c I*U3E \82>A- 12)54 IU I NO IS. UN I VERS tTY- ! ;PT. OF HISTORY I VERS ITY OF ILLINOIS DEF ARTME IT OF HISTORY, 1894-1954. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 1894 . . . 1954 Opportunities for research and graduate study Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/departmentofhistOOuniv /r9i University of Illinois DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 1894-1954 FOUNDATIONS The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 as the Illinois Industrial University. At that time it reflected the dominant temper of life in the Middle West; and as the University has grown, it has mirrored the phe- nomenal changes in the surrounding area. Today we can hardly visualize how weakly rooted the humanities were in the minds of Midwestern residents in the 1860's. The legislators of Illinois, in founding a university, had little interest in impractical folderol; they thought simply of establishing an institution to teach agriculture and me- chanic arts. Their foundation was, in short, a "cow college," and in large measure the University of Illinois has followed this tradition in its better aspects. When one man came to the Department of History, he was first gravely ushered by the head through the magnificent library and then was taken to pay his respects to Illini Nellie, the world champion Brown Swiss cow. In the ideal of the state university, America has created a new type of educational institution, and the importance of agricultural and techno- logical training therein should scarcely be a surprise to any historian who remembers that agriculture and the use of metals arc two of the main roots of human civilization. The interesting fact, however, is that the first regent of the University felt compelled to adulterate the practical diet of his students with some mild tincture of the humanities. He was bitterly assailed for his step, but it was not undone. Slowly, but irresistibly, the University has enriched its program of instruction and research in all fields of knowledge, just as the people of Illinois have enriched and rounded their lives. The first full-time instructor in history came to the campus in 1894 in the person of Evarts Boutell Greene (1870-1947), fresh from a year's study GREENE ALVORD PEASE at Berlin and graduate work at Harvard (Ph.D. 1893). Of New England stock, Greene was the son of one of the first American missionaries in Japan. He himself was a missionary in a different sense, like many others who came out from eastern universities in the 1890's and 1900's to the relatively back- ward schools in the Middle West. Though his very arrival was an augury of widening interest in the humanities, for his first ten years Greene hoed a lonely patch of thistles. In 1899 he was able to help create the Illinois State Historical Society, and his youth, his energy, and his rigid sense of duty kept him at his task until great days dawned with the inauguration of Edmund J. James as president of the University in 1904. James had in mind a noble vision of an extended program of research, graduate teaching, and intellectual service to the state in all fields, and rapidly attracted a remarkable group of promising men in the humanities and social sciences, both in the major fields and in more esoteric subjects which could have only limited appeal for most students. To support the activity of these men James secured a librarian of genius (P. L. Windsor), who swiftly took steps to create a library unequalled west of the Alleghenies. James also commenced or improved a wide range of series of publications for the works of his scholars, which included the well-known Illinois Studies in the Social Sciences. Greene, who served as dean of the College of Literature and Arts from 1906 to 1913, assisted in this exhilarating expansion and built up a strong Department of History. In 1906 Guy Stanton Ford was called to Illinois as professor of European history; a year later Louis J. Paetow and Laurence M. Larson came as associates respectively in medieval and English history. Clarence M. Alvord was already on the scene as lecturer in European history and had the year before begun to turn his attention to the manu- scripts of early Illinois history which were to lead him into his major life work. Serious attention to Latin-American and ancient history began in 1909 with the appointment of William S. Robertson and William A. Old- father. By the first year of World War I the Department was offering a wide variety of work in American and European history with courses in the history of the Far East, the Near East, and South America. The breadth of its interests could not easily be matched elsewhere. To follow the progress of the Department thenceforth one must take up separately its various fields of activity. A general sweep of the period from 1894 to 1954 can only lead to the conclusion that the Department has increased in incredible measure the comprehensiveness of its offerings, the numbers of its graduate students, and its contributions to our under- standing of man's past. During this period its heads have been Evarts B. Greene (1894-1920), Laurence M. Larson (1920-37), William S. Robert- son (1937-41), Theodore C. Pease (1941-48), and Frederick C. Dietz. AMERICAN HISTORY Greene himself was interested primarily in the colonial and revolutionary eras and had some (but not enough) time for his research while serving as head and dean. In 1923 Columbia beckoned him; but by that point graduate work and departmental