Wettstein 1

Max Wettstein

Mr. Estapa

AP Biology

September 25, 2020

Motives

Harvard and Yale weren’t always the schools we know them as, in fact, America itself

wasn’t always so scientifically advanced. A major change from the old way of thinking came

with the creation of John Hopkins University(JHU), founded in 1876. This is told about in the

book “The Great Infulenza” by John M. Barry. They wanted to base this school off of the best

Universities in Germany. They also wanted to make the teachings based on empirical knowledge

rather than religious beliefs, and focus on the creation of new knowledge.

One goal that the founders had in mind was to catch America’s science up with the rest of

the world, Germany to be specific. To do so, they based JHU off of German universities. “... it

was intended by its trustees to rival not Harvard or yale— neither of them considered worthy of

emulation— but the greatest institutions of Europe, particularly Germany.” (Barry 13). This

quote brings up how the speaker they chose to represent them, Thomas H. Huxley, believed that

the greatest american institutions werent comparable to those overseas.

They also wanted America’s Sceintific beliefs to be based in evidence instead of tradition

and religion. They valued empirical knowledge, where ideas could be proven, which was very

different from the standard in America at the time. The state of Americas teachings is touched on

in the quote “Not a single institution in the United States supported any medical research

whatsoever.”(Barry 33), which shows just how bad America’s medical teachings were, and

alludes to the fact that they used to be based on religion rather than facts.
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Another major goal of theirs whilst creating JHU was to further the world's knowledge.

They wanted for schooling to be based on learning new things and finding out new information,

rather than being taught what was already believed. “Many American physicians were in fact

enthralled in by the laboratory advances being made in Europe.”(Barry 33). In this quote, it is

shown how physicians from America wanted to be involved in the creation of new knowledge.

In conclusion, John Hopkins University was revolutionary to the study and practice of

sciences in America. The founders of JHU intended to do this, through their plan of following

Germany’s example, basing the teachings off of empirical knowledge, and maintaining the

creation of new knowledge.