CONTENTS Page Establishment and early history of the Academy- Committees appointed by the Academy on behalf of the Government 1. Committees appointed in accordance with acts of Congress.- 2. Committees appointed at the request of joint commission and 5. Committees appointed at the request of the Navy Department. 6. Committees appointed at the request of the War Department. 7. Committees appointed at the request of the Department of THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL "The National Academy of Sciences is a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to the furtherance of science for the general welfare and required by its congressional charter to act as an official adviser on scientific matters to the Federal Government.' " 1 ESTABLISHMENT AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE ACADEMY Although the National Academy of Sciences was not established until 1863, there is evidence that the idea of such an institution had been in the minds of many of the early statesmen. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams all expressed genuine interest in the progress of science, and actively favored the establishment of institutions for the diffusion of knowledge.2 Throughout the first half of the 19th century, the need for a national scientific academy continued to be felt. This need was voiced in 1851 by Alexander Dallas Bache, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: ** * I would throw out for your consideration some reasons which induce me to believe that an institution of science, supplementary to existing ones, is much needed in our country, to guide public action in reference to scientific matters. * * * Our country is making such rapid progress in material improvements, that it is impossible for either the legislative or executive departments of our Government to avoid incidentally, if not directly, being involved in the decision of such questions. Without specification, it is easy to see that there are few applications of science which do not bear on the interests of commerce and navigation, naval or military concerns, the customs, the lighthouses, the public lands, post offices or post roads, either directly or remotely. If all examination is refused, the good is confounded with the bad, and the Government may lose a most important advantage. If a decision is left to influence, or to imperfect knowledge, the worst consequences follow. Such a body would supply a place not occupied by existing institutions, and which our own is, from its temporary and voluntary character, not able to supply." National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Organization and members 1954-55. Washington, D. C., December 1954. 115 p. at p. 1. The scientific interests of these men are discussed in The Origin of the National Scientific and Educational Institutions of the United States, by G. Brown Goode, Annual report of the American Historical Association for the year 1889. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1890. pp. 53-161. & Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 6th meeting, 1851 (1852) pp. xlvii-li, as quoted by Frederick W. True, A History of the First Half Century of the National Academy of Sciences, 1863-1913, at pp. 7-8. Washington, 1913, 399 pages. Authorities differ in their versions of the circumstances by which the Academy was established, but they are agreed on the individuals to whom credit is due for formulating the essential lines of the organization. These were a small group of men informally organized as the "Scientific Lazzaroni" primarily from Washington and Cambridge. Among them were Alexander Dallas Bache, Superintendent of the Coast Survey; Benjamin Gould, also of the Coast Survey; Joseph Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Admiral Charles Henry Davis, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department; Benjamin Peirce, Louis Agassiz, and Wolcott Gibbs of Harvard University, and James Dwight Dana of Yale. It has been suggested that the secession of the South ended a deadlock of years in the Congress and opened the way for the enactment of legislation whose passage had previously been blocked.5 Late in January 1863, Davis, Bache, and Henry met to discuss the renewed possibility of getting through a "national association under an act of Congress." Confronted with the specific matter, Henry now offered numerous objections concerning the feasibility of attempting such action at that time, and his arguments seemed to convince Davis and Bache. As a substitute measure, the creation of a Permanent Commission, patterned after the British "Select Commissions" was suggested, approved, and presented to the Navy Department. On February 11, 1863, the Secretary of the Navy issued an order creating a Permanent Commission "consisting of, for the present, Commodore Davis, Professor Henry, and Professor Bache, to which shall be referred questions of science and art upon which the Department may require information." 6 The Commission was to have authority to call in associates to aid in their investigations and inquiries, but neither members nor associates were to receive compensation for their services.7 Meanwhile, Admiral Davis and Professor Bache continued to favor the idea of asking Congress to incorporate an academy, in the name of leading scientific men throughout the country. The arrival in Washington of Louis Agassiz, who had been nominated by Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, furnished the motivation needed to make the academy a reality. Discussion took place between Professor Bache, Admiral Davis, Professor Peirce, Dr. B. A. Gould, and Senator Wilson, and it was decided that the Senator should introduce into Congress a bill of incorporation. On February 21, 1863, Mr. Wilson introduced S. 555, to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences. Action on the bill was rushed through and completed on March 3, 1863, the closing day of a lame duck session. The bill in its original form was passed by the Senate and then the House and was signed by President Lincoln, all in the same day. The act of incorporation of the National Academy of Sciences listed the names of those who would constitute the academy, and limited membership to not more than 50 ordinary members. The corpora 1 See: True, A History of the First Half Century of the National Academy of Sciences, op. cit. ch. I' The Founding of the Academy, pp. 1-23; also, Dupree, The Founding of the National Academy of Sciences-A Reinterpretation, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 101, October 31, 1957, pp. 434-440. Dupree, op. cit., p. 435. Text of letter of appointment, from True, op. cit., pp. 1-2. 