View source for Herbert Baxter Adams

{{Short description|American educator and historian (1850–1901)}}
{{Similar names|Herbert Adams (disambiguation){{!}}Herbert Adams}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Herbert Baxter Adams
| image             = Herbert Baxter Adams - Brady-Handy.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Adams, 1870–1880
| birth_date        = {{birth date|mf=y|1850|4|16}}
| birth_place       = [[Shutesbury, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|mf=y|1901|7|30|1850|4|16}}
| death_place       = [[Amherst, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| alma_mater        = [[Amherst College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]], [[Master of Arts|AM]])<br />[[University of Heidelberg]] ([[PhD]])
| workplaces        = [[Johns Hopkins University]]
| fields            = History
| academic_advisors = [[Johann Gustav Droysen]]<br /> [[Johann Kaspar Bluntschli]]
| known_for         = 
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| doctoral_students = [[Charles Homer Haskins]]<br />[[Frederick Jackson Turner]]
| signature         = Signature of Herbert Baxter Adams (1850–1901).png
}}

'''Herbert Baxter Adams''' (April 16, 1850&nbsp;– July 30, 1901) was an American educator and historian who brought German rigor to the study of [[history]] and social science in America.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Small |first=Albion W. |date=1916 |title=Fifty Years of Sociology in the United States (1865-1915) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2763629 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=21 |issue=6 |pages=730 |doi=10.1086/212570 |jstor=2763629 |issn=0002-9602|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He was a professor at [[Johns Hopkins University]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Vincent |first=John Martin |date=1926 |title=Masters of Social Science: Herbert B. Adams |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3004720 |journal=Social Forces |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=465–479 |doi=10.2307/3004720 |jstor=3004720 |issn=0037-7732|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

He was a founding member of the [[American Historical Association]], and one of the earliest educators using the seminar for teaching history. With a fresh PhD from the [[Heidelberg University]] in [[Germany]], Johns Hopkins University brought Adams in as a teaching fellow in history during their inaugural year. Adams stayed with Johns Hopkins until his health failed.<ref name=":0" />

Adams was instrumental in organizing the American Historical Association. A leading organizer of American [[Postgraduate education|graduate schools]], he contributed to various reform efforts. His legacy is honored through various awards and professorships at Johns Hopkins University.

==Early life==
Adams was born to [[lumber]] merchant Nathaniel Dickinson Adams and Harriet (Hastings) Adams in [[Shutesbury]], [[Massachusetts]], on April 16, 1850.<ref name="BDA1906a">{{harvnb|Johnson|1906|p=40}}</ref>

On his mother's side, he was a descendant of [[Thomas Hastings (colonist)|Thomas Hastings]] who came from the [[East Anglia]] region of England to the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1634.<ref>Buckminster, Lydia N.H., ''The Hastings Memorial, A Genealogical Account of the Descendants of Thomas Hastings of Watertown, Mass. from 1634 to 1864''. Boston: Samuel G. Drake Publisher (an undated NEHGS photoduplicate of the 1866 edition), 19.</ref> In 1880, he published a privately printed genealogy: ''History of the Thomas Adams and Thomas Hastings families, of Amherst, Massachusetts.''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Herbert Baxter |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofthomasa00adam/mode/2up |title=History of the Thomas Adams and Thomas Hastings families, of Amherst, Massachusetts |publisher=Privately Printed |year=1880 |edition=Higginson Book Company Reprint}}</ref>

Herbert B. Adams received his early training in the [[Amherst, Massachusetts|Amherst]], Massachusetts public schools followed by [[Phillips Exeter Academy]]. He graduated from [[Amherst College]], with an [[Bachelor of Arts|AB]] in 1872 and [[Master of Arts|AM]] in 1875.<ref name="BDA1906a" />

