James Munro McPherson (born October 11, 1936) is an

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 ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, and is the George Henry Davis '86 Professor Emeritus of United States History at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. He received the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for '' Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era''. McPherson was the president of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

in 2003.

Early life and education

Born in Valley City,

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, McPherson graduated from St. Peter High School, and he received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

at Gustavus Adolphus College ( St. Peter,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) in 1958 (from which he graduated ''magna cum laude''), and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

in 1963 where he studied under C. Vann Woodward.

Career

McPherson joined the faculty of Princeton in 1962. His works include ''The Struggle for Equality'', awarded the

Anisfield-Wolf Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

in 1965. In 1988, he published his Pulitzer-winning book, ''Battle Cry of Freedom''. His 1990 book, ''Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution'' argues that the emancipation of slaves amounts to a second American Revolution. McPherson's 1998 book, '' For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War'', received the Lincoln Prize. In 2002, he published both a scholarly book, ''Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam 1862,'' and a history of the

for children, ''Fields of Fury''. McPherson published ''This Mighty Scourge'' in 2007, a series of essays about the American Civil War. One essay describes the huge difficulty of negotiation when regime change is a war aim on either side of a conflict. "For at least the past two centuries, nations have usually found it harder to end a war than to start one. Americans learned that bitter lesson in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and apparently having forgotten it, we're forced to learn it all over again in Iraq." One of McPherson's examples is the American Civil War, in which both the Union and the Confederacy sought regime change. It took four years to end the war. McPherson was elected to 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 1991. In 1995, he received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

presented by Awards Council member

David McCullough David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States ...

. McPherson was named the 2000

Jefferson Lecture The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities is an honorary lecture series established in 1972 by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). According to the NEH, the Lecture is "the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished ...

r in the humanities by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. In making the announcement of McPherson's selection, NEH Chairman William R. Ferris said:

James M. McPherson has helped millions of Americans better understand the meaning and legacy of the American Civil War. By establishing the highest standards for scholarship and public education about the Civil War and by providing leadership in the movement to protect the nation's battlefields, he has made an exceptional contribution to historical awareness in America.

In 2007, he was awarded the $100,000 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for lifetime achievement in military history and was the first recipient of the prize. In 2007, he was awarded the

Samuel Eliot Morison Prize The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

for lifetime achievement in military history given by the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

. He was elected a 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, a ...

in 2009. In 2009, he was the co-winner of the Lincoln Prize for '' Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief''.

Personal life

McPherson is married and has one child.

Activism

McPherson is known for his outspokenness on contemporary issues and for his activism, such as his work on behalf of the preservation of Civil War battlefields. As president in 1993–1994 of Protect Historic America, he lobbied against the construction of a Disney theme park near Manassas battlefield. He has also served on the boards of the

Civil War Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. T ...

as well as the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, a predecessor to the Civil War Trust. From 1990 to 1993, he sat on the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission. Along with several other historians, McPherson signed a May 2009 petition asking U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

not to lay a wreath at the Confederate Monument Memorial at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. The petition stated: President Obama himself never addressed the issue. Instead, Obama sent a wreath not only to the Confederate Memorial but also instituted a new tradition of sending a presidential wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. He also won the praise of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers that commemorates these ancestors, funds and dedicates monuments to them, and promotes the pseudohis ...

Filmography

References

External links

Barnes & Noble - Meet the WritersPrinceton University BiographyGeorge W. Bush and the Confederacy: Where Does He Stand?
'' Democracy Now'' November 3, 1999
Presentation
on the Civil War
''A Conversation with James McPherson'' Interview
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library from October 5, 2007
Lifetime Literature Award Announcement
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Audio interview
with '' National Review Online''
Interview by Kim Nagy
'' Wild River Review''
McPherson archive
from ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

''
James M. McPherson ''No Peace without Victory, 1861–1865,'' AHA Presidential Address
Retrieved April 18, 2010 * *
Interview with McPherson on ''What They Fought For, 1861–1865''
''

Booknotes ''Booknotes'' is an American television series on the C-SPAN network hosted by Brian Lamb, which originally aired from 1989 to 2004. The format of the show is a one-hour, one-on-one interview with a non-fiction author. The series was broadcast at ...

'' May 22, 1994
Interview with McPherson
'' In Depth'' March 4, 2001 * "Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
Lecture
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on March 13, 2008 * "150 Years After the Emancipation Proclamation
Discussion
at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on September 28, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:McPherson, James M. 1936 births 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Gustavus Adolphus College alumni Historians of Abraham Lincoln Historians of the American Civil War Historians of the United States Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people MacArthur Fellows Members of the American Philosophical Society People from Valley City, North Dakota Presidents of the American Historical Association Princeton University faculty Pulitzer Prize for History winners Lincoln Prize winners Writers from New Jersey Writers from North Dakota