Thomas G. Alexander
Encyclopedia
Thomas Glen Alexander is an American
historian
and academic who is professor emeritus from Brigham Young University
(BYU) in Provo, Utah
, where he was also Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western History and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies.
to Glen M. and Violet B. Alexander. He was raised in a working-class section of Ogden, Utah
and from 1956 to 1958 he served a proselytizing mission
for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the West German Mission
. In 1959, he married Marilyn Johns, with whom he would have five children.
Alexander earned his A.A. in 1955 at Weber State University
, and his B.S.
in 1960 and M.A.
in 1961 from Utah State University
. While in Logan, Alexander first met Leonard Arrington, who was in the university Stake Presidency. In 1965, Alexander received his Ph.D.
in American History from the University of California, Berkeley
.
Alexander joined the BYU history faculty in 1964, where he has taught Utah history and American environmental history
, and is currently the Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western American History, Emeritus. In the past, he has also taught at Utah State University, the University of California, Berkeley
, the University of Nebraska at Kearney
, Southern Illinois University
, and the University of Utah
. He has received BYU's highest faculty award, the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award. In 2001, he received the Emeriti Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from Weber State University. Alexander retired from full-time teaching at BYU in 2004.
Alexander has served in various historical and academic organizations. He was president of the Mormon History Association
from 1974–1975. He has also been president of the Pacific Branch of the American Historical Association
; president and fellow of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters; president of the Association of Utah Historians; chair of the Utah Board of State History; chair of the Utah Humanities Council; national president of Phi Alpha Theta
, the history honor society
; fellow of the Utah State Historical Society
; and chair of BYU's Faculty Advisory Council.
Alexander has remained a believing Latter-day Saint and has served in various church positions, including as a Bishop and stake high councilor. In 2004, after his retirement, he served an LDS Church Educational System
mission
in Berlin, Germany with his wife.
." New Mormon Historians are a group of faithful members of the LDS Church and sympathetic non-Mormons who reject both positivism and objectivism (the belief that you can use the methodology of classical physical and biological sciences which, in fact, many scientists have rejected) on the one hand. They also reject the tendency to ignore unpleasant aspects of Mormon history (such as the role of Mormon settlers in the Mountain Meadows massacre
. (On Alexander's views see: "Historiography and the New Mormon History: A Historian's Perspective,"Dialogue 19 (Fall 1986): 25-49; and "Relativism and Interest in the New Mormon History," Weber Studies 13 (Winter 1996): 133-141.
Alexander is well known for Things in Heaven and Earth: The Life and Times of Wilford Woodruff, a carefully crafted biography of Wilford Woodruff
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' fourth president, which provides insight into the development of Mormonism
, new religions of the nineteenth century, and the American West. Alexander asserts that Woodruff was "...arguably the third most important figure in all of LDS Church history after Joseph Smith ... and Brigham Young" (p. 331). While other LDS and western historians may disagree with the ranking, his work provides a careful study of a very important leader in the emerging Mormon
faith. Woodruff was a central leader of nineteenth century Mormonism, a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
between 1835 and 1889, and president of the church from 1889 until his death in 1898 at age 91.
commissioned Alexander to write Utah: The Right Place as the state's official centennial history.
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...
and academic who is professor emeritus from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU) in Provo, Utah
Provo, Utah
Provo is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south...
, where he was also Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western History and director of the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies.
Biography
Alexander was born in Logan, UtahLogan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
to Glen M. and Violet B. Alexander. He was raised in a working-class section of Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
and from 1956 to 1958 he served a proselytizing mission
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the West German Mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
. In 1959, he married Marilyn Johns, with whom he would have five children.
Alexander earned his A.A. in 1955 at Weber State University
Weber State University
Weber State University is a public university located in the city of Ogden in Weber County, Utah, USA. It was founded in 1889 and is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees...
, and his B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in 1960 and M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1961 from Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
. While in Logan, Alexander first met Leonard Arrington, who was in the university Stake Presidency. In 1965, Alexander received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in American History from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
.
Alexander joined the BYU history faculty in 1964, where he has taught Utah history and American environmental history
Environmental history
Environmental history, a branch of historiography, is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time. In contrast to other historical disciplines, it emphasizes the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs. Environmental historians study how humans both shape their...
, and is currently the Lemuel Hardison Redd, Jr. Professor of Western American History, Emeritus. In the past, he has also taught at Utah State University, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, the University of Nebraska at Kearney
University of Nebraska at Kearney
The University of Nebraska at Kearney , founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney, is the Kearney, Nebraska, United States campus of the University of Nebraska system.-History:...
, Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
, and the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. He has received BYU's highest faculty award, the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award. In 2001, he received the Emeriti Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from Weber State University. Alexander retired from full-time teaching at BYU in 2004.
Alexander has served in various historical and academic organizations. He was president of the Mormon History Association
Mormon History Association
The Mormon History Association is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Mormon history to promote understanding, scholarly research, and publication in the field...
from 1974–1975. He has also been president of the Pacific Branch 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...
