James Truslow Adams
James Truslow Adams was an American historian and author, best known for his works on New England's history. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1878, he received an education at Brooklyn Polytechnic and briefly attended Yale University. Adams initially worked in the business sector, achieving financial success by the age of thirty-four, which allowed him to retire and pursue his passion for history. His significant contributions include a three-volume history of New England, with the first volume, *The Founding of New England*, earning him the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1922.
Adams's approach to history was marked by a revisionist perspective, challenging the prevailing narratives of his time. In addition to his historical writings, he contributed extensively to various publications and wrote several successful books, including *The Epic of America*, which gained international recognition. Despite achieving commercial success, his later works became increasingly viewed as popular rather than scholarly. Adams’s career spanned several decades, during which he transitioned from a businessman to a prominent literary figure and critic of contemporary policies. He passed away in Connecticut in 1949, leaving behind a legacy as a significant figure in American historiography.
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James Truslow Adams
Historian
- Born: October 18, 1878
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Died: May 18, 1949
- Place of death: Westport, Connecticut
Biography
James Adams was born in Brooklyn, New York, to William Newton, a Wall Street broker, and Elizabeth Truslow Adams. James was educated in Brooklyn, attending Brooklyn Polytechnic for high school and graduating from the same institution with a B.A. in 1898. He attended Yale University for only a few months, nonetheless receiving a master of arts degree by merely applying in 1900. From 1900 to 1907, Adams worked as a secretary for the Jamestown and Chataugua Railroad, and partnered in the Wall Street firm of Henderson, Lindley from 1907 to 1913. At age thirty-four, he retired from business, having made a fortune of $100,000, and built a house at Bridgehampton, Long Island. He became fascinated with the area’s history, and in 1916 and 1918, turned out acclaimed local historical studies of Bridgehampton and nearby Southampton. During the latter stages of the World War I, Adams worked for military intelligence, rising to the rank of captain, and served as a cartographer for the American Geographical Society.
Between 1921 and 1926, Adams produced a thorough three-volume history of New England. Volumes one and two were very well received, and the first, The Founding of New England, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1922. The third received less critical acclaim and popular acceptance. All three were meant to serve as objective revisionist treatments, though he merely embedded biases that ran counter to the typical works of the period that praised the forefathers. In 1927, Adams published Provincial Society, 1690-1763, volume three in MacMillan’s History of American Life series, and reached the zenith of his critical acceptance (though earning a paltry $1,000). In the same year, he married Kathryn M. Seely, which necessitated a higher income than his publishing had so far provided. From 1927 to 1929, Adams wrote ninety-eight sketches of colonial figures and nineteenth century historians as a contributor to the Dictionary of American Biography, a task that paid well, though he felt it beneath him. In 1929, the couple moved to London after honeymooning there, and during the next six years, Adams pumped out over fifty magazine and journal articles and six books. The Adams Family (1930) became a Literary Guild choice and netted him $30,000; The Epic of America was picked up by Book of the Month Club, sold 500,000 copies, was translated into a dozen languages and made him $80,000. In 1932, the publisher Charles Scribner put him on retainer as a consultant for $5,000 per year.
Adams and his wife returned to live in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1936. He spent much time criticizing Roosevelt’s New Deal and working as an editor on large and multivolume reference works on American history. His America’s Tragedy, a study of the Civil War, was well reviewed, but by then he had evolved into a popularizer rather than a serious historian. Adams came to writing rather late in life and peaked in the mid- 1920’s with volumes that were commercial successes for the publisher and made his reputation. His later efforts were often patently commercial and suffered as a result. He died in Connecticut in 1949.