416:, which the committee had declared to be subversive. Two weeks before she was scheduled to appear, Weltfish was told by the trustees of Columbia that her employment contract would not be renewed at the end of the year. The university said she was being dismissed based on the university's adoption of a new policy against the prolonged use of annual contract-based lecturers. But, the university promoted other lecturers affected by the change to tenured positions rather than dismissing them. Weltfish maintained that she was fired because she was a woman. Later historians have concluded that she was fired because the trustees saw her as a political liability, who could threaten funding, in the tense and charged environment during the years of the red scare.
277:. At a time when whites generally believed they were mentally superior to blacks, "Southern Whites" scored below "Northern Negroes" in the IQ test. Weltfish and Benedict argued that "The difference.... because of differences of income, education, cultural advantages, and other opportunities," since southern schools spent only a fraction of the amount spent on education in the North. This statement provoked outrage among some in the military, which had many Southerners as career officers and troops. Weltfish and Benedict devoted most of pamphlet to explaining that perceived differences in group mental abilities vary in accordance with social and cultural factors, not biological ones.
20:
247:, most likely because of a long-standing practice of discrimination against women. In 1938 Ruth Benedict was the first woman to achieve tenure at Columbia but did not receive a full professorship until 1948, months before her death. She intervened on behalf of Weltfish at a board meeting, when the trustees were considering terminating the younger woman's employment.
447:. Weltfish simply said that "she thought of herself as a good American and acted on issues as her conscience and knowledge dictated". When asked about the nature of the claim made in the pamphlet that some northern blacks had scored higher on intelligence tests than southern whites, Weltfish responded that particular data set was from the US Army's records.
306:
rose to power in
Germany, bolstering his heinous operations with racist theories developed from distorted anthropology. The books of Franz Boas were burned in Germany. In 1942, after death, Ruth Benedict, my senior colleague in the Anthropology Department, and I felt that we should carry the banner
280:
The pamphlet represented the
Boasian way of thinking about race, which later became the standard view in anthropology and was endorsed with a 1948 UNESCO declaration. At the time, its contention that race was socially constructed was politically controversial, especially in the American South, where
77:
are cultural rather than biological. Among the data used in the text was an IQ study from World War I, which found higher scores among some northern Blacks in the United States forces than among some southern Whites. The pamphlet was not widely circulated within the Army, and by the early 1950s, it
261:
was a pamphlet intended for
American troops. It set forth, in simple language with cartoon illustrations, the scientific case against racist beliefs. The publication of this pamphlet and the subsequent political furor that it caused during the 1950s, when it was decried as a piece of socialist
73:. It was intended to educate military personnel about the cultural differences among the peoples of the world in preparation for their fighting with a variety of allies from other cultures. The authors stated that perceived differences between the
129:. She grew up speaking German as her first language, taught by a German governess hired by her grandfather. Her father, to whom she was very close, died when she was 13. Encouraged by her grandmother, she went to the synagogue daily to say the
351:
In 1953 Weltfish lost her position at
Columbia University after 16 years of employment as an adjunct lecturer. The FBI had been interested in her political activities for some time, and in 1944 the head of the Anthropology department
556:
540:
133:
for him during the first year after his death, an honor and responsibility traditionally reserved for a son. Without a father, the family was in a difficult economic situation. Because her father had died
409:
412:
was conducting hearings to determine whether un-American literature was being purchased by
American libraries. Weltfish was called in for questioning regarding her role in writing the pamphlet,
368:. The FBI had classified the Congress of American Women, of which Weltfish was once president, among subversive organizations in the 1940s after its spokeswomen criticized some of President
443:. Weltfish responded negatively to the committee's demands that she name colleagues with communist sympathies. Asked about her own political position she refused to answer, invoking the
1117:
211:. Weltfish had not previously studied that language but learned it during her years of studies. She focused on the study of aesthetics and craftsmanship, learning the art of
207:
in New York, Weltfish decided to study his tribe as the subject of her dissertation. She traveled to the reservation in
Oklahoma, where tribal members still mostly spoke
223:
until 1950. At that time
Columbia modified its policy requiring that grad students pay to publish dissertations (at a cost of $ 4,000) and began accepting copies of
420:
394:
90:
343:
by Boas and his students to eliminate the study of race in psychology and anthropology in "preparation for the defeat of 'White
Civilization' by the Jews".