research in American history at Illinois had been firmly established. Alvord (1868-1928), who had graduated at Williams in 1891, spent two years in Berlin, and then taught at Illinois, was invited by President James in 1905 to investigate a French document in southern Illinois. This investigation led Alvord to the detailed study and publication in exemplary form of a selection of the Cahokia and Kaskaskia records of early Illinois history. A large part of Alvord's work at Illinois was the publication of documentary materials for Illinois history which appeared in the volumes of the Illinois Historical Collections. On the basis of the collection and edition of these documents Alvord wrote The First Explorations of the Trans- Allegheny Region by the Virginians, 1650- J 674 (with Lee Bidgood) and his two-volume study of The Mississippi Valley in British Politics, which received the first Loubat prize as the best work on North America published between 1913 and 1918. Alvord played a leading part in the formation of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, and he was the editor of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review from its beginning to 1923. A thoroughly precise scholar not always easy to get along with in his passion for achievement, Alvord could write with imagination and style and did much to elevate the history of the Illinois country to a scholarly plane. Of enduring value to generations of graduate students at Illinois was the creation of the Illinois Historical Survey in 1910 to collect and utilize all available historical materials on Illinois and adjacent areas. The Survey, now overflowing more and more rooms on the fourth floor of Lincoln Hall. is a combined library and institute of research; it contains a carefully selected library of books, files of newspapers, manuscripts, indices, and above all transcripts of documents in Spanish, French, British, and other archives by the thousands. To its enlargement many men have labored, especially Alvord and Theodore C. Pease, who made two trips abroad to ferret out obscure materials; upon its resources have rested many disserta- tions and other works, not the least of which is the Centennial History of Illi- nois, published under Alvord's direction in six volumes (1918-1920) and widely acclaimed as one of the best state histories. In 1914 Theodore C. Pease (1887-1948) came to Illinois, after spending a year as an assistant, 1908-09; his main training he had taken at Chicago (Ph.B. 1907, Ph.D. 1914). Thenceforth he served the University until his sudden death in 1948, except for three years spent as lieutenant of infantry overseas in World War I. Pease first published The County Archives of Illinois in 1914 and then The Leveller Movement in 1917, which won the Herbert Baxter Adams prize and has ever since been a standard work. He wrote a volume of the Centennial History, a thoughtful text on American history, and the Story of Illinois. From 1923 on he took over the main tasks of maintaining and enlarging the Survey as well as continuing the Collec- tions; of the latter he edited several volumes with extensive introductions which were monographs in themselves. When the American Archivist was founded, he served as its editor from 1938 to 1946. In 1941 Pease became head of the Department and delighted in the involved ways of University administration, standing wily and determined in defense of* the true spirit of the humanities. He was physically of large frame and intellectually of wit and deep learning. Generations of students were enthralled with his skillfully polished rhetoric, and his colleagues were intrigued by his superb ability to punctuate his remarks with just the right quotation, now serious, now light (and then often from Gilbert and Sullivan) . Another outstanding American historian was Marcus L. Hansen (1892- 1938), who graduated at Iowa in 1916, served in the Army in World War I, and received his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1924. Early in his career Hansen settled upon American immigration as his theme in life, with the hearty encouragement of F. J. Turner. To gain his materials he spent two crowded years in Europe, turning over Prussian state archives unused for a century, reading emigrants' letters in England often at the rate of a thousand a day, and following the trail of his own forebears to Scandinavia. After a HANSEN RANDALL WERNER year's further study in this country as American Council of Learned So- cieties research associate for the purpose of helping fix immigration quotas under the Act of 1924, he came to Illinois in 1928. In 1934-35 Hansen was back in Europe for another year and delivered a remarkable series of lectures on his subject at the University of London, but scarlet fever and a weakened heart brought his death before his task was done. What remains, however, is a noble monument and a constant source of inspiration and insights for later workers in the field: The Atlantic Mi- gration, 1607-1860, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1941; The Mingling of the Canadian and American Peoples (commissioned by the Carnegie En- dowment for International Peace; finished by J. B. Brebner) ; The Immi- grant in American History (containing some of his London lectures and other glowing papers). James G. Randall (1881-1953), small of stature, polished, and above all gentle, received his A.B. at Butler in 1903 and his Ph.D. at Chicago in 1911. After teaching at a number of schools, he came to