Charles McLean Andrews
Encyclopedia
Charles McLean Andrews was one of the most distinguished American
historian
s of his time and widely recognized as a leading authority on American colonial history. He is especially known as a leader of the "Imperial school"
of historians who studied, and generally praised the British Empire in the 18th century.
, Connecticut
, he received his A.B. from Trinity College
, Hartford, Conn., in 1884 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University
in 1889. He was a professor at Bryn Mawr College
(1889-1907) and Johns Hopkins University
(1907-1910) before going to Yale University
. He was the Farnam Professor of American History at Yale from 1910 to his retirement in 1931.
He served as president of the American Historical Association
in 1925. He held various memberships including the American Philosophical Society
, the Royal Historical Society
, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1918.
Andrews won the Pulitzer Prize
in history in 1935 for Volumes 1 & 4 of his work The Colonial Period of American History. He was awarded the gold medal, given once a decade, by the National Institute of Arts and Letters for his work in history, and he received honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale
, Johns Hopkins, and Lehigh University
.
He married Evangline Holcombe Walker; their daughter Ethel married John Marshall Harlan II
, who became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954.
Andrews died in New Haven, Connecticut
.
, Hartford
, and Windsor
). Yet Andrews was not uncritical of early New England.
Along with Herbert L. Osgood
of Columbia University
, Andrews led a new approach to American colonial history, which has been called the "imperial" interpretation. Andrews and Osgood emphasized the colonies' imperial ties to Great Britain. Rather than emphasizing conscious British tyranny leading up to the American Revolution
, in works such as The Colonial Period (New York, 1912), he saw the clash as the inevitable result of the inability of British statesmen to understand the changes in society in America.
Among his published works:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
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 study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s of his time and widely recognized as a leading authority on American colonial history. He is especially known as a leader of the "Imperial school"
Historiography of the British Empire
The historiography of the British Empire refers to the studies, sources, critical methods and interpretations used by scholars to study the history of the British Empire. Scholars have long studied the Empire, looking at the causes for its formation, its relations to the French and other empires,...
of historians who studied, and generally praised the British Empire in the 18th century.
Life and recognition
Born in WethersfieldWethersfield
Wethersfield may refer to:* RAF Wethersfield, a British Ministry of Defence training facility in Essex, England* Wethersfield, Connecticut* Wethersfield, Essex, an English village near RAF Wethersfield* Wethersfield, New York* Wethersfield, Vermont...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, he received his A.B. from Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
, Hartford, Conn., in 1884 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in 1889. He was a professor at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
(1889-1907) and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
(1907-1910) before going to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He was the Farnam Professor of American History at Yale from 1910 to his retirement in 1931.
He served as president of the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
in 1925. He held various memberships including the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Phi Beta Kappa. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1918.
Andrews won the 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...
in history in 1935 for Volumes 1 & 4 of his work The Colonial Period of American History. He was awarded the gold medal, given once a decade, by the National Institute of Arts and Letters for his work in history, and he received honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Johns Hopkins, and Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
.
He married Evangline Holcombe Walker; their daughter Ethel married John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
, who became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954.
Andrews died in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
.
Approach to history
His ancestors had been in Connecticut for seven generations, so his interest in American colonial history, including the history of Connecticut, is unsurprising (his first book, The River Towns of Connecticut, published in Baltimore in 1889, was about the settlement of WethersfieldWethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...
, Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, and Windsor
Windsor, Connecticut
Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005....
). Yet Andrews was not uncritical of early New England.
Along with Herbert L. Osgood
Herbert L. Osgood
Herbert Levi Osgood was an American historian of colonial American history. As a professor at Columbia University he directed numerous dissertations of scholars who became major historians...
of 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...
, Andrews led a new approach to American colonial history, which has been called the "imperial" interpretation. Andrews and Osgood emphasized the colonies' imperial ties to Great Britain. Rather than emphasizing conscious British tyranny leading up to the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, in works such as The Colonial Period (New York, 1912), he saw the clash as the inevitable result of the inability of British statesmen to understand the changes in society in America.
Quotation
In 1924 he wrote:Works
From 1888 to 1937, Andrews wrote more than 100 books, articles, essays and published addresses, and it is estimated that he wrote about 360 book reviews, newspaper articles and short notes.Among his published works:
- The Colonial Period of American History New Haven, 1934-1937 (4 volumes), called "his masterpiece"
- The Colonial Period New York, 1912
- Colonial Self-Government
- The Colonial Background of the American Revolution New Haven, 1924
- The Fathers of New England
- Colonial Folkways
- Jonathan Dickinson's JournalJonathan DickinsonJonathan Dickinson was a Quaker merchant from Port Royal, Jamaica who was shipwrecked on the southeast coast of Florida in 1696, along with his family and the other passengers and crew members of the ship....
, edited with Evangeline Walker Andrews