Commager, Henry Steele

▪ 1999

      American historian and teacher (b. Oct. 25, 1902, Pittsburgh, Pa.—d. March 2, 1998, Amherst, Mass.), regarded the United States as the best example of a nation based on a system of rational law, in the form of the U.S. Constitution, which he held to be a perfect blueprint for a political system. Commager first gained attention in 1930 as coauthor, with the distinguished Harvard historian Samuel Eliot Morison, of The Growth of the American Republic, long a standard textbook, in which he first displayed his ability to record history in a clear, cogent narrative style. Among his many other books were The American Mind (1951), a meditation on what Commager perceived to be the American character, often considered his finest work; and The Empire of Reason (1977), in which he rejected economic determinism as an explanation of American history, arguing that through conscious, rational will the Founding Fathers brought into being a state based on the principles of the Enlightenment. On several occasions Commager's reverence for the Constitution led him to confront contemporary political issues. In 1947, at the beginning of the McCarthy era, Commager published an article in Harper's magazine attacking loyalty oaths as a violation of constitutional rights, and in 1966 he objected to the Vietnam War on the grounds that the congressional prerogative of waging war had been usurped. Commager's emphasis on reason led some to suggest that he overlooked the role of religion in American history; others criticized him for ignoring the history of women, blacks, Native Americans, workers, and other nonestablishment groups. Commager earned bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees in history from the University of Chicago, the last in 1928. He was a history professor at New York University (1929-38), Columbia University, New York City (1938-56), and Amherst (Mass.) College (1956-92); he also held short appointments at the University of Cambridge (twice in the 1940s) and the University of Oxford (1952). Commager was a member of the National Academy of Arts and Letters and was awarded its gold medal for history in 1972.

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