Francis Butler Simkins
Encyclopedia
Edgefield, South Carolina
Edgefield is a town in Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,449 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Edgefield County.Edgefield is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.-Geography:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Simkins received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
in 1918 and his M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
(1921) and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(1926) from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He spent most of his academic career as a professor of History at Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County....
.
He published eight history books, numerous scholarly articles and an abundance of miscellaneous work including book reviews and encyclopedia articles. His obituary in The Journal of America History in 1966 said that Simkins was "an emancipated critic of the old order" and that "he came to stress the distinctive characteristics of 'the
everlasting South,' and to question the validity of much that
passed for progress in the modern South." As a scholar who questioned conventional thinking he helped lay the foundations for the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. Yet when events in the 1960s challenged the traditional in the south, Simkins discovered much he thought should be preserved, and he became a spokesman for tradition.
Simkins' most famous work is "Pitchfork Ben Tillman", a biography of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Tillman
Benjamin Ryan Tillman was an American politician who served as the 84th Governor of South Carolina, from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator, from 1895 until his death in office. Tillman's views were a matter of national controversy.Tillman was a member of the Democratic Party...
, who served as governor of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
from 1890 to 1894 and as a United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1895 until his death.
"The Francis B. Simkins Award" is given by the Southern Historical Association every third year for best and first (for that author) book about the South .
Many of Simkins’ ideas and interpretations are still fresh today. He is one of the most important interpreters of the American South, presenting southern history as a significant part of American history.
Major works
The contributions of Simkins in the field of southern history were enormous:- 1926 - The Tillman Movement in South Carolina, a thesis published by Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, January 1, 1026, ASIN B000862R0M.
- 1927 - He debunked the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux KlanKu Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
through an article in The Journal of Negro History.
- 1931 - South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
During Reconstruction (with Robert Woody) won the Dunning Prize of 1931 as the first revisionist work on Reconstruction
- 1936 - The Women of the ConfederacyConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
(with James PattonJames PattonJames Patton may refer to:*James French Patton , American soldier and judge*Jimmy Patton , American football player*James Patton Anderson , U.S. doctor and politician...
) — one of the first serious scholarly studies of women in southern history. Publisher: Scholarly Press (June 1, 1971), ISBN 0-403-01212-0
- 1944 - Pitchfork Ben TillmanBenjamin TillmanBenjamin Ryan Tillman was an American politician who served as the 84th Governor of South Carolina, from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator, from 1895 until his death in office. Tillman's views were a matter of national controversy.Tillman was a member of the Democratic Party...
: South Carolina. Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (November 1, 2002), ISBN 1-57003-477-X.
- 1947 - The South Old and New - later (1957) revised: A History of the South, Publisher: Random House Inc (T); 4th edition (January 1, 1972), ISBN 0-394-31646-0. This book is available widely in libraries across the USA.
- 1957 - Virginia: History, Government, Geography - a textbook which Simkins said bureaucrats made him remove some of the more damning features like the filth of the towns.
- 1963 - The Everlasting South - a group of essays upholding his thesis that the South is a unique region.
In addition to the Dunning Prize, Simkins held research fellowships at the Social Science Research Council
Social Science Research Council
The Social Science Research Council is a U.S.-based independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines...
and the John Guggenheim
Guggenheim family
The Guggenheim family is an American family, of Swiss Jewish ancestry. Beginning with Meyer Guggenheim, who arrived in America in 1847, the family were known for their global successes in mining and smelting . During the 19th century, the family possessed one of the largest fortunes in the world...
Memorial Foundation, delivered the Fleming Lectures at LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
and the Centennial Lectures at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
. He was president of the Southern Historical Association
Southern Historical Association
The Southern Historical Association is an organization of historians focusing on the history of the Southern United States . It was organized on November 2, 1934...
in 1953-1954.
Simkins also taught at LSU where he was a mentor of Charles P. Roland
Charles P. Roland
Charles Pierce Roland is an American historian and professor emeritus of the University of Kentucky whose research specialty is in the fields of the American South and the Civil War.-Biographical sketch:...
, another historian of the South and the Civil War who spent the majority of his academic career at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
.
External links
- Francis Butler Simkins
- Google excerpt from Pitchfork Ben Tillman by Simkins
- The Southern Historical Association
- Francis B. Simkins Award at the Southern Historical Association.