Edward Alsworth Ross (December 12, 1866 – July 22, 1951) was an American sociologist and university professor, journalist and publicist with wide-ranging interests in

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

and

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

. An adherent of the American Progressive Movement in his early career, with a special interest in the protection of the rights of white workers and the white working-class. He soon gained and has kept an enduring reputation as a

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

for his vocal opposition to the rights of Asians in California, as well opposing their further immigration into the United States.

Early life

He was born in

Virden, Illinois Virden is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, Macoupin and Sangamon County, Illinois, Sangamon counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Macoupin County portion of Virden ...

. His father was a farmer. He attended Coe College and graduated in 1887. After two years as an instructor at a business school, the Fort Dodge Commercial Institute, he went to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for graduate study at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. He returned to the U.S., and in 1891 he received his PhD from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in political economy under Richard T. Ely, with minors in philosophy and ethics.Encyclopedia of World Biography on Edward Alsworth Ross
/ref> Ross was a professor at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

(1891–1892), secretary of the

American Economic Association The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics, with approximately 23,000 members. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Review, an ...

(1892), professor at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

(1892–1893), and professor at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

(1893–1900). He was then a professor at University of Nebraska (1900–1904) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (1905–1937). In the field of economics, he made contributions to the study of taxation, debt management, value theory, uncertainty, and location theory.

Ross affair and departure from Stanford

In Stanford's "first academic freedom controversy", Ross was fired from Stanford because of his political views on eugenics. He objected to Chinese and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese immigrant labor (on both economic and racial grounds: he was an early supporter of the " race suicide" doctrine and expressed his wish to restrict entry of other races in strong and crude language in public speeches) and Japanese immigration altogether. In the speech that was the catalyst for his potential firing and ultimate resignation, he was quoted as declaring, "And should the worst come to the worst it would be better for us if we were to turn our guns upon every vessel bringing Japanese to our shores rather than to permit them to land." In response,

Jane Stanford Jane Elizabeth Lathrop Stanford (August 25, 1828 – February 28, 1905) was an American philanthropist and co-founder of Stanford University in 1885 (opened 1891), along with her husband, Leland Stanford, in memory of their only child, Leland S ...

called for his resignation. In Ross' public statement as to his resignation, he wrote that his friend

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...

had asked him to make the speech. Jordan managed to keep Ross from being fired, but Ross resigned shortly after. The position was at odds with the university's founding family, the Stanfords, who had made their fortune in Western rail construction, a major employer of

coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...

laborers. Ross had also made critical remarks about the railroad industry in his classes: "A railroad deal is a railroad steal." This was too much for

, Leland Stanford's widow, who was on the board of trustees of the university. Numerous professors at Stanford resigned after protests of his dismissal, sparking "a national debate... concerning the freedom of expression and control of universities by private interests." The

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

was founded largely in response to this incident.

Nebraska, Wisconsin, and later life

Ross left for the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, where he taught until 1905. In 1906, he moved to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where he became Professor of Sociology, and eventually chairman of the department. He retired in 1937. His understanding of

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

and assimilation bore a striking resemblance to that of another Wisconsin professor,

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his front ...

. Like Turner, Ross believed that American identity was forged in the crucible of the wilderness. The 1890 census's proclamation that the frontier had disappeared, then, posed a significant threat to America's ability to assimilate the mass of immigrants who were arriving from southern and eastern Europe. In 1897, just four years after Turner had presented his frontier thesis to the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

, Ross, then at Stanford, argued that the loss of the frontier destroyed the machinery of the melting pot process. In 1913, the State of Wisconsin passed its first sterilization law. Ross, who lived in Wisconsin at the time, was a reserved proponent of sterilization and indicated his support for the measure. He qualified his support by contrasting it with the greater harm of hanging a man and advocated its initial use "only to extreme cases, where the commitments and the record pile up an overwhelming case." Involuntary sterilization remained legal in Wisconsin until July 1978. Ross visited

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

after the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

in 1917. He endorsed the revolution even as he acknowledged its bloody origins. He was subsequently a leading advocate of US recognition of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He later served on the Dewey Commission, which cleared

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

of the charges made against him by the Soviet government during the Moscow Trials.Dewey Commission Report
/ref> From 1900 to the 1920s, Ross supported the alcohol

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

movement as well as continuing to support eugenics and immigration restriction. By 1930, he had moved away from those views, however. In the 1930s, he was a supporter of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

programs of President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. In 1940, he became chairman of the national committee of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, serving until 1950. He died in 1951.

