Douglass Adair
Encyclopedia
Douglass Greybill Adair was an American
historian
who specialized in intellectual history
. He is best known for his work in researching the authorship of disputed numbers of the Federalist Papers
, and his influential studies in the history and influence of republicanism
in the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries -- the era of the Enlightenment
. His most famous essay Fame and the Founding Fathers introduced the pursuit of fame as a new method for understanding the actions for the Framers.
, but grew up in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama. He attended the University of the South, where he received his B.A. in English literature; he later earned his M.A. degree at Harvard University
, and his Ph.D. degree at Yale University
; he was awarded his doctorate in 1943 for his dissertation, "The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy: Republicanism, the Class Struggle, and the Virtuous Farmer." This dissertation rejected the economic determinism
associated with the highly-influential historical work of Charles A. Beard
; indeed, the dissertation's title responded directly to the title of Beard's 1915 book, The Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy. Adair insisted that historical actors such as James Madison
, John Adams
, Thomas Jefferson
, and Alexander Hamilton
were guided by their education and creative interaction with ideas derived from the evolving Atlantic intellectual tradition. These ideas -- particularly the cluster of ideas, assumptions, habits of thought, and interpretative principles known as republicanism
-- played a crucial role in the early development of the United States. Though the dissertation remained unpublished for decades, the list of those who borrowed it from Yale's library is described as a "who's who in early American history."
, the College of William and Mary
, and the Claremont Graduate School. From 1944 through 1955, Adair was the leading spirit in the launching, editing, and publication of the third series of the William and Mary Quarterly
, which soon became the leading journal in the field of early American history. Adair contributed many influential articles to the Quarterly, including his classic two-part essay, "The Authorship of the Disputed Federalist Papers," and "The Tenth Federalist Revisited." He also wrote many book reviews, showing his mastery of the craft of reviewing and setting a standard for the field.
.
For an array of reasons, including depression
associated with his inability to produce a full-length scholarly monograph in his field, Adair committed suicide
in 1968.
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...
who specialized in intellectual history
Intellectual history
Note: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
. He is best known for his work in researching the authorship of disputed numbers of the Federalist Papers
Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788...
, and his influential studies in the history and influence of republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
in the United States during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries -- the era of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. His most famous essay Fame and the Founding Fathers introduced the pursuit of fame as a new method for understanding the actions for the Framers.
Early life and education
Adair was born in 1912 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but grew up in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama. He attended the University of the South, where he received his B.A. in English literature; he later earned his M.A. degree at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and his Ph.D. degree at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
; he was awarded his doctorate in 1943 for his dissertation, "The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy: Republicanism, the Class Struggle, and the Virtuous Farmer." This dissertation rejected the economic determinism
Economic determinism
Economic determinism is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is usually associated with the theories of Karl Marx, although many Marxist thinkers have dismissed plain and unilateral economic determinism as a form of...
associated with the highly-influential historical work of Charles A. Beard
Charles A. Beard
Charles Austin Beard was, with Frederick Jackson Turner, one of the most influential American historians of the first half of the 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science...
; indeed, the dissertation's title responded directly to the title of Beard's 1915 book, The Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy. Adair insisted that historical actors such as James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
, John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, and Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
were guided by their education and creative interaction with ideas derived from the evolving Atlantic intellectual tradition. These ideas -- particularly the cluster of ideas, assumptions, habits of thought, and interpretative principles known as republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
-- played a crucial role in the early development of the United States. Though the dissertation remained unpublished for decades, the list of those who borrowed it from Yale's library is described as a "who's who in early American history."
Career
Adair taught at Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
, and the Claremont Graduate School. From 1944 through 1955, Adair was the leading spirit in the launching, editing, and publication of the third series of the William and Mary Quarterly
William and Mary Quarterly
The William and Mary Quarterly is a quarterly history journal published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. It covers the history of colonial North America and the "Atlantic world" from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth centuries, including the Caribbean, West...
, which soon became the leading journal in the field of early American history. Adair contributed many influential articles to the Quarterly, including his classic two-part essay, "The Authorship of the Disputed Federalist Papers," and "The Tenth Federalist Revisited." He also wrote many book reviews, showing his mastery of the craft of reviewing and setting a standard for the field.
Marriage and family
Adair married the poet Virginia HamiltonVirginia Hamilton Adair
Virginia Hamilton Adair was an American poet who became famous later in life with the 1996 publication of Ants on the Melon.-Background:...
.
For an array of reasons, including depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
associated with his inability to produce a full-length scholarly monograph in his field, Adair committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in 1968.
Legacy and honors
- In 1974, his friends prepared a volume collecting his essays, Fame and the Founding Fathers, which W. W. NortonW. W. NortonW. W. Norton & Company is an independent American book publishing company based in New York City. It is well known for its "Norton Anthologies", particularly the Norton Anthology of English Literature and the "Norton Critical Editions" series of texts which are frequently assigned in university...
published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, with which Adair had been associated for so long. A trio of distinguished specialists in intellectual historyIntellectual historyNote: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
framed the essays collected in that volume -- the volume's editor, the historian Trevor Colbourn, wrote the introduction; Caroline Robbins, a leading historian of ideas, contributed a warm and illuminating personal memoir of her friendship and intellectual collaboration with Adair; and Robert Shalhope presented a thoughtful and nuanced essay situating Adair in the historiography of the Revolution and the early Republic, with special reference to republicanismRepublicanismRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
and what historians already had come to call the "republican synthesis." This volume was reprinted in 1998 by Liberty Fund and remains in print today. - In 2000, his dissertation was finally published as The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy: Republicanism, the Class Struggle, and the Virtuous Farmer, edited by Mark E. Yellin with a foreword by Joyce O. ApplebyJoyce ApplebyJoyce Oldham Appleby is an American historian. She is Professor Emerita of History at University of California, Los Angeles Joyce Oldham Appleby (born April 9, 1929) is an American historian. She is Professor Emerita of History at University of California, Los Angeles Joyce Oldham Appleby (born...
.