Illinois in 1920 and be- came nationally known as a student of the Civil War and especially of the career of Abraham Lincoln. Among his many works were Constitutional Problems under Lincoln, Civil War and Reconstruction, and his careful studies of aspects of Lincoln's administration in his Lincoln the President, one volume of which received the Loubat prize. Randall produced far more than books; sympathetically and patiently he guided many graduate students through their problems to the attainment of the Ph.D., and on his retire- ment these students issued a volume of his essays in his honor. Sharing the same qualities was Raymond C. Werner, who directed over one hundred master's dissertations in American history and exposed many undergraduates to their first college work in the field. Born in 1893, Werner gained his A.B. at Wisconsin in 1915 and his Ph.D. at Iowa in 1927; his death came suddenly in 1952 just as he was preparing to spend a year in Europe, tracking down materials for his research on Joseph Galloway and on German migration to America. The study of American history at Illinois is now in the hands of men of many divergent interests, as it has been in the past. There is, in brief, no dominant view which must be accepted; there has never been any desire to create glittering programs which often wither and die with no results. While many students and some of the staff have concentrated upon the develop- ment of Illinois — as is quite natural — they have done so with a full awareness of the interrelations between Illinois and national affairs. Particularly impressive, indeed, is the degree to which American histo- rians at Illinois have been at home both in the United States and also abroad, for the prime threat to continued fertility in American history is its occa- sional tendency to provincialism. Greene and Werner had lived in the Far East, and both regularly taught a course in the history of that region. Alvord's early training was in European history; that of Pease, primarily in English history. Alvord retired to live abroad in his last years, where he delivered the Raleigh and Creighton lectures in England; and Pease and Hansen studied abroad for long periods. It is easier to measure and discuss the fruits of scholarship than the rewards of teaching. Of all the American historians at Illinois Alvord came closest to being the pure research scholar; all the rest have taught both graduates and undergraduates with ability and, often, a deep relish in the opportunity to talk about, rather than solely to write about, their studies. One remembers Mark Hansen, breezily striding down the hall and inviting his assistants to hear a brand-new lecture he was about to give in the survey course; Hansen, again, had his students in the History of American Immi- gration prepare term papers which were, he wrote, often "first-hand ac- counts written from the family archives, or more often, from family tradition." The measure of the quality and achievements of the American historians may be suggested by the fact that two (Greene and Randall) became presidents of the American Historical Association; three (Alvord, Randall, and Shannon), presidents of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association; and two (Shannon and Hansen) received Pulitzer Prizes. The present members of the Department who strive to maintain this tradition in American history are the following: Professors : BESTOR, Arthur E., Jr. (b.1908). Ph.B. Yale 1930, Ph.D. Yale 1938. Previously at Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Wisconsin; at Illinois since 1947. David Jacks of Monterrey and Lee L. Jacks, His Daughter (1946) ; Educa- BESTOR CURRENT SHANNON tion and Reform at New Harmony (1948); Backwoods Utopias (1950; Beveridge Fellowship) ; Educational Wastelands (1953) ; The Restoration of Learning (1954). Newberry Fellow 1946; Guggenheim Fellow 1953-54. major fields of interest: American intellectual history; in his spare time Bestor regards with a clear, penetrating eye the progress and foibles of American education, on which he has commented forcibly. CURRENT, Richard N. (b.1912). A.B. Oberlin 1934; Ph.D. Wisconsin 1939. Previously at Maryland State, Rutgers, Hamilton, Northern Mich- igan, Lawrence, Mills; at Illinois since 1950. Old Thad Stevens (1942); Pine Logs and Politics: A Life of Philetus Sawyer (1950) ; Secretary Stimson (1954) ; The Typewriter and the Men Who Made It (1954). major fields of interest: American foreign relations, which he views with cool, critical ability; his life of Daniel Webster will appear shortly. SHANNON, Fred A. (b.1893). A.B. Indiana State 1914; Ph.D. Iowa 1924. Previously at Iowa Wesleyan, Iowa State Teachers, Kansas State, Williams; at Illinois since 1939. The Organization and Administration of the Union Army, 1861-1865 (1928), awarded the Justin Winsor Prize in 1928 and the Pulitzer Prize in 1929; Americas Economic Growth (1934 and several revisions) ; An Appraisal of Walter Prescott Webb's The Great Plains (1940); The Farmer's Last Frontier: American Agriculture, 1860-1897 (1945) ; Civil War Letters of Sergeant Onley Andrus (1947). major fields of interest: American economic history, especially the place of agriculture, a subject on which he is a leading, iconoclastic scholar. His volume on America, 1877-1890 will shortly appear in the new American Nations series. Assistant Professors: BATES, J. Leonard (b.1919). B.A. Wake Forest 1941; Ph.D. North Carolina 1952. Previously at Maryland; at Illinois since 1954. major fields of interest: contemporary American history; his study of Senator Walsh of Montana will appear shortly. BELTING, Natalia M. (b.1915). A.B. Illinois 1936; Ph.D. Illinois 1940. Kaskaskia under the French Regime (1940). major fields of interest: history of the West. DUNBAR, Louise B. (b. 1894). A.B. Mt. Holyoke 1916; Ph.D. Illinois 1920. A Study of "Monarchical" Tendencies in the United States from 1776 to 1801 (1922). major fields of interest: colonial history, especially the role of the royal governors. KING, Ameda Ruth. A.B. Monticello 1922; Ph.D. Illinois 1931. major fields of interest: major figures of early United States history. SUTTON, Robert M. (b.1915). A.B. ShurtlefT 1937; Ph.D. Illinois 1948. major fields of interest: history of Illinois; Civil War transpor- tation and railroad development in the Middle West. ANCIENT HISTORY The teaching of ancient history was entrusted in 1909 to William A. Oldfather (1880-1945), born in Persia and educated in the United States and Germany (Ph.D. Munich 1908). Oldfather, who also directed work in classics, quickly established himself as one of the enduringly forceful per- sonalities of the campus. In faculty meetings he could deliver a hammering, logical oration which was either completely convincing or thoroughly enfuriating, depending upon the views of the listener. In the field of teaching he was always positive and scholarly, and made the Classics Seminar a superb collection. The Department of History also offered work in the Ancient Orient with the arrival of Albert T. Olmstead (1880-1945), who took his A.B. in 1902 and his Ph.D. in 1906 at Cornell. After extensive travels in the Near East Olmstead came to Illinois in 1917 to teach Assyriology. He built up a fine Oriental Museum, which has among more than 3000 cuneiform tablets a rare copy of the Sumerian Gilgamcsh epic. While at Illinois, Olmstead published his fundamental History of Assyria. In 1929 he was offered the chair of Oriental history at the Oriental Institute at Chicago, which he could not refuse, and there went on to survey other areas of the ancient Orient. The Department is today almost unique among American institutions in having in captivity at the same time two active professors of ancient history: OLMSTEAD STARR SWAIN STARR, Chester G. (b.1914). A.B. Missouri 1934; Ph.D. Cornell 1938. The Roman Imperial Navy (1941); Salerno to the Alps (1948); The Emergence of Rome as Ruler of the Western World (1950); Civilization and the Caesars (1954). Fellow, American Academy in Rome, 1938-40; Guggenheim Fellow 1950-51. major fields of interest: the Roman Empire and the intellectual history of the ancient world. SWAIN, Joseph Ward (b.1891). A.B. Columbia 1912; Ph.D. Columbia 1916. Previously at Wabash and Montana; at Illinois since 1919. Trans. Emile Durkheim, Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1915); Begin- ning the Twentieth Century (1933); The Ancient World, in two volumes (1950). major fields of interest: religious development of the ancient world, and the rise of the Christian view of the world; historiography, a subject in which he has written keenly and now teaches a survey for graduate students. ENGLISH HISTORY At Illinois the connection between American history and its roots in England has never been forgotten. Alvord's major work on The Mississippi Valley in British Politics moves as much in British cabinets as on the far frontiers of Illinois. The study of The Leveller Movement by Pease is a classic; and nowadays Raymond P. Stearns jovially pursues Puritans and scientists back and forth across the Atlantic. The teaching of courses in English history at Illinois began with Laurence M. Larson (1868-1938). Born in Norway, he was raised as a farmer's son in northern Iowa. He saw the prairie changed to farmland, and was himself to develop his capabilities LARSON DIETZ ERICKSON through Midwestern training and life so far as to become president of the American Historical Association in his last year. Educated at Drake (A.B. 1894) and Wisconsin (Ph.D. 1902), he taught high school in Milwaukee before arriving at Illinois in 1907. Here he long lectured on English and medieval history and wrote on early Norwegian society (trans. King's Mirror, Canute the Great, trans. Early Norwegian Laws) and English history (King's Household in England before the Norman Conquest, Short History of England, History of England and the British Commonwealth) . In 1920 the headship of the Department passed from Greene to Larson, who coped with the great rush of students after World War I. Always un- assuming, gentle, humorous, and kindly, Larson guided the Department deftly until his retirement in 1937. His main diversion was pride in his Norwegian descent, but he could not tolerate as genuine the famous "monument" of early Norse penetration of the Middle West, the Kensington rune stone. The professors charged primarily with English history are at present: DIETZ, Frederick C. (b.1888). A.B. Pennsylvania 1909; Ph.D. Harvard 1916. Formerly at Temple and Smith; at Illinois since 1920. English Gov- ernment Finance, 1485-1558 (1921); Exchequer in Elizabeth's Reign (1923); Political and Social History of England (1927); The Industrial Revolution (1927) ; Receipts and Issues of the Exchequer under James I and Charles I (1928) ; English Public Finance (1558-1641) (1932) ; Eco- nomic History of ■ England (1942). Guggenheim Fellow 1927-28. major fields of interest: English eeonomie history, especially of the Tudor era; also the 