A Defense of the Gingerman

The Education of Henry Adams is a testament to those both humble enough to know their ignorance and to know what they know. As the title indicates, this book is about Henry Adams; it is a tale of an extraordinary man's extraordinary life. Being the grandson of John Quincy Adams and the great-grandson of John Adams no doubt had its benefits, enabling him to enter doors that others might not. But this autobiography is not merely a listing of who did what where, instead Henry Adams had a loftier goal: "no one had discussed what part of education has, in his personal experience, turned out to be useful, and what not...this volume attempts to discuss it."

In modern parlance, education has become confused with schooling. Henry Adams writes the Education in the spirit of Mark Twain's famous admonition, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Not unlike Tom and Huck's adventures along the river, Henry Adams' education begins in Quincy, Massachusetts where Adams spent summers with his grandfather. His first "serious contact with the President" came when he made a "passionate outburst of rebellion against going to school." While in the process of screaming at his mother, "the old gentleman close on eighty" took the boy's hand without a word, "and walked with him, paralyzed by awe , up the road to the town." Henry considered this to be one of the first lessons of his education. The respect and deference accorded his grandfather by visitors and family members imbued the significance of John Quincy's act. Henry's behavior was unacceptable, especially for an Adams.

Henry's lessons continued with teachings from his father. He writes, "Charles Francis Adams' memory was hardly above the average; his mind was not bold like his grandfather's or restless like his father's, or imaginative or oratorical — still less mathematical; but it worked with singular perfection, admirable self-restraint, and instinctive mastery of form." In the past, newspapers had derided both his grandfather and great-grandfather for their lack of judgment; "they abused Charles Francis for his judgment." In fact, it should be noted that Henry's father was a co-founder of the Free Soil Party, which was an instrumental player in the abolitionist movement and helped elect Abraham Lincoln to the presidency. His father later proved to be invaluable as Minister to Britain during the Civil War, where he convinced Parliament to end their funding of the Confederacy's efforts. Some of his lesser accomplishments included being a Congressman and editor of the compendium books that included his father's presidential papers and other writings.

But good genes and good breeding can only take you so far. Diversity of experience and oft-considered poor judgment helped Henry master new lessons. Upon graduation from Harvard College, which he thought "taught little, and that little ill," he set out to learn the "civil law" in Berlin. His first lecture at the University of Berlin was his last. Henry recalls that he "needed no more than one hour to satisfy" that he had made another failure in his education, and this time a "fatal one." Instead of attending classes, Henry spent a year "drinking beer, smoking German tobacco, and looking at fat German women knitting" in music halls and pubs. It was here where Henry gained education.

Henry picked up additional lessons as he gallivanted through Europe visiting Rome and Paris, among others. His journeys to cathedrals throughout the continent served him well, as he later wrote two magnificent books, Chartres and Mont Saint Michel based on his observations. During this time he also began to attain a reputation as a man of letters. Without request or submission, his brother forwarded along to the Boston Courier Henry's lengthy letters of his travels, which included his chance meeting with poet Robert Browning or his encounter with Risorgimento war hero Giuseppe Garibaldi. In these travels Adams realized that the acquisition of "accidental education as an object in itself" is a worthy goal. This should serve as solace for those of us in the bottom half of our law school class.

Returning to America in 1860, Henry was greeted by a divided nation. With his family, he attended the inaugural festivities celebrating the election of Abraham Lincoln. During these celebrations, Henry's met John Hay, Lincoln's private secretary. The two remained exceptionally close throughout the duration of each other's remarkable lives (Hay later becoming Secretary of State in the McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations). The legendary friendship is memorialized in the namesake of the Hay-Adams Hotel (a must see), which currently occupies the land that contained their adjoining houses.

Without work or purpose, Adams felt compelled to oblige his father's request that he move to London to assist him in his effort to woo England away from its Confederate sympathies. Serving as his father's private secretary, Henry had the unique opportunity to witness Victorian England from the inside. Here, Henry provides detailed sketches of nineteenth-century British luminaries like William Gladstone, John Russell, and Henry John Temple Palmerston, all of whom would visit the American embassy.

But more interesting than these vignettes of high British politcs is the education Adams received in the parlor rooms and banquet halls of England and Scotland. Henry became a frequent visitor at Baron Richard Monckton Milnes Houghton's (a well-regarded British poet and critic) home where the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ), Laurence Oliphant (author of A Journey to Katmandu and Piccadilly ), and well-regarded Scottish philosopher James Hutchison Stirling could be found. Another important encounter for Henry was that of Charles Lyell, the noted geologist who is widely considered to be the father of paleontology. In his spare time, Henry continued to elevate his reputation as a serious writer by introducing America to the ideas of Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell in the eminent literary magazine the North American Review . Once again, accidental knowledge bears fruit.

The Education is a long book. To proceed further ad infinitum with examples of why accidental education is important would incite ad nauseam . For those interested in learning about the rest of his life, the book is cheap. Needless to say, it was impressive. And this review is not to be confused with the idea that spending many pointless hours at the Gingerman [a pub in Austin and Houston] is worthwhile. Instead, Henry Adam's life demonstrates the importance of being humble enough to learn from others. If the most appropriate setting to do this is with a pint in your hand, so be it.