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Nancy K. MacLean

ナンシー・K・マクリーン

Nancy K. MacLean

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1959 （United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
Historian, Professor, Author
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
Northwestern University (faculty), Duke University (William H. Chafe Professor), Scholars for North Carolina's Future (co-chair)
Influenced By
Linda Gordon (doctoral advisor)

Education

Brown University
History
Degree: B.A./M.A.
Period: 1977–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Completed a four-year combined B.A./M.A. program, graduated magna cum laude
University of Wisconsin–Madison
History
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1985–1989
Year of Graduation: 1989
Country: United States
Doctoral dissertation later became her first book

Awards

Frank L. and Harriet C. Owsley Prize
1995
Organization: Southern Historical Association
Result: 受賞
James A. Rawley Prize
1995
Work: Behind the Mask of Chivalry
Organization: Organization of American Historians
Result: 受賞
Philip Taft Labor History Book Award
2007
Work: Freedom Is Not Enough
Organization: Labor and Working-Class Studies Association
Result: 受賞
Allan Sharlin Book Award
2007
Work: Freedom Is Not Enough
Organization: Social Science History Association
Result: 受賞
Willard Hurst Prize
2007
Work: Freedom Is Not Enough
Organization: Law and Society Association
Result: 受賞
Labor History Best Book Prize
2007
Work: Freedom Is Not Enough
Organization: International Association of Labour History Institutions
Result: 受賞
Fellow of the Society of American Historians
2010
Organization: Society of American Historians
Result: 選出
National Book Award (Nonfiction)
2017
Work: Democracy in Chains
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 最終候補（ファイナリスト）
Lannan Foundation Cultural Freedom Award
2017
Work: Democracy in Chains
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Most Valuable Book (The Nation)
2017
Work: Democracy in Chains
Organization: The Nation
Result: 選出
Lillian Smith Book Award
2018
Work: Democracy in Chains
Organization: Lillian Smith Book Awards committee
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan

1994 History

Explores how millions of ordinary white Protestant men joined the second Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, arguing that the Klan combined mainstream and extreme elements, mixing anti-Black and anti-elitist ideas with patriarchal family values to build mass support.

Race relationsSocial movementsPolitics of the U.S. South

Freedom Is Not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace

2006 Labor history / Social history

Traces how civil rights activism transformed U.S. workplaces from cultures of exclusion to ones that increasingly embraced diversity and inclusion, integrating legal analysis with social history.

Civil rightsEmployment and laborLaw and society

Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America

2017 Contemporary political history / Intellectual history

Examines the role of James McGill Buchanan, Charles Koch, and others in developing public choice theory and libertarian networks, arguing they pursued a stealthy program to reshape American politics; the book generated intense debate among supporters and critics.

Political thoughtLibertarianismFiscal policy and governance

Bibliography

  • Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan (1994)
  • Freedom Is Not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace (2006)
  • The American Women's Movement, 1945–2000: A Brief History with Documents (2008)
  • Debating the American Conservative Movement: 1945 to the Present (co-authored, 2009)
  • Scalawag: A White Southerner's Journey through Segregation to Human Rights Activism (co-authored, 2014)
  • Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America (2017)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Scholarly yet accessible proseIntegration of archival history with legal analysisAssertive argumentation that provokes debate
Recurring Motifs
Relations between power structures and citizenshipPolitical culture of the U.S. SouthIntersection of labor and discrimination

Legacy

Nancy MacLean is known for connecting race, labor, and social-movement histories of 20th-century America; her scholarly work and general‑audience books have provoked wide discussion. Democracy in Chains in particular generated major public and academic debate, attracting both praise and criticism.

Academic Societies

  • Society of American Historians (Fellow)

Quotes

  • She argues that a small group of intellectuals and funders pursued a stealthy project to reshape America.
    Source: Democracy in Chains (2017) (2017)

Trivia

  • Her doctoral dissertation became her first book, Behind the Mask of Chivalry.
  • Democracy in Chains provoked significant academic and political controversy after publication.