Adams, James Truslow, 1878-1949

Mormon missionary.

James Truslow Adams was successful businessman who became a celebrated historian, writing chiefly about the history of early New England.

In 1912, having worked for twelve years as a businessman in a New York brokerage house, Adams moved to Bridgehampton, L.I., and began writing. His first books--"Memorials of Old Bridgehampton" (1916) and "History of the Town of Southampton" (1918)--established him as a credible historian. During World War I he was appointed the Paris Peace Conference as part of the American delegation.

After the war Adams began researching and writing on the history of New England, which resulted in his epic three-volume series comprising "The Founding of New England", which was published in 1921, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1922; "Revolutionary New England", 1691-1776, which was published in 1923 and became a bestseller; and "New England in the Republic, 1776-1850", which was published in 1926.

Adams wrote biographical sketches of famous historians for the "Dictionary of American Biography". In 1929 Adams moved to London and began working for magazines. While in London he published two collections of essays: "Our Business Civilization: Some Aspects of American Culture" and "The Tempo of Modern Life", as well as his history of the Adams family, "The Adams Family", was a financial success.

In his "The Epic of America", published in 1933, Adams attempted to address the historic development and philosophic vision of America. It was in this book that Adams coined the term "The American Dream" which he defined as, "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

In due course, Adams gave up writing in favor of editing, working on such titles as the "Dictionary of American History", the "Atlas of American History", and the "Album of American History". In 1968, Allan Nevins published his biography of Adams: "James Truslow Adams: Historian of the American Dream".

Biographical Note: James Truslow Adams, historian and writer, was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1878. After a brief business career, he devoted himself to study and writing.

He wrote several volumes on American history and was a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Dictionary of American Biography. Adams died in 1949.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED James Truslow Adams was successful businessman who became a celebrated historian, writing chiefly about the history of early New England.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED In 1912, having worked for twelve years as a businessman in a New York brokerage house, Adams moved to Bridgehampton, L.I., and began writing. His first books--"Memorials of Old Bridgehampton" (1916) and "History of the Town of Southampton" (1918)--established him as a credible historian. During World War I he was appointed the Paris Peace Conference as part of the American delegation.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED After the war Adams began researching and writing on the history of New England, which resulted in his epic three-volume series comprising "The Founding of New England", which was published in 1921, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1922; "Revolutionary New England", 1691-1776, which was published in 1923 and became a bestseller; and "New England in the Republic, 1776-1850", which was published in 1926.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED Adams wrote biographical sketches of famous historians for the "Dictionary of American Biography". In 1929 Adams moved to London and began working for magazines. While in London he published two collections of essays: "Our Business Civilization: Some Aspects of American Culture" and "The Tempo of Modern Life", as well as his history of the Adams family, "The Adams Family", was a financial success.

BIOGHIST REQUIRED In his "The Epic of America", published in 1933, Adams attempted to address the historic development and philosophic vision of America. It was in this book that Adams coined the term "The American Dream" which he defined as, "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

BIOGHIST REQUIRED In due course, Adams gave up writing in favor of editing, working on such titles as the "Dictionary of American History", the "Atlas of American History", and the "Album of American History". In 1968, Allan Nevins published his biography of Adams: "James Truslow Adams: Historian of the American Dream".