Background
James was born on May 21, 1855, in Jacksonville, Illinois, the son of Colin Dew James and his wife, Amanda Keziah Casad. His father, a Virginian by birth, was a presiding elder in the Illinois Methodist Conference.
(Excerpt from Annals of the American Academy of Political ...)
Excerpt from Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 6: July, 1895 December, 1895 The American Academy of Political and Social Science has recently published a collection of the chief constitutional and organic laws of the French Republicfl< This collection contains the three fundamental constitutional laws Of 1875, and the organic laws passed in the same year relating to the election of deputies and senators. The latter may be considered as a supplement to the constitutional laws them selves, although in their form they do not constitute a part Of the constitution properly so-called. Finally, there are the more recently enacted laws, including amendments to the constitution, as well as the ordinary legislation which relates to matters regulated by the organic laws just mentioned. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Annals-American-Academy-Political-Science/dp/1330954491?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1330954491
(Excerpt from The Charters of the City of Chicago, Vol. 1:...)
Excerpt from The Charters of the City of Chicago, Vol. 1: The Early Charters, 1833-1837 1 Trustees named. They and their successors declared to be a corporation with the usual powers of suing and being sued, etc. Permitted to hold property real and personal within said town, and burial grounds without, and to lease or sell town property. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Charters-City-Chicago-Vol-1833-1837/dp/1332334431?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1332334431
(Excerpt from The Origin of the Land Grant Act of 1862 (th...)
Excerpt from The Origin of the Land Grant Act of 1862 (the So-Called Morrill Act), Vol. 4: And Some Account of Its Author, Jonathan B. Turner There is no desire to detract one iota from the credit due Mr. Morrill for his earnest, wise and persistent advocacy of the policy of Federal Aid to education. By his action on this subject he gained and deserved the name of statesman and his glory and reputation will wax with the passing years while that of many of his colleagues who were more prominent at the time will wane and pass away; because they did not recognize the really important things and he did. All honor to him for his early work and above all for his continued support of this policy once begun! On the other hand, the credit for having first devised and formulated the original plan and of having worked up the public interest in the measure so that it could be passed belongs clearly to Professor Turner and should be accorded him. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Land-Grant-So-Called-Morrill/dp/1331656613?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1331656613
(Excerpt from First Annual Report to the Corporation and M...)
Excerpt from First Annual Report to the Corporation and Members of the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching, 1893 We think it is not too much to say that, everything con sidered, a good start has been made in the direction of creating such a technical literature. Careful papers have been pre~ pared upon the function and methods of University Extension work, upon the University Extension lecturer, what he should do and what he should be, upon the place and form of the class, upon the character, form and content of the syllabus, upon the place of the examination in this scheme of instruction, upon the duties and organization of local committees, upon the most efficient methods of stimulating study on the part of University Extension students, etc., etc.; taking up one after another, and as fully as circumstances permitted, the investigation of each of the difficult questions of policy re lating to this subject. That the result accomplished along this line has been felt to be a service by others than those engaged in our own work, is amply evidenced by the fact that we have a con tinued call for the papers and discussions upon these subjects which have been published by the Society, and that from every State in the Union we have received requests to send copies of such documents. We hope to continue this partie ular work and carry it on with even more fulness and in more detail in the future than in the past. The Society haspublished a Handbook of University Extension made up of the first twelve numbers of its journal, and which has been pronounced by competent experts to be the best contri bution to the literature of University Extension work which has been made up to the present. The reports of the Con ferences, which will be mentioned in another connection, ought also to be noted here; as the report of the first National Conference on University Extension contained a unique collection of papers bearing upon all the various phases of this subject, and which are of special interest to those engaged in the conduct of this work throughout the world. Mr. Michael E. Sadler, the well-known English Extension lecturer, declared this report of the first Con ference to have reached the high water mark of excellence in Extension literature. This sort of work is, of course, ex pensive but it is absolutely necessary to the permanency and efficiency of the movement. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Corporation-American-Extension-University-Teaching/dp/1334777950?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1334777950
(Excerpt from An Address Before the Convention of the Amer...)
Excerpt from An Address Before the Convention of the American Bankers' Association: At Saratoga, September 3, 1890 In this way each subsequent period is taken up and worked over and when the student has completed his course, he is not only familiar with the names of the Presidents, of the Governors, of the orators and statesmen of the Republic; he not only knows when the battle of the Brandywine was fought and when the treaty of peace was signed at the close of the Revolution; but he has a tolerably clear notion of the course of our coun try's history in each of the great departments of our national life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Address-Convention-American-Bankers-Association/dp/1331614260?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1331614260
James was born on May 21, 1855, in Jacksonville, Illinois, the son of Colin Dew James and his wife, Amanda Keziah Casad. His father, a Virginian by birth, was a presiding elder in the Illinois Methodist Conference.
