Henry Adams Archives - Page 2 of 5 - THE EDUCATION OF HENRY ADAMS

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXXIII-XXXIV – A Dynamic Theory of History and A Law of Acceleration

Summary Adams approaches the entire span of mankind’s history on earth from the point of view of “progress” and “forces,” for which he has specific definitions. His theory “defines Progress as the development and economy of forces.” “Force” can be anything that produces work; but he also speaks, perhaps more […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXXII – Vis Nova

Henry Adams

Summary Adams has spent most of the last third of his book dealing with new science; to the reader’s benefit, he is also concerned with international politics. Here, the author uses the term vis nova (new force) to describe not only scientific advance but also the new role of the […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXXI – The Grammar of Science

Henry Adams

Summary Karl Pearson’s classic approach to scientific method, The Grammar of Science, first published in 1899, evokes both praise and condemnation from Adams. Henry deletes some of his stronger criticism from the 1907 edition of Education; but his written opinions, criticizing scientists for their reluctance to draw broad conclusions, exist […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXX – Vis Inertiae

Henry Adams

Summary Adams turns his attention back to international politics and his friend John Hay, now at “the summit of his career.” Henry attempts to speak of the political influence of nations in terms of inertia and is specifically interested in Russia, China, and the Russo-Japanese War. He fears that the […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXIX – The Abyss of Ignorance

Henry Adams

Summary Henry continues to struggle toward a scientific understanding of history. He now sees lines of force in the actions of mankind where he once saw lines of will. Henry reconsiders the concepts of unity and multiplicity and wonders if these apparent opposites may not be the same thing. He […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXVIII – The Height of Knowledge

Henry Adams

Summary Adams briefly comments on the “hideous political murders” of three Presidents of the United States assassinated in office in Henry’s lifetime: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James Garfield (1881), and William McKinley (1901). He sees 1901 as a year of tragedy, including the deaths of John Hay’s son, Del, and one […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXVI-XXVII – Twilight and Teufelsdröckh

Henry Adams

Summary Adams considers the achievements of his friend John Hay, Secretary of State (to Presidents McKinley and then Theodore Roosevelt) from 1898 until his death in 1905. Hay’s participation in the Open Door Policy regarding China, the quelling of the Boxer Rebellion, and the planning of the Panama Canal are […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXV – The Dynamo and the Virgin

Henry Adams

Summary Henry is infatuated with the Paris Exposition of 1900, which opens on April 15 and runs through the month of November. He has been studying Gothic architecture since 1895, foreshadowing his historical and philosophical meditation, Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres, privately printed in 1904. During the summer of 1900, he is […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXIII-XXIV – Silence and Indian Summer

Henry Adams

Summary In the aftermath of the depression of 1893, Adams discusses the unfortunate fate of Clarence King, perhaps the man he admires most in his generation. King and Adams visit Cuba in February and March of 1894, enjoying the sights but also noticing an increasing revolutionary spirit opposing the rule […]

Summary and Analysis Chapter XXII – Chicago

Henry Adams

Summary The international depression of 1893 draws attention to the issue of the gold standard in the United States. The question is whether international trade should be based on payment of balances in gold only or one that includes gold and silver, which would involve a fixed ratio of the […]