George E. Mowry
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

George Edwin Mowry (September 5, 1909 – May 12, 1984) was an American
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 ...
focusing primarily on the Progressive Era. As a professor at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
, he taught large classes and directed over 50 PhD dissertations. Mowry published five books, co-authored six others and edited three books. He published 10 book chapters, over 50 encyclopedia articles and over 100 book reviews in magazines and professional journals. He joined John Donald Hicks as coauthor of a highly successful university textbook. He was active in many organizations, especially 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 ...
. His interpretation of the middle class foundation of the Progressive Era remains influential.


Early life and education

Mowry was born in Washington D.C., the son of James Reilly Mowry and Ibby (Green) Mowry. He grew up in
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
, attending high school and graduating from
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
in 1933. Teachers in high school and college exposed him to the Populist Movement, causing him to enroll at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to work with John Donald Hicks for his master's degree (1934) and doctorate (1938). Historian Keith M. Heim believes that Mowry's Midwestern background and personality influenced his interest in reform movements. Heim says Mowry showed a "disdain for elites and social pretense" and an "impatience with bureaucracies". In 1937 Mowry married La Verne Raasch a fellow graduate student majoring in English.


Professional roles


Teacher

Mowry taught thousands of undergraduates and mentored over fifty doctoral students in his career. He allowed graduate students to "make their own decisions and use my own intervention as little as possible in making those decisions.". He worked vigorously with his students when they were selecting their dissertation topics to urge them to select something "significant" but also allowed students to select topics that could succeed without intrusive supervision. His own mentor, John D. Hicks, had played a similar role for Mowry and encouraged him to not write on a second rate figure but rather to find a "big subject." When Mowry suggested the Progressive Movement, Hicks said, "Fine, go ahead. That's big enough!" Mowry's first teaching position was as an instructor then an assistant professor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
from 1938 to 1942. During World War II, he worked as a policy analyst for the Army Quartermaster Corps and then for the War Production Board from 1942 to 1944.
Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it w ...
in California invited Mowry to become their May Treat Morrison Professor of American History. He taught there from fall 1944 to 1947 and published ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement'' (1946) and did most of the research for his next book, ''The California Progressives'' (1951). He left California for a professorship at the University of Iowa but in 1950 he returned to California this time as a full professor of history at the University of California at Los Angeles. He served as professor, department chair, (1955-1967) and also Dean of the Division of Social Sciences (1959-1967). He wrote ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt'' (1958) and ''The Urban Nation'' (1965) and co-authored three additional books while at UCLA. He was invited as a visiting professor to the University of Strasbourg (1950-1951), University of Rennes (1951), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1953-1954), University of Marseilles, Nice, (1958), University of California at Berkeley, Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) and Columbia University. He lectured in Italy, Japan, and India, and served as the Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at Oxford University in 1960–1961. He returned to Chapel Hill in 1967 as the William Rand Kenan Professor of History. He wrote ''Another Look at the Twentieth-Century South'' (1973).


Author

Mowry published five books, co-authored six others and edited three books. He published 10 book chapters, over 50 encyclopedia articles and wrote over 100 book reviews in magazines and professional journals such as '' American Historical Review'', ''
Journal of American History ''The Journal of American History'' is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the official jo ...
'', ''
American Political Science Review The ''American Political Science Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all areas of political science. It is an official journal of the American Political Science Association and is published on their behalf by Cambri ...
'', '' Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', '' Journal of Southern History'', ''
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 ...
'', and '' Saturday Review of Literature''. Three of his books were awarded the Silver Literary Medal by the
Commonwealth Club of California The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to everyone. Act ...
in 1946, 1956, 1959. His several university textbooks (especially those coauthored with Hicks) went through numerous editions.


Debate on Progressive leadership

According to historian Michael H. Ebner, "Mowry-Hofstadter-Chandler (
Richard Hofstadter Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916October 24, 1970) was an American historian and public intellectual of the mid-20th century. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier histo ...
, Alfred D. Chandler Jr.) amounted to an inseparable intellectual trio for those studying the Progressive Era in American History." These three pioneers shaped the debate by emphasizing the middle class nature of Progressivism in the early 20th century and declared that it was a cohesive movement. Their findings were partially challenged by
Gabriel Kolko Gabriel Morris Kolko (August 17, 1932 – May 19, 2014) was an American historian. His research interests included American capitalism and political history, the Progressive Era, and U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century. One of the best-known ...
, Samuel Hays, Robert Wiebe, James Weinstein, and J. Joseph Huthmacher who all questioned the middle-class background of these reformers. Meanwhile, Peter Filene opened the debate on whether progressivism was indeed a cohesive movement. Others have focused on individuals or on individual reforms to add depth to the pioneering work started by Hofstadter and Mowry. Mowry encouraged historians to enrich and expand his profile of Progressive reforms especially quantitative historians who could compile and analyze data on the common citizen. That there was a viable Progressive profile is commonly accepted. Mowry was the first historian to use President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's papers after 1909 and published a revised form of his dissertation entitled ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement'' which highlighted the critical role populism played as the "real seedbed" of progressivism. His next work, ''The California Progressives,'' (1963) what Mowry considered his most "ablest work" was a group study of literate, middle class progressives. Mowry continued his interest in urban history and in 1967 published ''The Urban Nation 1920-1960'' which was later updated and expanded with Blaine A. Brownell (1981)


Professional Leadership Roles

Mowry was elected at President of 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 ...
(1965–66), and for years was the chairman of its executive committee. He also served as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee from 1967 to 1969. He was a member of the editorial board of the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' (1949–52) and a fellow of the Society of American Historians. Historian Thomas D. Clark characterized Mowry as a man of "absolute integrity" and added "keen intellect, broad academic interests, insight, and balanced judgment - all essential to the historian and teacher."Quoted in Keith M. Heim, "George Mowry", p. 161.


Bibliography

* ''American Society in a Changing World'' with C.H. Pegg (1942) * ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement'' (1946, 1960
online
* ''The California Progressives'' (1951, 1963

* ''A Short History of American Democracy'', (6 editions, with John D. Hicks, 1956+) * ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt'', 1900-1912 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958, 1962
read online
* ''The American Nation'', 5 editions with John D. Hicks and Robert E. Burke (1963
online
* ''
The Federal Union ''The Federal Union: A History of the United States to 1877'' (originally published as ''The Federal Union: A History of the United States to 1865)'' is history of the United States written by John D. Hicks, George E. Mowry and Robert E. Burke. F ...
'', 5 editions with John D. Hicks and Robert E. Burke (1964) * ''The Urban Nation, 1920-1960'' (1967) * ''A History of American Democracy'' with John D. Hicks and Robert E. Burke (1970) * ''Another Look at the Twentieth -Century South'' (1973) * ''The Urban Nation, 1920-1980'' with Blaine A. Brownell (1981
online
* Edited. ''The American Tradition, The Unpublished Papers of John D. Hicks'' (1955) * Edited. ''The Treason of the Senate'' with Judson Grenier (1964) * Edited. ''The Twenties: Fords, Flappers and Fanatics'' (1963


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowry, George E. 1909 births 1984 deaths People from Washington, D.C. Miami University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Historians of the United States University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty University of California, Los Angeles faculty 20th-century American historians