After graduating from the high school of the Illinois State Normal University (1873), James spent a scant year at Northwestern University, and another (1874-1875) at Harvard. The following autumn he entered the University of Halle, where he studied economics with Conrad and took his doctorate (1877) with a dissertation on the American tariff.
Returning to Illinois, full of enthusiasm for German scholarship, James taught first in the Evanston High School and later as principal of his old school at Normal (1879-1882). He was an inspiring teacher and several of his pupils had successful academic careers. He also published educational essays and in 1881 founded, with Charles De Garmo, the Illinois School Journal. Meantime, his contributions to J. J. Lalor's Cyclopaedia of Political Science (1881-1883) on such topics as "Factory Laws" and "Finance, " brought him recognition as a promising young economist, and in 1883 he became professor of Public Finance and Administration in the new Wharton School of Finance and Economy at the University of Pennsylvania. James impressed his early Pennsylvania students by his "clear, vigorous and realistic" teaching, stimulating interest in higher studies and productive scholarship. The recognized leader of the Wharton School faculty, he was also active in promoting commercial education elsewhere.
Visiting Europe under the auspices of the American Bankers Association, James published his Education of Businessmen in Europe (1893), which attracted much attention. He was one of the younger economists who were active in organizing the American Economic Association, and one of its first two vice-presidents (1885). The dissatisfaction of these younger scholars with "classical" economics is reflected in his preface to J. K. Ingram's A History of Political Economy (1888). His center of interest was shifting, however, from economics to politics with a special interest in municipal problems, and he was the first president of the Municipal League of Philadelphia (1891). More significant was his founding of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1889-1890); he was also its first president (1890-1901) and the first editor of its Annals (1890-1896).
In these varied activities, some friction developed and in 1896 James went to the University of Chicago as professor of public administration and director of university extension - he had been president of the American Association for the Extension of University Teaching. His career at Chicago was short (1896-1901) but he established contacts which proved useful as he turned from intensive scholarship to educational administration.
After two years as president of Northwestern University (1902-1904) he was elected to the presidency of the University of Illinois, where he spent fifteen years in active service (1904-1919). He was exceptionally equipped for his new post. A native of the state, James knew its public school system at first-hand as pupil and teacher, while his knowledge of educational developments at home and abroad gave him an unusual perspective. Above all, he believed in the ability and willingness of a democracy, properly led, to build up a real university. His first appeal to the legislature brought the biennial appropriation to nearly a million and a half, and during the next decade this amount was increased to about five millions. Meantime, though admission requirements were advanced, student attendance increased more than eighty percent; the faculty was rapidly expanded; and several major buildings were added. More significant was the enlargement of research equipment and the setting of higher standards. To a remarkable extent, the younger workers were made to feel that their special problems were understood.
Constantly involved in large projects, James's treatment of academic routine was sometimes open to criticism and during the later years of his administration his personal associations abroad made the World War a difficult ordeal for himself and his family. James hoped that American participation might be avoided; but, though cosmopolitan in his interests, he was politically a strong nationalist, and when the United States entered the war, he was eager to help, both personally and through the expert services of the university. Never robust, however, he broke down under the stress of this trying period. After a year's leave of absence he resigned the presidency in 1920. He died five years later at Covina, California, on June 17, 1925.
(Excerpt from An Address Before the Convention of the Amer...)
(Excerpt from First Annual Report to the Corporation and M...)
(Excerpt from The Origin of the Land Grant Act of 1862 (th...)
(Excerpt from Annals of the American Academy of Political ...)
(Excerpt from The Charters of the City of Chicago, Vol. 1:...)
Though reserved in his expression of religious feeling, James retained his Methodist connections and took a catholic interest in religious education.
James was a vice-president of the American Economic Association (1885), President of the Municipal League of Philadelphia (1891), President of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1890-1901), President of the American Association for the Extension of University Teaching, President of Northwestern University (1902-1904), and President of the University of Illinois (1904-1919).
His keen sense of the dramatic may have verged at times on the theatrical; but James was essentially large-minded, dealing realistically with situations and with men while taking a human interest in individuals.
In the Halle University circle James met Anna Margarethe Lange whom he married on August 22, 1879. Three of their six children survived him. His wife's died in 1914.
