Learning from nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s influence on young women’s geography and natural history education in nineteenth-century America

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores Alexander von Humboldt’s influence on the education of young women in early nineteenth-century America. In the past decade, the English-speaking world has seen a resurgence of interest in Alexander von Humboldt. To date however, scholars have devoted relatively little attention to Humboldt’s influence on American education, particularly before mid-century. When did schoolbooks begin to adopt his theories, and how universally did they incorporate them? Were young women exposed to his work as well as young men? To find out, this study analysed 44 editions of the most popular geography and botany texts designed for schools enrolling females as well as males during the period from 1791 to 1859. The analysis considers the degree to which these texts incorporated or ignored Humboldt’s ideas in the following areas: (1) plant geography; (2) climate; (3) learning from nature; (4) human impact on nature; (5) slavery; (6) colonialism; (7) human equality; and (8) the earth’s place in the cosmos.