19th century origins of the Welfare State. As head of the Depart- ment since 1948, Dietz has smoothed the ways of his fellows and has main- tained the high place of the Department in the University. ERICKSON, Edgar L. (b.1902). A.B. Wisconsin 1923; Ph.D. Wisconsin 1930. major fields of interest: British Empire; his studies of East Indian migrations into the West Indies and of American military govern- ment in World War II are to be published shortly. Erickson has directed the very useful microprinting of the House of Commons Sessional Papers of the 19th century, 80,000 documents covering 4 million pages; he is also chairman of the Committee on Documentary Reproduction of the American Historical Association. EUROPEAN HISTORY The main responsibility for the teaching of European history passed from Alvord to Guy Stanton Ford in 1906. Born in 1873, Ford received his B.Litt. from Wisconsin in 1895 and his Ph.D. at Columbia in 1903, and taught at FORD Yale before coming to Illinois. In 1913 he was appointed dean of the Gradu- ate School at the University of Minnesota, where he later became president; he was president of the American Historical Association in 1937 and its executive secretary and editor of the Review 1941-1953. ii In his place at Illinois came Albert H. Lybyer and Paul Van Brunt Jones. Lybyer, who must be considered mainly with respect to his work in the; Near East, also directed research in European history and taught large classes in contemporary European developments. Jones (b.1882) was educated at Michigan (A.B. 1906) and Pennsylvania (Ph.D. 1912) and moved from Bryn Mawr to Illinois in 1914. Here he published his Household of a Tudor Nobleman (1917) and translated Choisy's Calvin (1930). Many generations of college students, as well as his colleagues, enjoyed his gay, breezy approach to life and respected his deep interests in the arts and music, which also expressed themselves in his particular attention to courses in the Renaissance. BONE RODKEY STEARNS At the present time the offerings in European history, and the attention paid to the subject, are on a plane with those in American history; the group of mature and younger scholars in the field augurs well for the future. Professors : BONE, Robert G. (b.1906). A.B. Wooster 1928; Ph.D. Illinois 1937. Previously taught in Egypt and at Lincoln College; professor of history and head of department at U.S. Army University in England 1945-46; director Division of Special Studies for War Veterans 1947-51, and director Division of General Studies 1946-. History of Shrivenham American University (1946). major fields of interest: general European history; ancient Egypt. RODKEY, Fred S. (b. 1896). A.B. Kansas 1917; Ph.D. Illinois 1921. Previously at Miami U. ; at Illinois since 1929. Tur co-Egyptian Question in the Relations of England, France, and Russia 1833-1841 (1924). major fields of interest: Russian history. 12 STEARNS, Raymond P. (b.1904). A.B. Illinois College 1927; Ph.D. Harvard 1934. Previously at Lake Forest; at Illinois since 1937. Congrega- tionalism in the Dutch Netherlands (1940; Frank S. Brewer Prize) ; Pageant of Europe (1947) ; Man's Great Adventure (1949, with E. Pahlow) ; Life of James Petiver (1953) ; Strenuous Puritan: A Biography of Hugh Peter (1954). Social Science Research Council fellow in England and Holland 1934-36. major fields of interest: the links of colonial America and Europe, particularly in the religious and scientific fields; the history of science, especially as manifested in the Royal Society. Stearns has for several years served as chairman of the Committee on the Carnegie Revolving Fund. Associate Professor: SIRICH, John B. (b.1910). A.B. Virginia 1932; Ph.D. Harvard 1937. Previously at Virginia and Queens; at Illinois since 1940. The Revolution- ary Committees in the Departments of France (1943). major fields of interest: the French Revolution, particularly the Girondists. Assistant Professors: BOUWSMA, William J. (b.1923). A.B. Harvard 1943; Ph.D. Harvard 1950. major fields of interest: religious and intellectual history of the Renaissance and Reformation; his study of Guillaume Postel, a significant representative of the French Renaissance, will appear shortly. GEANAKOPLOS, Deno J. (b.1916). A.B. Minnesota 1941; D. Litt. Pisa 1946; Ph.D. Harvard 1953. Previously at Brandeis University; at Illi- nois since 1954. major fields of interest: medieval history, particularly in its Byzantine aspects. HAMEROW, Theodore S. (b.1920). A.B. City College of New York 1942; Ph.D. Yale 1951. Previously at Wellesley and overseas with the Mary- land program of foreign instruction; at Illinois since 1952. major fields of interest: German and central European history; his study of the revolu- tion of 1848 will appear shortly. SHAY, Mary Lucille (b.1894). A.B. Illinois 1917; Ph.D. Illinois 1930. The Ottoman Empire, 1720-1734, as Revealed in the Despatches of the Venetian Baili (1944). major fields of interest: Italian history, a field in which the Library has the extraordinarily rich Cavagna collection of 40,000 volumes; Comte de Viry and the Treaty of Paris of 1763. LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY The serious study of Latin America began at Illinois with the arrival of William S. Robertson in 1909. Born in 1872 in Glasgow, Robertson put himself through Wisconsin (B.Litt. 1899), earned his Ph.D. at Yale in 1903, 13 and then taught at Western Reserve and Indiana. A scholar in the very deepest sense of the term, Robertson had high standards which he applied impartially in judgment and which drove him to indefatigable research in archives in France, Spain, Mexico, and elsewhere. Over a very long career he has produced work both in Spanish and in English which has won him membership in several Latin American academies and medals of honor. His most recent work, Iturbide of Mexico, he finished in 1952, eleven years after his retirement as head of the Department. Earlier he had un- covered the Miranda papers in England by skillful detective work and re- stored this figure of revolutionary Latin America in Francisco de Miranda \ -\ X ROBERTSON NOWELL and the Revolutionizing of Spanish America (Herbert Baxter Adams Prize), his Life of Miranda in two volumes, and his edition of The Diary of Miranda. Robertson has also written France and Latin- American Inde- pendence, Rise of the S panish- American Republics, and other works. His extremely rich library of Latin American materials is available in the Uni- versity Library. At the present time the work of the Department is coordinated with that of several other departments in the Latin American curriculum. Latin American history is now in the capable hands of its professor: NOWELL, Charles E. (b.1904). A.B. Stanford 1926; Ph.D. California 1932. Previously at San Diego State and Fresno State; at Illinois since 1942. History of Portugal (1952, translated into French 1953) ; Great Age of Discovery (1953). major fields of interest: Latin America and its roots in the Iberian peninsula; discovery and exploration since the days when Queen Hatshepsut sent for spices to Punt, a subject on which he is now writing a major survey. 14 NEAR EASTERN HISTORY In its ancient aspects the Near East was the principal field of study for Olmstead; in its modern aspects, for Albert H. Lybyer (1876-1949). Lybyer received his A.B. at Princeton in 1896, taught mathematics at Robert Col- lege in Constantinople 1900-07, and returned to gain his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1909. From Oberlin he came to Illinois in 1914, the year in which he published a famous study on Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent. After World War I Lybyer served as adviser to the American delegation at the Versailles Peace Conference, then returned to Illinois to direct a large number of graduate students in the diplomatic history of the Near East and to build up a valuable Near Eastern collection in the Library. To continue the tradition thus set, the Department has an able assistant pro- fessor in the field of Near Eastern history: DAWN, C. Ernest (b.1918). A.B. Chattanooga 1941; Ph.D. Princeton 1948. Social Science Research Council fellow in the Near East 1948-49; at Illinois since 1949. major fields of interest: Arab nationalism; his study on the idea of Greater Syria will appear shortly. GRADUATE WORK Countless thousands of undergraduate students have taken courses in history at Illinois. In the broadest view the Department has probably repaid its debt to the State of Illinois most directly — though not solely — by its influence on many generations of undergraduates. It is with the graduate students, however, that a professor usually forms his closest links and can sense most clearly the intangible rewards which come to the teacher. Oliver M. Dickerson received his Ph.D. at Illinois in 1906; the next two Ph.D.'s, in 1908, were Alvord and Clarence M. Carter, well-known as editor of the Territorial Papers. All told, the University of Illinois has granted 157 Ph.D.'s in history, 82 in American history and the balance in other fields. Of these, 12 were granted to 1920, 28 in the 1920's, 50 in the 1930's, 47 in the 40's, and 20 so far in the 1950's. Since the year 1934 the Department has supervised about 2% of all Ph.D.'s awarded in history in this country and Canada, but in some years its percentage has risen as high as 5%. Men holding Ph.D.'s from Illinois can be found in teaching and admin- istrative posts from the West Coast (as at California and Oregon) to the East Coast (as at Columbia and Dartmouth). They also hold important archival positions in Federal and state service; some conduct or direct re- search in the Department of Commerce, CIA, and the like; at least two direct historical societies; one is director of a museum; and one is in in- 15 dustrial employment as a director of worker education. In sum, the man- ner in which Ph.D.'s in history find employment is by no means limited solely to teaching, though most Illinois graduates are so employed. The scholarly product of Illinois graduates, if it were heaped up in a tidy pile, might reach to the moon (or might not) ; more important, it has shed light on the human past in many areas. To name individual works would be lengthy, if complete; and invidious, if short. Present Conduct of Graduate Work A brief description of the present conduct of graduate work may have a place here, though it cannot supplant the official descriptions and regu- lations set forth in the Graduate College Catalog. Formal graduate instruc- tion is measured in terms of units. Each seminar and other course on the 400 level counts for 1 unit; each course on the 300 level for l A unit unless the student is permitted to do extra directed reading or write a term paper at the instructor's pleasure for 1 unit. The courses currently offered are listed in the Catalog; the manner in which they are taught varies too widely to be summarized. A full load of graduate work includes 4 units per semester, and is required of