David Morris Potter (December 6, 1910 – February 18, 1971) was an American historian specializing in the study of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. He was born in Augusta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, graduated from the

Academy of Richmond County The Academy of Richmond County is a high school located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Known previously as Richmond County Military Academy, it is commonly known as Richmond Academy or ARC. Chartered in 1783, it is listed as the sixth old ...

, and in 1932 graduated from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. Potter entered graduate school at Yale the same year but left four years later without finishing his dissertation. He taught at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

for two years, then at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

for another two before completing his dissertation in 1940 under

Ulrich Bonnell Phillips Ulrich Bonnell Phillips (November 4, 1877 – January 21, 1934) was an American historian who largely defined the field of the social and economic studies of the history of the Antebellum South and slavery in the U.S. Phillips concentrated on t ...

. In 1942 Yale published his dissertation as ''Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis'' and hired him as an assistant professor. As professor of history at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1942–1961 and Coe Professor of American History at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1961–1971 he directed numerous dissertations and served on numerous editorial and professional boards. He also held the Walgreen Lectureship at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and the Commonwealth Fund Lectureship at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. Potter held the

Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History The Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professorship is an endowed chair in American history at the University of Oxford, tenable for one year. The Harmsworth Professorship was established by Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1868–194 ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1947. He was a pioneer in sponsoring the study of

Women's history Women's history is the study of the role that women have played in history and the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, personal achievement over a period of ...

. Potter was an elected member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

. He posthumously won the 1977

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

for ''

The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861 ''The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861'' is a 1976 nonfiction book by American historian David M. Potter, who had died in 1971. The book was completed by fellow Stanford University professor Don E. Fehrenbacher and published in 1977 by Harper & Row. ...

'' (1976), an in-depth narrative and analysis of the causes of the

. His main achievement was to put the history of the South in national perspective. He rejected the conflict model of

Charles A. Beard Charles Austin Beard (1874–1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due to his publications in the f ...

and emphasized the depth of consensus on American values. He considered himself a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and was a prominent exponent of

Consensus history ''Consensus history'' is a term used to define a style of American historiography and classify a group of historians who emphasize the basic unity of American values and the American national character and downplay conflicts, especially conflicts ...

. Potter died of cancer at age 60. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' obituary quoted an

encomium ''Encomium'' is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is ''laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the song sung by the ...

of historian

Martin Duberman Martin Bauml Duberman (born August 6, 1930) is an American historian, biographer, playwright, and gay rights activist. Duberman is Professor of History Emeritus at Herbert Lehman College in the Bronx, New York City. Early life Duberman was born ...

: "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."

Bibliography

* His most important book, completed and edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher, was ''

'', Harper & Row, 1976."David Morris Potter." in ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'' (Gale, 2002
online
/ref> * ''Lincoln and His Party in the Secession Crisis'' (1942), with a new preface in 1962. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. Published with a new introduction by Daniel W. Crofts. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. * "American Women and the American Character" in ''American Character and Culture in a Changing World: Some Twentieth-Century Perspectives'' (Greenwood Press, 1979): 209–225. * ''Freedom and Its Limitations in American Life,'' edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher, compiled by George Harmon Knoles, Stanford University Press, 1976. * ''History and American Society: Essays of David M. Potter'', ed. by Don E. Fehrenbacher, Oxford University Press, 1973. * ''Division and the Stresses of Reunion, 1845-1876'', Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman, 1973. * ''The South and the Concurrent Majority,'' edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher and Carl N. Degler, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1972. * ''The South and the Sectional Conflict,'' Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. * (With Curtis R. Grant) ''Eight Issues in American History: Views and Counterviews'', Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman, 1966. * "The Historian's Use of Nationalism and Vice Versa," ''

American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal and the official publication of the American Historical Association. It targets readers interested in all periods and facets of history and has often been described as the ...

,'' Vol. 67, No. 4 (July 1962), pp. 924–95
in JSTOR
* ''The Background of the Civil War,'' National Council for the Social Studies, 1961. * (With Manning) ''Nationalism and Sectionalism in America, 1775-1877,'' Holt, 1961. * (Editor, with William Goetzmann) ''The New Deal and Employment,'' Holt, 1960. * (Editor) E. David Cronon and Howard R. Lamar, ''The Railroads,'' Holt, 1960. * (Editor) ''Party Politics and Public Action, 1877-1917,'' Holt, 1960. * ''The American Round Table Discussions on People's Capitalism'', 1957. * ''People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character'', 1954. * (With Thomas G. Manning) ''Select Problems in Historical Interpretation,'' Holt, Volume I, 1949, Volume II, 1950. * "An Appraisal of Fifteen Years of the Journal of Southern History, 1935–1949," ''

Journal of Southern History The Southern Historical Association is a professional academic organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States. It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in Sout ...

,'' Vol. 16, No. 1 (Feb. 1950), pp. 25–3
in JSTOR
* Editor of ''Yale Review,'' 1949-51. * "The Historical Development of Eastern-Southern Freight Rate Relationships," ''

Law and Contemporary Problems Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...

,'' Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer, 1947), pp. 416–44
in JSTOR
* "Horace Greeley and Peaceable Secession," ''Journal of Southern History,'' Vol. 7, No. 2 (May 1941), pp. 145–15
in JSTOR
* "Why the Republicans Rejected Both Compromise and Secession," in George Harmon Knoles, ed., ''The Crisis of the Union: 1860-1861'', Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1965, pp. 90–106, Comment by Kenneth M. Stampp, pp. 107–113; reprinted in Wilentz, Sean, ed., ''The Best American History Essays on Lincoln'', New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, pp. 175–188, without the comment by Stampp. Potter believed Republicans rejected both compromise and secession because they thought Southern Unionism would prevail. They did not believe that rejecting compromise and secession would lead to war. "Today, our hindsight makes it difficult for us to understand the reliance on Southern Unionism." (Knoles, 101).

Notes

External links

* http://biography.yourdictionary.com/david-m-potter * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, David M. 1910 births 1971 deaths Writers from Augusta, Georgia Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the United States Presidents of the American Historical Association Pulitzer Prize for History winners Yale University alumni Yale University faculty Stanford University Department of History faculty Academy of Richmond County alumni 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Historians from Georgia (U.S. state) American male non-fiction writers Members of the American Philosophical Society

Bibliography

Notes

Further reading

External links