Ellen Churchill Semple and American Geography in an Era of Imperialism
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2011 Ellen Churchill Semple and American geography in an era of imperialism. Ellen Elizabeth Adams College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Adams, Ellen Elizabeth, "Ellen Churchill Semple and American geography in an era of imperialism." (2011). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1593092082. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/m2-g754-m195 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ELLEN CHURCHILL SEMPLE AND AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY IN AN ERA OF IMPERIALISM Ellen Elizabeth Adams Merrick, New York Master of Arts, College of William and Mary, 2004 Bachelor of Arts, Vassar College, 1998 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History The College of William and Mary August 2011 ABSTRACT PAGE This dissertation examines the life and work of Ellen Churchill Semple (1863-1932), a key figure in the history of American academic geography. Over the course of her career, Semple was involved in most of the major institutions that shaped geography in the United States, including the Association of American Geographers, the department of geography at the University of Chicago, and the Clark University School of Geography. She was also the author of three books, American History and Its Geographic Conditions (1903), Influences of Geographic Environment (1911 ), and The Geography of the Mediterranean Region ( 1931 ), as well as more than two dozen articles published in the major geographical journals. Semple graduated from Vassar College in 1882, and in the 1890s she studied at the University of Leipzig with the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel. Semple was instrumental in introducing Americans, particularly elementary- and secondary-school teachers, to the "new geography," or what Ratzel called anthropogeographie, which emphasized the relationships between people and their environment. Much of the new geography revolved around examining the ways people used natural resources and produced and transported commodities. In this way, geography fit very well with the needs of business and the state to promote American economic growth and overseas expansion. During the first part of her career, until around 1920, Semple wrote books and articles and taught university courses that (whether explicitly or implicitly) argued for the inevitability of American expansion. Semple's work presented growth--whether economic or territorial--as being driven by universal sociobiological laws rooted in geographic environment. Semple's approach changed somewhat after World War I, when international cooperation seemed to have replaced the aggressive imperialism of the early twentieth century. Her writing in the 1920s tended to depict a world in which humans and the environment had a reciprocal relationship, where geography created a range of possibilities, rather than one in which geography had the power to determine particular and predictable outcomes. Geography during this period also began to shift from working towards finding ways that geographers could help the state and related enterprises, to encouraging students to think about working directly for American businesses. During her time at Clark University in the 1920s, Semple worked to make connections with banks and manufacturers and to convince them of the benefits of hiring geographers. Central to understanding Semple as a geographer in an era of imperialism is her position as one of the few female professional geographers in the United States. As was the case with most emerging professions and academic disciplines at the tum of the twentieth century, geographers believed that it was necessary to show that they and their subject were authoritative and objective. The qualities they associated with professionalism and scientific rigor were also the traits they associated with men, which often led to efforts to exclude women from geographical organizations in the name of preserving higher standards. Imperial enterprises and business were also defined as spheres of masculine activity, but they required the tacit support of at least some women. Semple's willingness to use her work to promote the needs of the state and business was, this dissertation argues, a key factor in her acceptance by the male-dominated geographic community. © Copyright by Ellen Elizabeth Adams 2011 APPROVAL PAGE This Dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Apprp)/_~~ Committee Chair Associate Professor Leisa Mey , History ~J;:T£;;;:~_ Associate Professor Tuska Benes, History The College of William & Mary Associate Professor Chandos Brown, History -- The College of William & Mary f~ Associate Professor Philip Daileader, History The College of William & Mary Professor Brian Blouet, Geography School of Education, The College of William & Mary ABSTRACT PAGE This dissertation examines the life and work of Ellen Churchill Semple (1863-1932), a key figure in the history of American academic geography. Over the course of her career, Semple was involved in most of the major institutions that shaped geography in the United States, including the Association of American Geographers, the department of geography at the University of Chicago, and the Clark University School of Geography. She was also the author of three books, American History and Its Geographic Conditions (1903), Influences of Geographic Environment (1911 ), and The Geography of the Mediterranean Region ( 1931 ), as well as more than two dozen articles published in the major geographical journals. Semple graduated from Vassar College in 1882, and in the 1890s she studied at the University of Leipzig with the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel. Semple was instrumental in introducing Americans, particularly elementary- and secondary-school teachers, to the "new geography," or what Ratzel called anthropogeographie, which emphasized the relationships between people and their environment. Much of the new geography revolved around examining the ways people used natural resources and produced and transported commodities. In this way, geography fit very well with the needs of business and the state to promote American economic growth and overseas expansion. During the first part of her career, until around 1920, Semple wrote books and articles and taught university courses that (whether explicitly or implicitly) argued for the inevitability of American expansion. Semple's work presented growth--whether economic or territorial--as being driven by universal sociobiological laws rooted in geographic environment. Semple's approach changed somewhat after World War I, when international cooperation seemed to have replaced the aggressive imperialism of the early twentieth century. Her writing in the 1920s tended to depict a world in which humans and the environment had a reciprocal relationship, where geography created a range of possibilities, rather than one in which geography had the power to determine particular and predictable outcomes. Geography during this period also began to shift from working towards finding ways that geographers could help the state and related enterprises, to encouraging students to think about working directly for American businesses. During her time at Clark University in the 1920s, Semple worked to make connections with banks and manufacturers and to convince them of the benefits of hiring geographers. Central to understanding Semple as a geographer in an era of imperialism is her position as one of the few female professional geographers in the United States. As was the case with most emerging professions and academic disciplines at the turn of the twentieth century, geographers believed that it was necessary to show that they and their subject were authoritative and objective. The qualities they associated with professionalism and scientific rigor were also the traits they associated with men, which often led to efforts to exclude women from geographical organizations in the name of preserving higher standards. Imperial enterprises and business were also defined as spheres of masculine activity, but they required the tacit support of at least some women. Semple's willingness to use her work to promote the needs of the state and business was, this dissertation argues, a key factor in her acceptance by the male-dominated geographic community. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Early Influences, 1863-1896 20 Chapter 2. History's Geography: Ellen Churchill Semple and the Formation of American Geography in an Era of Expansion, 1897-1911 84 Chapter 3. Travel: Around the World with Ellen Churchill Semple, 1911-1912 156 Chapter 4. Professional Identities: Ellen Churchill Semple and the Organization of American Geography, 1903-1921 192 Chapter 5. Geography in the Post-World War I Era: Ellen Churchill Semple at Clark University, 1921-1932 253 Bibliography 300 Vita 328 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people and institutions contributed to the completion of this dissertation.