fellows. An undergraduate preparing for graduate work should acquire a broad grounding in the major fields of history and a firm mastery of French or German — or, better yet, of both. In the process of education students often alter their major field of interest. Those who come late to history must expect to take some additional work at a lower level, as determined in con- sultation with the Graduate Advisers (Professors Nowell and Starr), but they are always welcomed by the Department. Work Toward the M.A. For the M.A., in History students must complete 8 units of work. Two of these will be Historical Method, taken in the first semester, and History of Historiography, second semester; two others will represent work on the dissertation (one unit taken each semester). The purpose of the M.A. dis- sertation is to introduce the student into the processes by which the history he may teach has been created from the raw materials left by the past. Most students take all their M.A. work in history and may sample widely (though in coherent fashion) from the offerings of the Department; a minor outside the Department may be elected for a total of at least two units. Before being recommended by the Department for the degree of M.A. in History, a candidate must demonstrate ability to make use of one foreign language (any language which has scholarly utility is acceptable) and must 16 pass a comprehensive examination, showing his basic acquaintance with three of the following fields: ancient, European, English, American. The purpose of this examination is to assure the Department that its graduates are generally qualified to teach history. Those who wish to prepare themselves to teach social studies may work toward the Master of Arts in the Social Sciences or, if they feel the need of further work in education, the Master of Arts in the Teaching of the Social Studies. To secure a broader study in the social studies (and also education, in the case of the latter), students in these curricula do not write a thesis. Details of the programs may be found in the Graduate College Catalog. Work Toward the Ph.D. Formal work for the Ph.D. requires 24 units. Eight units normally repre- sent work toward the Master's degree, and eight units are devoted to courses and seminars taken to widen and deepen the student's knowledge. There- upon follows the preliminary examination, comprising both written and oral parts. Eight units are given to work on the doctoral dissertation. The sixteen units taken before the preliminary examination must be divided among four fields of history (at least 4 in the major field, 3 in the first minor, 2 each in the other fields) and one field outside the Department. The fields in history include ancient, medieval, Renaissance-Reformation, Europe since 1648, English, American, and Latin American, but others may be approved. The major outside the Department must comprise at least two coordinated units. Examples of such minors are the history of political theory, international relations, history of philosophy, economic theory, geog- raphy, American literature; many others can be approved, depending upon the student's major field of interest. It is possible to attain the Ph.D. by three years of graduate work, and some men have done so. To accomplish this, the prospective graduate stu- dent must have a wide, solid grounding in general history and be in sure command of two of the following languages: French, German, Russian. The average Illinois Ph.D., who has not interrupted his education, has been 27 when at last his committee signs in solemn approval the certificate that he has successfully defended his thesis ; it may be estimated that he has spent three and one-half years in passing his language examinations and in pre- paring himself for his preliminary examination, and one and one-half years upon his dissertation. Any student, for instance, who lacks both foreign languages may count woefully but surely upon spending a full year or more in gaining these essential tools for research through special instruction offered by the French and German departments. Many students, again, must take a reduced load 17 to leave time for work as an assistant or in other employment. Finally, the preliminary examination should not be taken until the student feels himself prepared in his fields (as distinct from merely having passed "a few courses here and there") . The courses which the student does take in his fields are determined by him in conjunction with the Graduate Advisers. Those who are preparing themselves generally for positions in colleges and universities will be well advised to couple American and some phase of European history as their major and first minor fields. In American history students should cover the field as a whole in some depth through courses and their own reading and should delimit a sphere of intense preparation in consultation with the De- partment; a Graduate Survey of American History is given for those students who find that their preparation has gaps or is not fresh. Those offering European history since 1648 must likewise take an integrated series of courses and be prepared to read widely on their own — as is true in all fields. In the last analysis a graduate student educates himself. He hearkens unto his professors and meditates on their examples; but he also rubs against his fellows (in meetings of Phi Alpha Theta, in volunteer seminars, and in less formal coffee-breaks, common meals, and the like), browses in the