John Wesley Blassingame (March 23, 1940 – February 13, 2000) was an American historian and pioneer in the study of

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

. He was the former chairman of the African-American studies program at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. Blassingame was born on March 23, 1940, in Covington,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, to Grady and Odessa Blassingame. He received a bachelor's degree at Fort Valley State College (1960), a master's degree at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

(1961), and a master's degree (1968) and a doctorate (1971) at Yale University. His doctoral dissertation, written under the supervision of C. Vann Woodward, was titled ''A Social and Economic Study of the Negro in New Orleans, 1860–1880''. Blassingame joined the faculty at Yale University in 1970 and became a history professor in 1974. He remained at Yale University as a professor of history, African-American studies, and

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

for 29 years. Blassingame wrote and edited several books, including ''New Perspectives on Black Studies'' (1971), '' The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South'' (1972), ''Black New Orleans, 1860–1880'' (1973), and ''Frederick Douglass, the Clarion Voice'' (1976). In addition, Blassingame collected slave letters, interviews, and other materials in his ''Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies'' (1977), which include a large selection of annotated and authenticated accounts of slaves speaking for themselves during the slavery period of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

, Robert E. Lee, Henry Clay, and others. From 1979 to 1999, Blassingame worked on editing the papers of

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

and published six volumes of Douglass's papers and manuscripts. He also joined several writers in his work of editing and writing. He was a co-author with Mary F. Berry in ''Long Memory: The Black Experience in America'' (1982), and a co-editor with Louis Harlan in ''The Autobiographical Writings of Booker T. Washington'' (1972). Blassingame was a lifelong member of many history preservation, heritage, and educational organizations such as the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

, Southern History Association, the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, and the Phi Alpha Theta honor society. Blassingame died on February 13, 2000. According to his son, the cause of death was not known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blassingame, John Wesley 1940 births 2000 deaths 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Academics from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American historians Fort Valley State University alumni Historians of African Americans Historians of the Southern United States Howard University alumni People from Covington, Georgia Social historians Yale University alumni Yale University faculty 20th-century American male writers Historians from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American male writers