In 1873 Adams traveled to [[Europe]] to study and write. In 1874 he moved to [[Heidelberg University|Heidelberg]], [[Germany]], to pursue, two years later, the [[PhD]] degree in political science.<ref name="BDA1906a" /> There he was influenced by [[Johann Gustav Droysen]] and [[Johann Kaspar Bluntschli]], the latter also becoming his mentor. Heidelberg did not then require a thesis from its doctoral candidates, instead it required an oral examination, for which he chose political science for his major field (Hauptfach), with two minors (Nebenfächer) in public and international law and in political and cultural history. Adams passed the oral examination on July 13, 1876, summa cum laude.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cunningham |first1= Raymond J. |year=1981 |title=The German Historical World of Herbert Baxter Adams: 1874-1876 |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=68 |issue= 2: September, 1981 |pages=261–275 |publisher=Organization of American Historians |doi=10.2307/1889972 |jstor=1889972}}</ref>

==Career==
The new [[Johns Hopkins University]], which opened in 1876, wanted to bring German-style graduate education to the United States. Adams was hired as fellow in history from 1876 to 1878,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://professorships.jhu.edu/professorship/herbert-baxter-adams-professorship-in-history/ | title=Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship in History | date=April 22, 2016 }}</ref> associate from 1878 to 1883, and was appointed associate professor in 1883. He is credited with bringing the study of history into the realm of the [[social sciences]]: "Adams, with his German training, was determined to inaugurate through the seminar system the scientific study of history based on careful, critical examination of the sources. He hoped to make the study of history an independent professional pursuit rather than a mere branch of literature."<ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/herbert-baxter-adams "Herbert Baxter Adams"] in Encyclopedia.com: ''Encyclopedia of World Biography''. Retrieved October 30, 2018.</ref>

From 1878 to 1881 Adams was also a lecturer in history at [[Smith College]].<ref>"Professor Herbert Baxter Adams" by B. J. Ramage in The American Historical Magazine Vol. 6, No. 4 (October, 1901), pp. 363-366</ref> He was then a member of the [[New England Historic Genealogical Society]], from 1881 to 1886.<ref name="BDA1906b">{{harvnb|Johnson|1906|p=41}}</ref>

At Johns Hopkins, in 1880, Adams began his famous [[seminar]] in history, where a large proportion of the next generation of American historians trained. Among his students were [[Woodrow Wilson]], [[Thomas Dixon, Jr.]], [[John Dewey]], and [[Charles McLean Andrews]]. In 1882 Adams founded the "Johns Hopkins Studies in Historical and Political Science,"<ref name="BDA1906a" /> the first such series. He was elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1881.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlista American Antiquarian Society Members Directory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427111323/http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlista |date=2017-04-27 }}</ref> He brought about the organization in 1884 of the [[American Historical Association]], for which he was secretary until 1900, when he resigned and was made first vice president.<ref>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Adams, Herbert Baxter|year=1905}}</ref> His historical writings introduced scientific methods of investigation that influenced many historians, including [[Frederick Jackson Turner]] and [[John Spencer Bassett]]. He authored ''Life and Writings of [[Jared Sparks]]'' (2 vols., 1893)<ref name="BDA1906b" /> and many articles and influential reports on the study of the social sciences.

His principal writings are:
*''The Germanic Origin of the New England Towns''
*''Saxon Tithing-Men in America''
*''Norman Constables in America''
* ''Village Communities''
*''Methods of Historical Study'' and,
*''Maryland's Influence upon Land Cessions to the United States'' 

All these papers are published in the ''Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science,'' edited by Prof. Adams, 4 vols. (Baltimore, 1883–1986).{{Sfn|Wilson|Fiske|1900}} Although less known for his contributions to the history of education, Adams was essential to its early development. He edited the circular series titled, ''Contributions to American Educational History'' which was printed and distributed by the U.S. Bureau of Education.

