Constance McLaughlin Green
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Constance Winsor Green ( McLaughlin; August 21, 1897, in
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
– December 5, 1975, in
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
), best known as Constance McLaughlin Green, was an American historian. She who won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' Washington, Village and Capital, 1800–1878'' (1962).


Biography

Green was born at
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
. Her father was historian Andrew C. McLaughlin. She completed a bachelor's degree at
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
in 1919 and a Master's degree at
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...
in history in 1925. After graduation, Green served as a part-time instructor at Mount Holyoke from 1925 to 1932. Going on to complete a PhD at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1937, her dissertation, a case history of
Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...
, represented one of the earliest academic works of urban history, and would subsequently be published by
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
upon receiving the university's Eggleston Award in History. In 1938, she became instructor in the history department of Smith College and head of the Smith College Council of Industrial Relations in 1939. After leaving Smith, Green accepted the position of historian at
Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. She became a consulting historian for the
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
in 1946, chief historian of the Army Ordnance Department in 1948, and historian at the research and development board, Office of the Secretary of Defense. In 1954, under a six-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Green became director of the Washington History Project, which was administrated by
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
. She married Donald Ross Green; they had three children, including daughter Lois Green Carr, who was also a historian. Green died on December 5, 1975, in Annapolis, Maryland, at her daughter's home.


Publications, prizes, and honorary degrees

Green wrote a number of books on the
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...
of the United States. Her works on this subject include ''American Cities in the Growth of the Nation'' (1957), ''The Rise of Urban America'' (1965), and ''The Secret City: A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital'' (1967). Her other works include ''History of Naugatuck, Connecticut'' (1948),
The Ordnance Department: Planning Munitions for War
' (1955), ''Eli Whitney and the Birth of American Technology'' (1956), ''Vanguard - A History'' (1970) co-authored with Milton Lomask for NASA, ''The Church on Lafayette Square: A History of St. Johns Church, Washington D.C., 1815–1970'' (1970) and ''Washington: A History of the Capital, 1800–1950'' (1976). In 1963 she won the Pulitzer Prize for History for '' Washington, Village and Capital, 1800–1878''. She also won the Eggleston Prize in History for ''Holyoke, Massachusetts: A Case History of the Industrial Revolution in America''. She received
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
s from Smith College and Pace College.


References


External links


Constance McLaughlin Green papers, Library of CongressGuide to the Constance M. Green Papers, undated, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Constance Mclaughlin 1897 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American historians Historians of the United States Mount Holyoke College alumni Smith College alumni Yale University alumni Pulitzer Prize for History winners American women historians Urban historians 20th-century American women writers People from Ann Arbor, Michigan Historians from Michigan