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Harold Melvin Hyman (July 24, 1924 – August 6, 2023) was an American historian of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and the
Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
and the William P. Hobby Professor of History at
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
. During
World War II 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 ...
, Hyman served in the Marines in the South Pacific and there earned his high school diploma. Hyman received a bachelor's degree from the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(1948) and an M.A. (1950) and Ph.D. (1952) from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.


Teaching

Hyman was an instructor in modern history at City College (1950–1952); assistant professor of history, Earlham College, 1952–1955; visiting assistant professor of American history, UCLA 1955–1956; associate professor of American history, Arizona State University, 1956–1957; professor of history, UCLA 1963–1968; William P. Hobby Professor of History, Rice University, 1968–2003.


Personal life and death

In 1946, Hyman married Ferne Handelsman, later chief reference librarian at Rice. The couple celebrated 65 years of marriage before her death in 2011. Harold Hyman died on August 6, 2023, at the age of 99.


Honors and awards

Hyman was a
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
Fellow, a Senior
Fulbright Lecturer The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
, an
Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...
Lecturer, and a judge for the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
and the Littleton-Griswold prize of 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, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...
. His ''Era of the Oath: Northern Loyalty Tests during the Civil War and Reconstruction'' (1954) won 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, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...
's
Beveridge Award The Albert J. Beveridge Award is awarded by the American Historical Association (AHA) for the best English-language book on American history (United States, Canada, or Latin America) from 1492 to the present. It was established on a biennial basis ...
.


Selected works

*''Era of the Oath: Northern Loyalty Tests during the Civil War and Reconstruction'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954, reprinted, Hippocrene Books, 1978). *''To Try Men's Souls: Loyalty Tests in American History,'' (University of California Press, 1959, reprinted, Greenwood Press, 1981)
online
*(With Benjamin P. Thomas) ''Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln's Secretary of War'' (Knopf, 1962, reprinted, Greenwood Press, 1980)
online
*''Soldiers and Spruce: The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen, the Army's Labor Union of World War I'' (University of California Press, 1963). *''A More Perfect Union: The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Constitution'' (Knopf, 1973)
online
*''Union and Confidence: The 1860s'' (Crowell, 1976), survey with emphasis on business histor
online
* ''With Malice toward Some: Scholarship (Or Something Less) on the Lincoln Murder'' (Abraham Lincoln Association, 1978
online
* ''Equal Justice Under Law: Constitutional Development, 1835-1875 (New American Nation Series) '' with William Wiecek *''Quiet Past and Stormy Present?: War Powers in American History'' (American History Association, 1986), pamphlet *''American Singularity: The 1787 Northwest Ordinance, the 1862 Homestead- Morrill Acts, and the 1944 G.I. Bill'' (University of Georgia Press, 1986)
online
*''The Reconstruction Justice of Salmon P. Chase: In Re Turner and Texas v. White'' (University Press of Kansas, 1997). * ''Oleander Odyssey: The Kempners of Galveston, Texas, 1854-1980s (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History)'' (Texas A & M University Press, 1990). * ''Craftsmanship and Character: A History of the Vinson & Elkins Law Firm of Houston, 1917-1997 (Studies in the Legal History of the South)'' (University of Georgia Press, 1998). Hyman was editor, contributor, or joint author: *''The Radical Republicans and Reconstruction Policy, 1861-1870'' (Bobbs- Merrill, 1966), primary sources *''New Frontiers of the American Reconstruction'' (University of Illinois Press, 1966), scholarly essays *(With Leonard W. Levy) ''Freedom and Reform: Essays in Honor of Henry Steele Commager'' (Harper, 1967). * (With H. C. Allen and others) ''Heard 'round the World: The Impact Abroad of the Civil War'' (Knopf, 1969). *(author of introduction) Carleton Parker, ''The Casual Laborer and Other Essays'' (new edition of 1919 original, University of Washington Press, 1972). *(author of introduction, with wife, Ferne Hyman) ''The Circuit Court Opinions of Salmon Portland Chase'' (new edition of 1875 original, Da Capo Press, 1972). * (author of introduction) ''Sidney George Fisher, The Trial of the Constitution'' (new edition of 1862 original, Da Capo Press, 1972). * (author of introduction) ''Edward McPherson, The Political History of the United States of America during the Great Rebellion, 1860-1865'' (new edition of 1865 original, Da Capo, 1972). * (With Hans L. Trefousse) McPherson, ''Handbook of Politics,'' six volumes, new edition of 1894 original, Da Capo, 1972–73. * (With Hans L. Trefousse) ''Lincoln's Decision for Emancipation'' (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1975) * (With Trefousse) McPherson, ''The Political History of the United States of America during the Period of Reconstruction,'' new edition of 1871 original, Da Capo, 1973. * (With Kermit L. Hall and Leon V. Sigal) ''The Constitutional Convention as an Amending Device,'' American Historical Association/American Political Science Association, 1981. * Editor, with Stuart Bruchey, of the "American Legal and Constitutional History Series," Garland Publishing, 1986–87. *Member of board of editors, Reviews in American History, 1964—, Ulysses S. Grant Association, 1968—, American Journal of Legal History, 1970—, and Journal of American History, 1970–74.


Evaluations

Bodenhamer (2012) says, "The best guide to the constitutional changes brought by the Civil War and Reconstruction is Harold Hyman, ''A More Perfect Union: The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Constitution'' (1973). Mayer (2001) says Hyman, "wrote the definitive work on loyalty tests throughout American history."Kenneth R. Mayer, ''With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power'' (2001) p 153


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyman, Harold 1924 births 2023 deaths Historians of the American Civil War University of California, Los Angeles alumni Columbia University alumni Rice University faculty 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Historians of the Reconstruction Era United States Marines American male non-fiction writers