Merrill D. Peterson
Encyclopedia
Merrill Daniel Peterson was Professor of History (Emeritus) at the University of Virginia
and the editor of the prestigious Library of America
edition of the selected writings of Thomas Jefferson
. He wrote several books on Jefferson, including The Jefferson Image in the American Mind (Oxford University Press, 1960; reprinted with new foreword, University Press of Virginia, 1998), and Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (Oxford University Press, 1970). Other works include Lincoln in American Memory (Oxford University Press, 1994), John Brown: The Legend Revisited (2002), and most recently Starving Armenians: America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1930 and After (Univ. of Virginia Press).
He earned his B.A. at the University of Kansas
after two years at Kansas State University
, and he entered graduate study at Harvard University
, where he earned his Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization.
and Princeton University
, Peterson was hired at the University of Virginia
, which remained his academic home for the rest of his life. Succeeding the great Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone
, Peterson ultimately was named the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia.
for History. It is still hailed as a pioneering exploration of the history of American memory, which has become an increasingly important topic by historians. Peterson undertook the work to assess what history had made of Thomas Jefferson. At the end of a decade, he published a lengthy, one-volume biography, Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (Oxford University Press, 1970), which he considered his most important book. It is still regarded as the best one-volume full-scale life of Jefferson. His 1994 Lincoln in American Memory, was written from a similar stance as his first book on Jefferson. It was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize
for biography.
Peterson's shorter studies include works on John Brown
, President Woodrow Wilson
, and Wilson's biographer, Ray Stannard Baker
. Peterson edited several anthologies of Jefferson's writings.
In 1988, Peterson published another landmark work, The Great Triumvirate (Oxford University Press), at once a joint biography of Henry Clay
, Daniel Webster
, and John C. Calhoun
, and a measured and thoughtful examination of their political and historical worlds.
Part of a generation who were admonished as children to "remember the starving Armenians," Peterson went to Armenia in 1997 as a Peace Corps
volunteer and became moved by the country’s troubled history. After research, he wrote "Starving Armenians": America and the Armenian Genocide 1915-1930 and After(2004), which explores the American response to the violence against and dispersion of the Armenia
n people during and after World War I
, when more than 1.5 million of the minority died. He begins with the initial reports to President Woodrow Wilson
from Henry Morgenthau Sr., his ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
. Peterson also covers the contemporary period and the continuing campaign by ethnic Armenians and others to convince the U.S. government to officially recognize the actions as genocide
, which Turkey has denied.
Peterson died at Charlottesville, Virginia
, on September 23, 2009.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
and the editor of the prestigious Library of America
Library of America
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
edition of the selected writings of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. He wrote several books on Jefferson, including The Jefferson Image in the American Mind (Oxford University Press, 1960; reprinted with new foreword, University Press of Virginia, 1998), and Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (Oxford University Press, 1970). Other works include Lincoln in American Memory (Oxford University Press, 1994), John Brown: The Legend Revisited (2002), and most recently Starving Armenians: America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1930 and After (Univ. of Virginia Press).
Early life and education
Merrill D. Peterson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, his father a Baptist minister. His parents divorced when he was in the third grade, and his mother began running a boarding house.He earned his B.A. at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
after two years at Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
, and he entered graduate study at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he earned his Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization.
Career
After teaching at Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
and Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Peterson was hired at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, which remained his academic home for the rest of his life. Succeeding the great Jefferson biographer Dumas Malone
Dumas Malone
Dumas Malone was an American historian, biographer, and editor noted for his six-volume biography on Thomas Jefferson, for which he received the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for history...
, Peterson ultimately was named the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia.
Works
Peterson adapted his dissertation as his first book, The Jefferson Image in the American Mind (Oxford University Press, 1960), which won the 1961 Bancroft PrizeBancroft 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 by a bequest from Frederic Bancroft...
for History. It is still hailed as a pioneering exploration of the history of American memory, which has become an increasingly important topic by historians. Peterson undertook the work to assess what history had made of Thomas Jefferson. At the end of a decade, he published a lengthy, one-volume biography, Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (Oxford University Press, 1970), which he considered his most important book. It is still regarded as the best one-volume full-scale life of Jefferson. His 1994 Lincoln in American Memory, was written from a similar stance as his first book on Jefferson. It was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for biography.
Peterson's shorter studies include works on John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
, President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, and Wilson's biographer, Ray Stannard Baker
Ray Stannard Baker
Ray Stannard Baker , also known by his pen name David Grayson, was an American journalist and author born in Lansing, Michigan...
. Peterson edited several anthologies of Jefferson's writings.
In 1988, Peterson published another landmark work, The Great Triumvirate (Oxford University Press), at once a joint biography of Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
, Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, and John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, and a measured and thoughtful examination of their political and historical worlds.
Part of a generation who were admonished as children to "remember the starving Armenians," Peterson went to Armenia in 1997 as a Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
volunteer and became moved by the country’s troubled history. After research, he wrote "Starving Armenians": America and the Armenian Genocide 1915-1930 and After(2004), which explores the American response to the violence against and dispersion of the Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n people during and after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when more than 1.5 million of the minority died. He begins with the initial reports to President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
from Henry Morgenthau Sr., his ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Peterson also covers the contemporary period and the continuing campaign by ethnic Armenians and others to convince the U.S. government to officially recognize the actions as genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, which Turkey has denied.
Legacy and honors
- 2005, the University of Virginia gave Peterson its Literary Lifetime Achievement Award.
- 1997, the First Freedom Council's National First Freedom Award
- 1994, the Virginia Foundation for Humanities 20th Anniversary Award
- 1994, the University of Virginia Phi Beta Kappa Book Award, and
- 1960, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Gold Medal.
Peterson died at Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, on September 23, 2009.