History+of+The+American+Journal+of+Arts+and+Sciences

The History of the Journal: "The Journal of Science and Arts" now known as "The American Journal of Science," was first introduced to the public in 1818, by editor Benjamin Silliman. His aim was to give rise to the popularization of science as well as the unification of the field. He mass produced his journal and sent it to the three hubs of scientific thought in America: New York City, Boston and Philadelphia. These three centers were locally distinct communities, without communication between. Hence the isolation of science from the public; if it could not converse within the field, how could it be expected to translate findings to a general audience?

To tackle this conundrum, Silliman chose to link together scientific communities. He did this by offering to publish works from all three centers of thought; by featuring articles from each hub, Silliman led to collaboration between groups who researched similar things. In the past, scientists operated in a vaccuum. One may have a researcher in Boston looking at the same thing as a reasearcher in New York. The two would publish findings in their own communities and never communicate.

Despite this structure of American Science, Silliman made sure to include works from notable scholars in all areas. Thus, by creating the journal, he made a venue in which science could communicate. In fact, by being the first one to do this, Silliman rallied support behind his Journal, so that when competitors sprang up, they were smothered by the credibility and established constituency of Silliman's publication. The Journal still continues to this day, and is the longest running continual scientific publication. It contained no advertisements, so it made an income off of subscribers. To cut overhead, it utilized the cheapest method of book production of the time: steam powered printing on wood pulp paper. This made content accessible to most scholars due to its low cost.