Pulitzer Prize for History
1 appearances
-
Edition 60 (1977) Winner
David M. Potter
デイヴィッド・エム・ポッター
Deividdo M. Potter
Aliases:
David Morris Potter
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1910-12-06 （Augusta, Georgia）
- Died
- 1971-02-18 （Stanford, California） age 60
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Unknown
- Residence History
- Augusta, Georgia → New Haven, Connecticut → Houston, Texas → Stanford, California
Career
- Occupations
- historian
- Active Years
- 1936-1971
- Affiliations
- University of Mississippi, Rice University, Yale University, Stanford University
- Memberships
- American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Historical Association (President 1971), Organization of American Historians (President)
- Influenced By
- Ulrich Bonnell Phillips
- Influenced
- Don E. Fehrenbacher
- Nominations
- Nominated for National Book Award for The South and the Sectional Conflict
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory University | — | — | BA | ~1932 | United States |
| Yale University | — | History | PhD | 1932-1940 | United States |
Emory University
Degree:
BA
Period:
~1932
Year of Graduation:
1932
Country:
United States
Yale University
History
Degree:
PhD
Period:
1932-1940
Year of Graduation:
1940
Country:
United States
Studied under Ulrich Bonnell Phillips
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Pulitzer Prize for History | The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861 | — | Columbia University | Winner (posthumous) |
| — | Honorary degree from Oxford University | — | — | Oxford University | Honorary |
| — | Honorary degree from University of Wyoming | — | — | University of Wyoming | Honorary |
Pulitzer Prize for History
1977
Work:
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861
Organization:
Columbia University
Result:
Winner (posthumous)
Honorary degree from Oxford University
Organization:
Oxford University
Result:
Honorary
Honorary degree from University of Wyoming
Organization:
University of Wyoming
Result:
Honorary
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861
1976 HistoryIn-depth narrative and analysis of the political factors leading to the American Civil War.
American Civil WarSlaverySectionalism
Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis
1942 HistoryRevised dissertation on Lincoln and the Republican Party during the secession crisis.
LincolnSecession Crisis
People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character
1954 HistoryExplores the relationship between economic abundance and the American character.
American CharacterEconomic History
Bibliography
- The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861
- Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis
- People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character
- The South and the Sectional Conflict
- The South and the Concurrent Majority
- History and American Society: Essays of David M. Potter
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Consensus historyNational perspective on Southern history
- Recurring Motifs
- Consensus on American valuesSectionalism in national context
Health
-
cancer晩年Died at age 60, impacted late career
Legacy
Leading authority on the antebellum South and causes of the Civil War. Prominent consensus historian who placed Southern history in national perspective, rejecting Charles Beard's conflict model. Pulitzer Prize posthumously.
Academic Societies
- American Historical Association
- Organization of American Historians
Quotes
-
David Potter may be the greatest living historian in the United States. To read him is to become aware of a truth that only the greatest historians have been able to show us: That the chief lesson to be derived from a study of the past is that it holds no simple lesson, and that the historian's main responsibility is to prevent anyone from claiming that it does.
Source: The New York Times obituary (quoting Martin Duberman) (1971)
Trivia
- President of the American Historical Association at the time of his death
- One of the few to receive Pulitzer Prize posthumously
- Edited The Yale Review (1949-1951)