William J. Hale and the Farm Chemurgic Movement

从世纪开始，农民们开始转向科学尝试 来解决他们许多棘手的问题。 怀特博士 正在研究化学家们的一项努力， 美国帮助农民摆脱 1930年代的大萧条。 这些“化学家”（一个术语 将工作的希腊词根与“化学”结合起来），由陶氏化学领导 化学公司的威廉J.黑尔声称，“经济复苏 将在实验室实现，而不是立法机构，”或者， 更直白地说，化学的内部发展 决定了技术和经济政策。 背靠 强大的化学基金会，化学家促进他们的 技术文献和政治竞技场中的思想， 新政在农业方面的努力的替代品 援助.作为他们的中心示范项目， 化学家生产和销售动力酒精（或“agrol”）， 20世纪30年代末， 争议。 在他的研究中，赖特博士将研究四个问题：1。什么 黑尔是否相信他发现了 对国家农业政策的研究，使他 放弃了化学家的成功事业 成为一个化学传教士吗 2.应该 化学被认为是一个成功的应用研究项目？ 3. 为什么专家们对 Chemurgy酒精燃料技术和经济充分性 因为它们的化学结构很简单 4. Was化学 作为一场政治运动，成功？ 在解决这些 问题，赖特博士将研究两个化学家 和他们的对手构建了叙事历史， 科学来证明或批评Chemurgy的研究， 政治主张。 这项研究有望提高我们的 对20世纪科学在农业中作用的认识 世纪，更广泛地说，社会和政治 应用研究中的固有问题。

From the 19th century on, farmers have turned to science to try to resolve many of their more intractable problems. Dr. Wright is examining one of the efforts on the part of chemists in the United States to help extricate farmers from the effects of the Great Depression of the 1930's. These "Chemurgists" (a term combining the Greek root for work with "chemistry"), led by Dow Chemical's William J. Hale, claimed that "economic recovery would be achieved in the laboratory, not the legislature," or, put more starkly, that internal developments in chemistry dictated technological and economic policy. Backed by the powerful Chemical Foundation, the Chemurgists promoted their ideas in the technical literature and in the political arena as an alternative to the New Deal's efforts at agricultural assistance. As their central demonstration project, the Chemurgists produced and marketed power alcohol (or "agrol") in the late 1930's setting off political and chemical controversies. In his study, Dr. Wright will examine four questions: 1. What did Hale believe he discovered about the relation of chemical research to national agricultural policy that caused him to abandon a highly successful career as a chemist and research administrator to become a Chemurgic proselytizer? 2. Should Chemurgy be considered a successful applied research program? 3. Why was there such protracted expert disagreement over the technical and economic adequacy of Chemurgy's alcohol fuels given their simple chemical structure? 4. Was Chemurgy successful as a political movement? In addressing these questions, Dr. Wright will examine the ways both Chemurgists and their antagonists constructed narrative histories of science to justify or criticize Chemurgy's research and political claims. This study promises to enhance our understanding of the role of science in agriculture in the 20th century and, more generally, the social and political implications inherent in applied research.