Harvard. Year-end Examinations in Political Economy, 1885-1886

Seven of nine courses listed in Political Economy were taught during the 1885-86 year at Harvard. This post provides the enrollment information as well as the June final examinations for six of those political economy courses. Mid-year examinations are not included with one exception.

In addition the final course examination for Philosophy 11 (The Practical Ethics of Modern Society) has been included since that course deals with social and economic reform.

Note to self: only the mid-year examination for Taussig’s Political Economy 6 is included below, the others still need to be located.

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Philosophy] 11. The Practical Ethics of Modern Society.—Studies of the principles of Social Reform.—The subjects dealt with were: problems of charity, divorce, the Indians, the labor question, and temperance. Practical study of institutions and methods of philanthropy and benevolence. Prof. Peabody

Total 35: 1 Graduate, 1 Law, 12 Divinity, 12 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 1 Freshman, 2 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 50.

PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Year-end Examination]

[Omit one question]

The inductive method as applied to ethical questions.
The relation of Political Economy to the ethics of social reform.
“Estimating life by multiplying its length into its breadth, we must say that the augmentation of it results from increase of both factors.” (Spencer.)
Explain and criticize.
“Suppose that a man going through a wood should be struck by a falling tree and pinned down beneath it, &c.” (Sumner, Social Classes, p. 153.) Why should we help him?
Contrast the Roman “Liberalitas” and the Christian “Caritas.”
“Marriage appears to me more than a mere contract. It has an extent of obligation different from what belongs to ordinary contracts.” (Story.) Why?
New methods in Indian legislation.
The programme of the Socialists and its difficulties.
“Eventually it will be seen that industrial divisions should be vertical, not horizontal.” (Jevons.) Explain and illustrate.
Illustrate the interdependence of various social reforms.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Harvard University Examination Papers, 1873-1915. Box 2. Papers Set for Final Examinations in Philosophy, Political Economy, History, Roman Law, Fine Arts, and Music in Harvard College(Cambridge, Mass., 1886) in Examination Papers 1883-86 (Bound Volume), pp. 6-7.

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 1. J. S. Mill’s Principles of Political Economy (Laughlin’s edition).—Dunbar’s Chapters on Banking.—Lectures on the financial legislation of the United States. Profs. Dunbar and Laughlin.

Total 176: 2 Graduates, 27 Seniors, 75 Juniors, 53 Sophomores, 19 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 50.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Year-end examination]

Explain what is meant by the “standard of living” of the laboring class. In a densely populated country would the standard of living have any influence on the general rate of wages?
Show clearly why there must be land in cultivation which pays no rent.
Explain carefully the relation between Cost of Labor and Real Wages. How can an increase of population affect Cost of Labor?
Under what conditions can it be said that normal value depends on the “expenses of production”? State the law of market and normal value for commodities affected by the law of diminishing returns.
Explain the reason for the existence of foreign trade. Is there any different reason for the exchange of goods in domestic trade?
What is inconvertible paper money? From the history of the United States notes state the main events showing the attitude of Congress towards their issue, while the notes were inconvertible.
Why is a bank obliged to limit its loans when its cash reserve is seriously impaired?
Why is it that the products of extractive industries are liable to great variations of market value?
Upon whom would a tax on Rent fall? Would such a tax be a discriminating tax on the agricultural interests?
What are the advantages of direct taxation? State by what kinds of taxation, direct or indirect, the United States gets its revenue.
Is it correct to say that high wages alone prevent us from selling manufactured goods in foreign markets?

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 2. History of Economic Theory.—Examination of selections from leading writers. Prof. Dunbar.

Total 18: 1 Graduate, 8 Seniors, 9 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 50.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Year-end Examination]

A.

Discuss, either separately or in connection with each other, and as fully as your time will allow, the four extracts which follow, viz.:—

I.

“[The historical method] would have been scarcely intelligible to some of the old economists; economic research was to men like Ricardo a superfluous work. What use had they for facts? The one central fact of human selfishness was enough; out of that they could deduce all the principles of their science…. The method of the old school required the invention of an ‘economic man.’ who is supposed to have none other than economic desires or purposes; and its speculations are concerned with his possible and probable behavior. The new school insists that this is a clear case of ‘lunar politics’; that such men do not exist, and that it is of small consequence, therefore, to determine what they would do if they did exist.”—[Rev. W. Gladden in The Independent, Oct. 8, 1885.]

