John Herbert Roper Sr. (born August 9, 1948) is an American historian. The

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

has a collection of his papers. He was born in South Carolina. He graduated from the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

with a B.A., received an M.A. and a Ph.D from the

, and an M.S. in economics from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. He is an emeritus history department chair and former Richardson Professor of American History at Emory & Henry College in

Emory, Virginia Emory is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2020 census down from 1,251 at the 2010 census. The community is named for and is the location of Emory and Henry College. It ...

. He now teaches at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

. He wrote books on Southern history and several biographies, on C. Vann Woodward, Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, Paul Green,

William Jennings Bryan Dorn William Jennings Bryan Dorn (April 14, 1916 – August 13, 2005) was a United States politician from South Carolina who represented the western part of the state in the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and from 1951 to 197 ...

, and

Benjamin Mays Benjamin Elijah Mays (August 1, 1894 – March 28, 1984) was an American Baptist minister and American rights leader who is credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the American civil rights movement. Mays taught and mentored many i ...

. He has written several articles for '' Southern Cultures''.

Books

*''U. B. Phillips: A Southern Mind'' (1984) *''C. Vann Woodward, Southerner'' (1987) *''Paul Green's War Songs'' (1993) *''C. Vann Woodward; A Southern Historian and His Critics'' (1997) *''Paul Green, Playwright of the Real South'' (2003) *''The Magnificent Mays: A Biography of Benjamin Elijah Mays'' (2012) *''The Last Orator for the Millhands: William Jennings Bryan Dorn, 1916-2005'' (2019)Reviews of ''The Last Orator for the Millhands'' include: * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, John Herbert 20th-century American historians Living people 1948 births Historians from South Carolina University of North Carolina alumni North Carolina State University alumni 21st-century American historians University of South Carolina alumni Emory and Henry University faculty Historians of the Southern United States 20th-century American biographers Coastal Carolina University people 21st-century American biographers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers