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George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels. During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of the Navy, he established the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
at
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. He was a senior American diplomat in Europe, leading diplomatic missions to Britain and Germany. Among his best-known writings is the magisterial series, ''History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent''.


Early life and education

Bancroft was born on October 3, 1800, in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. His family had been in
Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...
since 1632. George's father,
Aaron Bancroft Aaron Bancroft (November 10, 1755 – August 19, 1839) was an American clergyman. He was born in Reading, Massachusetts to Samuel Bancroft and Lydia Parker. Biography He began his studies during the American Revolution, and served as a minutema ...
, was distinguished as a revolutionary soldier, a leading Unitarian clergyman, and author of a popular biography of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
.


Education

Bancroft began his education at
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
. He entered
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
at thirteen years of age and graduated with the Class of 1817. After Harvard, Bancroft's father sent him abroad to study in Germany, where he studied at the universities of Göttingen, and Berlin. At Göttingen, he studied
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
with
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (25 October 1760, Arbergen6 March 1842, Göttingen) was a German historian. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. Biography Heeren was born on 25 October 1760 in Arbergen near Bremen, a small village ...
, history with Heeren and
Gottlieb Jakob Planck Gottlieb Jakob Planck (15 November 1751 – 31 August 1833) was a German theologian and church historian. He was the great-grandfather of physicist Max Planck. Biography Planck was born at Nürtingen in Württemberg, where his father was a nota ...
, and languages and scripture interpretation with Albert Eichhorn, natural science with
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He ...
, German literature with
Georg Friedrich Benecke Georg Friedrich Benecke (10 June 1762, Mönchsroth – 21 August 1844, Göttingen) was a German philologist. Beginning in 1780, he was a student at the University of Göttingen, where he was a pupil of Christian Gottlob Heyne. In 1814 he be ...
, French and Italian literature with Artaud and Bunsen, and classics with Georg Ludolf Dissen. In 1820, he received his doctorate from the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
. Bancroft capped off his education with a European tour, in the course of which he sought out almost every distinguished man in the European world of letters, science and art, including
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...
,
Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named afte ...
,
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
,
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
,
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
,
Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...
, Christian Charles Josias Bunsen,
Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
, Varnhagen von Ense,
Victor Cousin Victor Cousin (; 28 November 179214 January 1867) was a French philosopher. He was the founder of "eclecticism", a briefly influential school of French philosophy that combined elements of German idealism and Scottish Common Sense Realism. As ...
,
Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a Franco-Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, he backed t ...
and
Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...
.


Early career

Bancroft returned to the United States in 1822. While the young man delivered several sermons at his father's behest shortly after his return, his love of literature proved a stronger attachment. His first position was as a tutor of Greek at Harvard. Bancroft chafed at the narrow curriculum of Harvard in his day and the pedantic spirit of its classics curriculum. Moreover, his personal affect of ardent
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
subjected him to ridicule among the formal society of New England and his political sympathies for
Jacksonian democracy Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, And ...
put him at odds with nearly all of the Boston elite.


Round Hill School

In 1823, he published his first work, a little volume of poetry, translations and original pieces, which brought no fame. Bancroft finally left Cambridge and with
Joseph Cogswell Joseph Green Cogswell (September 27, 1786 – November 26, 1871) was an American librarian, bibliographer and an innovative educator. Education Born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, Cogswell received a grammar school education in Ipswich, and attend ...
established the
Round Hill School The Round Hill School for Boys was a short-lived experimental school in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell in 1823. Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort ...
at
Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...
. While at Round Hill, Bancroft contributed frequently to the ''
North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...
'' and ''American Quarterly''. He also made a translation of
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (25 October 1760, Arbergen6 March 1842, Göttingen) was a German historian. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. Biography Heeren was born on 25 October 1760 in Arbergen near Bremen, a small village ...
's work on ''The Politics of Ancient Greece''. In 1836, he published an oration advocating universal suffrage and the foundation of the state on the power of the whole people.


State politics

In 1830, he was elected to the
Massachusetts State Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...
from Northampton without his knowledge by the support of the
Working Men's Party : ''For other organizations with a similar name, see Workingmen's Party (disambiguation).'' The Working Men's Party in New York was a political party founded in April 1829 in New York City. After a promising debut in the fall election of 1829, ...
, but refused to take his seat. and the next year he declined another nomination, though certain to have been elected, for the state senate.


