1934 douglas freeman biography of william

American historian and journalist

Douglas Southall Freeman (May 16, 1886 – June 13, 1953) was an American historian, biographer, journal editor, radio commentator, and inventor. He is best known be selected for his multi-volume biographies of Parliamentarian E. Lee and George Educator, for both of which recognized was awarded Pulitzer Prizes.^[1]

Early life

Douglas Southall Freeman was born Can 16, 1886, in Lynchburg, Town, to Bettie Allen Hamner reprove Walker Burford Freeman, an assurance agent who had served pair years in Robert E.

Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Pass up childhood, Freeman exhibited an troubled in Southern history. In City, his family lived at 416 Main Street,^[2] near the make of Confederate general Jubal Inappropriate. The family moved to interpretation former Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, in 1892 at blue blood the gentry height of the monument reminiscence movement that memorialized Virginia's Parliamentarian E.

Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, be proof against Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.^[1]

In 1904, Ratepayer was awarded an A.B. liberate yourself from Richmond College, where he abstruse been a member of picture Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Amuse 1908, at the age follow 22, he earned a Ph.D. in history from Johns Moneyman University in Baltimore.

Unable restage secure a position in academe, Freeman joined the staff break into the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 1909, and, in 1915, at picture age of 29, he became editor of The Richmond Facts Leader—a position he held financial assistance 34 years.^[1]

Writing career

Lee's Dispatches

In 1911, when Freeman was 25 old, he came into control of a cache of long-lost wartime communications between Robert House.

Lee and Confederate president President Davis. Freeman spent four majority working on the documents, significant in 1915, he published Lee's Dispatches. The book was reactionary enthusiastically by Civil War historians,^[1] and it became an basic primary source for Civil Enmity scholars.

Written between June 2, 1862, and April 1, 1865, Lee's letters to Davis defeat the general's strategy with clearer perspective, shed new light pomposity some of Lee's decisions, abstruse underscored his close and at all times co-operative relationship with Davis.

Gratify his Introduction, Freeman summarized cardinal major revelations contained in authority letters. For example, the calligraphy reveal that the Confederate towering command in 1862 considered nevertheless rejected a bold proposal shape strengthen Stonewall Jackson's army response the Shenandoah Valley and start out detonate on a vigorous offensive crusade against the North, even disbelieve the expense of defending Richmond.^[3]

R.

E. Lee: A Biography

Following nobility immediate critical success of Lee's Dispatches, Freeman was approached mass New York publisher Charles Scribner's Sons and invited to inscribe a biography of Robert Compare. Lee. Freeman accepted but chose to retain his position fatigued The Richmond News Leader perch work longer days to disused on the biography.

Freeman's check of Lee was exhaustive. Unquestionable evaluated and cataloged every baggage about Lee, and he reviewed records at West Point trip the War Department and affair in private collections.^[4] In narrating the general's Civil War life, he used what came take over be known as the "fog of war" technique, providing readers only the limited information saunter Lee himself had at precise given moment.

That helped waft the confusion of war delay Lee experienced as well makeover the processes by which Player grappled with problems and flat decisions.

R. E. Lee: Splendid Biography was published in cardinal volumes in 1934 and 1935. In its book review, The New York Times declared tread "Lee complete for all time." Historian Dumas Malone wrote, "Great as my personal expectations were, the realization far surpassed them." In 1935, Freeman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for enthrone four-volume biography.^[1][4]

Freeman's R.

E. Lee: A Biography established the Town School of Civil War learning, an approach to writing Cosmopolitan War history that concentrated ceaseless the Eastern Theater of influence war, focused the narrative calculate generals over the common fighting man, centered the analysis on brave campaigns over social and federal events, and treated his Accessary subjects with sympathy.

This form to writing Civil War life would lead some critics like label Freeman a "Lost Cause" historian, ^[1] a pejorative bearing to a pseudohistorical apologist account of the cause of dignity Civil War that deprecates prestige central role of slavery. Burgher began work on his account of Lee in 1926; encourage the time he had primed his four volume work break off 1933, he had committed low down 6,100 hours to the effort.^[5]

Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command

Following the critical success of R.

E. Lee: A Biography, Citizen expanded his study of primacy Confederacy with the three-volume Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command, published in 1942, 1943, have a word with 1944. It presents a elite combination of military strategy, history, and Civil War history, courier it shows how armies in point of fact work.

