Tying Up Loose Ends: Ethical Addresses

I have now documented, as well as I can, the entire twenty-one volumes of Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record.  It is a satisfying moment to see the conclusion of what is, however, only the first phase of developing the Bibliography of Ethical Culture.  Nonetheless, there is yet some work to be done, so the true completion of this phase will require a few more steps.

One step is simple quality control to make sure that I haven't missed any addresses.  We've already seen one incidence of that with the Seventh Series!  While it is a bit tedious to do, I am comparing the Contents of each Series with the entries in the Bibliography to make sure that nothing has been inadvertently omitted.  (And done.)

Another step is tracking down the originals of addresses that have been reprinted from other publications.  When documenting the earlier volumes I tried to enter a "note" that indicated the source of the reprinted article.  Eventually I seem to have dropped that effort, which makes the search a bit more tedious, but not difficult.

As always, with such searches, the hunt yields more than expected.  In searching the index of The Forum (Vol. 1-32) for Felix Adler's article, his name appeared immediately after Jane Addams.  Now I have three more citations to consider for inclusion in the Bibliography.  Checking key words in the index, Adler's article appeared in the same entry as that of Paul Carus ("Dawn of a New Religious Era," The Forum. 16 [1893]: 388-96).  Knowing that Carus actively challenged the philosophical grounds of Ethical Culture in other contexts, I had it in mind that the juxtaposition of Adler and Carus in that issue of The Forum might be a debate of some point or other.  As it turns out, Carus had attended the first World Parliament of Religions and was writing about the religion of the future--not, as it happens, Ethical Culture, which was also not mentioned in his article.  Carus did later give three addresses at the Chicago Society, which were collected and published as The Ethical Problem:  Three Lectures on Ethics as a Science in 1899.  I expect there will be more from Dr. Carus.

The Hathi Trust provided the link to The Forum's early index and to the individual volumes that were the subject of the index.  While these could not be downloaded, they could generally be viewed in full and searched for names and key words.  The International Journal of Ethics is also fully available through the Hathi Trust.  As an AEU publication until 1914, the entire serial will eventually need to be searched for possible entries for the Bibliography.  For now, the search will be limited to those addresses that are duplicated in IJE and EA&ER.  One such address is Adler's "The Freedom of Ethical Fellowship," published in the Second Series.  A version of this address was first delivered to students at Cornell University (May 19, 1890) and then published in IJE's first issue (pp. 16 - 30) before it was reprinted in Ethical Addresses in 1896.  The titles are the same, although I have not done a textual comparison.  What I have done is run a keyword search on this volume of IJE for Adler's name.  I was quite surprised when the search turned up a rebuttal article in the same volume ("Moral Theory and Practice," pp. 183-203) by John Dewey.  This "exchange" merits further discussion.  Perhaps we will find such a discussion as we continue this work.

Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record (1912) Nineteenth Series

 

William H. Lewis

The Nineteenth Series of Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record (published in 1912) includes information about Ethical Societies outside of the US, the Summer School of Ethics, the American Ethical Union Convention, and a conference at Glenmore.  Some of the addresses are reprints; other articles are reports and proposals for various new programs for the AEU.  The whole volume shows continued work to refine the definition of Ethical Culture and expand its capacity in regard to both personal development and expansion of the Movement.  

Two new programs were discussed at the Glenmore Conference and then approved at the AEU Convention.  James H. Leuba discussed "Symbolism and Ceremonial Expression in the Sunday Morning Meetings of the Ethical Society" (pp. 4-10) at the Glenmore Conference and then at the AEU Convention, held at the New York Society on November 20, 1911.  In response, the AEU delegates appointed a committee to "inquire into the desirability and feasibility of taking steps towards the enrichment of our meetings, a committee that should collect material already used and make it accessible to our inspection." W. H. Lighty similarly proposed "A Correspondence Bureau for the American Ethical Union" (pp. 11-23), which was also adopted by the Convention along with an appropriation of $2,000.  The Correspondence Bureau (lending library and point of sale for publications) was to be sited in Madison, Wisconsin, and managed by Professor Lighty and his wife.

Gustav Spiller, Secretary of the International Ethical Union, provided several reports for this volume.  The Union of English Societies (which included multiple independent Ethical Societies throughout the country) and the German Ethical Society (which included several local affiliated discussion groups throughout the country) each provided statements of their Principles.  

