Carl Lotus Becker

Carl Lotus Becker was a prominent American historian, best known for his work on the American Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Becker's historical writings were heavily influenced by the ideas of Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Charles Beard. His work often explored the intersection of European history and American history, with a particular focus on the Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke. Becker's academic career was marked by his association with the University of Kansas and Cornell University, where he was a colleague of notable historians like Charles Howard McIlwain and Preserved Smith.

● Early Life and Education

Becker was born in Waterloo, Iowa, to a family of German Americans. He spent his early years in Wisconsin, where he developed an interest in history and philosophy, inspired by the works of Herbert Spencer and Thomas Henry Huxley. Becker pursued his higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he studied under the guidance of Frederick Jackson Turner and Charles Homer Haskins. He later earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a dissertation on the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its impact on the American Civil War. Becker's academic background was also influenced by his time at the University of Paris, where he studied alongside Émile Durkheim and Henri Bergson.

● Career

Becker began his academic career as a professor of history at the University of Kansas, where he taught courses on European history, American history, and historiography. He later joined the faculty at Cornell University, where he became a prominent figure in the history department. Becker's teaching style was influenced by the ideas of John Dewey and Thorstein Veblen, and he was known for his ability to engage students in discussions on philosophy of history and historical methodology. During his time at Cornell University, Becker was a colleague of notable historians like Carl Lotus Becker's contemporaries, including Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and Samuel Eliot Morison.

● Major Works

Becker's most notable works include The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers, which explored the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as René Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, and David Hume. He also wrote The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas, which examined the intellectual roots of the American Revolution and the influence of John Locke, Algernon Sidney, and Montesquieu on the Founding Fathers. Additionally, Becker published The History of Political Parties in the Province of New York, 1760-1776, which analyzed the role of political parties in the American colonies during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Becker's work was also influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Max Weber.

● Awards and Legacy

Becker received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of history, including the Pulitzer Prize for his book The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his services to the field of history. Becker's legacy extends beyond his own work, as he influenced a generation of historians, including C. Vann Woodward, Richard Hofstadter, and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.. His work continues to be studied by scholars of American history, European history, and historical philosophy, including those at the University of Oxford, Harvard University, and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.

● Historical Philosophy

Becker's historical philosophy was shaped by his interest in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He believed that historians should strive to understand the past in its own terms, rather than imposing modern categories and concepts on historical events. Becker's approach to history was influenced by the ideas of Ranke, Burckhardt, and Dilthey, and he was critical of the positivist approach to history, which he saw as overly simplistic and reductionist. Instead, Becker advocated for a more nuanced and contextual understanding of historical events, one that took into account the complexities of human experience and the role of ideas and values in shaping historical outcomes. Becker's historical philosophy continues to be studied by scholars of historical theory and philosophy of history, including those at the University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and the London School of Economics. Category:Historians