Suchergebnisse

My two predecessors assure me that our association is too young to possess any precedents or traditions. In the matter of themes for presidential addresses the only foreshadow of a tradition seems to be the cult of variety and free choice. My own choice of subject is therefore influenced by the fact that during the past year I have been writing a biography of our first president and America's first native-born thoroughly trained economic historian, Edwin F. Gay. As I followed the career of one member of our guild in the making, comparisons with others would persist in cropping up, and the question took shape: "What are economic historians made of?"

The immediate future of economic history is here. As I look over the program of our sessions, it seems plain that all of us are bound to be thinking about the nature of that future. Our president will speak on this subject with an authority that the rest of us cannot command. But it is up to each of us, however humble, to make such a contribution as the means at our disposal permit. Creative discussion always helps men to edge a little closer toward the truth. Let us hope there will be much of it during the next two days. Professor Innis has asked me to open the formal part of this session by some brief remarks on the relation of economic history to American civilization. I thank him for his confidence, but wish that he had placed the task in more competent hands. The subject I have selected is a vast and complicated one, and all I can hope to offer are a few rough and general suggestions. What I have to say is intended to provoke discussion.

Archeologists assure us that organized social life has existed on this earth for about two hundred and fifty thousand years. How millions of people have sought to satisfy their wants over this tremendous span of time is the acknowledged province of economic history. Yet, for lack of records, the gild of economic historians must, for the most part, confine their attention to the last one per cent of this time span; indeed the great bulk of research in economic history is devoted the last one-tenth of one per cent of the archeologists' two hundred and fifty thousand years of social history. Even then the economic historian is utterly overwhelmed with facts. He who essays to write the economic history of the United States, for example, must depict as best can the economic activities of people for more than a hundred and fifty years, farmers, merchants, manufacturers, wage-earners, rentiers; men, women and children in all walks of life, in all variety of occupations. The task is utterly staggering. An army of economic historians would be required to write a complete economic history of the United States; a regiment at least to write a faithful factual account of a single industry.