Chandra Manning is an American historian who specializes in 19th century U.S. History. A graduate of

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

, Chandra went on to receive her Ph.D. from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2002. She has written several articles that have appeared in various journals and books, and is the author of the books ''What This Cruel War Was Over'' and ''Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War.''

Education

Chandra attended Mount Holyoke College where she received her B.A.

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

, in history. She then attended the

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

where she received an M.Phil in

Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaterna ...

and literature. She would later go on to receive her Ph.D. in History from Harvard.

Career and personal life

Manning is currently a full professor of history at Georgetown University where she has taught since 2005. In 2015-2017 she took leave from Georgetown University to serve as Special Advisor to the Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advance Study at Harvard University. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgetown Prof. Manning was an assistant professor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She has also lectured in history at Harvard University. She splits her time between Georgetown and in Braintree, Massachusetts where she lives with her husband and two sons.

Published work

Manning published her most recent book, ''Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War'' in 2016. Drawing on a wealth of military records, letters, and diaries the book examines the relationship between African Americans and the federal government forged in the contraband camps, which were refugee camps for escaped slaves. That relationship, which lasted beyond the war, would help destroy slavery, foreclose it reestablishment, while also redefining American citizenship in ways that are still with us today. Manning's first book, ''What This Cruel War Was Over'' was published in 2007 and focuses on the American Civil War. The book examines how soldiers on both sides of the war perceived slavery, and how this contentious issue may have influenced their ideas about the war and its purpose. Manning studied Union and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

soldiers' accounts in order to explain and understand why slavery defined the soldier's thinking about the war. Manning has also written over a dozen articles published in both books and journals, such as ''

North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...

'', ''Journal of the Civil War'', ''The Chronicle of Higher Education,'' and the '' Journal of American History''.

Awards

Manning's ''Trouble Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War'' has been reviewed positively in publications such as the Wall Street Journal. The work was awarded the Jefferson Davis Prize and was a finalist for the Lincoln Prize. ''What This Cruel War Was Over'' has received many positive reviews. For this work, she was awarded the Avery O. Craven Award by the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

in 2007. She has also received honorable mention in the Lincoln Prize, the Jefferson Davis Prize, and in the Virginia Literary Award in Nonfiction competitions.

References

External links

* * *Chandra Manning: Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War talk at Harvard Boodkstore, November 2016. https://www.c-span.org/video/?417598-2/chandra-manning-discusses-troubled-refuge {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Chandra Historians of the American Civil War 21st-century American historians Living people Harvard University alumni Mount Holyoke College alumni Year of birth missing (living people)