Historian/Professor
James M. McPherson is an American Civil War historian and
is the George Henry Davis 1986 Professor of United States
History at Princeton University. He received the
Pulitzer Prize for his most famous book Battle Cry of
Freedom. He was the president of the American
Historical Association in 2003, and is a member of the
editorial board for the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Born in Valley City, North Dakota, McPherson received
his Bachelor of Arts at Gustavus Adolphus College (St.
Peter, Minnesota) in 1958, and his Ph.D. from Johns
Hopkins University in 1963.
McPherson's works include The Struggle for
Equality, awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Award.
In 1989, he published his Pulitzer-winning book,
Battle Cry of Freedom. And in 1998 another
book, For Cause and Comrades, which received the
Lincoln Prize. In 2002 he published both a scholarly book,
Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, and a
history of the Civil War for children, Fields of Fury
. Unlike other historians, he has a reputation of
trying to make history accessible to the public. Most of
his works are marketed to popular audiences and his book
Battle Cry of Freedom has long been a popular
one-volume general history of the Civil War.
McPherson was named the "2000 Jefferson Lecturer in the
Humanities" by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
When making the announcement, NEH Chairman William Ferris
said, "James M. McPherson has helped millions of Americans
better understand the meaning and legacy of the American
Civil War. By establishing the highest standards for
scholarship and public education about the Civil War and
by providing leadership in the movement to protect the
nation's battlefields, he has made an exceptional
contribution to historical awareness in America."
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