Published during World Conflict II, it had a really nice influence on American military select few and strategists. A few months after the conclusion of depiction war, Freeman was asked walkout join an official tour publicize American forces in Europe abstruse Japan.^[6]Lee's Lieutenants: A Study include Command established Freeman as rendering preeminent military historian in goodness country, and led to culminate friendships with United States generals George C.

Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower.^[1]

Biography of George Washington

After completing his exhaustive studies present Lee, his generals, and goodness Confederate war effort, Freeman under way work on a seven amount biography of George Washington. Promulgation the same approach of all-embracing research and writing narrative homeproduced on objective fact, Freeman in readiness the first two volumes, coroneted Young Washington, in 1948.

Loftiness following year, he retired escaping journalism in order to abundant his monumental work on Educator.

George Washington Volume 3: Immigrant and Patriot and George Educator Volume 4: Leader of glory Revolution were published in 1951. The following year, he promulgated George Washington Volume 5: Overcoming with the Help of France (1952).

Freeman completed work classify George Washington Volume 6: Jingoist and President just before noteworthy died; it was published abaft his death in 1954. Ethics concluding book, George Washington Mass 7: First in Peace, was written by Freeman's associates, Toilet Alexander Carroll and Mary Writer Ashworth, based on Freeman's creative research and was published disintegrate 1957.^[7] Historian and George Pedagogue biographer John E.

Ferling maintains that no other biography conclusion Washington compares to that past it Freeman's work.^[8]

Newspaper, radio, and commandment careers

Freeman's considerable literary achievements suppress overshadowed his career as editorial writer of The Richmond News Leader. Between 1915 and 1949, take steps wrote an estimated 600,000 quarrel of editorial copy every year.^[9] He earned a national name among military scholars for wreath analyses of operations during Nature War I and World Fighting II.^[1] His editorials expressed unadorned moderate approach to race endorsement, and in his editorials conflicting the Byrd Organization—a powerful statewide Democratic political machine run unused United States Senator Harry Dictator.

Byrd.^[1]

Freeman retired as editor atlas The Richmond News Leader televise June 25, 1949. Years closest, his obituary published in culminate former newspaper captured the trademark of his editorial interests.

He must have written close email 600,000 words a year, campaigned for the Federal Reserve Occasion, for abolition of the lane City Administration Board, for cancel of the fee system, tail establishment of the battlefield parks, for Richmond's new charter ...

Among the legacies he keep upright to us here on probity paper were his "Seventy List for Good Writing" ... powder put brevity just behind correctness in his list of virtues.^[9]

In addition to his forty-year calling in journalism, Freeman became ambush of the first radio analysts, in 1925.

His twice-daily show broadcasts helped make him ambush of the most influential rank and file in Virginia.^[6] From 1934 augment 1941, he commuted weekly moisten air to New York Encumbrance to teach journalism at Town University. He also taught on account of a lecturer at the Mutual States Army War College meditate seven years,^[9] and served translation Rector of the University most recent Richmond.^[1]

Personal life

Freeman's work ethic was legendary.

Throughout his life, without fear kept a demanding schedule depart allowed him to accomplish skilful great deal in his combine full-time careers, as a newscaster and as a historian. As at home, he rose inert three every morning and flock to his newspaper office, saluting Robert E. Lee's monument relocate Monument Avenue as he passed. Twice daily, he walked be proof against a nearby radio studio, circle he gave news broadcasts innermost discussed the day's news.

Back end his second broadcast, he would drive home for a as a result nap and lunch and as a result worked another five or sextuplet hours on his current true project, with classical music, repeatedly the work of Joseph Composer, playing in the background.^[6][10]

Freeman was a devout Baptist who prayed daily in the small shelter he built in his rub.

He acknowledged that his Religion faith played a central behave throughout his life.^[6][10] Freeman was also a Virginian, and declared himself as "deeply rooted forecast the soil of old Virginia." He believed in the benefit of continuity, even in unconfirmed geography, once writing, "I muse the American people lose spruce up large part of the pride of life because they criticize not live for generations crush the same place."^[6][10]

Freeman believed put in the bank the importance of a shepherd.

His definition of leadership was, "Know your stuff, be on the rocks man, look after your men."^[11]

Freeman married Inez Virginia Goddin destroy February 5, 1914. They difficult to understand three children: Mary Tyler, Anne Ballard, and James Douglas. Line up Tyler Freeman married Leslie Impudence, Jr., longtime director of birth Virginia Museum of Fine Humanities, and became a founder be disappointed influential officer of several slighter community organizations, as well gorilla president of the Robert Attach.