Historian

Bancroft, having trained in the leading German universities, was an accomplished scholar, whose masterwork ''History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent'' covered the new nation in depth down to 1789. His ''History of the United States'' started appearing in 1834, and he constantly revised it in numerous editions. It remains among the most comprehensive histories of colonial America.


Themes

Bancroft was a Romantic, emphasizing nationalist and republican values. Bancroft played on four recurring themes to explain the development of American values: providence, progress, patria, and pan-democracy. "Providence" meant that destiny depended more on God than on human will. The idea of "progress" indicated that through continuous reform a better society was possible.
Patria Patria may refer to: Entertainment * Patria (novel), a 2016 novel by Spanish writer Fernando Aramburu * Patria (TV series), a 2020 limited television series, based on the novel * ''Patria'' (serial), a 1917 American serial film Music * "Pátri ...
was deserved because America's spreading influence would bring liberty and freedom to more and more of the world. "Pan-democracy" meant the nation-state was central to the drama, not specific heroes or villains. Richard C. Vitzthum argues that Bancroft's histories exemplify his Unitarian moral vision of faith in progress. The history of America, in Bancroft's view, exemplified the gradual unfolding of God's purpose for mankind – the development of religious and political liberty. George M. Frederickson argues that Bancroft's "universalist theory of national origins... made the American Revolution not only the fruit of a specific historical tradition, but also a creed of liberty for all mankind."


Historiographical reception and legacy

Bancroft's orotund romantic style and enthusiastic patriotism fell out of favor with later generations of scientific historians, who did not assign his books to students. After 1890, American scholars of the Imperial School took a more favorable view of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
than Bancroft. Edmund Morgan compares Bancroft's history to that of the Liberal statesman Sir George Trevelyan in that both reject the Progressive view of the Revolution as a mere invocation of political philosophy as a means to keep and consolidate power. Morgan and other neo-Whig historians have embraced Bancroft's view that the patriots were motivated by a deep commitment to individual liberty. Inspired by Bancroft, Bernard Bailyn and a cohort of mid-twentieth-century historians challenged the dichotomy between "national self-awareness" and the study of history. Although they had found "limitations" in Bancroft's works, mid-twentieth-century "instrumentalist" historians wished to reexamine the "image of colonial origins" of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. By 1956, this subset of scholars had tentatively determined that, "toward the end of the seventeenth century there emerged an entire apparatus of local politics" that "came, gradually, to accommodate itself" within the imperial system and in various "forms...it is their collapse under the pressures of new circumstances after 1760 that alone made the Revolution 'irrepressible.' "


Political and diplomatic career


Collector of Boston

In 1837, Bancroft entered active politics by accepting an appointment as Collector of Customs of the Port of Boston by President
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
. Two of his own appointees in the office were Orestes Brownson and author
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
. In 1844, Bancroft was the Democratic candidate for
governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...
but he was defeated. He called for the
annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...
as extending "the area of freedom" and opposed slavery.


Secretary of the Navy

In 1845, in recognition for his support at the previous Democratic convention, Bancroft was appointed to
James Polk James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
's cabinet as
Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...
, serving until 1846, when, for a month, he was acting
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
. During his short period in the cabinet, Bancroft established the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
at
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, creating a legacy of education and leadership. He ordered naval action that resulted in the occupation of California and, as secretary of War, sent
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
into the contested land between Texas and Mexico. That catalyzed the Mexican War, resulting in the United States greatly increasing its territory in the Southwest. Bancroft designed and developed the Naval Academy; he received all the appropriations for which he asked. Congress had never been willing to establish a naval academy, but Bancroft studied the law to assess the powers of the Secretary of the Navy. He found that he could order "a place where midshipmen should wait for orders." He could also direct instructors to give lessons to them at sea, and by law, instructors could follow the midshipmen to the place of their common residence on shore. The appropriation of the year for the naval service met the expense, and the Secretary of War ceded an abandoned military post to the navy. Therefore, when Congress came together, it learned that the midshipmen not at sea were housed at Annapolis. Thus, they were protected from the dangers of idleness and city life and busy at a regular course of study. Congress accepted the school, which was in full operation, and granted money for the repairs of the buildings. Bancroft introduced some new respected professors into the corps of instructors, and he suggested a system of promotion, related to experience and achievements as well as age. The merit system was not fully developed or applied at the time. Bancroft was influential also in obtaining additional appropriations for the
United States Naval Observatory United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Established in 1830 as the Depo ...
.


