UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Science Education in Early California Colleges, 1850-1880 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2mt9k8qf Author Weismeyer, Michael Brett Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Science Education in Early California Colleges, 1850-1880 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Michael Brett Weismeyer 2017 © Copyright by Michael Brett Weismeyer 2017 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Science Education in Early California Colleges, 1850-1880 by Michael Brett Weismeyer Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2017 Professor Theodore M. Porter, Chair Higher education institutions in California worked to make the state more prosperous through the science taught and conducted in these institutions during the state’s first three decades. This dissertation examines the role of science in these early California colleges and how they interacted with the state’s political economy. The colleges founded in this period worked to provide an education that students would recognize as leading to good jobs. While many of these schools were religiously affiliated, the institutions needed students regardless of their religious background in order for the schools to survive. These early colleges were able to provide services both to students and to the state in general as they reached the public through various means. These included utilizing scientific equipment for conducting experiments and analyzing mineral ores and illustrating scientific concepts with collections of animals, plants, and minerals. Additionally, lectures and public ii demonstrations brought science to a wider audience and helped to financially support the schools. Jesuit schools Santa Clara College and St. Ignatius College engaged with areas of mining, agriculture, and electricity. Protestant schools, such as the University of the Pacific and the College of California, also emphasized scientific education, including teaching it to women. The state’s healthcare infrastructure was strengthened by the start of medical education in the state with the University of the Pacific’s medical department and the Toland Medical College. Future teachers of California’s children were taught science in the California State Normal School. The federal Morrill Act’s passage allowed California the financial resources to establish a land grant institution, and the University of California was founded with a curriculum emphasizing mining, mechanic arts, agriculture, and engineering. The dissertation relies on archival sources–such as catalogues, diaries, and board meeting minutes–that are generally located on the present-day campuses of these institutions. Analysis of these documents provides evidence of how these institutions, through their science education, helped California’s economy to prosper. iii The dissertation of Michael Brett Weismeyer is approved. Janice L. Reiff Matthew Norton Wise Mary A. Yeager Theodore M. Porter, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2017 iv Dedicated to my family, Richard, Carol, and Marci v Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii Dedication........................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents............................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................vii Vita.................................................................................................................................................ix Chapter 1: Educational Reform in Nineteenth-Century America and Higher Education and Political Economy of the New State of California...........................................................................1 Chapter 2: Jesuit Education in California: Santa Clara College and St. Ignatius College.............44 Chapter 3: Science and Medicine: The University of the Pacific and the Toland Medical College...........................................................................................................................................93 Chapter 4: Teaching the Teachers about Science: The California State Normal School.............138 Chapter 5: The Land Grant College and Science: The College of California and the University of California.................................................................................................................................183 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................225 Bibliography.................................................................................................................................230 vi Acknowledgments In writing this dissertation, I have been aided by the support by numerous individuals. These few words below cannot adequately thank them properly or can include everyone that should be thanked, but I want to express my appreciation to several individuals. First, I want to thank my many teachers over the years, including at all of the previous institutions I attended, who have honed my research and writing skills. Of particular note are members of my committee, Ted Porter, Jan Reiff, Norton Wise, and Mary Yeager. As my advisor during my time at UCLA, Ted Porter has been an enormous source of help and guidance. During my doctoral journey, I have been aided by other UCLA professors, including Amir Alexander, Soraya de Chadarevian, Sol Cohen, Ellen Dubois, Bob Frank, Mary Terrall, Sharon Traweek, and Rick Wagoner. I valued discussing with and learning from my fellow history of science graduate students, Lino Camprubi, Aimee Dowl, Bradley Fidler, and Adam Lawrence, and gained perspective on my project from Courtenay Raia. My writing was greatly strengthened through the insightful comments by Sergio Figueiredo. Through working together in YRL and numerous lunchtime conversations, Greg Pierce helped the dissertation process be a more enjoyable one. My research would not have been possible without the assistance of archivists and librarians at several institutions, including the California Historical Society; the California Jesuit Archives; the California State Archives; the California State Library; the Mechanics’ Institute of San Francisco; San Jose State University; Santa Clara University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Los Angeles; and the University of the Pacific. I am grateful for the funding from the UCLA Department of History and the History of Science field. The staff of the UCLA Department of History has been very responsive in whatever way they could assist me. Other departments and areas of UCLA have also been helpful in my overall time vii at UCLA, and I am thankful for the many resources that UCLA has to aid graduate students in their progress. I have also been encouraged by various staff, administrators, and other fellow students over the years. Finally, I want to recognize relatives and friends not associated with UCLA. I especially want to thank my immediate family members, who have always been there for me. My late father, Richard Weismeyer, had an incredible work ethic and provided more assistance throughout my schooling than I can remember. Marci Weismeyer, my sister, has been a truly invaluable help in proofreading and asking questions from an outsider perspective. My mother, Carol Weismeyer, has been my best supporter and proofreader and a constant source of encouragement and someone I could always turn to. This journey has been made better though the help of all of these individuals. viii Vita EDUCATION June 2010 C. Phil., History University of California, Los Angeles December 2008 M.A., History University of California, Los Angeles June 2006 M.A., Education, Emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction La Sierra University, Riverside, CA July 2003 M.B.A., Emphasis in Church and Nonprofit Leadership Southern Adventist University, Collegedale, TN September 2000 B.A., History, Summa Cum Laude La Sierra University, Riverside, California June 2000 B.S., Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude La Sierra University, Riverside, California PRESENTATIONS Weismeyer, Michael. “Teaching the Teachers about Science: The California State Normal School.” Paper presented at the UCLA History of Science, Medicine, and Technology Colloquium, University of California, Los Angeles, October 2017. Weismeyer, Michael. “A Tale of Two Schools: Medical Education and California’s Political Economy.” Paper presented at the Andrews Research Conference: Early Career Researchers and Creative Scholars in the Arts and Humanities, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, May 2016. Weismeyer, Michael. “Medical Education Starts in California.” Paper presented at the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Historians, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA, March 2016. TEACHING EXPERIENCE UCLA College of Letters and Science Instructor of Record University Studies: How to Succeed at UCLA Summer 2016 ix History of Modern Thought Cluster, Seminar “Science and Spring