The following papers on American morphology are dedicated to the memory of our friend Dov Ospovat.
The history of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century American biology offers an exciting research area, replete with questions. Not only did an extraordinary profusion of new techniques and theories emerge at the turn of the century, but at roughly the same time biology began to undergo professionalization and to become institutionally accepted. Underlying these changes was a fundamental shift in emphasis toward "modern," "analytical," "experimental" biological science, a shift in both the content and the methods of American biology. American biology also came into its own as an autonomous pursuit, and a number of eager young Americans enthusiastically endorsed various aspects of the "new biology." Because of these complex changes, an increasing number of historians of science have recently become concerned with turn-of-the-century biology in America.
In particular, Garland Allen's views have been read so widely that it seems necessary to consider his work carefully. In fact, this consideration constitutes the shared task of the following papers. The three of us have, through our respective studies, come to question both some of the facts Allen presents and some of his interpretations of what happened in turn-of-the-century American biology. We all agree that important shifts in emphasis did occur, but the three of us have reached different conclusions than did Allen about the nature of the science and of scientific change at the time.