Bancroft Prize
1 appearances
Charles Grier Sellers
チャールズ・ジー・セラーズ
Charles Grier Sellers
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1923-09-09 （Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.）
- Died
- 2021-09-23 （Berkeley, California, U.S.） age 98
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Charlotte, North Carolina (birthplace) → Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard College) → Chapel Hill, North Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill) → Princeton, New Jersey (Princeton University) → Berkeley, California (longtime residence and UC Berkeley)
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor, Author
- Active Years
- 1950-1990
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland (assistant professor), Princeton University (faculty), University of California, Berkeley (professor, emeritus), Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (fellow), Oxford University (Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Visiting Professor)
- Memberships
- Southern Historical Association, Organization of American Historians (OAH), American Historical Association (AHA)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard College (Harvard University) | — | History and Literature | AB (Bachelor of Arts) | 1944?–1947 | United States |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | — | History | PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) | 1947–1950 | United States |
Harvard College (Harvard University)
History and Literature
Degree:
AB (Bachelor of Arts)
Period:
1944?–1947
Year of Graduation:
1947
Country:
United States
Graduation delayed by military service (class of 1945, graduated 1947)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
History
Degree:
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Period:
1947–1950
Year of Graduation:
1950
Country:
United States
Awarded PhD
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences | — | — | Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University | 受賞・選出 |
| 1963 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1967 | Bancroft Prize in American History | James K. Polk: Continentalist, 1843–1846 | — | Columbia University (Bancroft Prize) | 受賞 |
Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
1960
Organization:
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
Result:
受賞・選出
Guggenheim Fellowship
1963
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Bancroft Prize in American History
1967
Work:
James K. Polk: Continentalist, 1843–1846
Organization:
Columbia University (Bancroft Prize)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815–1846
1991 History / Social and Economic HistoryReinterprets economic, social, and political changes in Jacksonian America and challenges the conventional view that democracy and capitalism advanced together. Sellers uses diverse primary sources to argue that much of the Jacksonian majority resisted the pressures of capitalism rather than embracing it.
Market vs. democracySocial change in the Jacksonian eraTransformation of family and labor
James K. Polk: Continentalist, 1843–1846
1966 Biography / Political HistoryThe second volume of a biography of President James K. Polk covering 1843–1846. Analyzes Polk's continentalist policies (including territorial expansion) and their political context; this volume won the Bancroft Prize.
American territorial expansionPresidential politics and national interest
James K. Polk, Jacksonian, 1795–1843
1957 Biography / Political HistoryThe first volume of a biography covering Polk's early life and political formation, outlining his influence within the Jacksonian context.
Formation of leadershipEarly American politics
Bibliography
- James K. Polk, Jacksonian, 1795–1843 (1957)
- James K. Polk: Continentalist, 1843–1846 (1966)
- The Travail of Slavery (editor, in The Southerner as American, 1960)
- Andrew Jackson, Nullification and the State-Rights Tradition (editor, 1961)
- A Synopsis of American History (co-author/editor; multiple editions)
- As It Happened: A History of the United States (1975)
- The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815–1846 (1991)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Narrative, primary-source-driven scholarly styleRevisionist historiographical approachIntegrated analysis emphasizing social and economic history
- Recurring Motifs
- Conflict between market forces and democratic politicsResistance of the Jacksonian populaceRelations between localities and the nation
Legacy
Charles G. Sellers presented influential arguments in The Market Revolution that prompted reevaluation of the relationship between early American economic development and democracy. He received scholarly recognition such as the Bancroft Prize and left a significant impact on studies of American history.
Academic Societies
- Southern Historical Association
- Organization of American Historians (OAH)
- American Historical Association (AHA)
Archives
- University of California, Berkeley archives (holds related research materials and faculty records)
In Popular Culture
- Profiled in the nonfiction book Breach of Peace for his role in the Freedom Rides
Quotes
-
Historians have long sung the praises of democracy and capitalism marching together, but they have ignored evidence that the Jacksonian majority often resisted capitalism.
Source: The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815–1846 (paraphrase) (1991)
Trivia
- An avid birder from youth; co-founded the Mecklenburg Audubon Club in 1937.
- Served in the U.S. Army (10th Mountain Division) from 1943 to 1945; achieved the rank of staff sergeant.
- Participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides and was arrested at Jackson, Mississippi airport.
- Had three children; was married to Carolyn Merchant at the time of his death.