The German Factor In The Growth Of American Political Theory

There are two lines in studying German influence in American politcal science. One is studying the subject itself and the other is to focus on the content of the subject. These two lines need to be fairly differientiated. The subject of Staatslehre was first introduced into America by Francis Lieber. However, when Burgess try to promote the development of Staatslehre he actually to some extend accelerate the independence of political theory. Dunning’s conclusion of the history of political theory described an integral process of the development of the subject. Merriam was such a sophisticated person that he artfully summarize Burgess’ s historical comparative method as the origin of scientism, yet he barely talked about his teacher,Burgess’ s favor and admiration of German Staatslehre. And he never showed his disagreement with Burgess in public. He successfully assist political science to be seperated from German Staatslehre and his scientism political theory dominated the later three decades of this realm in America. From the angle of the content of political science, when Lieber first classified Staatslehre, he never mentioned political theory.And politics was more like a word concerning government affairs. After Burgess introducing German mode of university into America, many Universities such as the university of Columbia began to establish subjects of political theory, which however were only the introduction of the history of Staatslehre. Hence it is abviously seeing German influence in America political theory from the both lines. The second influence was the German immigrant scholar during the world war 2, that in some respects it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that political theory, as it is understand today. Political theory was reinvented during the dialogue which was precipitated by this intellectual migration and the transplantation of the Weimar conversation. To interpret this period requires reconstructing the intellectual world from which the emigre exited as well as the manner through which they entered and transformed the American dialogue.