidate for a degree was required to present and defend a thesis before a Committee of the Faculty, as well as to pass a satisfactory examination in three branches of study, a major and two minors. The student who met all the requirements would be recommended for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
(Hinsdale, p. 85.)
The curriculum of the School of Political Science brought together the courses offered by Adams in American, British, and Continental European governments, Cooley's Taxation and the Growth of Cities, and Angell's International Law and Diplomacy, to which were added courses in political economy, social science, sanitary science, and forestry administration. Cooley added to the curriculum in 1883-84 a course on comparative administrative law, with special reference to local government.
It is probable that the example set by Columbia University in organizing a school of political science was in the minds of Cooley, Frieze, and Adams when they undertook to organize the School of Political Science at the University of Michigan, although it was an awkward arrangement. A School of Political Science, with a dean, established within the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts, gave rise to many difficulties of administration and control, especially as the teaching personnel of the School continued to give instruction in various fields outside of the School of Political Science. Notwithstanding the administrative difficulties, an increasing number of literary students were enrolled in the School, and the curriculum, with minor changes, continued to be announced annually through 1887-88. The University Calendar for 1888-89 noted: "It has been found unnecessary to retain an independent School of Political Science, under the form of organization described in calendars of previous years," and afterward the announcement of the curriculum of the School of Political Science disappeared from the Calendar. There is no record that the School was ever formally abolished by action of the Regents.
There were, however, in addition to the administrative difficulties, other reasons for the discontinuance of the School of Political Science. Charles Kendall Adams resigned to accept the presidency of Cornell in 1885 and was succeeded as Dean by Thomas McIntyre Cooley (LL.D. '73, LL.D. Harvard '86). The latter, however, was soon to interrupt his University activities in order to become chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission upon its establishment in 1887. Apparently there were no men upon the faculty who were disposed to undertake the burden of carrying on the School. In addition, the so-called university system, which was first announced in the Calendar for 1882-83, provided a method by which specialized instruction in the field of political science could be carried on without the special organization of a school. The university system was, in effect, an undergraduate concentration system upon an honors basis but closely integrated with postgraduate work in the Department of Literature, Science, and the Arts. The system was continued actively until the early nineties and nominally until 1901, and the name was later used only to describe graduate programs in general (see Part III: University System).
Under the leadership of Adams and Cooley, the University of Michigan School of Political Science attracted considerable attention both in the United States and in Europe, and during those years the University shared with Columbia and Johns Hopkins pre-eminence among the universities of the United States for training in political science. One outcome of the activities of the School was the organization of the Michigan Political Science Association, which for a number of years brought together from the state, outside of the University, men and women interested in political science. Its proceedings were published, and, under its auspices, a series of monographs was published, some of them of enduring value.
With the virtual disappearance of the university system the curricular development of subjects in political science was again taken over by the Department of History. In 1900 John Archibald Fairlie (Harvard '95, Ph.D. Columbia '98) was appointed Assistant Professor of Administrative Law and gave courses in the Department of History. That department now listed its courses as divided between those in history and those in government. In the latter group were the courses by Andrew Cunningham McLaughlin ('82, '85l, LL.D. '12), in succession to Thomas M. Cooley, American Constitutional Law and Political Institutions, and by Fairlie, Comparative Administrative Law and Municipal Administration. These men gave graduate research courses in the same fields. Since 1891 McLaughlin had been teaching Constitutional Law and Political History of the United States, and Richard Hudson ('71, A.M. '77, LL.D. Nashville '01), a course called Comparative Constitutional Law. In 1896-97 Hudson offered a new course known as Municipal Government in Great Britain in the first semester and Municipal Government in Continental Europe during the second. McLaughlin left in 1903 to become director of the Bureau of Historical Research in the Carnegie Institution in Washington.
In 1903-4 Professor Fairlie offered a course known as the Government and Administration of Michigan. His interest thus shown bore valuable fruit in the services, which he rendered as a member of the state constitutional convention of 1907, which drafted the present constitution of this state. Fairlie resigned at the close of 1908-9, to become a professor of political science at the University of Illinois. His subsequent career has been distinguished by continued scholarly productivity and by his election to the presidency of the American Political Science Association. Upon Fairlie's resignation, William L. Bailey was appointed Acting Assistant Professor of Administrative Law for the year 1909-10, an appointment which he declined, having accepted a permanent position at the University of Wisconsin. Thereupon Blaine F. Moore (Kansas '01, Ph.D. Columbia '09) was appointed Instructor in Political Science for 1909-10, continuing the courses formerly given by Fairlie.
