Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Edmund Morgan, 1916-2013

Today is a sad day: at around noon I found out that Edmund Morgan, the dean of early American history, passed away. 

I have struggled to try and figure out how to describe how much Dr. Morgan has meant to me. One skill that I always admired about him was his ability to simply explain the complexities inherent in the historical actors he wrote about (John Winthrop and Ezra Stiles to name a few). With that in mind, I'm going to (attempt) to write as Ed did, clearly and passionately. 

The Birth of the Republic (1992)
Professionally, I am about as far away from the proverbial trunk of Morgan's academic tree as anyone (one of my thesis advisors - Roger Ekirch - was a student of Bernard Bailyn's, who along with Morgan studied under Perry Miller). That said, I owe more to Edmund Morgan than anyone else for my decision to become a historian. My first encounter with him was in AP US History, being assigned The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89. From the moment Morgan described the colonists "as unlikely a group as could be found to join in any common enterprise" (5), I knew I had stumbled across a book unlike any I had read before. Morgan then proceeded, page after page, in explaining to sixteen-year-old me just exactly how, seemingly beyond belief, the revolutionaries' cause was secured. I was hooked. To this day, I still am. 

In hindsight, it is somewhat remarkable to find that a map of my course of studies reads off like a bibliography of Morgan's most important contributions. I remember that the first assignment in my sophomore-level Historical Methods class at Virginia Tech was his influential article on labor in Jamestown. While writing my M.A. thesis, his American Slavery, American Freedom became a pseudo textbook. I still consider this book to be the best work of history I've ever read. Not even two weeks ago I re-read The Puritan Dilemma in order to reacquaint myself with Puritan worldviews while researching for my dissertation. 

Interestingly, after all these years The Birth of the Republic remains Morgan's lasting imprint on my psyche. It was the only book I took with me during my semester abroad in southern Switzerland, and throughout my studies, it remains my standard reference for the era. When I lectured as an adjunct professor at a community college, my lesson prep began and ended with this splendid little book. It is - at least in my opinion - timeless. 

Emotionally, I am conflicted. I want to thank Edmund Morgan, remember and celebrate him, and mourn our (such a selfish word, is it not?) loss of him all at the same time. Morgan's own words in the closing statements of the The Birth of the Republic aptly give justice to his influence on our profession: 

The bulwark still stands, and in spite of halts and pauses along the way the exploration still goes on. 


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