Survivorship of Earthworks Mapped by T. H. Lewis in Iowa 1884–1894

ABSTRACT

Between 1884 and 1894, Theodore Hayes Lewis mapped 370 prehistoric American Indian mounds and earthworks in Iowa as part of a larger survey of mounds in the upper Midwest. Georeferencing remapped Lewis survey notes allows their comparison with modern GIS data including lidar topographic maps, aerial photos, and land records. Of the 370 mounds, 190 (51.4%) are clearly visible in lidar, 160 (43.2%) are probably destroyed, and 20 (5.4%) are undetermined. Data analyses explore the factors that influenced mound survivorship. By far the strongest correlations for survivorship are modern land use, modern ownership, and local landform, with mounds most likely to survive in wooded areas, on public land, and on islands. Iowa data are compared with Lewis map data from Minnesota, revealing Iowa has a far higher survivorship, 51.4% versus 25.6%, likely attributable to land use in the late nineteenth century. Further comparison with Minnesota data suggests perhaps twice as many mounds stood in modern agricultural fields of Iowa before Lewis made his surveys.     

Hydro-Electricity for Public Supply in Britain, 1881-1894

Abstract

The motor vehicle industry in Scotland was a microcosm of the British industry in the years to 1914. Major characteristics of the industry are outlined and the ten major vehicle manufacturers are distinguished from the fifty makes of vehicle built in Scotland during the period. Five integrated purpose-built motor works are considered in some detail. The factories illustrate different phases of design and construction methods, from the traditional mill building of the Granton Motor Works (1899) to the Kahn-style reinforced concrete structure of the Arrol-Johnston Company (1913).     

Rethinking mental retardation: education and eugenics in Connecticut, 1818-1917

This case study of mental retardation in Connecticut during 1818-1917 questions the existing model of interpretation. The discovery of mental retardation in Connecticut did not emanate from social fear over those who were different, difficult, or dangerous. Nor did state government initiate the institutionalization of the feeble-minded. Instead, Dr. Henry M. Knight, who founded the private Connecticut School for Imbeciles in 1858, was motivated by antebellum religious benevolence. His altruism was additionally motivated by cultural concerns to shape behavior according to middle-class, Protestant norms. By the end of the century, his son and successor Dr. George H. Knight departed from his father's emphasis on education and assimilation to embrace eugenics and segregation of the mentally retarded. Connecticut's pioneering marital ban (1895) and sterilization law (1909) were, however, virtually ineffective. Instead, the state sponsored in 1917 a large-scale custodial facility that sought to isolate the feeble-minded, whom reformers now portrayed as a menace to society. In sum, the Knights show a clear departure in policy between the first and second generation of administrators.     

1894—1914年俄国酒销售垄断的初衷及效果

俄国一直面临着既要保证税收又要减少酗酒的艰巨任务。俄国预算中酒税收入举足轻重;而俄国人酗酒成风,成为严重的社会问题。俄国为了保证稳定的酒税收入,交替运用国家垄断、包税制和消费税形式,其中酒垄断因简单易行和效果明显而历时最长。政府热衷于酒税收入的同时,也助长了酗酒。1894年财政大臣维特实施的酒销售垄断,名为解决酗酒问题和恢复良好民风,实为增加国家岁入。税收目标和社会目标实难两全,这是认识和评价此次酒销售垄断的关键所在;而数百年来俄罗斯人沿袭下来的饮酒习俗则是滋生酗酒的土壤,解决酗酒问题绝非一朝一夕之事。     

论戊戌维新时期中国学术现代转型的整体萌发--兼谈清末民初学术转型的内涵和动力问题

本文对"中国学术的现代范式和传统转型"之内涵,提出了较为系统的一家之说,以此为基准,首次全面地揭示了这一转型在戊戌时期得以整体性萌发的各方面之表现和特点,以此论证"戊戌上限说".文章认为,"学战"是戊戌思潮中长期被学界轻忽了的思想主流之一,它构成了这一转型最为强大的动力,同时也给其带来了不可避免的弱点.     

美国政府与中日甲午战争

在1894—1895年的中日甲午战争中,美国表面声称中立,实际却偏袒日本。战前一再拒绝中、朝两国的调停请求和英国的联合调停建议,默认或怂恿日本发动战争。战争期间,美国外交官作为中日两国侨民的战时保护人,一再逸出国际法合理范围,曲意保护在华日本间谍。作为中日两国的唯一调停者,美国一方面拒绝与欧洲国家联合调停,为日本继续发动战争减轻国际压力,另一方面又单方面劝说清朝政府接受日本的各项侵略要求,帮助日本实现发动战争的目的。美国偏袒日本的原因,主要是希望借日本之手废除中朝宗藩关系,进一步打开中国大门,同时利用日本削弱英国、俄国等在东亚的影响力。     

Red Brick in the Land of Steady Habits: Creating the Univeristy of Connecticut, 1881-2006

At first blush, the opportunity to read the history of a universityfrom which you did not graduate, for which you do not work,or near which you do not live, may not sound all that appealing.However, to dismiss Bruce M. Stave's Red Brick in the Land ofSteady Habits: Creating the University of Connecticut, 1881–2006would be a mistake of considerable proportions, for not onlyis the volume enlightening with regard to higher education inthe United States over the course of the twentieth century,it is also the proverbial "good read." Stave,     

德国与中日甲午战争

1894—1895年中日甲午战争的爆发,给正处于外交转型中的德国提出了挑战也带来了机遇,德国一改过去只关注经济利益而避免卷入政治纷争的传统立场,开始介入远东的权力角逐,这也成为德国远东政策的一个重要分水岭。战争初期,德国表面采取超脱的中立姿态,多次拒绝清政府与英、俄等国的调停提议,实质是鼓励或偏袒日本的战争行为。由于担心战争可能对远东利益格局乃至欧洲地缘政治产生不利于德国的变化,且出于帝国主义追求海外殖民地的贪婪和防范东方文明崛起的"欧洲中心主义",在战争后期、中日谈判及"三国干涉还辽"期间,德国大幅度调整政策,积极推动并参与"三国干涉还辽"。尽管很难明确判定哪项动机发挥了决定性作用,但这不影响我们得出"德国是三国干涉还辽的积极推动者与重要参与者"的结论。研究这一案例,有助于认识此时期德国在远东的外交以及在战争中所扮演的角色。     

甲午战争的日本近代思想史意义

在日本的思想舆论界,甲午战争的性质被普遍认为是“开化对保守的战争”、“文明对野蛮的战争”,日本方面将这场获得加入帝国主义阵营的通行证的侵略战争美化成为“圣战”、“义战”,在日本近现代思想史上产生了深远的影响。在战争结束之后,一些思想家如内村鉴三转向了和平论,而大多数则如德富苏峰那样走向了帝国主义。