In 1900 the campus of Stanford University in California found itself bitterly divided by the forced resignation of Professor Edward A. Ross. Stanford President David Starr Jordan had requested the resignation on 12 November at the behest of Jane Lathrop Stanford, the university's benefactor and sole trustee. Mrs. Stanford and Ross first came into conflict in 1896, when, in that election year, Ross worked openly on behalf of Democratic candidates, thereby greatly displeasing Jane Stanford. She subsequently decreed that all faculty members were forbidden to participate in any political activity, and she privately asked President Jordan to fire Ross. President Jordan demurred at that time, but three years later, after Ross made a political speech, Jordan succumbed to pressure and removed Ross from his job. When a popular history professor, George E. Howard, protested the action, Mrs. Stanford demanded that Howard apologize or resign. His...