William B. Hesseltine
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William Best Hesseltine (February 21, 1902 – December 8, 1963) 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 ...
and politician who became the Socialist Party candidate for U.S. president in 1948. As a historian and professor at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison ...
for nearly three decades, Hesseltine's field of expertise was mid-19th century American history, especially the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Reconstruction Era and American South. He also became known as the mentor of a generation of American historians, many of whom also won prizes for their writing.


Early and family life

Originally from Brucetown,
Frederick County, Virginia Frederick County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. It is Virginia's northernmost county ...
, he was born to Mae Rosa Best (1860–1929) and her husband William Edward Hesseltine (1860–1905), who had married in
Maricopa County, Arizona Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and List of the most populous counties in the ...
(
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
) in 1901. He had no memory of his father and spent his early childhood in Brucetown with his mother and her parents. His maternal grandfather, Dr. William Janney Best (1834–1908), was born in
Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...
(and may have been related to John Janney a prominent local and Virginia politician; his farmer father James Best (b. 1805) owned an enslaved man and woman in 1840 and 1860). Dr. Best did not own slaves, nor join either side in the American Civil War, but practiced medicine slightly to the west in
Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...
, including treating soldiers of both armies. After the war, Dr. Best moved a little further westward into Frederick County and established his practice in Brucetown, near the border with the new state of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
and the old Winchester/Martinsburg Turnpike. After his grandfather's death, young Hesseltine studied at the
Millersburg Military Institute Millersburg Military Institute (MMI) was a military boarding school founded in 1893 in Millersburg, Kentucky, about northeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1893, it survived for over 113 years until closing in July 2006 due to a declining s ...
in Kentucky founded by his uncle, Col. Carl M. Best (including training drills with Civil War era rifles, which gave him a lifelong distaste of military regimentation), then returned to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley to attend
Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...
(rather than nearby VMI) and received a bachelor's degree in 1922. He then received a master's degree from the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...
and his PhD. from the
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
. He would receive a Litt.D. from Washington and Lee in 1949. In 1923 Hesseltine married Katherine Louise Kramer (1902–1977), and they had a son, William Hesseltine Jr. (1925–2001), and a daughter, Kitty Mae (b. 1928).


Career

Hesseltine first taught at Scarritt-Morrissville College (now Central Methodist College) in Missouri, but became best known for teaching history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1932 until his death. By 1930, he was a professor at the University of Chattanooga and is now the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...
, but left when the Wisconsin position became available. Although his thesis and first book (published in 1930 and reprinted in 1998), concerned Civil War prisons (and their lamentable conditions in North and South), and he published well over 100 articles, Hesseltine became best known as a biographer and teacher of future historians. His biography of General U.S. Grant in 1935 (republished in 1957 and available online through the Hathi Trust) became the authoritative biography of its subject for decades. In 1945 Hesseltine wrote ""Writing intellectual history is like trying to nail jelly to the wall." Hesseltine's graduate seminars (some gathered around a table he noted had once been used by students of
Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861 – March 14, 1932) was an American historian during the early 20th century, based at the University of Wisconsin until 1910, and then Harvard University. He was known primarily for his frontier thes ...
) became known for rigorous application of the historian's craft, beginning with cite checking the published work of other distinguished members of the history department, and discussing whether the errors found mattered. Many of his doctoral students at Madison went on to become influential historians in their own right, including several presidents of the Organization of American Historians or Southern Historical Society and winners of the Pulitzer Prize and
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 historical writing. They included
T. Harry Williams Thomas Harry Williams (May 19, 1909 — July 8, 1979) was an American academic and author. For the majority of his academic career between the 1930s to 1970s, Williams taught history at Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Williams was a Boyd ...
, Kenneth M. Stampp,
Frank Freidel Frank Burt Freidel, Jr. (May 22, 1916 – January 25, 1993) was an American historian, the first major biographer of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and one of the first scholars to work on his papers stored in the Roosevelt Library ...
,
Richard N. Current Richard Nelson Current (October 5, 1912 – October 26, 2012) was an American historian, called "the Dean of Lincoln Scholars", best known for ''The Lincoln Nobody Knows'' (1958), and ''Lincoln and the First Shot'' (1963). Life Born in Colorado ...
and Stephen E. Ambrose. In addition, Hesseltine influenced the development of the field of rhetoric through his mentoring of Robert G. Gunderson. Hesseltine opposed
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's foreign policy in the years before the United States entered World War II, but in 1945 took leave to teach at the GI American University in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He was for a time an active member of the Socialist Party of the United States. One of his books, republished shortly before his death, concerned third party movements in the United States. Hessseltine was active in numerous professional associations, including the
Southern Historical Association The Southern Historical Association is a professional academic organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States. It was organized on November 2, 1934. Its objectives are the promotion of interest and research in Sout ...
(president in 1960) and the
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...
(board member from 1951, president from 1961 until his death in 1963).


Death and legacy

Hesseltine died of a massive stroke or heart attack on December 8, 1963, and was survived by his widow and children. In 1965, the Wisconsin Historical Society established an award in his honor. His papers are at the Wisconsin State HIstorical Society in Madison, and marking the 20th anniversary of his death, the society published several articles about Hesseltine in its winter 1982-1983 issue. His former student, later professor and popular historian Stephen E. Ambrose, endowed a professorship in military history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in his honor, now named jointly after Ambrose and Hesseltine.


Selected works

* ''Civil War Prisons'' (1930)
purchase link.
* ''Ulysses S. Grant: Politician'' (1935)
view online.
* ''A History of the South: 1607–1936'' (1936)

* ''Lincoln and the War Governors'' (1948)

* ''The Rise and Fall of Third Parties from Anti-Masonry to Wallace'' (1948)
view online.
* ''Confederate Leaders in the New South'' (1950)

* ''Pioneer's Mission: The Story of Lyman Copeland Draper'' (1954
view online.
* ''The South in American History'' (1960)
view online.
* ''A History of the South, 1617–1937'' (1960
view online.
* ''Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction'' (1960)
view online.
* ''The Blue and the Gray on the Nile'' (1961) with Hazel Catherine Wolf
purchase link.
* ''Third-Party Movements in the United States'' (1962)
view online.
* ''The Tragic Conflict: The Civil War and Reconstruction'' (1962)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesseltine, William B. 1902 births 1963 deaths Historians of the United States Educators from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Historians of the American Civil War People from Frederick County, Virginia Writers from Wisconsin 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians from Virginia 20th-century American male writers