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Everett Dean Martin

Everett Dean Martin(July 5, 1880 – May 10, 1941) was an American minister, writer, journalist, instructor, lecturer,social psychologist,social philosopher,and an advocate ofadult education.[1]He was an instructor and lecturer atThe New School for Social ResearchinNew York Cityfrom 1921 to 1929, and served on the board of directors ofThe New Schoolfrom 1925 to 1932.[2]He was the final director of thePeople's Institute[3]ofCooper UnioninNew York Cityfrom 1922 to 1934. Martin was born inJacksonville, Illinois,on July 5, 1880. Graduating with honors at the age of 24 fromIllinois Collegein Jacksonville, he moved on to Chicago, attendingMcCormick Theological Seminaryfrom 1904 until his ordination as a Congregational Minister in 1907.[4]Martin received a Litt.D. (Doctor of Letters) degree fromIllinois Collegein 1907.[5]He was best known for his advocacy of the liberal education of adults, which he saw as "an antidote to both theirrationalityof thecrowdand the power ofpropaganda."[6]

Martin in 1934

Personal life

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In 1907, he married Esther W. Kirk of Jacksonville, Illinois. They had three children: Mary, Margaret, and Elizabeth.[7]

From 1906 to 1908, Martin was pastor of theFirst Congregational Church(The First Church of Lombard) ofLombard, Illinois.[8][9]From 1908 to 1911, Martin was pastor of the People's Church inDixon, Illinois.[9]Martin was minister of the FirstUnitarianChurch ofDes Moines,Iowa, 1911-1915 [10][11]

Martin was a featured columnist for theDes Moines Registerduring the years 1914–1915.[12]

In 1915, his successful life took a radical shift in course. He divorced his wife of eight years and left the professional ministry. He moved to New York and began writing for theNew York Globe.[13]Over the next 20 years, Martin developed into a successful writer and forged a national reputation as a charismatic public lecturer, often attracting a crowd of a thousand or more at thePeople's Institute,a major center for adult education inNew York City.[14]Martin's second marriage in 1915 to Persis Eastman Rowell also ended in divorce, they had one son, Everett Eastman Martin.[7]

Commentary on the early 20th century

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InThe Behavior of Crowds(1920), his first nationally reviewed book, he posed what he saw as the dilemma of the modern age: a technological information revolution that made it possible, in the absence of an adequate educational system, to influence ignorant men and women withpropagandaand half-truths. Unscrupulousdemagogues,corrupt politicians,manipulativeadvertisers, and revolutionaryideologuesfound ready-made audiences when they appealed to the baser (a subconscious urge, behavior, or intuition directed by primeval, animalistic, self-serving, and/or ignoble motivations) instincts.[4]

Martin was aclassical,individualisticliberal,in the tradition of theRenaissancehumanistsand the authors ofThe Federalist Papers.He believed in restrained government and in the self-selection of intellectually promising students through appropriate programs of adult education.

His most famous and widely read work,The Meaning of a Liberal Education,appeared in 1926, the same year he helped found the American Association for Adult Education.[4]When his book,The Meaning of a Liberal Educationwas released in 1926,Frederick Paul Keppel,the president of theCarnegie Corporationproclaimed it as "the most important contribution to the understanding ofadult education…this far in the United States. "[15]In March 1928,John Deweyresponded to a request fromMarie Mattingly Meloney,editor of theNew York Herald-TribuneSunday Magazine, and offered his recommendations on recently published texts on education.Deweywrote, "I think the best educational books of recent publication are…Martin,The Meaning of a Liberal Education.This was not the first timeDeweyrecommended Everett Dean Martin's book. In 1927, the editors of the Journal of theNational Education AssociationapproachedDeweyand asked, "What book have you recently found especially worthwhile? Something that you have read easily, eagerly, and with profit, either in the field of education or out of it."Deweyidentified two books; one of them was Martin'sThe Meaning of a Liberal Education.[14]

Appointments

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From 1919 to 1922, Martin served as chairman of TheNational Board of Reviewof Motion Pictures.[6]

Martin was an instructor and lecturer atThe New School for Social ResearchinNew York Cityfrom 1921 to 1929, and served on the board of directors ofThe New Schoolfrom 1925 to 1932.[2]He taught classes in sociology, psychology, social behavior, and adult education.[2]AtThe New School,Martin taught alongside other prominent intellectuals of the day including,Alfred Adler,Norman Angell,Harry Elmer Barnes,Charles Austin Beard,Edwin Grant Conklin,Herbert J. Davenport,John Dewey,Lawrence K. Frank,Felix Frankfurter,Alexander Goldenweiser,Joseph Jastrow,Alvin Saunders Johnson,Horace Kallen,Alfred Kreymborg,Eduard C. Lindeman,Walter Lippmann,Frederick Macaulay,Wesley Clair Mitchell,Gorham Munson,Moissaye Joseph Olgin,Harry Allen Overstreet,James Harvey Robinson,Mark Van Doren,Thorstein Veblen,andLeo Wolman.[16][2]

Among the courses Martin taught atThe New Schoolbetween 1921 and 1929 were: Introduction to Social Psychology, Fundamental Problems in Adult Education, The Process of Adult Learning, Psychology and the Problems of Social Behavior, Some Applications of Social Psychology, Studies on Social Behavior, and Psychological Problems of Social Reconstruction.[2]An example of Martin's lecture topics in from a 1925 course onsocial philosophytaught atThe New Schoolinclude: ThePsychologyof theCrowd;The So-CalledGroup Mind;Has Man a Social or"Herd"Instinct?; ThePsychologyof Mass Appeal; Leadership in theCrowd;Reform Legislation; The Present Industrial Transition.[2]