II.

“The theory of natural laws has had two bad consequences; it has taken away all notion of an ideal to be sought, and it has singularly narrowed the conclusions of political economy. In the writings of the orthodox economists, they never speak of the final object which we should seek to reach, nor of the reforms which justice might direct. Is distribution effected in the manner most favorable to human progress and happiness? Does consumption conform to the moral laws?
…Have we no economic duties to perform?…The rigorous science does not occupy itself with what ought to be, but only with what is; it cannot then propose or seek for an ideal. It merely describes how wealth is produced, distributed, and consumed; and hence the poverty of its practical conclusions. In fact, if liberty alone is enough to cause everything to arrange itself in the best way and to establish harmony, the programme of political economy must be nearly exhausted in countries which, like England, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, have admitted free trade and free competition.”—[M. Laveleye in the Revue des Deux Mondes, July, 1875, p. 464.]

III.

“Political economy…insists that all trade, whether in tangible commodities, in personal services, or in commercial credits, is of one and the same nature; that trade is buying and selling, which is naturally profitable and ought to be free;…that every seller has the right to get the most he can for his service under all circumstances—that is to say, to render the least of his own service needful at the time to get the service of the other man; that God ordained to be proper and profitable this mutual exchange of services among men; that no persons in the world except the parties themselves, man to man, have the wisdom to dictate its terms.”—[Professor Perry in the Nation, June 10, 1886.]

IV.

“But economic science is wholly practical; it has no raison d’être except as directing conduct towards a given end; it studies the means leading towards that end, not merely for the sake of knowledge, but in the hope of guiding men so that they may pursue that end in the most appropriate way; it is not content to describe the principles that have actuated human conduct, but desires to look at these principles in the light of after events, and thus to put forward the means that are best adapted for attaining the end in view.”—[Cunningham’s Politics and Economics, p. 12.]

B.
One question may be omitted.

State and discuss Walker’s theory by which labor is represented as having the residual share of all product, after the payment of rent and profits.
“But the fundamental truth, that in all economic reasoning must be firmly grasped and never let go, is that society in its most highly developed form is but an elaboration of society in its modest beginnings, and that principles obvious in the simpler relations of men are merely disguised and not abrogated or reversed by the more intricate relations that result from the division of labor and the use of complex tools and methods.”
What limits, if any, should you set to the validity of arguments thus drawn from the case of primitive society?
Examine the following proposition stated by Mr. George:—
“Capital has never to be set aside for the payment of wages when the produce of the labor for which the wages are paid is exchanged as soon as produced; it is only required when this produce is stored up, or what is to the individual the same thing, placed in the general current of exchange, without being at once drawn against—that is, sold on credit. [When an employer needs capital] it is because he is not only an employer of labor, but a merchant or operator in, or an accumulator of, the products of labor.”
State and discuss the reasoning by which Mr. George supports the following proposition:—
“Without any increase in population, the progress of invention constantly tends to give a larger and larger proportion of the produce to the owners of land, and a smaller and smaller proportion to labor and capital. And as we can assign no limits to the progress of invention, [if labor-saving invention were ever to reach perfection] wages would be nothing, and interest would be nothing, while rent would take everything.”
State (a) Mr. George’s theory of the causes of commercial depressions;
(b) Mr. Crocker’s theory of the same, as explained by excessive saving and investment in productive forms.
Discuss either (a) or (b).

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 3. Investigation and discussion of practical economic questions of the day: bimetallism; appreciation of gold; American shipping; government issues and national bank notes; Canadian reciprocity.—Short theses criticized by the Instructor and discussed by the class. Prof. Dunbar Laughlin.

