Woodrow Wilson's Letter to Almont Barnes: Together with the article under discussion, "The Study of Administration" from the Political Science Quarterly of June, 1887 - Softcover

This is the Second Edition of a rare but significant book published in 1924. It includes the following new material: an Introduction, an “About the Author” section, and Barnes’ letter to Wilson which initiated the exchange of letters. (The first edition had Wilson's letter to Barnes, but not Barnes' letter to Wilson.) The editor of the Second Edition adds this note to readers: “I hope you will enjoy reading this revised Second Edition, the correspondence between two early proponents of making the study of Administration its own field of study, separate from Political Science.” -- Peter V. Andrews, great grandson of the author, Almont Barnes. In June 1887, Political Science Quarterly published the article “The Study of Administration,” by Woodrow Wilson, then a teacher of ancient Roman and Greek history at Bryn Mawr College, near Philadelphia. The article is considered a foundational article in the field of public administration, making Wilson one of the field’s founding fathers. Wilson later became a regular contributor to the magazine.In the article, Wilson argued that Public Administration should be treated as its own field of study, with public administrators being directly responsible to political leaders. He believed that politicians should be accountable to the people and that Public Administration should be treated as a science and its practitioners given authority to address issues in their respective fields.Almont Barnes, who had previously published a book on a similar subject, wrote Wilson at Bryn Mawr. The college forwarded the letter to Wilson in Gainesville, Georgia, where he was spending the summer. Wilson responded. Incredibly, each man kept the letter he had received. Both letters are included in this book.Wilson's letter is significant because it reveals more of his thinking on Public Administration and because it demonstrates Wilson’s diplomacy in avoiding any disagreements with Barnes -- stressing the common vision they share.