John Burgess (political scientist)

[1] From there he attended the universities of Göttingen, Leipzig, and Berlin over the period 1871–1873,[3][1] where he studied under scholars including the historian Johann Gustav Droysen; the economist Wilhelm Roscher; the historian Theodor Mommsen, whose linking history with law strongly influenced Burgess's own approach; and Rudolf von Gneist.

[1] In 1876, Burgess was appointed to a professorship in the Law School of what later became Columbia University, a post he held until his 1912 retirement.

[3] He was instrumental in establishing the Faculty of Political Science, the first major institutionalized program in the United States granting the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

"[7] In a 1904, Burgess argued for close British, American and German relations, justifying it in part on the basis of "ethnic affinity".

[3] Burgess criticized the 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, arguing that it was "a gross exaggeration" of how most slaves were treated.

Nicholas Murray Butler credited the teachings of Burgess along with Alexander Hamilton for the philosophical basis of his Republicanism.

[9] According to Leon Epstein, Burgess was a leading academic figure in the last decades of the nineteenth century, but some of his influence was considered negative (due to his advocation of formalism as it applied to politics and governance) and he caused somewhat of an intellectual rebellion at Columbia.