David Michael Kennedy (born July 22, 1941) is an American historian specializing in

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densel ...

. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus 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 ...

and the former Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West. Kennedy's scholarship is notable for its integration of

economic analysis Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyz ...

and cultural analysis with

social history Social history, often called the new social history, is a field of history that looks at the lived experience of the past. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in his ...

and

political history Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, social ...

. Kennedy is responsible for the recent editions of the popular history textbook ''

The American Pageant ''The American Pageant'', initially published by Thomas A. Bailey in 1956, is an American high school history textbook often used for AP United States History, AICE American History as well as IB History of the Americas courses. Since Bailey's d ...

''. He is also the current editor (since 1999) of the ''

Oxford History of the United States The Oxford History of the United States (1982–present) is an ongoing multi-volume narrative history of the United States published by Oxford University Press. Volumes Series overview Woodward editorship The series originated in the 1950s wi ...

'' series. This position was held previously by

C. Vann Woodward Comer Vann Woodward (November 13, 1908 – December 17, 1999) was an American historian who focused primarily on the American South and race relations. He was long a supporter of the approach of Charles A. Beard, stressing the influence of unse ...

. Earlier in his career, Kennedy won the

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

for his first book ''Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger'' (1970), and was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

for his book ''World War I, Over Here: The First World War and American Society'' (1980). He was 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 ...

in 1995–1996. He won the 2000

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 '' Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945'' (1999).

Biography

Born on July 22, 1941, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Kennedy 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 yea ...

degree in history from

and his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy 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 ...

degrees in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

from

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 ...

. He is 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 ...

. Kennedy is married and the father of two sons and a daughter.

Books

* ''Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger'' (1970) **

John Gilmary Shea Prize The John Gilmary Shea Prize is an annual award given by the American Catholic Historical Association for the most original and distinguished contribution to knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church. Established in 1945, it is named in honor ...

, 1970 **

, 1971 * ''Social Thought in America and Europe'', co-editor with Paul A. Robinson (1970) * ''Progressivism: The Critical Issues'', editor (1971) * ''The American People in the Depression'' (1973) * ''The American People in the Age of Kennedy'' (West Haven: Pendulum Press, 1973) * '' The American Pageant: A History of the Republic'', co-author with

Thomas A. Bailey Thomas Andrew Bailey (December 14, 1902 – July 26, 1983) was a professor of history at his alma mater, Stanford University, and wrote many historical monographs on diplomatic history, including the widely used American history textbook, ''The ...

and

Lizabeth Cohen Lizabeth Cohen is the current Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies in the History Department at Harvard University, as well as a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. From 2011-2018 she served as the Dean of Harvard's ...

(1979; 14th ed. 2010). * ''Over Here: The First World War and American Society'' (1980) ** Pulitzer Prize Finalist, 1981 * ''Power and Responsibility: Case Studies in American Leadership'', co-editor with Michael Parrish (1986) * ''The American Spirit: United States History as Seen by Contemporaries'', co-editor with

(1983) * '' Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945'' (1999) (Vol. 9 in The ''

'')

Awards and honors

* Member of the

, 1996 *

, 2000 *

Francis Parkman Prize The Francis Parkman Prize, named after Francis Parkman, is awarded by the Society of American Historians for the best book in American history each year. Its purpose is to promote literary distinction in historical writing. The Society of American ...

, 2000 * Ambassador Book Award, 2000 * California Gold Medal for Literature, 2000 *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 ...

, 2001

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, David M. 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American textbook writers Historians of the United States 1941 births Living people Pulitzer Prize for History winners Stanford University alumni Stanford University Department of History faculty Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professors of American History Bancroft Prize winners 2020 United States presidential electors California Democrats American male non-fiction writers Members of the American Philosophical Society

Biography

Books

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links