With the year 1909 the long and memorable administration of President Angell ceased, and with it were discontinued the courses in international law and diplomacy, which he had given for so many years. Continuance of instruction in these allied fields required the selection of a new man to give Dr. Angell's courses and also to relieve the Department of History from the burden of instruction in the field of government by providing for a professorship of political science, to which might be allocated as many of these courses as possible — the idea being to expand the work by the creation of a department of political science as rapidly as the needs warranted. Reeves was appointed to the new professorship, as has been stated. His courses in 1910-11 were American Government (federal, state, and local), Municipal Government, Public International Law, and History of American Diplomacy, together with a seminar in the history of political theory. The total elections for the year were about two hundred and fifty. American Government, intended as the foundation course for all undergraduate work in political science, soon proved popular, and expansion of the teaching staff was indicated. Benjamin Bruce Wallace (Macalester Coll. '02, Ph.D. Wisconsin '12), of the University of Wisconsin, served as Instructor in Political Science for the academic year 1911-12 and was succeeded in the instructorship by Joseph Ralston Hayden (Knox '10, Ph.D. Michigan '15), then an assistant in history. The curriculum was enlarged by Hayden's courses known as British Government and Administration and Comparative European Government. Hayden has been a member of the staff since the autumn of 1912. In 1918, returning to the University after active service in the United States Navy, he was appointed to an assistant professorship, and his promotion to a full professorship was made in 1925. Soon after his return from service in the World War, he became especially interested in the administration of the Philippines and made several visits to the Islands for purposes of study and investigation. He was there throughout the year of his sabbatical leave, 1930-31, and from November, 1933, until February, 1936, again upon leave of absence from the University, he served as Vice-Governor of the Philippines. Since 1937, when Reeves retired from the departmental chairmanship while retaining the William W. Cook professorship, Hayden has been Chairman of the Department of Political Science.
As the years passed, a marked increase of interest in the field of municipal administration was clearly shown. This was partly owing to the provision in the Michigan constitution, introduced upon John A. Fairlie's insistence, for a system of home rule for cities in Michigan. In 1913 Robert Treat Crane (Johns Hopkins '02, Ph.D. ibid. '07, LL.B. Maryland '07), who had spent some years in the United States Foreign Service, was called to the University as Assistant Professor of Political Science and was given charge of the work in municipal administration. Under his direction, a curriculum leading to the special degree of master of arts in municipal administration was worked out and the Bureau of Government was established as a laboratory for the work in municipal administration (see Part VI: Bureau of Government). The direction of this work under Professor Crane was markedly successful, and men trained under him quickly found positions as city managers and administrative officers in the state of Michigan and elsewhere. In 1922 he expressed a desire to be relieved of the teaching of municipal administration, in order that he might devote himself to his primary interest, namely, political theory. Accordingly, Thomas Harrison Reed (Harvard '01, LL.B. ibid. '04), who was then at the University of California, was appointed Professor of Political Science. He succeeded Crane as Director of the Bureau of Government in 1923 and continued in charge of the work in municipal administration until 1936, when he resigned to become the head of the Municipal Consultant Service of the National Municipal League. Crane offered a group of courses in political theory from 1922 until his resignation in 1932. At that time he became secretary of the Social Science Research Council. In 1922 James Hart (Virginia '18, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins '23), of the Johns Hopkins University, was called as an assistant professor in order to strengthen the work in American government. In 1926 Hart returned to Johns Hopkins, leaving there in 1935 to accept a professorship in the University of Virginia.
Others who have been upon the staff of the department as instructors are Messrs. Robert P. Lane, 1915-17; Hessel E. Yntema, 1918-20; Walter M. Dunn, 1921-23; John E. Kirkpatrick, 1921-24; William M. Strachan, 1923-27; W. Roland Maddox, 1927-31; John J. George, 1927-28; Robert Phillips, 1928-29; H. Arthur Steiner, 1920-31; Earl E. Warner, 1930-31; and Floyd E. McCaffree, 1931-37.
After the World War the registration in the introductory course, American Government, continued to increase until more than six hundred were enrolled. For some time it was a lecture course with quiz sections, but when the class became too large to be accommodated in any of the lecture rooms of the University, it was broken into several sections and the instruction was given by various members of the department. Since 1930 the course has been open to freshmen, and a more advanced course in the same field has been provided for upperclassmen. The enrollment in these courses in American government at the present time is about eight hundred each semester.
