Scientists, Business, and the State, 1890-1960

by McGrath, Patrick J.

• ISBN13: 9780807826553
• ISBN10: 0807826553
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Pr

Summary

In the late nineteenth century, scientists began allying themselves with America's corporate, political, and military elites. They did so not just to improve their professional standing and win more money for research, says Patrick McGrath, but for political reasons as well. They wanted to use their new institutional connections to effect a transformation of American political culture. They succeeded, but not in ways that all scientists envisioned or agreed upon. McGrath describes how, between 1890 and 1960, scientific, business, and political leaders together forged a new definition of American democracy in which science and technology were presented to the public as crucial ingredients of the nation's progress, prosperity, and political stability. But as scientists became more prominent, they provoked conflicts among themselves as well as with their institutional patrons over exactly how their expertise should be used. McGrath examines the bitter battles that erupted over the role scientists should play during the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War arms race, and the security and loyalty investigations of the 1950s. He finds that, by the end of the 1950s, scientists were regarded by the political and military elite not as partners but as subordinate technicians who were expected to supply weapons on demand for the Cold War state.

Author Biography

Patrick J. McGrath has lectured in American history at New York University, Fordham University, and Pace University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Science and the Crises of the New Corporate Order	7	(26)
Scientific Politics in the 1930s	33	(35)
The Creation of State Science	68	(28)
Making the Case for a Managerial Democracy	96	(32)
The Battles over Scientific Militarism in the Cold War State	128	(30)
The Oppenheimer Case, Eisenhower, and the Triumph of Scientific Militarism	158	(36)
Conclusion	194	(9)
Notes	203	(24)
Bibliography	227	(18)
Index	245