stacks of the Library, and absorbs the classics of history. Much of his education comes through an almost unconscious process of osmosis, which cannot be hurried or artificially measured out in units of course work. General Remarks General financial aid to graduate students is of two types, assistantships and fellowships. The former are either for teaching discussion sections in the introductory courses or for aiding members of the Department in their research. Half-time assistantships, the most common, pay currently about $1400 for two semesters and require six hours of teaching or the equivalent; students holding such assistantships may not register for more than three units per semester. It is the policy of the Department not to appoint students as assistants until they have been at Illinois for at least a year. Further in- formation about assistantships may be obtained from the head of the Department. Fellowships include the Laurence M. Larson Fellowship, $225 per year, awarded to the best student in English or medieval history; the Kendric C. Babcock Fellowship, $1400 per year, usually awarded to students in their last year; and general University fellowships. The latter pay $900 for first- year graduate students, $1000 second-year, $1100 third -year, and are avail- able both to new students and to those already at Illinois. In their research students sometimes find it necessary to travel widely in this country or to go abroad; for this purpose, travelling fellowships are awarded. Application blanks for University fellowships may be obtained from the Graduate Col- lege and must be filed with transcript and letters of recommendation before February 15 each year. Since fellowships and assistantships both carry exemption from tuition fees, their holders receive the full amount of their grants (apart from pos- sible income-tax withholding in the case of assistantships) . Upon completion of his work the student does well to register with the University Placement Service, which has an excellent record of assisting graduates in obtaining positions. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY For students in American history, the Illinois Historical Survey has been a prime tool of research. For those in various phases of European history, the Museum of European Culture, the Classical Museum, and the Oriental Museum are of value. All students have benefited from easy access to the University Library, the greatest single asset of the University for historical scholarship. One who has, as student or teacher, tried to wrest a little light on a major topic from a small college library must always approach with awe a great research library, with its carrels and separate studies, its seminar rooms and special collections, its microfilm readers and other devices for scholarly aid, its well-trained staff backed by all the bibliographical tools one needs to keep abreast of the torrent of books, and its miles and miles of shelves of books and journals. Such a library is that at Illinois, but the Illinois li- brary is far more than an average institution of this type. Libraries are sometimes measured by their rarities. The Milton collec- tion at Illinois, for instance, is unique in having the first editions of all his works and is unrivalled in completeness; the library has the Shakespeare folios from the First on, with their solid type marching in two columns down the page; it has just acquired the H. G. Wells papers and has the Elephant folios of Audubon — but there is not room to list even a selection of the over 45,000 works in the Rare Book Room. A simpler index may consist in the statement that the University Library has the largest collections of any state university library; its holdings are the third largest of all university libraries in the United States, and now total over two and one-half million volumes at Urbana (plus half a million pamphlets, music scores, recordings, slides, and so on). Its Map Room has over 150,000 separate maps; its Reference Room alone has 12,000 care- fully selected volumes which (together with the separate Bibliography 19 Room) contain all the major guides to the world of books; two places, the Undergraduate Library and the Browsing Room, have current general litera- ture on open shelves. A special suite of rooms, the History Seminar, has a working collection of major sets and journals together with the Horner col- lection of Lincolniana. In such a library the major historical works cannot be listed. Over thirty years ago the Department issued a bulletin on Materials for Historical Re- search Afforded by the University of Illinois which did not exhaust its sub- ject in 40 pages of description; the increase since that date has been tre- mendous. Since the collections were well under way before the first World War, the University of Illinois was able to draw on the resources of foreign and domestic bookdealers for works of the 19th century and earlier, which are now unobtainable. Over 18,000 journals and newspapers are currently received, and for most of these the runs are complete. The University Li- brary will support research in practically any aspect of the history of Europe, the Near East, the United States, and Latin America. Books are useful only if they are read. This essay, it is hoped, may have suggested something of the men and women who have read — and built up — the University collections, and the manner in which they have conveyed their findings to the world at large. The University Library 20