7 According to Dupree, op. cit., p. 435, the Commission "met frequently, examining proposals for new weapons and occasionally making some tests. The last report, in 1865, was numbered 257. This was the nearest thing to a central war scientific agency achieved during the Civil War." tion was granted broad powers of organization. Section 3 set forth the duties: That the National Academy of Sciences shall hold an annual meeting at such place in the United States as may be designated, and the Academy shall, whenever called upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports to be paid from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but the Academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any services to the Government of the United States. Changes were made in the original act on July 14, 1870, to "remove the limitation of the number of ordinary members of said Academy as provided in said act." Acts of June 29, 1884, and May 27, 1914, made minor changes in the Academy's powers relating to trust funds. The founders of the Academy appeared to have two objectives in mind when they drew up the plan of establishment. The Academy was to afford recognition to individuals who had made significant contributions in their fields of science. This was in line with the similar practice being followed by scientific academies abroad. The second objective of the Academy was to act as the scientific adviser of the Government, for at this time research organizations such as the National Bureau of Standards, the Geologic Survey, or the Weather Bureau were not in existence. Of the Academy's role as Government adviser during the Civil War, it has been stated: Bache (the Academy's first president) did not delay his attempt to establish the Academy as the Government's adviser. On his own authority he set up committees and had them ready to report at the meeting in Washington in January 1864. Taken together, the committees make it clear that Bache and Davis personally inspired all the requests that came to the Academy in 1863. The total results were modest enough, and when the committees unrelated to the war effort are ruled out the remainder of service is negligible. The four committees of 1864, while not emanating directly from Bache and Davis, made no better record. No wartime committees date later than May 2, 1864, when Grant was just beginning his campaign with the Army of the Potomac and nearly a year of fighting lay ahead. When compared with the 257 reports made by the Permanent Commission, the advice rendered by the National Academy appears slight.8 In the first half century of the Academy's existence, 53 committees to study a wide range of subjects were appointed in accordance with acts of Congress, at the request of joint commissions and committees of Congress, at the request of the President, and of the major Government departments. Some of the Academy's recommendations were of considerable importance to the future of research activity within the Government. The Forest Service and the preservation policy for our national forests, the Geological Survey which unifies Dupree, op. cit., pp. 437-438. True, op. cit., ch. IV, The Academy as the Scientific Adviser of the Government, pp. 201–331. and develops the survey work of the Department of Interior, the establishment of the Weather Bureau and the National Bureau of Standards-all were proposed and urged in Academy studies during its first 50 years. There are indications, however, that the use of the Academy's facilities by Government departments during the early period was not as extensive as some individuals thought was desirable. An editorial from the Scientific American concerning this relationship concluded: It is a startling anomaly that the Government, having had about the best "gray matter" in the country at its unlimited disposal for more than half a century, has made very little use of it.10 And on this subject also, George Ellery Hale, a member of the Academy, wrote: ** Valuable suggestions for cooperation with various departments of the Government have been made by Academy members, and every effort should be exerted to carry them into effect. But recent experience indicates that the most promising way to accomplish this lies in first developing the standing and prestige of the Academy. When it becomes more widely and favorably known for its contributions to scientific progress, and is universally recognized as the national and authoritative representative of American science, the Academy's influence with Congress and with the various officers of the Government will be far more potent than at present.11 Committees Appointed by the Academy on Behalf of the Government (1863-1913) 12 1. Committees appointed in accordance with acts of Congress. 1871. On the Transit of Venus (p. 256). 1872. On Preparing Instructions for the Polaris Expedition (p. 40). 1878. On a Plan for Surveying and Mapping the Territories of the United States (p. 268). 1879. On a National Board of Health (p. 50). 1894. To Prescribe and Publish Specifications for the Practical Application of the Definitions of the Ampere and Volt (p. 313). 1908. On the Methods and Expenses of Conducting Scientific Work Under the Government (p. 330). 2. Committees appointed at the request of Joint Commissions and Committees of Congress. 1884. On the Signal Service of the Army, the Geological Survey, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Hydrographic Office of the Navy Department (p. 295). 1902. On the Establishment of a National Forest Reserve in the Southern Appalachians (p. 323). 10 Editorial, National Academy of Sciences and the National Government, Scientific American, August 28, 1915, p. 176. 11 National academies and the progress of research, II. Science, vol. 41, January 1, 1915: 12-23. At p. 22 19 A History of the First Half-Century of the National Academy of Sciences 1863-1913. Washington 1913. 399 p. Prepared and edited by Frederick W. True. |