A substantial portion of the volume provides practical resources for Society programs.  A naming ceremony is presented with no author, but an introductory note says that it is based on ceremony originated by Stanton Coit and modified by Charles Zueblin (pp.146-148).  The curriculum for the St. Louis Children's Sunday Assembly includes several "charts" created for exhibits at the Religious Education Association and for a Child Welfare conference.  Again, no author is identified, but Percival Chubb, St. Louis Leader, also served as Superintendent of the program.  Of note is the emphasis given to making the Sunday "School" an "Assembly" to distinguish it from the weekday schools.  Interestingly, Alfred W. Martin's presentation on the "Non-Sectarian Sunday School" given at the Summer School of Ethics, raises the issue of how to promote the continuous participation in an Ethical Society from childhood on to adulthood.  His suggestions may be apt for present day consideration (p. 56):

1. By introducing into the constitution of the Sunday school under the article "objects" a clause to the effect that one of the purposes of the pupils shall be to fit themselves for worthy membership in the adult society, thus giving the scholar from the start, the conviction that the Sunday school is in this sense the means to an end.

2. By occasional Sunday exercises in the adults' auditorium for and by the school.

3. By the organization as a connecting link of a class of the young men and young women graduates to study the principles and ideals of the organization they have fitted themselves to join.

4. By providing for pupils of this class a share in the responsibilities of the adults' society, for nothing is so conducive to the fixing of interest in a cause as practical participation in its activities.

Two addresses in this volume stood out for me.  One is C. Delisle Burns' address on the "Misuse of the Bible." It's on my "to read" list.  The other is Henry Neumann's address "The Spirit of Persecution and Prejudice" (pp. 149-165).  William H. Lewis was appointed by President Taft in 1911 to be an Assistant US Attorney General.  There was opposition from Southern Senators, but Taft refused to withdraw his nomination, and Lewis was approved.  He was, soon after, also nominated for admission to the American Bar Association.  Once his "race" was discovered, a massive effort to remove him ensued.  Henry Neumann took this issue as the opportunity to discuss how prejudice and persecution affect both the victim and the perpetrator.  While his reasoning may be dated, his conclusion is spot on.

Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record - Series 15

Volume 15 of Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record (1908) is a rich resource, not only for the material published in it, but for the large number of pages devoted to listing other publications of the Ethical Culture Movement.  Oddly enough, I seem to have stumbled across two different scans of this volume.  One, downloaded more than a year ago and safely on my hard drive is a bit of a mess with several blurred pages; it was scanned at the New York Public Library.  The second, resides online in the Internet Library and seems to have only clear and error-free scans; it was scanned at the University of Toronto Robarts Library.  What is missing in the second are all the pages, presumably from the covers of the separate issues, which list available publications.  Despite the frustration of the blurred pages, I am finding the promotional pages for more pamphlets, books, and journals a useful extra resource for identifying the literature of Ethical Culture.  What luck to have found both copies!

Walter L. Sheldon, founder and Leader of the Ethical Culture Society of St. Louis, died on June 5, 1907.  Memorial services were held at several Societies and locations.  Memorial Addresses included in this volume of EA&ER were provided by Felix Adler, M. Anesaki (from the Tokyo Ethical Society), Fanny M. Bacon, W. A. Brandenburger, George R. Dodson, John Lovejoy Elliott, Robert Moore, Samuel Sale, William M. Salter, William Taussig, and S. Burns Weston.  At Sheldon's request, the St. Louis memorial service did not include eulogies and speeches; instead, previous memorial services conducted by Sheldon for others provided appropriate passages in Sheldon's own words.  Those passages and selections from his favorite readings are included in this volume.  

Altogether, Sheldon's memorial presents a thorny set of bibliographic problems--whether to list every single tribute and address as a separate item (serving also as an index to contributors) or whether to group the speeches together as printed in EA&ER.  The list of Contents suggests the former, but the order and manner of printing suggests the latter.  I have opted for the latter, attempting to be true to the events of the time, but recognize that future research seeking the works of specific authors may not be served by this approach.  

The inclusion of selected addresses from the 1907 AEU Assembly provides a window into the continued focus on defining the religious nature of Ethical Culture:

"The Character of the Ethical Movement," Edwin R. A. Seligman (NYSEC and AEU President);

"The Need of a Religion of Morality," William M. Salter;

"The Inspiration of the Ethical Movement," Nathaniel Schmidt;

"The Value of Ethical Organization," Charles Zueblin.

William M. Salter contributed a number of lectures, including his last at the Ethical Society of Chicago (December 22, 1907).  "The Good Fight--With a Closing Word" (pp. 115-134) is filled with martial imagery which likened his service to the Chicago Society as fighting the good fight.  Salter vowed that he had few regrets and left his audience with a final call for courage in continuing the fight in his absence.  Salter continued his own career for the next few years as a special lecturer in philosophy at the University of Chicago. 