193:-speaking tribes. They were married for 15 years. Their daughter Ann was born in 1931. The two did their first field work together in Oklahoma, working on
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444:
235:
In 1935 Weltfish was invited by Boas to teach at
Columbia. She stayed on a year-to-year appointment until 1953. Among her students at Columbia was
1092:
1067:
800:
Benedict received tenure in 1938, after having been an assistant professor since 1931, much longer than any male academic would have had to wait.
146:
petitions for every disbursement. To help the family, at 14 Weltfish started working as a school clerk and attended high school in the evenings.
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Theory and
Practice: Essays presented to Gene Weltfish, edited by Stanley Diamond. The Hague, The Netherlands, Mouton Publishers, 1980
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age of 70. After her retirement from Fairleigh Dickinson, Weltfish continued teaching as a part-time faculty member at the
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109:
and unable to find an academic position for nearly a decade. During her last decade in academia full-time, she taught at
865:
Winston, A.S. (2001) "The Boas Conspiracy": The history of the behavioral sciences as viewed from the extreme right. In
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397:, where she was questioned. She refused to answer questions about her political affiliations, but when asked about the
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for alleged communist sympathies. The FBI investigated Weltfish's activities, noting her political engagement in the
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One of Weltfish's minor works, co-written with Ruth Benedict, had a surprisingly great effect. Published in 1943,
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gave her some financial support, which allowed her to study museum materials from the Pawnee collection at the
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97:. Two weeks before appearing at a 1953 hearing, in which she refused to answer questions from staffer attorney
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327:
was used, not only for orientation by the army, but in the de-Nazification program in Germany after the war.
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311:" published by the Public Affairs Committee. The pamphlet was originally written at the request of the
315:
for distribution to the men in the armed forces who had to fight side by side with allies such as the
215:, which was practiced exclusively by Pawnee women. Her doctoral dissertation from Columbia was titled
564:
1936. "The Vision of Fox Boy, a South Band Pawnee Text, with Translations and Grammatical Analysis".
495:
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870:
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as to whether she was a communist, her 16-year appointment at Columbia was terminated. She was
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121:
Regina Weltfish was one of two daughters; she was born in 1902 into a German Jewish family in
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436:
266:
842:
Threatening Anthropology: McCarthyism and the FBI's Surveillance of Activist Anthropologists
142:, the state managed his estate and kept it in trust. Weltfish's mother had to submit formal
1037:
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479:
455:
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and remained unable to find a teaching position for the next eight years. The Nebraska and
220:
887:
Price 2004:132 notes that Pathe 1988 is in error when he states that she was fired in 1952
626:
Selected Papers, Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences
8:
339:
Some far-right political groups in the US still consider Weltfish's work to be part of a
163:
39:
491:
638:
1971. "The Plains Indians: Their Continuity in History and Their Indian Identity". In
81:
Engaged in social activism during the 1940s, Weltflish attracted the attention of the
781:
729:
689:
340:
642:, Edited by Eleanor Burke Leacock and Nancy Oestreich Lurie. Random House, New York.
364:, her signatures on civil rights petitions, and her appearance on the radio station
174:. She graduated from Barnard in 1925 and enrolled in Columbia's graduate program in
440:
190:
186:
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1932c. "Composition of the Caddoan Linguistic Stock". (Coauthor Alexander Lesser)
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1930a. "Prehistoric North American Basketry Techniques and Modern Distributions".
