Current Issue Article Abstracts
October 2022, Vol. 146, No. 3
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ARTICLES
Subordination and Autonomy in the Reformed Churches In the Middle Colonies, 1720–1748
Kenneth Shefsiek
The creation of a Dutch empire in the seventeenth century required the establishment of Dutch Reformed congregations in its colonies, which were formally independent of ecclesiastical assemblies in the Netherlands. Such assemblies nevertheless supported the church abroad, particularly by sending ministers. The assembly that took the strongest role in New Netherland affairs was the Classis of Amsterdam. This formal independence was forgotten in the eighteenth century, as ministers on both sides of the Atlantic created a new vision of colonial subordination within and for the church in North America. However, as the Dutch Reformed church was built on the principles of collective, regional self-governance, "subordination" across long distances became an ambiguous and contested concept. Ecclesiastical conflicts in the colonies of the former New Netherland resulted. These conflicts were exacerbated by the growing role of the Dutch Reformed in the affairs of the Reformed congregations in Pennsylvania, as well as the involvement of an unexpected new voice in colonial affairs, the Classis of Schieland in Rotterdam. The result was a thick web of inter-colonial, classical, denominational, and ethnic entanglements that produced endemic conflict over church governance throughout a significant segment of the eighteenth century.
White Shirts and Stopwatches: The Emerson Efficiency Engineers and Work Reorganization within Pennsylvania Firms, 1900–1920
James P. Quigel Jr.
Harrington Emerson, a pioneer in early industrial engineering, formulated "efficiency engineering" to distinguish his work reorganization methods from those of Frederick W. Taylor's principles of scientific management. His company—the Emerson Efficiency Engineers—functioned as a prototype management consultancy, giving rise to a new business and profession. Pennsylvania's rapid industrial expansion and key industries became a proving ground for the development and application of Emerson's innovations in the fields of work reorganization and personnel management. His experience in the commonwealth provided the foundation for a successful business model in marketing efficiency to a diverse clientele. Pennsylvania became contested terrain in the rivalry between Taylor and Emerson for ascendancy in the industrial consulting field. Emerson promoted his philosophy of efficiency in numerous published works, speaking tours, and efficiency clubs, diffusing the concept of efficiency beyond its industrial context to a wider public audience and application in the Progressive Era's drive for rationalization.
Frank C. Musser, the Coalition Party, and the Fight to End Machine Party Politics in Post–Progressive Era Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Gerald G. Huesken Jr.
The politics of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, between 1921 and 1930 serve as a case study for national developments. Between the failure of the 1912 "Bull Moose" Party campaign for the White House and the rise of Franklin Roosevelt and the 1933 New Deal coalition, advocates for urban liberalization and social welfare progressivism built a political bridge in the Keystone state. Led in part by businessman Frank C. Musser, this new movement married some of the specific principles of the new alliance while also working to break the hold of the traditionalist Republican Party machine that had held Lancaster County in its grip since the 1860s. In this new era of Lancaster City and County politics, Musser and his allies discovered the efficacy, albeit limited, of employing new campaign tactics and engaging new voting blocs in the process of city and county politics while fashioning a legacy of municipal reform.