As part of a multi-nation research project on the institutionalization of political economy in European, Japanese, and North American universities, the 14 essays in this volume explore the roots of academic economics in the United States during the 19th century. The organization of the essays is designed to show the catalytic role economists played in reshaping American higher education as they worked to lay solid foundations for their discipline within the academy. In addition, the case-study format of many of the papers lends itself to capturing the flavor of the personal dramas that gave definition to the new discipline. Paper titles and authors are: (1) "Political Economy and the Academic Setting before 1900: An Introduction" (William J. Barber); (2) "Early Flowering in the Old Dominion: Political Economy at the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia" (John K. Whitaker); (3) "Faithful Index to the Ambitions and Fortunes of the State: The Development of Political Economy at South Carolina College" (Michael D. Bordo and William H. Phillips); (4) "Political Economy From the Top Down: Brown University" (William J. Barber); (5) "A Quest for National Leadership: Institutionalization of Economics at Harvard" (Byrd L. Jones); (6) "The Fortunes of Political Economy in an Environment of Academic Conservatism: Yale University" (William J. Barber); (7) "From Recitation Room to Research Seminar: Political Economy at Columbia University" (Franek Rozwadowski); (8) "Political Economy in the Flagship of Postgraduate Studies: The Johns Hopkins University" (William J. Barber); (9) "An Uneasy Relationship: The Business Community and Academic Economists at the University of Pennsylvania" (Steven A. Sass); (10) "Political Economy in an Atmosphere of Academic Entrepreneurship: The University of Chicago" (William J. Barber); (11) "Political Economy in the Far West: The University of California and Stanford University" (Mary E. Cookingham); (12) "Mind and Hand: Economics and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology" (Richard P. Adelstein); (13) Political Economy and the Service of the State" The University of Wisconsin" (John P. Henderson); and (14) "The Educational Revolution and the Professionalization of American Economics" (A. W. Coats). Includes notes, index, and information on the contributors. (Most papers contain extensive references.) (JB)