; president and fellow of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters; president of the Association of Utah Historians; chair of the Utah Board of State History; chair of the Utah Humanities Council; national president of Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta
Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history.The society is a charter member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has over 350,000 members, with about 9,500 new members joining each year through 860 local chapters.-...
, the history honor society
Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
; fellow of the Utah State Historical Society
Utah State Historical Society
The Utah State Historical Society, founded in 1897 and now part of the Government of Utah, United States, encourages the research, study, and publication of Utah history....
; and chair of BYU's Faculty Advisory Council.
Alexander has remained a believing Latter-day Saint and has served in various church positions, including as a Bishop and stake high councilor. In 2004, after his retirement, he served an LDS Church Educational System
Church Educational System
The Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners...
mission
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in Berlin, Germany with his wife.
Historical perspective
Alexander is considered one of the historians who practiced what has been called the "New Mormon HistoryNew Mormon history
New Mormon history refers to a style of reporting the history of Mormonism by both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars which departs from earlier more polemical styles of history...
." New Mormon Historians are a group of faithful members of the LDS Church and sympathetic non-Mormons who reject both positivism and objectivism (the belief that you can use the methodology of classical physical and biological sciences which, in fact, many scientists have rejected) on the one hand. They also reject the tendency to ignore unpleasant aspects of Mormon history (such as the role of Mormon settlers in the Mountain Meadows massacre
Mountain Meadows massacre
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train, at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857 in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by the Iron County district of the Utah Territorial Militia and some local...
. (On Alexander's views see: "Historiography and the New Mormon History: A Historian's Perspective,"Dialogue 19 (Fall 1986): 25-49; and "Relativism and Interest in the New Mormon History," Weber Studies 13 (Winter 1996): 133-141.
Alexander is well known for Things in Heaven and Earth: The Life and Times of Wilford Woodruff, a carefully crafted biography of Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' fourth president, which provides insight into the development of Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, new religions of the nineteenth century, and the American West. Alexander asserts that Woodruff was "...arguably the third most important figure in all of LDS Church history after Joseph Smith ... and Brigham Young" (p. 331). While other LDS and western historians may disagree with the ranking, his work provides a careful study of a very important leader in the emerging Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
faith. Woodruff was a central leader of nineteenth century Mormonism, a member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...
between 1835 and 1889, and president of the church from 1889 until his death in 1898 at age 91.
Awards
- 1968 Best Bibliography Award (Mormon History Association)
- 1976 Best Article by a Senior Author (Mormon History Association)
- 1980 Best Article by a Senior Author (Mormon History Association)
- 1986 Best Book Award (Mormon History Association)
- 1989 Grace Fort Arrington Award for Historical Excellence (Mormon History Association)
- 1991 Best Book Award (Mormon History Association)
- 1991 Evans Biography Award (Mountain West Center for Regional Studies)
- 1999 T. Edgar Lyon Award of Excellence (Mormon History Association)
Publications
Alexander has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited 25 books and over 150 scholarly articles. He has won numerous awards for his work, including Mormonism in Transition and Things in Heaven and Earth. The Utah state governmentGovernment of Utah
The government of Utah is republican, with "the powers of government being divided into three distinct departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial" each department having specific functions and responsibilities under the Utah Constitution....
commissioned Alexander to write Utah: The Right Place as the state's official centennial history.
- A Conflict of Interests, Interior Department and Mountain West, 1863-1896
- The Rise of Multiple-Use Management in the Intermountain West: A History of Region 4 of the Forest Service
- Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930
- Mormons and Gentiles: A History of Salt Lake City with James B. AllenJames B. Allen (historian)James Brown "Jim" Allen is an American historian of Mormonism and was an official Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972–1979.-Biography:...
- Things in Heaven and Earth: The Life and Times of Wilford Woodruff, a Mormon Prophet. Signature BooksSignature BooksSignature Books is a press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D...
, Incorporated. Salt Lake City, Utah, reprint 1993. ISBN 1-56085-045-0 - Utah: The Right Place
- Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine
- Grace and Grandeur: A History of Salt Lake City
- The New Mormon History: Revisionist Essays on the Past
As Editor
- Manchester Mormons: The Journals of William Clayton, 1840-1842 with James B. AllenJames B. Allen (historian)James Brown "Jim" Allen is an American historian of Mormonism and was an official Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972–1979.-Biography:...
- The Mormon History Association's Tanner Lectures, with Dean L. MayDean L. MayDean Lowe May was an American academic, author and documentary filmmaker and professor of History at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. May specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and cultural history of the American West through the study of community and family...
, Reid L. Neilson, Richard BushmanRichard BushmanRichard Lyman Bushman is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is currently the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University...
(Editor), Jan ShippsJan ShippsJo Ann Barnett "Jan" Shipps is an American historian specializing in Mormon History, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century to the present. Shipps is generally regarded as the foremost non-Mormon scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement, having given particular attention to The...
(Editor). University of Illinois PressUniversity of Illinois PressThe University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
, 2006. ISBN 0-252-07288-X - Utah's History with Richard Poll, Eugene Campbell, and David Miller