Total 17: 1 Graduate, 5 Seniors, 11 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 50.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 3.
[Year-end Examination]

Compare the difficulties with our coinage in 1834 with those of to-day. Would the remedy which was applied in 1834 be a correct one to-day?
What is the present condition of the Latin Union?
Have you any reasons to offer for the recent additional decline in the value of silver since September, 1885?
Discuss the influence on American tonnage of existing laws in regard to the importation of materials for the construction in the United States of (1) ships to be sailed under our own flag in the foreign trade, and of (2) ships to be sailed under a foreign flag.
How do you account for the increasing tonnage of foreign wooden sailing-vessels in our ports?
If we have little steam tonnage in the foreign trade, why is it that builders of iron and steam ships can exist in the United States? How does your conclusion on this question affect the argument for free ships?
On reasons connected with the quantity of notes issued, would you advocate the use of United States notes, or National Bank notes?
Discuss the plans which propose the continuance of the national bank system by substituting other bonds for United States securities.
Is the national bank note immediately convertible under the present system?
What advantages were expected by American manufacturers from the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada? Were these expectations realized?
How were our agricultural interests actually affected during the continuance of the Treaty (1854-1866)?

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 4. Economic history of America and Europe since the Seven Years’ War.—Lectures. Prof. Dunbar.

Total 184: 1 Graduate, 74 Seniors, 57 Juniors, 41 Sophomores, 11 Others.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 51.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Year-end Examination]

Three questions to be omitted.

What was the plan of the Zollverein, and what was its influence on the political unity of Germany?
What were the leading measures by which Napoleon III. stimulated the material development of France?
History of the Suez canal.
Why can India no longer be depended upon to absorb surplus silver from Europe as formerly?
How far is the decline of American shipping traceable to the civil war?
Reasons for the increased financial importance of the United States Treasury since 1861.
The industrial effects of steam transportation and the telegraph.
Why did the French indemnity of 1871 seriously affect England, the United States, and Austria?
The suspension and resumption of specie payments by France in the decade, 1870-80.
The financial effect of the concentration of bank reserves in New York.
The difference in the development of city and of country banks (in the United States and in England), and the inference to be drawn as to the future development of banking.
Jevons’s sunspot theory of crises, and the reasons for and against it.
The English coal supply and the national debt.

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 6. History of Tariff Legislation in the United States.— Discussion of principles. Consent of instructor required. Dr. Taussig.

Total 35: 2 Graduates, 4 Law, 17 Seniors, 11 Juniors, 1 Other.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 51.

1885-86.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[Mid-Year Examination]

Comment on the following:—
“Beside the protection thrown over the manufacturing interest by Congress during this period (1789-1812), the war which raged in Europe produced a favorable effect. As the United States was a neutral nation, she fattened on the miseries of the European nations, and her commerce increased with astonishing rapidity. Our manufactures flourished from the same cause, though not to a corresponding degree with our commerce.”
Take two of the following:—
(a) Give some account of the sources from which we learn the character of the act of 1828, and the circumstances under which it was passed.
(b) What was Webster’s position on the tariff question, in 1824, in 1828, and in 1833?
(c) What was Clay’s position on the tariff question in 1820, in 1828, and in 1832?
Under (b) and (c) discuss briefly the reasons why Clay and Webster acted as they did at the dates mentioned.
Comment on the following:—
“Whenever we diminish importation by a protective tariff, we must at the same time diminish the production of those goods which, were trade free, we should given in exchange for the goods imported…..It would, however, be a mistake in the other direction to assume that all the industry set in operation by the tariff is withdrawn from other employments, and that there is no increase whatever. The very fact that, under free trade, goods are imported instead of being made at home shows that we find it easier to make the goods which we send abroad than to make those which we receive in exchange for them. Hence when we are forced to make them for ourselves, there must be an increase in the sum total of our industry.”
Comment on the following, and state when and by whom you think it was written:—
“The principal argument for the superior productiveness of agricultural labor turns on the allegation that the labor employed on manufactures yields nothing equivalent to the rent of the land, or to that net surplus, as it is called, which accrues to the proprietor of the soil….It seems to have been overlooked that the land itself is a stock or capital, advanced or lent by its owner to the occupier or tenant, and that the rent he receives is only the ordinary profit of a certain stock in land, not managed by the proprietor himself, but by another, to whom he lends or lets it, and who, on his part, advances a second capital, to stock and improve the land, upon which he also receives the usual profit. The rent of the landlord and the profit of the farmer are, therefore, nothing more than the ordinary profit of two capitals belonging to two different persons, and united in the cultivation of the farm.”
State as nearly as you can what were the duties on cotton goods, woolen goods, bar iron, hemp, and articles not specifically provided for, in the years 1800, 1814, 1820, 1830, and 1837. Mention what tariff act was in force at each date, and whether the duty was specific or ad valorem. Use tabular form if you wish.