Charles Zueblin's "Religion and the Church" is one of a series of six lectures that he gave at the Philadelphia Ethical Society.  While only one was published in this volume of  EA&ER, all six were collected and published as The Religion of a Democrat (New York:  B. W. Heubsch, 1908).  Additional contributions are provided from Anna Garlin Spencer, David Saville Muzzey, and Henry Moskowitz.  The volume is rounded out with a collection of songs (lyrics only) and responsive readings.

Given the earlier kerfuffle with the two scans, I have paid closer attention to the title pages (and library stamps) of this volume.  I missed the shift in publisher between the Eleventh and Twelfth Series!  S. Burns Weston served as the publisher for the first eleven volumes of the series.  With the twelfth volume, the name of the publisher is changed to "Ethical Addresses," albeit with the same location in Philadelphia as before.  I will correct the Bibliography ASAP and do apologize for the error.

Series Fourteen - Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record

Ed Porter Explaining the Importance of Archives

I've now had a chance to see the originals of some of the items to be included in the Bibliography, and it was quite interesting, especially when the originals had not yet been bound together into a large volume.  These small sections devoted to inspirational readings or music were originally separate books that could be tucked into a pocket or purse.  Seeing the originals in the archives of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (thank you, Ed Porter and Team for allowing me to join you for a couple of hours) and in the Adler Study and general archives at the New York Society for Ethical Culture also gave me a better sense of the magnitude of the task.  "We're gonna need a bigger boat" doesn't begin to touch it!  Still it was wonderful to meet all the folks who are involved in preserving the archives of Ethical Culture.  I know there are others that I have yet to meet--and I look forward to doing so.  I will write more about the project and potential plans for the work as they develop.  In the meantime, this part of the project continues.

Series Fourteen of Ethical Addresses and Ethical Record (EA&ER) continues the transformation of that AEU publication into an omnibus for development of thought about Ethical Culture, practical discussions of moral education for children and youth, and documentation of the progress and development of the Movement.  As well, this volume includes an independent section of inspirational verse, widespread focus on international strife and hopes for peace, and the full constitutions of the International Union of Ethical Societies and the American Ethical Union (with a bonus listing of the officers of the AEU on p. 314).  Promotional listings of additional printed material are included on pages 142 and 286.

The AEU held a conference, entitled "The Moral Education of the Child," May, 1907.  Three presentations from that conference were included in the final issue of EA&ER for that year.  James H. Leuba contributed a discussion of the moral nature of the child; Alice L. Seligsberg reported on moral instruction in the public schools; Robert A. Woods commented on ethical construction as part of Ethical instruction.

Another set of entries focused on "The Russian Situation," with two speeches by Alexis Aladin and Nicholas Tchaykovsky with that title.  The speeches are prefaced thusly:

[The following addresses by Alexis Aladin, leader of
the peasants, and member of the Group of Toil in the first
Duma, and Nicholas Tchaykovsky, were given before the
Philadelphia Ethical Society, Sunday, March 17th, just
after a lecture by Mr. William M. Salter, of Chicago, on
"The Russian Revolution." Mr. Salter's lecture will be
printed in the April number of the International Journal
of Ethics.]

Salter's lecture, in IJE 17/3 (1907), is available through JSTOR.  In that lecture, he explained why he felt that a revolution--like those in France and colonial America--was needed in Russia, leading to a democratic government and new hope for those then oppressed by the Czar.

One additional point of interest in this volume:  David Saville Muzzey was at this point in his career on the verge of becoming a major influence in the US by virtue of the high school history textbooks that he would publish.  These books would eventually dominate the entire nation as means of educating youth in the the history of their country.  That these books were racist in their orientation toward Native Americans and former enslaved persons should not take away from the Muzzey's contributions to the thought and practice of Ethical Culture.  Except they do.  It is hard to read his lecture ("Three Hundred Years of English Settlement in America") without sensing the taint of what is unspoken in his praise of "the glorious freedom of such a faith" (as Ethical Culture) and cringing.

And, finally, there are the Constitutions.  That of the AEU mirrors that of the IUES in several ways, most notably as to "Objects":

AEU Constitution, 1907

The AEU General Aim says "any," the IUES General Aim says "all" when referring to "theological and metaphysical considerations."  In Special Aims, the two organizations refer to their specific geographical areas (the US vs. the world), and IUES takes on the additional task for its (g):  "To maintain an International Ethical Library."  Otherwise the two organizations share the same General and Special Aims on different scales.