Julius William Pratt (1888–1983) was a United States historian who specialized in foreign relations and imperialism. Noted for his studies on the origins of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and the war with Spain in 1898, he also wrote a two-volume biography of

Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevel ...

. He was the historian who rediscovered

John L. O'Sullivan John Louis O'Sullivan (November 15, 1813 – March 24, 1895) was an American columnist, editor, and diplomat who coined the term "manifest destiny" in 1845 to promote the annexation of Texas and the Oregon Country to the United States. O'Sulli ...

and his role in originating the idea of

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...

Biography

The frontier and colonial nature of Pratt's family background is noteworthy. Pratt was the son of William McLain Pratt and Sophie Rand. Originally from

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

, William had fought in the Civil War and married Sophie in 1869. Following the death of his father, Julius, William and Sophie moved from Connecticut to Blue Earth County, Minnesota, near

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

in the Minnesota River Valley, in 1870, to work in the lumber industry. Economic conditions forced William to move to South Dakota while the family remained in Minnesota, but in 1886 Sophie and daughter Alice (two others had perished in Minnesota) moved to Little Elk Canyon, from Deadwood, South Dakota and from

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek (South Dakota), Rapid Creek, where the settlement deve ...

. In 1888, Julius W. was born. In 1900 the family moved to the Blue Ridge region of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Pratt's older sister

Alice Day Jacqueline Alice Irene Newlin (November 7, 1906 – May 25, 1995), professionally known as Alice Day, was an American film actress who began her career as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties. Early years Day was born in Colorado Springs, Colo ...

acquired her own reputation as a writer, teacher, and homesteader in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He attended

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

and graduated in 1908."Historian Will Join Faculty at Colleges," ''The Geneva Times'' January 11, 1960, page 3. Pratt would go on to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

for graduate work, where he studied under the direction of William E. Dodd. He received his Ph.D. in 1924. Pratt taught English at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

from 1919 to 1924, before moving to Rutgers University for two years. In 1926 he left Rutgers for the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, where he was the inaugural Emanuel Boasberg Professor of History.

Richard Hofstadter Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916October 24, 1970) was an American historian and public intellectual of the mid-20th century. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier historic ...

, who was an undergraduate there, identified Pratt as his most important teacher at Buffalo. Pratt delivered the

Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History The Albert Shaw Lectures on Diplomatic History are annual lectures delivered at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The lectures were named after the benefactor, Albert Shaw of New York City who had received his Ph.D from Johns Hopk ...

in 1936, later published as ''The Expansionists of 1898: The Acquisition of Hawaii and the Spanish Islands.'' In the period 1938–39, Pratt was one of the "Committee of Ten on Reorganization and Policy" charged by 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 ...

with reviewing the organization and recommending improvements. Pratt remained at Buffalo for the remainder of his entire career. He retired in 1959 as Dean Emeritus of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University at Buffalo. The following year, he taught as a visiting professor at Hobart and William Smith colleges. He died in 1983.

Publications

*"Machinery in Sixteenth-Century English Industry," ''Journal of Political Economy'' 22:8 (October 1914): 775–790. *''Expansionists of 1812'' (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1925) *''Expansionists of 1898: The Acquisition of Hawaii and the Spanish Islands'' (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936) *''A History of United States Foreign Policy'' (New York: Prentice-Hall, 1955) *''Cordell Hull, 1933–1944'' In Two Volumes (New York: Cooper Square, 1964)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Julius W. 1888 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Davidson College alumni Historians of American foreign relations People from South Dakota University at Buffalo faculty American male non-fiction writers