Source: Harvard University Archives. Examination papers in economics, 1882-1935. Prof. F. W. Taussig, p. 7.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 6.
[Year-End Examination]

[Omit one question.]

Does a tax on imports operate as a tax on exports? Apply your reasoning to the exports of Southern cotton in 1830, and to those of Western grain in 1880.
Assuming that you were called on to reduce duties, state the order of preference in which you would effect reductions in the present duties on iron, sugar, silks. Give your reasons.
Make a comparison between the general course of tariff legislation in the United States and on the continent of Europe, from 1860 to the present time.
Make a comparison between the tariff legislation of the United States in 1833 and in 1846.
Comment on the reasoning and the statements of fact in the following:—
“The duty of 1867 on wool, which gave to wool-growing its greatest encouragement, has added nothing to the cost of wool to the manufacturer or the consumer. On the contrary, the price has been greatly cheapened. In 1867 the price was 51 cents, in 1870 it was 46 cents, in 1875 it was 43 cents. There has been a steady reduction, with occasional fluctuations, since 1867. Free wool will be of no permanent benefit to manufacturer or consumer, but a positive loss to both. On the other hand, the wool-growing interest will be ruined by the competition of Australia, New Zealand, and the South American States.”
Would you impose specific or ad-valorem duties on steel rails, wool, woolen cloths? Give your reasons. What has been the practice in imposing duties on these articles since 1860?

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Enrollment 1885-86

[Political Economy] 8. Financial history of the United States.—Bolles’s Financial History— Lectures. Prof. Dunbar.

Total 31: 1 Graduate, 4 Law, 15 Seniors, 11 Juniors.

Source: Harvard University. Report of the President of Harvard College, 1885-1886, p. 51.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 8.
[Year-end Examination]

What grounds are there for doubting the necessity of the first legal tender act?
Explain the steps by which the legal tender paper, at first regarded as a temporary issue, became a permanent currency.
What were the arguments for and against the asserted right of the government to pay the five-twenties in paper?
In what respects did the resumption act when passed appear to be insufficient for its purposes?
What was the argument for the proposition that contraction in some form was necessary for a return to specie payments; and how was contraction practically avoided?

Images Source: Harvard Library, Hollis Images. Charles F. Dunbar (left) and James Laurence Laughlin (middle) and Frank W. Taussig (right).

Enrollment 1885-86

PHILOSOPHY 11. THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM. [Year-end Examination]

[Omit one question]

Enrollment 1885-86

POLITICAL ECONOMY 1. [Year-end examination]

Enrollment 1885-86

POLITICAL ECONOMY 2. [Year-end Examination]

A.

I.

II.

III.

IV.

B. One question may be omitted.

Enrollment 1885-86

POLITICAL ECONOMY 3. [Year-end Examination]

Enrollment 1885-86

POLITICAL ECONOMY 4. [Year-end Examination]

Three questions to be omitted.

Enrollment 1885-86

1885-86. POLITICAL ECONOMY 6 [Mid-Year Examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 6. [Year-End Examination]

[Omit one question.]

Enrollment 1885-86

POLITICAL ECONOMY 8. [Year-end Examination]

Related

PHILOSOPHY 11.
THE ETHICS OF SOCIAL REFORM.
[Year-end Examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 1.
[Year-end examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 2.
[Year-end Examination]

B.
One question may be omitted.

POLITICAL ECONOMY 3.
[Year-end Examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 4.
[Year-end Examination]

1885-86.
POLITICAL ECONOMY 6
[Mid-Year Examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 6.
[Year-End Examination]

POLITICAL ECONOMY 8.
[Year-end Examination]