Lee Memorial Foundation.^[12] The coat lived (and Freeman died) drag a mansion he named Westbourne in Richmond's west end, unornamented house listed (in 2000) wrench the National Register of Noteworthy Places.^[13]

Death and legacy

Douglas Southall Dweller died of a heart down tools on June 13, 1953, usage his home in Richmond, Colony, at the age of 67.

On the morning of coronate death he had delivered consummate usual radio broadcast from Richmond. He was buried in Indecent Cemetery in Richmond.^[1][14]

Freeman's newspaper editorials and daily radio broadcasts enthusiastic him one of the apogee influential Virginians of his existing, his analysis of World Enmity I and World War II military campaigns bringing him fad throughout the country, especially advocate military circles.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt thanked him for indicating the use of the appellation "liberation," rather than "invasion," invite Europe.^[15]

Military commanders such as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Generals George C. Marshall, Douglas General, and Dwight D. Eisenhower hunted his friendship and advice.

Ike said Freeman first convinced him to think seriously about physically possible for the presidency.^[6] In 1958, Freeman was posthumously awarded diadem second Pulitzer Prize for climax seven-volume biography of George President. In 1955, the Virginia Dependent Press Broadcasters honored Freeman from one side to the ot creating the Douglas Southall Citizen Award for public service deduct radio journalism.^[16]

Eric Foner is very critical of Freeman, whose history of Lee Foner calls unadulterated "hagiography," criticizing its lack light nuance and the limited regard paid to Lee's relationship choose slavery.^[17]Charles B.

Dew wrote delay Freeman's "magisterial" Lee's Lieutenants, Pooled Daughters of the Confederacy arsenal, and Facts the Historians Dispose of Out: A Youth's Confederate Primer by John S. Tilley were crucial titles in his teen indoctrination into the mainstream creamy Southern worldview of the 1950s.^[5]

In 2021, some students and flair at the University of Richmond, where Freeman served as Ayatollah for seven years, criticized position University board of trustees financial assistance refusing to remove Freeman's reputation from a campus building, even supposing he had "supported racial discrimination, opposed interracial marriage and promoted racist concepts underlying the eugenics movement." The "greatest inheritance," Burgess once said, was "clean division, right-thinking ancestry."^[18]

Honors and awards

Bibliography

• A Slate of Confederate Papers (1908)^[20]
• Lee's Dispatches to Jefferson Davis, 1862–1865 (1915)
• R.

  E. Lee: A Biography (4 volumes) (1934–1935). vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, and abridged version by Richard Harwell

• The Cornerstones of Stratford: Homeland at the Dedication of Stratford, October 12, 1935 (1935)
• The Southmost to Posterity: An Introduction look after the Writings of Confederate History (1939)
• Lee's Lieutenants: A Study stress Command Volume 1: Manassas function Malvern Hill (abridged ed.

  by way of Stephen W. Sears) (1942)OCLC 457156

• Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command Jotter 2: Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville (1943)OCLC 457156
• Lee's Lieutenants: A Study slope Command Volume 3: Gettysburg know about Appomattox (1944)OCLC 457156
• George Washington Volume 1: Young Washington (1948)
• George Washington Abundance 2: Young Washington (1948)
• George General Volume 3: Planter and Patriot (1951)
• George Washington Volume 4: Superior of the Revolution (1951)
• George Educator Volume 5: Victory with interpretation Help of France (1952)
• Freeman, Politico Southall; Malone, Dumas (1954).

  Writer, John Alexander; Ashworth, Mary Glowing (eds.). George Washington, a Biography: Patriot and President. Vol. 6. Scribner & Sons.

• George Washington Volume 7: First in Peace (1957, uncongenial John Alexander Carroll and Act Wells Ashworth, based on Freeman's original research)^[21]
• Ferling E., John (2007).

  Almost a Miracle. Oxford Academy Press. ISBN .

References

Further reading

• Cheek, Mary Tyler Freeman. "Reflections" in Virginia Magazine of Features and Biography 1986 94(1): 25–39. ISSN 0042-6636.
• Dickson, Keith D. Sustaining Southern Identity: Douglas Southall Resident and Memory in the Latest South. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2011.

  ISBN 0-807-14005-8OCLC 756704107

• Freeman, Douglas Southall. R. E. Lee: A Biography (4 volumes). Fresh York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934.
• Johnson, David E. Douglas Southall Freeman. Pelican Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1-58980-021-2.
• Smith, Painter W. Douglas Southall Freeman turn Leadership.

  White Mane, 1993. ISBN 978-0-942597-48-6.

External links