James Truslow Adams

James Truslow Adams , 1878-1949, American historian, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. The Founding of New England (1921), which brought him the Pulitzer Prize in history for 1922, was followed by Revolutionary New England, 1691-1776 (1923) and New England in the Republic, 1776-1850 (1926). Among the best of his many books are Provincial Society, 1690-1763 (Vol. III in the "History of American Life" series, 1927) and The Epic of America (1931), which was widely translated. The Adams Family (1930) and Henry Adams (1933) were books on the famous Massachusetts clan, to which he was not related. Adams spent much of his time in London as a representative of his publishers, Charles Scribner's Sons. He was editor in chief of Dictionary of American History (6 vol., 1940; rev. ed. 1942), Atlas of American History (1943), and Album of American History (4 vol., 1944-48), three valuable reference works. Some of his later writings reflect his obvious distaste for the New Deal.

Bibliography: See biography by A. Nevins (1968).

Adams, James Truslow (1878–1949), New York historian, educated at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and Yale, was in business in New York for 13 years before he devoted full time to historical writing. He won a Pulitzer Prize for The Founding of New England (1921), the first of a trilogy completed in Revolutionary New England (1923) and New England in the Republic (1926), reinterpreting the ideals and achievements of the Puritans and their descendants. Other books include Provincial Society, 1690–1763 (1927); The Epic of America (1931); The March of Democracy (2 vols., 1932–33); The American: The Making of a New Man (1943); Frontiers of American Culture (1944), on adult education; and Big Business in a Democracy (1945). He wrote two works on the Adams family of Massachusetts, although he is not related to them: The Adams Family (1930) and Henry Adams (1933). He was general editor of the Dictionary of American History (1940) and its companion works, Atlas of American History (1943) and Album of American History (6 vols., 1944–61). Building the British Empire (1938) and Empire on the Seven Seas (1940) reflect his interest in English history.