A steadily increasing interest in government has resulted everywhere in a great expansion in the number of political science courses, especially in political theory, in comparative government, in administration and administrative law, in colonial administration, and in foreign relations. At the University of Michigan, the Department of Political Science has responded to the demand with a consequent increase in the number of courses offered and in the teaching personnel. The department has been enlarged by the appointment of assistant professors to give the instruction, which the increased enrollment and expanding interest in political science have from time to time required. Everett Somerville Brown (B.L. California '07, Ph.D. ibid. '17), came to the department in 1921 and was advanced to a full professorship ten years later. For the most part, Brown has been in charge of instruction in the field of American federal government. Paul Miller Cuncannon (Swarthmore '15, Ph.D. Princeton '25), appointed Instructor in Political Science in 1923 and promoted to an assistant professorship in 1929, has given courses primarily in American government; and James Kerr Pollock, Jr. ('20, Ph.D. Harvard '25), who came to the University of Michigan from Ohio State University as an instructor in 1925 and was appointed to a full professorship in 1934, has developed the studies dealing with political parties and with European governments. Arthur Watson Bromage (Wesleyan '25, Ph.D. Harvard '28) came to an instructorship in political science in February 1928, when Reed was granted a leave of absence. Bromage, whose work has been in the field of municipal and local government and administration, received his promotion to a full professorship in 1938. Howard Black Calderwood, Jr. (Ohio Wesleyan '21, Ph.D. Wisconsin '27), was appointed as an instructor in 1927 and was promoted in 1936 to an assistant professorship. He has specialized in the field of international relations. After serving for two years as an assistant, Lawrence Preuss ('27, Ph.D. '32) became an instructor in 1928 and was promoted to an associate professorship in 1937. He gives instruction largely in international law, political theory, and comparative government. Harold M. Dorr ('23, Ph.D. '33), appointed as an instructor in 1929 and promoted to an associate professorship in 1939, has been primarily engaged in instruction in American government. Harlow James Heneman (Minnesota '28, Ph.D. London '34), appointed an instructor in 1933 and an associate professor in 1940, has given much of the work in British and European governments. During the period 1910-37 Reeves was Chairman of the Department of Political Science. In 1931 he was appointed William W. Cook Professor of American Institutions. As the departmental personnel increased, he relinquished the work in American government to others and became primarily interested in the field of international law and American foreign relations.
During the academic year 1935-36, in fourteen courses open to undergraduates only and providing for forty-six semester hours, there were 1,928 elections; and in nineteen courses open to both graduates and undergraduates and providing fifty-five semester hours, there were 1,732 undergraduate and 136 graduate elections; sixteen courses, primarily seminars, with forty-four semester hours, were open to graduate students only, and in these there were 200 elections — the total number of elections for the year being 2,996. Since that time there has been a considerable increase in graduate enrollment. Response to the demand for undergraduate instruction in political science in the expanded collegiate curriculum has, however, necessitated preponderant attention by the department to undergraduate instruction, as is shown by the foregoing figures; graduate instruction, however, has not been neglected since the seminar in political theory was instituted in 1910.
The department has not recommended a large number of candidates for the degree of doctor of philosophy. Those who have taken this degree, however, since the department was instituted, have by their subsequent careers abundantly justified themselves. Three are now members of the department — Professor Hayden and Associate Professors Preuss and Dorr. Hessel E. Yntema (Hope '12, Ph.D. Michigan '19, S.J.D. Harvard '21), who has served as a professor in the Columbia Law School and at the Johns Hopkins University, later returned to the University of Michigan, where he is Professor of Law. Edwin B. Schultz is teaching political science at Lehigh University, John J. George at Rutgers, Roland M. Egger at the University of Virginia, William M. Strachan at Ohio Wesleyan University, Robert Phillips at Purdue, and Maximo M. Kalaw, Bernabe Africa, and Maria Lanzar-Carpio are professors at the University of the Philippines. Another recipient of the doctor's degree in political science, now deceased, was Howard MacDonald, late president of Parsons College, Iowa.
Jesse S. Reeves
[Died July 7, 1942.]
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calendar, Univ. Mich., 1871-1914.
Catalogue …, Univ. Mich., 1860-71, 1914-23.
Catalogue and Register, Univ. Mich., 1923-27.
Frieze, Henry S. MS, letter to James B. Angell, July 9, 1881. In James B. Angell Papers. Mich. Hist. Coll., Univ. Mich.
General Register Issue, Univ. Mich., 1927-40.
Hinsdale, Burke A.History of the University of Michigan. Ed. by Isaac N. Demmon. Ann Arbor: Univ. Mich., 1906.
President's Report, Univ. Mich., 1871-1940.
Proceedings of the Board of Regents …, 1864-1940. (R.P.)
University of Michigan Regents' Proceedings …, 1837-1864. Ed. by Isaac N. Demmon. Ann Arbor: Univ. Mich., 1915. (R.P., 1837-64.)
The University of Michigan, an Encyclopedic Survey ... Wilfred B. Shaw, editor. Pages 702 - 708.