Why is this seminal individual virtually ignored amidst the ranks of the founders of theadult educationmovement? Apparently Martin's wholehearted commitment to liberal education has placed him in juxtaposition with the early proponents of practical education in the eyes of contemporary scholars. Here is an individual virtually dismissed not only in the history ofadult education,but also in the contemporary exploration ofadult education."[13]

Among those recruited to the programs of thePeople's Institute[3]ofCooper Unionduring Martin's tenure as Director (1926-1934) had beenMortimer Adler,Scott Buchanan,Will Durant,Clifton Fadiman,andHilda Worthington Smith,all soon to surpass Martin in fame and influence. Yet, in his heyday, Martin was regarded as one of the leading figures inadult educationin the United States.[4]

Morse A. Cartwright, who was the Executive Director of the American Association for Adult Education from its founding in 1926 to its ultimate dissolution and transformation in 1949, considered Martin to be the "spiritual father" of the association in particular and of the entire movement in general.[17]Cartwright went on to say in his eulogy for Martin, published in the Journal of Adult Education, that:

"...Thousands who had heard him lecture in all parts of the United States, more thousands who had read his numerous books and articles on philosophical and psychological subjects, and the large audience which for years listened to his notable Friday night addresses and discussions in the Great Hall ofCooper Unionin New York, all attested to the challenging qualities of his mind and heart. "[17]

In 1934 Martin was asked to direct the Department of Social Philosophy at theCooper UnioninNew Yorkthrough a $15,000 per year grant from theCarnegie Corporationthrough his long-time friendFrederick Paul Keppel.Martin remained in this position until 1936 when he accepted an opportunity to move to California and direct an experimental program in teaching atClaremont Colleges.[13]

Martin was a professor ofsocial psychologyatScripps CollegeinClaremont, California,from 1936 up until his death in 1941.

Death

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Martin died on May 10, 1941, of a heart attack inClaremont, Californiaat the age of 60.[4]Martin's third wife, Daphne Crane Drake, whom he married in 1931, survived him.[7]Mrs. Everett Dean Martin (Daphne Crane Drake) was a former president of the Child Study Association of America (1934).[18][19][20]

Selected works

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  • The Behavior of Crowds(1920)
  • The Mob Mind Vs. Civil Liberty(1920)
  • The Mystery of Religion(1924)
  • Psychology: What it has to Teach You about Yourself and Your World(1924)
  • The Meaning of a Liberal Education(1926)
  • Are We Victims ofPropaganda,Our Invisible Masters: A Debate withEdward Bernays,The Forum, pp. 142-150, March 1929(1929)[21]
  • Liberty(1930)
  • The Conflict of the Individual and the Mass(1932)
  • Civilizing Ourselves: Intellectual Maturity in the Modern World(1932)
  • Psychology and Its Use(1933)
  • Farewell to Revolution(1935)
  • Philosophical Background of Current Economic and Social Problems(1938)
  • Some Principles of Political Behavior(1939)
  • A Philosophical Analysis of the Present World Conflict(1940)

See also

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References

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  1. ^Michael J. Day, "A primary source for Everett Dean Martin's agenda for adult education"http://roghiemstra.com/day.html
  2. ^abcdef"The New School Archives: Digital Collections".digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu.
  3. ^ab"People's Institute (New York, N.Y.) - Social Networks and Archival Context".
  4. ^abcdeEverett Dean Martin: liberal in adult education|https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/42589283.pdf
  5. ^The Stanford Daily, Volume 83a, Issue 15, 15 August 1933
  6. ^abRose, A.D. (1999). Everett Dean Martin. In J.A. a. C. Garraty, Mark C. (Ed.), American National Biography (Vol. 14, pp. 589-591). New York: Oxford University Press.
  7. ^abcHannan, Caryn, Illinois Biographical Dictionary, 2008-2009 Edition, Volume One., State History Publications, 2008.
  8. ^"2016".
  9. ^ab"adulteducationcontributors [licensed for non-commercial use only] / 58 Everett Dean Martin".adulteducationcontributors.pbworks.com.
  10. ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2017-08-06.Retrieved2017-08-06.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^"First Unitarian Church of Des Moines - A Unitarian Universalist Church".First Unitarian Church of Des Moines.
  12. ^"A Primary Source for Everett Dean Martin's Agnda for Adult Education".
  13. ^abcSteven B. Frye, "Everett Dean Martin: Misunderstood Champion of Adult Education," Carson-Newman Studies, Vol. X, No 3, Fall 2004, pp. 84-98, ISSN 1081-7727.
  14. ^abMichael Day and Clifford P. Harbour, The Philosopher and the Lecturer: John Dewey, Everett Dean Martin, and Reflective Thinking., Education and Culture, Vol. 29 (1), 2013, pp.105-124.
  15. ^Day, M., J, & Seckinger, D. (1987, May 21–23). Everett Dean Martin: Spiritual leader of the adult education movement in the United States. Paper presented at the Adult Education Research Conference Proceedings, Laramie, Wyoming.
  16. ^The Survey, "The New School, A Laboratory of Social Sciences." (Advertisement), Volume 46, August 16th, 1921.
  17. ^abMorse A. Cartwright, "Everett Dean Martin," Journal of Adult Education, 13 (1941): 324
  18. ^"Bank Street Archives".
  19. ^"Child Study Association of America – Statement of Purpose 1913".27 March 2013.
  20. ^"Child Study Association of America - Social Networks and Archival Context".
  21. ^http://postflaviana.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/martin-bernays-debate.pdf[bare URL PDF]
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