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869:: Evening Colloquia 2000-2001 announcement, York University, Canada. Available:
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on the race question. In 1943, Ruth Benedict and I collaborated on a pamphlet, "
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Inventory of the Gene Weltfish Pawnee Field Notes, 1935 at the Newberry Library
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628:, edited by Anthony C. Wallace. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
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159:
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89:. In 1952 and 1953 she was called to Congress for questioning by two of the
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219:. She completed her dissertation in 1929, but did not formally receive her
175:
35:
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1932a. "Preliminary Classification of Prehistoric Southwestern Basketry".
499:
451:
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More than 20 years later, Weltfish explained why she wrote the pamphlet:
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106:
94:
51:
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1958b. "The Anthropologist and the Question of the Fifth Dimension", In
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1930b. "Coiled Gambling Baskets of the Pawnee and Other Plains Tribes".
19:
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during her senior year and continued to study with him as her adviser.
179:
171:
139:
43:
622:
The Ethnic Dimension of Human History: Pattern or Patterns of Culture?
502:. She died on August 7, 1980, just 5 days short of her 78th birthday.
381:
as repeating a claim made by Soviet critics that the US Army had used
135:
86:
62:
613:
1959. The Question of Ethnic Identity, an Ethnohistorical Approach.
548:
1932b. "Problems in the Study of Ancient and Modern Basket-Makers".
217:
The Interrelation of Technique and Design in North American Basketry
58:
is considered the authoritative work on Pawnee culture to this day.
424:
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282:
262:
propaganda, attracted the attention of anti-Communist authorities.
212:
189:, who also studied with Boas and became an anthropologist studying
98:
592:
1956. "The Perspective for Fundamental Research in Anthropology".
610:, edited by Stanley Diamond. Columbia University Press, New York.
582:(Coauthor Ruth Benedict), The Public Affairs Committee, New York.
450:
Having lost her employment at Columbia, Weltfish was effectively
302:
During the first four years of my graduate training at Columbia,
130:
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Totems and Teachers: Key Figures in the History of Anthropology
478:
in New Jersey, where she worked until 1972, having reached the
312:
244:
143:
334:(Memo by Weltfish, October 24, 1967, quoted in Pathe 1989:375)
684:", In U. Gacs, A. Khan, J. McIntyre, and R. Weinberg (Eds.),
194:
93:
dedicated to investigating "un-American activity" during the
365:
922:"Senate Red Inquiry 'Visitor' Put on Stand as Spy Suspect"
525:
1931a. "Pottery Implements of the Ancient Basket-Makers".
522:
7:277-295. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation.
85:, which suspected her (and others on the Left) of being a
575:
Publication of the American Ethnological Society, Vol.17.
357:
346:
82:
462:. Based on this and her previous field work, she wrote
46:
and was a specialist in the culture and history of the
421:
United States Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security
185:
During this time, she married fellow graduate student
356:, who had replaced Boas in 1937, reported her to the
113:. She continued to teach part-time after retirement.
725:
The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z
162:
where she majored in journalism. She transferred to
34:) (August 7, 1902 – August 2, 1980) was an American
1018:
at the Internet Archive (registration not required)
599:1958a. "The Linguistic Study of Material Culture",
532:1931b. "White-on-red Pottery from Cochiti Pueblo".
498:. At Rutgers, she participated in a new program in
1118:Women's International Democratic Federation people
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490:in New York City, and as a visiting professor at
419:On April 1, 1953, Weltfish was questioned by the
1024:
686:Women Anthropologists: A Biographical Dictionary
640:North American Indians in Historical Perspective
230:
61:She is also known for the 1943 pamphlet for the
401:article, she said that she had been misquoted.
828:. New York: The Public Affairs Committee. Inc.
953:
714:
601:International Journal of American Linguistics
566:International Journal of American Linguistics
466:(1965) about Pawnee history and ethnography.
243:. Columbia University never granted Weltfish
956:"Columbia is Dropping Dr. Weltfish, Leftist"
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56:The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture,
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633:The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture
573:Caddoan Texts: Pawnee, South Band Dialect.
464:The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture
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728:. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1364–6.
393:to appear in the fall of 1952 before the
1043:American people of German-Jewish descent
920:Grutzner, Charles (September 26, 1952).