Works

''Honest Dollars''
Chicago: C. H. Kerr & Co., 1896.
''Social Control: A Survey of the Foundations of Order''
The Macmillan Company, 1901
with a new introduction by Matthias Gross">ast reprint 2009 b

with a new introduction by Matthias Gross
''Foundations of Sociology''
The Macmillan Company, 1905. *
Sin and Society: An Analysis of Latter-Day Iniquity
' (with a letter from President Roosevelt), Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 1907. *
Social Psychology: An Outline and Source Book
', The Macmillan Company, 1908.
''Latter Day Sinners and Saints''
B. W. Huebsch, 1910. *
The Changing Chinese: The Conflict of Oriental and Western Cultures in China
', The Century Co., 1911.
''Changing America: Studies in Contemporary Society''
The Century Co., 1912.
''The Old World in the New: The Significance of Past and Present Immigration to the American People''
The Century Co., 1914. *
South of Panama
', The Century Co., 1915.
''Russia in Upheaval''
The Century Co., 1918. *
What is America?
', The Century Co., 1919.
''The Principles of Sociology''
The Century Co., 1920.
''The Russian Bolshevik Revolution''
The Century Co., 1921.
''The Social Trend''
The Century Co., 1922. * ''The Outlines of Sociology'', The Century Co., 1923. *
The Russian Soviet Republic
', The Century Co., 1923. *
The Social Revolution in Mexico
', The Century Co., 1923.
''Changes in the Size of American Families in One Generation''
University of Wisconsin Studies, 1924 ith R. E. Baber * ''Roads to Social Peace'', The University of North Carolina Press, 1924.
''Civic Sociology: A Textbook in Social and Civic Problems for Young Americans''
World Book Company, 1926 st Pub. 1925 * ''Report on the Employment of Native Labor in Portuguese Africa'', Abbott Press, 1925. * ''Standing Room Only?'', The Century Co., 1927.
''World Drift''
The Century Co., 1928. * ''Tests and Challenges in Sociology'', The Century Co., 1931. * ''Seventy Years of It: An Autobiography'', D. Appleton-Century Company, 1936. *'' La libertad en el Mundo Moderno'', In: Letras (Lima), Vol. 2, Iss. 5, 1936. Doi: https://doi.org/10.30920/letras.2.5.3 * ''New-Age Sociology'', D. Appleton-Century Company, 1940.

