Avery Odelle Craven (August 12, 1885 – January 21, 1980) was an American historian who wrote extensively about the
nineteenth-century United States, the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
and
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
from a then-revisionist viewpoint sympathetic to the
Lost Cause
The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. Firs ...
as well as democratic failings during his own lifetime.
Early life and education
Craven was born near
Ackworth, Iowa
Ackworth is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 115 at the 2020 census.
History
Ackworth was laid out in 1874. The community most likely was named after the Ackworth School, in England. In 1878, the Chicago, Burlin ...
. His parents were
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
who left
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
because of slavery and racism. Craven graduated from
Simpson College
Simpson College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Indianola, Iowa. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has about 1,250 full-time and 300 part-time students. In addition to the Indianola residential campus, Simpso ...
(affiliated with the Methodist Church) in
Indianola, Iowa
Indianola is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States, located south of downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The population was 15,833 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. Indianola is home to the National Balloon ...
, in 1908, and at his death he left his library and papers to that institution.
After briefly teaching at Simpson College and North High School in
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, Craven moved to
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, where he was influenced by
Frederick Jackson Turner
Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...
and earned an M.A. from
Harvard in 1914.
Craven then married and taught at North Division High School in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, until 1920, when he moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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to complete a doctorate in history under the guidance of
Marcus Jernegan and
William E. Dodd. He received his PhD from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
in 1923. He received honorary doctorates from
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...
and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
in 1952, as well as from the
College of Emporia
The College of Emporia was a private college in Emporia, Kansas from 1882 to 1974, and was associated with the Presbyterian church.
When founded, it was one of two higher education institutions in the city of Emporia, the other at that time was t ...
in 1974,
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
in 1969,
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
in 1963, the
University of South Carolina in 1961,
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
in 1957, and from his alma mater, Simpson College in 1945). He married for a second time in 1938.
Career
Craven first taught at the graduate level at
Michigan State University (1923-1924) and then the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
(1924-1927). In 1927, he joined the faculty of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, where he spent the rest of his career. His works included ''The Coming of the Civil War'' (University of Chicago Press, 1942), ''The Growth of Southern Nationalism, 1848–1861'' (LSU Press 1953) and ''Reconstruction, and the Ending of the Civil War'' (Holt Rinehart & Winston, Inc. 1968). He served as president of the Organization of Southern Historians in 1952, as president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Society and of the
Organization of American Historians (OAH) in 1963–1964.
Views
Craven was a leader of the "revisionist" historians in the 1930s who said the Civil War was caused by a failure of democracy. He rejected the "progressive" school of
Charles A. Beard, which argued the war was an inevitable conflict between the agrarian South and the industrial North.
Craven increasingly took a pro-Southern and even pro-slavery position on the causes of the Civil War. His explanation of the war was basically psychological and argued, according to John David Smith that "fear, suspicion, passion, propaganda, distortion" caused the war. Craven especially emphasized exaggerated abolitionist attacks on slavery and argued that the war could have been avoided if selfish politicians had not escalated the psychological fears to their own advantage.
Death and legacy
Craven died in
Chesterton, Indiana
Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U. ...
, in 1980 and his remains were returned for burial in Iowa. His alma mater, Simpson College, received his library and papers.
Until July 2020, the
Organization of American Historians gave an annual award named after Craven, "for the most original book on the
coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, or the
Era of Reconstruction, with the exception of works of purely
military history. The exception recognize
and reflect
dthe Quaker convictions of Craven, President of the Organization of American Historians 1963-1964." In July 2020, the group's board decided “to suspend the name of the Avery Craven Award … as a result of consideration of a powerful article" by historian David Varel arguing that Craven's Lost Cause advocacy meant the change would “better honor the OAH’s professed commitment to ‘the equitable treatment of all practitioners of history.’” Varel proposed naming the award instead for the late scholar
Lawrence D. Reddick. Before giving the award any new name, the OAH board appointed a committee to write guidelines for the establishing and naming of prizes and then solicited submissions of new names to consider for the award, designated in the meantime as the Civil War and Reconstruction Book Award.
Works
* Craven, Avery. ''Soil exhaustion as a factor in the agricultural history of Virginia and Maryland, 1606–1860'' (1926, reprinted University of South Carolina Press, 2006)
* Craven, Avery O. "The Agricultural Reformers of the Ante-Bellum South." ''American Historical Review'' 33.2 (1928) pp: 302–314
in JSTOR* Craven, Avery O. "Poor whites and Negroes in the antebellum South." ''Journal of Negro History'' (1930) pp: 14–25
in JSTOR* Craven, Avery. ''Edmund Ruffin, Southerner: A Study in Session'' (1932).
* Craven, Avery. "Coming of the War Between the States An Interpretation." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1936) 2#3 pp: 303–322
in JSTOR* Craven, Avery. "Frederick Jackson Turner." kn ''The Marcus W. Jernegan Essays in American Historiography'' (1937) pp: 252–270.
* Craven, Avery. "The 'Turner Theories' and the South." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1939) 5#3 pp: 291–314
in JSTOR* Craven, Avery. "The 1840s and the Democratic Process." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1950) 16#2 pp: 161–176
in JSTOR* Craven, Avery. ''The growth of Southern nationalism, 1848–1861'' (LSU Press, 1953)
* Craven, Avery. ''The coming of the Civil War'' (University of Chicago Press, 1957)
* Craven, Avery. ''An historian and the Civil War'' (University of Chicago Press, 1964)
* Craven, Avery. ''Reconstruction:the Ending of the Civil War'' (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. 1968)
* Craven, Avery. ''Rachel of Old Louisiana'' (1974)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craven, Avery
1885 births
1980 deaths
Harvard University alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Simpson College alumni
University of Chicago faculty
20th-century American historians
20th-century American male writers
Historians of the American Civil War
People from Warren County, Iowa
Historians from Iowa
American male non-fiction writers