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170:, where she minored in philosophy under
42:from 1928 to 1953. She had studied with
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1093:20th-century American women scientists
1068:Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty
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347:Blacklisted during the McCarthy period
265:The authors recounted some results of
1108:20th-century American anthropologists
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822:Benedict, R. and Weltfish, G. (1943)
589:Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, Indiana.
558:Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
542:Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
178:. She had already taken courses with
16:American anthropologist and historian
773:
688:(pp. 372-381). New York: Greenwood.
281:white Democrats had long maintained
1098:20th-century American women writers
395:McCarran Senate Judiciary Committee
375:In 1952 Weltfish was quoted in the
13:
867:History & Theory of Psychology
14:
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1073:Jewish American social scientists
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722:, eds. (2000). "Weltfish, Gene".
203:Happening to meet Henry Moses, a
1103:20th-century American scientists
1088:20th-century American historians
780:. University of Illinois Press.
50:of the Midwest Plains. Her 1965
991:
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954:Lissner, Will (April 1, 1953).
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844:. Duke University Press, p. 112
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476:Fairleigh Dickinson University
474:In 1961 Weltfish was hired at
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156:Wadleigh High School for Girls
111:Fairleigh Dickinson University
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389:. Shortly thereafter she was
231:Career at Columbia University
271:American Expeditionary Force
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520:Indian Notes and Monographs
427:and consisting of senators
319:in the Philippines and the
10:
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1113:20th-century American Jews
809:Silverman, Sydel. (2004).
362:Congress of American Women
158:in 1919, Weltfish entered
78:was banned as subversive.
69:, which she co-wrote with
1083:American women historians
975:Bosmajian, Haig. (1999).
682:Gene Weltfish (1902-1980)
594:The Philosophy of Science
496:New Brunswick, New Jersey
488:Manhattan School of Music
38:and historian working at
1048:Cultural anthropologists
840:Price, David H. (2004).
813:. Rowman Altamira p. 118
774:Gacs, Ute (1988-01-01).
663:
635:. Basic Books, New York.
988:Price (2004), pp. 127-8
944:Price (2004), pp. 131-2
910:Price (2004), pp. 123-4
550:American Anthropologist
513:American Anthropologist
325:"The Races of Mankind"
1058:Barnard College alumni
979:. NYU Press. pp. 134-5
460:University of Nebraska
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285:, racial segregation,
24:
23:Gene Weltfish in 1952.
680:Pathe, R.A. (1988). "
580:The Races of Mankind.
534:Plains Anthropologist
527:Plains Anthropologist
506:Selected publications
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372:'s foreign policies.
309:The Races of Mankind,
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91:Senate sub-committees
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901:Pathe (1988), p. 377
856:Pathe (1988), p. 375
825:The Races of Mankind
764:Pathe (1988), p. 378
748:Pathe (1988), p. 374
480:mandatory retirement
414:The Races of Mankind
259:The Races of Mankind
252:The Races of Mankind
67:The Races of Mankind
587:The Origins of Art.
164:Columbia University
40:Columbia University
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172:John Dewey
44:Franz Boas
596:23:63-73.
273:(AEF) in
150:Education
144:notarized
117:Biography
87:communist
65:, called
63:U.S. Army
873:Archived
696:. p. 373
647:See also
568:9:44-75.
425:Roy Cohn
332:—
283:Jim Crow
267:IQ tests
227:theses.
99:Roy Cohn
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620:1960.
585:1953.
578:1943.
571:1937.
313:U.S.O.
304:Hitler
245:tenure
205:Pawnee
195:Siouan
191:Siouan
30:(born
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664:Notes
221:Ph.D.
75:races
782:ISBN
730:ISBN
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486:and
439:and
366:WNBC
317:Huks
239:and
140:will
624:in
494:in
408:'s
358:FBI
166:'s
125:'s
83:FBI
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671:^
435:,
431:,
293:.
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54:,
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790:.
738:.
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323:.
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