John Wesley Blassingame (March 23, 1940 – February 13, 2000) was an American historian and pioneer in the study of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

. He was the former chairman of the African-American studies program 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 wo ...

. Blassingame was born on March 23, 1940, in

Covington Covington may refer to: People * Covington (surname) Places United Kingdom * Covington, Cambridgeshire * Covington, South Lanarkshire United States * Covington, Georgia * Covington, Indiana * Covington, Kentucky, the largest American cit ...

, Georgia, to Grady and Odessa Blassingame. He received a bachelor's degree at

Fort Valley State College } Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and ...

(1960), a master's degree at Howard University (1961), and a master's degree (1968) and a doctorate (1971) at Yale University. His doctoral dissertation, written under the supervision of

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 un ...

, was titled ''A Social and Economic Study of the Negro in New Orleans, 1860–1880''. Blassingame joined the faculty at Yale University in 1970 and became a history professor in 1974. He remained at Yale University as a professor of history, African-American studies, and American studies for 29 years. Blassingame wrote and edited several books, including ''New Perspectives on Black Studies'' (1971), '' The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South'' (1972), ''Black New Orleans, 1860–1880'' (1973), and ''Frederick Douglass, the Clarion Voice'' (1976). In addition, Blassingame collected slave letters, interviews, and other materials in his ''Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies'' (1977), which include a large selection of annotated and authenticated accounts of slaves speaking for themselves during the slavery period of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

, and others. From 1979 to 1999, Blassingame worked on editing the papers of

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

and published six volumes of Douglass's papers and manuscripts. He also joined several writers in his work of editing and writing. He was a co-author with Mary F. Berry in ''Long Memory: The Black Experience in America'' (1982), and a co-editor with Louis Harlan in ''The Autobiographical Writings of Booker T. Washington'' (1972). Blassingame was a lifelong member of many history preservation, heritage, and educational organizations such as 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 ...

, Southern History Association, the

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity, and the

Phi Alpha Theta Phi Alpha Theta () is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. It has more than 400,000 members, with new members numbering about 9,000 a year through its 970 chapters. Founding Phi Alpha The ...

honor society. Blassingame died on February 13, 2000. According to his son, the cause of death was not known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blassingame, John Wesley 1940 births 2000 deaths 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Academics from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American historians Fort Valley State University alumni Historians of African Americans Historians of the Southern United States Howard University alumni People from Covington, Georgia Social historians Yale University alumni Yale University faculty 20th-century American male writers Historians from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American male writers