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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 49.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 35,000 items) |
Abstract | William Edward Leuchtenburg is a historian whose primary scholarly focus has been the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the continuing influence of Roosevelt's New Deal programs on the United States. Leuchtenburg had long teaching careers at both Columbia University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has held positions in several major historical organizations. Leuchtenburg has written extensively on the American presidency and frequently appears as a political analyst on radio and television and in documentary films. Papers consists primarily of Leuchtenburg's professional correspondence with various individuals, including other historians and former students at Columbia University and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and with historical and other organizations and publications. Files contain letters, articles, and clippings concerning Leuchtenburg's involvement with politics, professional historical organizations, and teaching and writing about history. Correspondence with Leuchtenburg's former students contains information on their student work, copies of works that they had written or were writing, articles, questions, and general information about them. There are some personal letters in the general correspondence. |
Creator | Leuchtenburg, William Edward, 1922- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Matthew Turi, Brad Lewis, and Jaime Margalotti, May 2004
Encoded by: Matthew Turi, Linda Sellars, Carolyn Chanthavong, and Jaime L. Margalotti, May 2004
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, January 2021
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
William E. Leuchtenburg is a politically active historian whose primary scholarly focus has been the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the continuing influence of Roosevelt's New Deal programs on the United States. Born on 28 September 1922 in Ridgewood, N.Y., Leuchtenburg attended Cornell University and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1951. Following short stints teaching history at New York University, Smith College, and Harvard University, Leuchtenburg in 1952 began a long career teaching at Columbia University. Leuchtenburg left Columbia in 1982, spending ten years as the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has also held positions as a Guggenheim Fellow and Mellon Senior Fellow, as well as fellowships at the National Humanities Center and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Although he officially retired in 1992, Leuchtenburg remained an active part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill History Department for over ten additional years, occasionally teaching classes. Several of his students, including William Chafe, Robert Dallek, Otis Graham, Alonzo Hamby, Richard Polenberg, Harvard Sitkoff, and Howard Zinn, have gone on to successful careers as historians.
Leuchtenburg has contributed to both the academic and political realms. His notable works include: The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932 (1958); the Bancroft and Parker Prize-winning Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940 (1963); In the Shadow of FDR: From Harry Truman to Bill Clinton (1993); The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy (1995); and The Supreme Court Reborn: The Constitutional Revolution in the Age of Roosevelt (1995). Leuchtenburg has also served the field of history as president of the American Historical Association, the Society of American Historians, and the Organization of American Historians. To reach a broader audience, he has written articles for publications such as American Heritage and contributed to Ken Burns's documentaries, The Civil War and Baseball. In his role as political analyst, he has consulted with PBS and CBS on presidential inaugurations and worked with NBC on several national elections. He has written extensively on the American presidency and frequently appears as a political analyst on radio and television and in documentary films.
Leuchtenburg has also been personally involved in politics and government, holding a position with the Americans for Democratic Action, 1948-1949; serving as a delegate to the 1952 Democratic National Convention; marching in Montgomery, Ala., with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; working on the National Study Commission on Records and Documents of Federal Offices, 1975-1977; and holding a consulting role with the Social Security Administration.
Leuchtenburg married for the second time in 1984 and has three children from a previous marriage.
Back to TopThe William Edward Leuchtenburg papers consists primarily of Leuchtenburg's professional correspondence with various individuals, including other historians and former students at Columbia University and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and with historical and other organizations and publications. Files contain letters, articles, and clippings concerning Leuchtenburg's involvement with politics, professional historical organizations, and teaching and writing about history. Correspondence with Leuchtenburg's former students contains information on their student work, copies of works that they had written or were writing, articles, questions, and general information about them. There are some personal letters in the general corrspondence.
Back to TopArrangement: alphabetical.
Files of correspondence with various individuals, organizations, and publications. Included are some personal letters, but most relate to Leuchtenburg's professional career. The files contain letters, articles, and clippings concerning Leuchtenburg's involvement with politics, professional historical organizations, and teaching and writing about history. Many of the correspondents are also notable professional historians.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Access Restriction: Student files are closed for 75 years from the last date of materials within the file except with permission from the individual student.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Files of correspondence with Leuchtenburg's former students at Columbia University. Files contain information on their student work, copies of items they wrote or were writing, articles, questions, and general information about their lives. Some folders contain only information from student years, but many contain materials from subsequent years.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Access Restriction: Student files are closed for 75 years from the last date of materials within the file except with permission from the individual student.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Files of correspondence with Leuchtenburg's former students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Files contain information on their student work, copies of items they wrote or were writing, articles, questions, and general information about their lives. These folders contain more directly school-related materials, such as papers, and less personal correspondence than the Columbia University files.
Note that original file folder titles have, for the most part, been retained.
Accress Restriction: These files are closed for periods outlined below.
Box 34 |
Columbia University Student: Harrison, CynthiaAccess Restriction: Closed until 2046. |