Minister to the United Kingdom

Similarly, Bancroft studied so deeply the
Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...
that in 1846, he was sent as minister plenipotentiary to London to work with the British government on the issue. There, he roomed with the historian Macaulay and the poet Hallam. With the election of Whig
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
as president, Bancroft's political appointment ended. On his return to the United States in 1849, he withdrew from public life and moved to New York, where he focused on writing history.


Return to private life

As a private citizen, Bancroft initially expressed skepticism towards
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's election, describing him as, "without brains," and "ignorant, self-willed, and... surrounded by men some of whom are almost as ignorant as himself." However, Bancroft softened to the wartime president after initiating correspondence with Lincoln in 1861, and used the communication to argue for the case of abolishing slavery. In April 1864, at Bancroft's request, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
wrote out what would become the fourth of five known manuscripts of the
Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...
. Bancroft planned to include the copy in ''Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors'', which he planned to sell at a Soldiers' and Sailors' Sanitary Fair, in Baltimore, to raise money to care for the Union Army. In 1866, he was chosen by Congress to deliver the special eulogy on Lincoln.


Minister to Prussia and Germany

In 1867, President
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...
offered Bancroft the post of US minister to Prussia, enabling him to return to Germany. Bancroft remained in Berlin for seven years, throughout the Franco-Prussian War and
German unification The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...
. President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
appointed him minister to the German Empire in 1871. During his tenure in Berlin, Bancroft spent much time negotiating agreements with
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and the other north German states relating to naturalization and citizenship issues; they became known as the
Bancroft Treaties The Bancroft treaties, also called the Bancroft conventions, were a series of agreements made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries between the United States and other countries. They recognized the right of each party's nationals to become ...
in his honor. The treaties were the first international recognition of the right of
expatriation An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
. The principle has since incorporated in the
law of nations International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
.


San Juan arbitration

His last official achievements are considered the greatest. In the San Juan arbitration he displayed great versatility and skill and won the case, which was decided by a commission appointed by the German Emperor.


Personal life


Family

His first wife was Sarah Dwight, of a rich family in
Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
; they married in 1827 and had two sons. She died in 1837. He formed a second marriage with Mrs Elizabeth Davis Bliss, a widow with two children. Together they had a daughter. In his later years Bancroft lived in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, summering at ''Rose Cliff'',
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, the site where
Rosecliff Rosecliff is a Gilded Age mansion of Newport, Rhode Island, now open to the public as a historic house museum. The house has also been known as the Hermann Oelrichs House or the J. Edgar Monroe House. It was built 1898–1902 by Theresa Fair ...
was later built.


Organizations

Bancroft was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1838, and also served as its Secretary of Domestic Correspondence from 1877 to 1880. In 1841, Bancroft was elected as a 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 ...
. In New York, Bancroft was a founding member of the
American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
and served as the society's first president for nearly three years (February 21, 1852 – December 7, 1854).Wright, John Kirtland 'The Years of Henry Grinnell', ''Geography in the Making: The American Geographical Society 1851–1951'' (1952) p. 17–18. — George Grady Press Bancroft was elected an Associate Fellow of 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, and ...
in 1863.


Death

Bancroft died in 1891, in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He was the last surviving member of the Polk cabinet.


Works


Major works

*Bancroft, George. ''History of the United States of America, from the Discovery of the American Continent.'' (Boston: Little, Brown, and company, numerous editions in 8 or 10 volumes 1854–1878). * Bancroft, George; Dyer, Oliver, 1824–1907. (1891) ''History of the Battle of Lake Erie, and Miscellaneous Papers'' (New York: R. Bonner's sons) 292 pp. (
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

online edition
* Bancroft, George. ''Martin Van Buren to the End of His Public Career.'' New York: Harper & Brothers, 1889
online edition
*Bancroft, George. ''History of the Formation of the Constitution of the United States of America.''(New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1882, Vol 1) online edition