A new class of experts needed new modes of training, and those were provided by the new American graduate schools, built along German models. Adams was a  leading organizer. He was a [[Mugwumps|Mugwump]] who promoted reform at Johns Hopkins and nationally. Under his direction, the faculty and advanced students worked for numerous reforms, including civil service reform in the [[Pendleton Act]] (1883), municipal reform with the [[New Charter of Baltimore]] (1895), the training of professional social workers, and efforts to solve labor unrest. [[Raymond Cunningham]], argues that his reformism shows that the Mugwumps movement could attract affirmative and optimistic experts, rather than just suspicious or cautious patricians.<ref>Raymond Cunningham, "'Scientia Pro Patria': Herbert Baxter Adams and Mugwump Academic Reform at Johns Hopkins, 1876-1901." ''Prospects'' (1990), Vol. 15, pp 109-144.</ref>

==Last years==
Adams was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1886.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1886&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-24|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> He received the degree [[LL.D.]] from the [[University of Alabama]] in 1891, and from [[Amherst University|Amherst]] in 1899.<ref name="BDA1906b" />

Adams made a report to the [[U.S. Bureau of Education]] on summer schools in Europe in 1896, and resigned the chair of American and institutional history at Johns Hopkins University in December, 1900, to take effect in February, 1901, and then visited [[Florida]].<ref name="BDA1906b"/>

Returning to his home in Amherst, Massachusetts, Adams died on July 30, 1901, and was buried next to his parents and older brother in Wildwood Cemetery.<ref name="BDA1906b"/>

==Honors==
*Adams House, an undergraduate dormitory at [[Johns Hopkins University]], is named for him.
*The American Historical Association's [[Herbert Baxter Adams prize]] was named for him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historians.org/prizes/AWARDED/AdamsWinner.htm |title=Herbert Baxter Adams Prize |date=2008-01-11 |publisher=American Historical Association |accessdate=2008-04-28 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704130426/http://www.historians.org/prizes/AWARDED/AdamsWinner.htm |archivedate=2008-07-04 }}</ref>
*The Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship at [[Johns Hopkins University]] was created in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://professorships.jhu.edu/professorship/herbert-baxter-adams-professorship-in-history/ | title=Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship | date=April 22, 2016 | accessdate=2019-04-01}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

'''Attribution'''
* {{Appletons'|wstitle=Adams, Herbert Baxter|year=1900}}
* {{BDA1906|wstitle= Adams, Herbert Baxter |volume=1 |pages=40–41}}

==Further reading==
*Cunningham, Raymond. “Historian among the Librarians: Herbert Baxter Adams and Modern Librarianship.” ''The Journal of Library History.''  21, no. 4 (1986): 704–22.
* Cunningham, Raymond. "'Scientia Pro Patria': Herbert Baxter Adams and Mugwump Academic Reform at Johns Hopkins, 1876-1901." ''Prospects'' (1990), Vol. 15, pp 109–144.
* {{Citation |chapter=Herbert Baxter Adams |year=2013 |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |chapter-url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/5127/Herbert-Baxter-Adams |accessdate=14 October 2016}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Adams, Herbert Baxter|short=×}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Adams, Herbert Baxter |year=1920 |short=x}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151230153235/http://ead.library.jhu.edu/ms004.xml Herbert Baxter Adams papers, 1850-1901], at Johns Hopkins University.
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Herbert Baxter Adams |sopt=t}}
* [https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofth005369mbp#page/n203/mode/2up "Herbert B. Adams,"] by John Martin Vincent, in ''Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1901'', Vol. 1, pp.&nbsp;197–210.
* [http://www.thomas-hastings.org Descendants of Thomas Hastings website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Descendants-of-Thomas-Hastings-c1605-1685/73420529952 Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook]
* [https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00adam Descendants of Henry Adams of Braintree]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Herbert Baxter}}
[[Category:19th-century American historians]]
[[Category:19th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty]]
[[Category:People from Shutesbury, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1901 deaths]]
[[Category:Phillips Exeter Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Amherst College alumni]]
[[Category:Heidelberg University alumni]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the German Empire]]
[[Category:Historians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]