Selected articles

"Sinking Funds,"
''Publications of the American Economic Association'', Vol. 7, No. 4/5, Jul./Sep. 1892.
"The Standard of Deferred Payments,"
''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 3, Nov. 1892.
"A New Canon of Taxation,"
''Political Science Quarterly'', Vol. 7, No. 4, Dec. 1892.
"Seligman's 'Shifting and Incidence of Taxation',"
''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 3, Jan. 1893.
"The Total Utility Standard of Deferred Payments,"
''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 4, Nov. 1893.
"The Unseen Foundations of Society,"
''Political Science Quarterly'', Vol. 8, No. 4, Dec. 1893.
"The Location of Industries,"
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'', Vol. 10, No. 3, Apr. 1896.
"Uncertainty as a Factor in Production,"
''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 8, Sep. 1896.
"The Sociological Frontier of Economics,"
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'', Vol. 13, No. 4, Jul. 1899.
"The Genesis of Ethical Elements,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 5, No. 6, May 1900.
"The Causes of Race Superiority,"
''Annals of the American Academy of Politics'', Vol. 18, Jul. 1901.
"Recent Tendencies in Sociology,"Part IIPart III
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'', Vol. 16, No. 4, Aug. 1902; Vol. 17, No. 1, Nov. 1902; Vol. 17, No. 3, May 1903.
"Moot Points in Sociology,"Part IIPart IIIPart IVPart VPart VIPart VIIPart VIII
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 8, No. 6, May 1903; Vol. 9, No. 1, Jul. 1903; Vol. 9, No. 2, Sep. 1903; Vol. 9, No. 3, Nov. 1903; Vol. 9, No. 4, Jan. 1904; Vol. 9, No. 6, May 1904; Vol. 10, No. 1, Jul. 1904; Vol. 10, No. 2, Sep. 1904.
"The Present Problems of Social Psychology,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 10, No. 4, Jan. 1905.
"Western Civilization and the Birth-Rate,"
''Publications of the American Economic Association'', 3rd Series, Vol. 8, No. 1, Papers and Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Meeting, December 26–28, 1906, Feb. 1907.
"The Nature and Scope of Social Psychology,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 13, No. 5, Mar. 1908.
"Rational Imitation,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 13, No. 6, May 1908.
"The Significance of Increasing Divorce,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. LVI, May/October 1909. * "Christianity in China," ''The Century Magazine'', March 1911.
"Sociological Observations in Inner China,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 16, No. 6, May 1911.
"The Industrial Future of China,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. LXXXII, May/October 1911.
"The Struggle for Existence in China,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. LXXXII, May/October 1911. * "The Middle West," ''The Century Magazine'', February/April 1912. * "American and Immigrant Blood," ''The Century Magazine'', December 1913. * "Immigrant in Politics," ''The Century Magazine'', January 1914. * "Origins of the American People," ''The Century Magazine'', March 1914. * "The Celtic Tide," ''The Century Magazine'', April 1914.
"Philanthropy With Strings,"
''The Atlantic'', September 1, 1914.
"Folk Depletion as a Cause of Rural Decline,"
''Papers and Proceedings by American Sociological Society'', 1916.
"The National Spirit in Education,"
''Papers and Proceedings by American Sociological Society'', 1916.
"Acquisitive Mimicry,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 21, No. 4, Jan. 1916.
"The Principle of Anticipation,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 21, No. 5, Mar. 1916.
"The Organization of Effort,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 22, No. 1, Jul. 1916.
"The Organization of Will,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 22, No. 2, Sep. 1916.
"The Making of the Professions,"
''International Journal of Ethics'', Vol. 27, No. 1, Oct. 1916.
"The Organization of Thought,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 22, No. 3, Nov. 1916.
"Class and Caste,"Part IIPart IIIPart IV
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 22, No. 4, Jan. 1917; Vol. 22, No. 5, Mar. 1917; Vol. 22, No. 6, May 1917; Vol. 23, No. 1, Jul. 1917.
"Estrangement in Society,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 23, No. 3, Nov. 1917.
"Social Decadence,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 23, No. 5, Mar. 1918.
"The Roots of the Russian Revolution,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XCV, November 1917/April 1918.
"Soil Hunger in Russia,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XCV, November 1917/April 1918.
"The Principle of Balance,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 23, No. 6, May 1918.
"The Diseases of Social Structures,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 24, No. 2, Sep. 1918.
"Labor and Capital in Russia,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XCVI, May/October 1918.
"Russian Women and their Outlook,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XCVI, May/October 1918.
"The Rug Market at Merv,"
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XCVI, May/October 1918.
"The Legal Dismal Wage,"
''The American Economic Review'', Vol. IX, No. 1, March 1919.
"Association,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 24, No. 5, Mar. 1919.
"Institutional Competition,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 25, No. 2, Sep. 1919.
"Lumping Versus Individualization,"
''International Journal of Ethics'', Vol. 30, No. 1, Oct. 1919.
"Individuation,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 25, No. 4, Jan. 1920.
"Ossification,"
''American Journal of Sociology'', Vol. 25, No. 5, Mar. 1920.
"Commercialization-Increasing or Decreasing?,"
''International Journal of Ethics'', Vol. 30, No. 3, Apr. 1920. *
The Menace of Migrating Peoples
" ''The Century Magazine'', May 1921. * "Slow Suicide Among Our Native Stock," ''The Century Magazine'', February 1924. * "The United States of India," ''The Century Magazine'', December 1925. * "The Man-Stifled Orient," ''The Century Magazine'', July 1927. *
Dulling the Scythes of Azrael
" ''The Century Magazine'', August 1927. *
The Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe
" ''The Century Magazine'', September 1927. * "Population Pressure and War," ''Scribner's Magazine'', September 1927.

Miscellany

* Schweinitz Brunner, Edmund de (1923)
''Churches of Distinction in Town and Country,''
with a foreword by Edward Alsworth Ross, George H. Doran Company.

References

External links

* * *
Works by E. A. Ross
at

JSTOR JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Edward A. 1866 births 1951 deaths American Eugenics Society members American sociologists American economists American white nationalists Coe College alumni Economic sociologists American demographers Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Virden, Illinois Presidents of the American Sociological Association American Civil Liberties Union people Mathematicians from Illinois