The Americans

by Hugo Munsterberg

Overview

The Americans by Hugo Munsterberg stands alongside Alexis de Tocqueville's American Democracy as one of the great works on the New World written by a scholar deeply familiar with the Old World. When originally published, it gave the German public a sense of American life, and was described as "a book which deals in a detailed way with the political, economic, intellectual, and social aspects of American culture." Munsterberg, a world-renowned psychologist at the turn of the twentieth century, noted that "its purpose is to interpret systematically the democratic ideals of America."

The primary aim of The Americans is to study the people and America's inner tendencies. It offers a "philosophy of Americanism," the ideology of a people writ whole. Munsterberg's sense of the "spirit" of a people, rather than facts about the people, is revealed in his four cardinal chapters: Self-Direction, Self-Realization, Self-Perfection, and Self-Assertion. While he covers the economic premises of the free market and the politics of party affairs, he considers these the least important. Instead it is the lasting forces and tendencies of American life, rather than problems of the day, that occupy the author. This focus was shared by German readers, for whom the book was conceived, and for those in the United States who read the book in English.

The dynamic of strong basic tendencies of democratic forces and lesser, but significant, aristocratic tendencies underwrites the strains and tensions in American society. It also defines the special nature of a book, written more than one hundred years ago, that retains its lively sense of purpose and deep insight into American life. One could well say that this book is required reading in this day and age for Americans and Europeans alike. This is a neglected masterpiece.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412806527
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	10/30/2007
Pages:	664
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Hugo Münsterberg (1863-1916) was a professor of psychology at Harvard University. He was widely known for his work in the fields of the applications of psychology to law, business, industry, medicine, teaching, and sociology. He was also a leader in the field of behaviorism for his work, which defines attention in terms of the openness of the nerve paths to the muscles of adjustment. In 1898 he was elected president of the American Psychological Association. Among his works are Psychology and Industrial Efficiency, Psychotherapy, On the Witness Stand, Psychology and Crime, and The Eternal Values.

John J. Bukowczyk is professor of history at Wayne State University. He is author or editor of four books and author of numerous journal articles. He is also editor of the Journal of American Ethnic History.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSACTION EDITION PREFACE I. POLITICAL LIFE 1. THE SPIRIT OF SELF-DIRECTION 2. POLITICAL PARTIES 3. THE PRESIDENT 4. CONGRESS 5. JUSTICE 6. CITY AND STATE 7. PUBLIC OPINION 8. PROBLEMS OF POPULATION 9. INTERNAL POLITICAL PROBLEMS 10. EXTERNAL INTERNAL POLITICAL PROBLEMS II. ECONOMIC LIFE 11. THE SPIRIT OF SELF-INITIATIVE 12. THE ECONOMIC RISE 13. THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS THE SILVER QUESTION THE TARIFF QUESTION THE TRUST QUESTION THE LABOUR QUESTION III. INTELLECUAL LIFE 14. THE SPIRIT OF SELF-PERFECTION I5. THE SCHOOLS AND POPULAR EDUCATION 16. THE UNIVERISITIES 17. SCIENCE 18. LITERATURE 19. ART 20. RELIGION IV. SOCIAL LIFE 21. THE SPIRIT OF SELF-ASSERTION 22. THE SELF-ASSERTION OF WOMEN 23. ARISTOCRATIC TENDENCIES INDEX