{"product_id":"george-washington-williams-a-biography-9780822321644","title":"George Washington Williams: A Biography","description":"In \u003ci\u003eGeorge Washington Williams\u003c\/i\u003e, John Hope Franklin reconstructs the life of the controversial, self-made black intellectual who wrote the first history of African Americans in the United States. Awarded the Clarence L. Holte Literary Prize, this book traces Franklin's forty-year quest for Williams's story, a story largely lost to history until this volume was first published in 1985. The result, part biography and part social history, is a unique consideration of a pioneering historian by his most distinguished successor. \u003cbr\u003eWilliams, who lived from 1849 to 1891, had a remarkable career as soldier, minister, journalist, lawyer, politician, freelance diplomat, and African traveler, as well as a historian. While Franklin reveals the accomplishments of this neglected figure and emphasizes the racism that curtailed Williams's many talents, he also highlights the personal weaknesses that damaged Williams's relationships and career. Williams led the way in presenting African American history accurately through the use of oral history and archival research, sought to legitimize it as a field of historical study, and spoke out in support of an American Negro Historical Society and as a critic of European imperialism in Africa. He also became erratic and faithless to his family and creditors and died at the age of forty-one, destitute and alienated from family and friends. \u003ci\u003eGeorge Washington Williams\u003c\/i\u003e is nothing less than a classic biography of a brilliant though flawed individual whose \u003ci\u003eHistory of the Negro Race in America\u003c\/i\u003e remains a landmark in African American history and American intellectual history.\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Hope Franklin is James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University. His numerous publications include \u003ci\u003eThe Emancipation Proclamation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Militant South\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Free Negro in North Carolina\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eReconstruction After the Civil War\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eA Southern Odyssey: Travelers in the Ante-bellum North\u003c\/i\u003e. In 1997, his best-known book, \u003ci\u003eFrom Slavery to Freedom: A History of African-Americans, \u003c\/i\u003e celebrated its 30th anniversary. Recently, Franklin was named chairman of the advisory board for \u003ci\u003eOne America, President Clinton's Initiative on Race\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Duke University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51259847246098,"sku":"9780822321644","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_42553210-6995-46d8-9fe1-5030f934b03d.jpg?v=1746629189","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/george-washington-williams-a-biography-9780822321644","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}