The Economics of Harvard (review)

book reviews347 Basically, however, this is the story of Jacksonian Democracy triumphant , winning in election after state election, and in presidential elections, too. A case in point is the 1832 Presidential election, which Cole analyzes in depth. His statistical study convinces him that in "New Hampshire and perhaps throughout the North, the best available keys to explain Jacksonian voting patterns are economic status and geography " (p. 159). Poorer people, especially small farmers living in hilly and mountainous areas, constituted the backbone of Jacksonian strength in the Granite State. Jacksonian Democracy in New Hampshire was a complex affair, but the author skillfully guides the reader through the maze of party intrigues and personalities. Two Jacksonians receive special and extensive attention: Isaac Hill, controversial editor of the powerful NewHampshire Patriot and Levi Woodbury, perennial public officeholder. Hill, all angles and rough edges, epitomizes the tangy blend of idealism and self-interest characteristic of New Hampshire Jacksonianism. While he sincerely believed in the advancement of the common man and fought for it throughout his career. Hill believed fully as much in the advancement of uncommon men such as himself. He constantly teetered on the brink of conflict of interest in his public life, and, at times, toppled over. Woodbury, who emerges as the quintessence of the cautious, noncommittal politician, also had a keen eye for self-advancement and yet demonstrated, particularly in his years as a Supreme Court Justice prior to his sudden death in 1851, a real commitment to Jacksonian principles . Dr. Cole ends his study with the death of Hill and Woodbury and the passing, as he sees it, of the Jacksonian era in New Hampshire. One regrets that he did not carry his insightful study forward, in pace and proportion with the rest, to the point where Democratic dominance ended and Republican hegemony commenced. As it stands, however, the book is an excellent contribution to Jacksonian scholarship. H. Draper Hunt University of Maine Portland-Gorham The Economics of Harvard. By Seymour E. Harris. (New York: McGraw -Hill Inc., 1970. Pp. Ixvii, 519. $14.50.) Despite its somewhat austere and non-illuminating title, this is an entertaining book with something of interest for even the casual reader. This unusual breadth of appeal lies in the fact that Professor Harris, who taught for forty-three years at his alma mater, Harvard, has defined "economics" so broadly tiiat what he has produced is virtually a social history of that institution for the first 333 years of its existence. An indication of its scope is seen in his discussion of students and faculty. Supported by well-chosen contemporary quotations, he de- 348civil war history scribes the socioeconomic backgrounds, geographical origins, age at entry, discipline problems, and admission procedures for students throughout the period, as well as such expected topics as costs for room and board, tuition, and financial aid. Likewise, he considers such professorial concerns as tenure, salaries, workloads, faculty-student ratios, productivity, rate of promotion, and relative numbers of teaching assistants and professors. More clearly in line with the title is his discussion of the cost structure , analysis of investment and land policies, and evaluation of fundraising techniques. Of great interest are the difficulties faced by the school when it was almost totally dependent for support upon the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the political reasons why it broke these ties. In this area I have a minor personal caveat—the author's omission of the fascinating story of the institution's experience as manager of six authorized lotteries between 1765 and 1815 and as the purchaser of tickets in the Massachusetts Land Lottery, which brought it some 2,720 acres of Maine wilderness. Although his major emphasis is on Harvard College, Harris has much to say about Radcliffe and the professional schools of Harvard University . A strong thread throughout is the roles played by a succession of exceptional presidents. The University is indeed fortunate in having its history so well presented by die combination of the volumes by Samuel Eliot Morison and this current work. Civil War History readers will probably be most interested in the period for which that struggle serves as a pivot. Two brief quotations may serve to indicate both...