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An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing

An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century American Science Writing

C. R. Resetarits

(2012)

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Book Details

Abstract

This volume is a brief anthology of the most influential writing by American scientists between 1800 and 1900. Arranged thematically and chronologically to highlight the movement of American science throughout the nineteenth century, from its beginnings in self-taught classification and exploration to the movement towards university education and specialization, this anthology is the first of its kind. Biographies front each section, putting human faces to each time period, and the anthology includes such notable names as Thomas Jefferson and Louis Agassiz. 


“This work reflects a thorough reading of the major sources in the history of science in America. Its preface and introductions present a well-digested summary survey of scientific activity in the United States, and nothing comparable to this collection of primary sources exists. Its focus on the scientists’ own words brings to life the theories, methods, and questions that animated both their own and their contemporaries’ research.” —Donald deB. Beaver, Professor of History of Science, Williams College


“A valuable collection of original source documents on the natural and physical sciences not readily available to scholars and the general public. This anthology expands our understanding of the American contribution to nineteenth-century science, which is often overshadowed by European achievements.” —Alan S. Weber, Premedical Program, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, and editor of ‘Nineteenth-Century Science’


C. R. Resetarits is an essayist, scholar and writer whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including ‘Gender Studies’, ‘Fabula’, ‘Kenyon Review’ and ‘Mississippi Review’. She was a teaching fellow at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and served as associate editor for the ‘Natural Areas Journal’. Her background in American studies and her interest in natural history have combined with her research expertise to bring about the current anthology.


This volume is a brief anthology of the most influential writing by American scientists between 1800 and 1900. Arranged thematically and chronologically to highlight the progression of American science throughout the nineteenth century – from its beginnings in self-taught classification and exploration to the movement towards university education and specialization – it is the first collection of its kind. Each section begins with a biography, putting human faces to each time period, and introducing such notable figures as Thomas Jefferson and Louis Agassiz.

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Front Matter i
Half Title i
Title Page\r iii
Copyright iv
Contents v
Preface ix
The Selection Process ix
Women and Science x
Part Divisions and Introductions xi
Main Matter i
Part One: 1800–1846 Naturals and Naturalists 1
Part One Introduction 3
Philosophical Considerations and Classification 3
The Lewis and Clark Expedition 4
Benjamin Silliman and The American Journal of Science and Arts 5
The Useful Arts 6
THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743–1826) 13
“A Memoir on the Discovery of Certain Bones of a Quadruped of the Clawed Kind in the Western Parts of Virginia” 13
ALEXANDER WILSON (1766–1813) 23
Pileated Woodpecker 23
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH (1773–1838) 27
Currents 28
GEORGE ORD (1781–1866) 31
Account of a North American Quadruped, supposed to belong to the Genus Ovis, Rocky-Mountain Sheep, Ovis Montana” 31
THOMAS SAY (1787–1834) 35
A Monograph of North American insects, of the genus Cincindela 36
On the Genus Ocythoe 37
Preface 40
THOMAS NUTALL (1786–1859) 43
Preface 43
Pileated Woodpecker 44
CONSTANTINE SAMUEL RAFINESQUE (1783–1840) 47
Introduction 48
“Notices of Materia Medica, or new medical properties of some American Plants 50
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON (1785–1851) 53
Passenger Pigeon 54
JOSEPH HENRY (1797–1878) 61
On the Production of Currents and Sparks of Electricity from Magentism 61
OLIVER WENDEL HOLMES (1809–1894) 67
The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever 67
ELIAS LOOMIS (1811–1889) 73
On the Two Storms Which Were Experienced throughout the United States, in the Month of February, 1842” 73
Part Two: 1846–1876 Warriors 79
Part Two Introduction 81
Lazzaroni / U.S. Coast Survey / Dudley Observatory / National Academy of Sciences 81
The Darwin Debates 84
Leaving Agassiz / The American Naturalist / Neo-Lamarckians 86
Civil War (1861–65) 86
The Taconic Controversy 87
“The Bones War” 88
JOSEPH LEIDY (1823–1891) 93
On the Fossil Horses of America 94
A Flora and Fauna Within Living Animals 98
JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER (1811–1882) 109
“Examination of the Radiations of Red-Hot Bodies. The Production of Light by Heat” 110
LOUIS AGASSIZ (1807–1873) 117
Section IX: Range of the Geographical Distribution of Animals 118
On the Origin of Species 123
ASA GRAY (1810–1888) 125
Darwin on the Origin of Species 126
Sequoia and Its History 134
JAMES DWIGHT DANA (1813–1895) 145
On the Origin of the Geographical Distribution of Crustacea 146
On Cephalization 153
On some Results of the Earth’s Contraction from cooling, including a discussion of the Origin of Mountains, and the nature of the Earth's Interior 155
DANIEL KIRKWOOD (1814–1895) 159
On Comets and Meteors 159
BENJAMIN PEIRCE (1809–1880) 167
Linear Associative Algebra 167
EDWARD DRINKER COPE (1840–1897) 171
The Laws of Organic Development 172
OTHNIEL CHARLES MARSH (1831–1899) 177
Fossil Horses in America 177
“Odontornithes, or Birds with Teeth” 183
CHAUNCEY WRIGHT (1830–1875) 191
The Genesis of Species 192
Part Three: 1876–1900 Scientists 199
Part Three Introduction 201
Diversity and Differentiation 201
Revisited: Neo-Lamarckians to Post-Darwinians 202
Revisited: Utility 204
CHARLES SANDERS PEIRCE (1839–1914) 209
The Fixation of Belief 210
How to Make Our Ideas Clear 212
CLARENCE KING (1842–1901) 219
Catastrophism and Evolution 220
SAMUEL PIERPONT LANGLEY (1834–1906) 229
The Spectrum of an Argand Burner 230
The New Astronomy. I. Spots on the Sun 233
HENRY AUGUSTUS ROWLAND (1848–1901) 237
Screw 237
ALBERT ABRAHAM MICHELSON (1852–1931) and EDWARD WILLIAM MORLEY (1838–1923) 243
On the Relative Motion of the Earth and the Luminiferous Ether 244
STEPHEN A. FORBES (1844–1930) 255
The Lake as a Microcosm 255
CLINTON HART MERRIAM (1855–1942) 267
Laws of Temperature Control of the Geographic Distribution of Terrestrial Animals and Plants 267
HENRY CHANDLER COWLES (1869–1939) 277
The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan 277
JOSIAH WILLARD GIBBS (1839–1903) 285
On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances, abstract 285
Back Matter 303
Bibliography 303