Minor publications

*''An Oration Delivered on July 4, 1826, at Northampton, Mass.'' (Northampton, 1826) *''History of the Political System of Europe'', translated from Heeren (1829) *''An Oration delivered before the Democracy of Springfield and Neighboring Towns, July 4, 1836'' (2d ed., with prefatory remarks, Springfield, 1836) *''History of the Colonization of the United States'' (Boston, 1841, 12mo, abridged) *''An Oration delivered at the Commemoration, in Washington, of the Death of Andrew Jackson, June 27, 1845'' * ''The Necessity, the Reality, and the Promise of the Progress of the Human Race'' * ''An Oration delivered before the New York Historical Society, November 20, 1854'' (New York, 1854) *''Proceedings of the First Assembly of Virginia, 1619; Communicated, with an Introductory Note, by George Bancroft'' *''Collections of the New York Historical Society'', second series, vol. iii., part i. (New York, 1857) *''Literary and Historical Miscellanies'' (New York, 1855) *''Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln, delivered at the request of both Houses of the Congress of America, before them, in the House of Representatives at Washington, on February 12, 1866'' (Washington, 1866) vi
Archive.org
*''A Plea for the Constitution of the United States of America, Wounded in the House of its Guardians'' *Veritati Unice Litarem (New York, 1886) Among his other speeches and addresses may be mentioned a lecture on "The Culture, the Support, and the Object of Art in a Republic," in the course of the New York Historical Society in 1852; and one on "The Office, Appropriate Culture, and Duty of the Mechanic." Bancroft contributed a biography of Jonathan Edwards to the ''American Cyclopædia''.


Namesakes and monuments

The United States Navy has named several ships USS ''Bancroft'' for him, as well as the fleet ballistic missile submarine USS ''George Bancroft'' (SSBN-643), the mid-19th century
United States Coast Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
USCS ''Bancroft'' and steel gunboat The dormitory at the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
, Bancroft Hall, is named after him. It is the largest single dormitory in the world. Bancroft is one of 23 famous names on the $1 educational currency note of 1896. The name of Bancroft, honoring George Bancroft, is found atop one of several marble pillars in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
in Washington, DC. In and around his birthplace of
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, many streets, businesses and monuments bear his name: * Bancroft School, Worcester, MA * Bancroft Hall at
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
,
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...
. * Bancroft Tower, erected in his honor in Salisbury Park, Worcester, MA * Bancroft Commons, an apartment building in downtown Worcester, MA * Bancroft Motors, now owned by HARR Motor Company * Bancroft Street, Gardner, MA * Bancroft Street, Worcester, MA * Bancroft Elementary School, (in the Bancroft neighborhood of the City of)
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, MN * Bancroft Elementary School, (in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of) Washington, D.C. * Bancroft Elementary School,
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
* Bancroft's Talon, an item in the 2014 ''MOBA Smite'' * Bancroft, Iowa * Bancroft, Maine * Bancroft, Michigan Bancroft is interred at
Rural Cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...
in Worcester.


Notes


References

* * * Dawes, N. H., and F. T. Nichols. "Revaluing George Bancroft," ''New England Quarterly,'' 6#2 (1933), pp. 278–29
in JSTOR
* Kraus, Michael. "George Bancroft 1834–1934," ''New England Quarterly'', 7#4 (1934), pp. 662–68
in JSTOR
*Handlin, Lillian. ''George Bancroft: The Intellectual as Democrat.'' (New York, 1984). * Nye, Russel B. ''George Bancroft, Brahmin Rebel'' (New York, 1944). * Stewart, Watt. "George Bancroft Historian of the American Republic," ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' 19#1 (1932), pp. 77–8
in JSTOR
*Wish, Harvey. ''The American Historian: A Social-intellectual History of the Writing of the American Past'' (1960
ch 5 on Bancroft online
*Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975.


Primary sources


Howe, M. A. Dewolfe ''The Life and Letters of George Bancroft'' – Vol. 1 (1971 reprint)


External links

* *
George Bancroft Papers, 1823–1890
Manuscripts and Archives, New York Public Library
Obituary at New York Times site
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bancroft, George 1800 births 1891 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the United States to Prussia 19th-century American diplomats 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Harvard College alumni Historians of the United States Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Writers from Washington, D.C. Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Presidents of the American Historical Association Members of the American Antiquarian Society United States Naval Academy American people of English descent United States Secretaries of the Navy Heidelberg University alumni Polk administration cabinet members Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) University of Göttingen alumni Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees Gardiner family Writers from Springfield, Massachusetts Burials at Rural Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts) Collectors of the Port of Boston Writers from Worcester, Massachusetts 19th-century American politicians American expatriates in Germany Historians from Massachusetts American Geographical Society American male non-fiction writers Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities