Harvard 1926: The Life and Opinions of a College Class

Twenty-five years after graduating from Harvard, the class of 1926 asked itself a lot of very personal questions and, under the seal of anonymity, replied. Here is a composite portrait of the Gentlemen of 1926—from ambitions to aberrations, from children to chicanery. Contents Preface Prologue: A résumé of our origins Why We Went to Harvard: A study in motivations and habit Bright College Years: Or what happened to us at Cambridge Debits and Credits: Some observations on the values and drawbacks of a Harvard education The Search for Jobs: Seventeen per cent of us are still dissatisfied Progress under the Profit System: The median annual income of the class is today not quite $12,000 Shall We Grow Old Gracefully? Six out of ten have assets for their old age The Political Man: Though still predominantly Republican, we consider ourselves more liberal than we used to be; but our resistance to socialistic ideas and our dislike of the Soviet regime have grown Our Religious Outlook: There is little habit in our churchgoing Our Views on Current Trends in Education: We still exalt the liberal and humanist traditions The Continuing Ties: I. Money contributions; social and professional relations; the outer limbo The Continuing Ties: II. We find much to admire, a few things to deplore, in Harvard today Our Position in American Society: We place ourselves in the Upper Middle Class Men of Distinction – with Aberrations One in five is in a Who's Who; nearly as many have written books The First Symptoms of Middle Age: Not yet ready for the wheelchair, we are beginning to retire from the strenuous life The Uses of Leisure: Veblen would, have been confused Pour la Patrie One man in three served with the Armed Forces The Marital Condition: The divorce rate is high, but so is marital contentment The Women We Married: The distaff view The Pursuit of Happiness: It still eludes 15 per cent of us Appendix About the survey and its validity