James G. Randall
Encyclopedia
James G. Randall was an American historian, specializing on Abraham Lincoln
and the era of the American Civil War
. He taught at the University of Illinois, (1920–1950), where David Herbert Donald
was one of his students and continued his traditions. Born in Indiana, he took a B.A. degree from Butler College
(1903), and a Ph.D.
in history at the University of Chicago
(1912). Randall was known for his systematic, scientific methodology based on thorough study of primary sources, his mastery of constitutional issues, and his neutrality regarding North and South. His multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln remains a major resource for scholars. He was president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association 1939-1940. His wife Ruth P. Randall wrote Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (1953). His The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937) was for many years the most important history of the era.
Randall, a devout Methodist who was horrified by the carnage of World War I
, believed the Civil War was a terrible mistake, caused by the failure of the political system to find a compromise. It was a "needless war," an interpretation that won widespread assent before World War II
. Along with Avery Craven
, Randall, watching the rise of fascism
in Europe, concluded the American Civil War
did not emerge out of the conflicting material interests of economic classes (as Charles A. Beard
said). Instead Randall believed it was brought about by fanatics, like the abolitionists in the North and the fire-eaters in the South, who, with very little material at stake, raced each other into war.
Randall argued in Civil War and Reconstruction that the war "could have been avoided, supposing of course that something more of statesmanship, moderation, and understanding, and something less of professional patrioteering, slogan-making, face-saving, political clamoring, and propaganda, had existed on both sides." But such had not been the case. In Randall's view, extremists in both sections emerged as villains, the abolitionist radicals worst of all. "Reforming zeal, in those individual leaders in whom it became most vociferous and vocal, was often unrelieved by wisdom, toleration, tact, and the sense of human values.... It was a major cause of the conflict itself." That is, minority elements inflamed sectional passions to a point where compromise, which might have been brought about by sensible and responsible men , became impossible.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and the era of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He taught at the University of Illinois, (1920–1950), where David Herbert Donald
David Herbert Donald
- Career :Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his PhD in 1946 under the eminent, leading Lincoln scholar, James G. Randall at the University of Illinois...
was one of his students and continued his traditions. Born in Indiana, he took a B.A. degree from Butler College
Butler College
Butler College is one of the six residential colleges of Princeton University, founded in 1983. It houses about 500 freshmen and sophomores, 100 juniors and seniors, 10 Resident Graduate Students, a faculty member in residence, as well as a small number of upperclass Residential College Advisors. ...
(1903), and a Ph.D.
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in history at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1912). Randall was known for his systematic, scientific methodology based on thorough study of primary sources, his mastery of constitutional issues, and his neutrality regarding North and South. His multi-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln remains a major resource for scholars. He was president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association 1939-1940. His wife Ruth P. Randall wrote Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage (1953). His The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937) was for many years the most important history of the era.
Randall, a devout Methodist who was horrified by the carnage of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, believed the Civil War was a terrible mistake, caused by the failure of the political system to find a compromise. It was a "needless war," an interpretation that won widespread assent before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Along with Avery Craven
Avery Craven
Avery Odelle Craven was a historian who specialized in the study of the nineteenth-century United States and the American Civil War....
, Randall, watching the rise of fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in Europe, concluded the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
did not emerge out of the conflicting material interests of economic classes (as 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...
said). Instead Randall believed it was brought about by fanatics, like the abolitionists in the North and the fire-eaters in the South, who, with very little material at stake, raced each other into war.
Randall argued in Civil War and Reconstruction that the war "could have been avoided, supposing of course that something more of statesmanship, moderation, and understanding, and something less of professional patrioteering, slogan-making, face-saving, political clamoring, and propaganda, had existed on both sides." But such had not been the case. In Randall's view, extremists in both sections emerged as villains, the abolitionist radicals worst of all. "Reforming zeal, in those individual leaders in whom it became most vociferous and vocal, was often unrelieved by wisdom, toleration, tact, and the sense of human values.... It was a major cause of the conflict itself." That is, minority elements inflamed sectional passions to a point where compromise, which might have been brought about by sensible and responsible men , became impossible.
Books
- James G. Randall. Lincoln the President (4 vol., 1945–55; reprint 2000); Mr. Lincoln excerpts ed. by Richard N. Current (1957)
- Randall, James G. Lincoln the Liberal Statesman (1947).
- Randall, James G. The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937) classic textbook (revised by David Donald, 1961).
- Randall, James G. Constitutional Problems under Lincoln (1926)
About Randall
- Thomas J. Pressly, Americans Interpret Their Civil War (1954; 1962)
- Young, James Harvey. "Randall's Lincoln: an Academic Scholar's Biography." Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 1998 19(2): 1-13. ISSN 0898-4212 Fulltext online at History Cooperative