Mary Beth Norton (born 1943) is an American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
, specializing in American colonial history and well known for her work on women's history and the
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
. She is the
Mary Donlon Alger Professor Emeritus of
American History
The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...
at the
Department of History at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
.
[Norton, Mary Beth, et al. "The Authors: Mary Beth Norton." ''A People & A Nation, Volume Two: Since 1865'' (6th ed.) p. xxiii.] Norton served as president 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 ...
in 2018. She is a recipient of the Ambassador Book Award in American Studies for ''In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692''. Norton received her Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) at the
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
(1964). The next year she completed a Master of Arts (M. A.), going on to receive her Ph.D. in 1969 at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. She identifies as a
Democrat and she considers herself a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
. Mary Beth Norton is a pioneer of women historians not only in the United States but also in the whole world. She was the first woman to join the department of history at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
.
Biography
Mary Beth Norton was born on March 25, 1943, in Ann Arbor,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. Her father, Clark Frederic Norton, was a political science professor, a legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, and an employee of the Congressional Research Service. Her mother, Mary Norton (her maiden name was Lunny), was also a professor. Her parents played a special role when encouraging her to study, as both of them were professors. In 1948, they left Ann Arbor and moved to Greencastle, a city in
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
where both parents taught at
DePauw University
DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...
. Her father was a political science professor, and her mother taught Latin. She and her family were very tied to the academic year and to DePauw University.
As a child, Norton was very interested in reading. At a very young age, she began reading the adult section books at the Greencastle public library, having read all the ones in the children's section. This is one reason she took her first after-school job at the DePauw University library, making sure all the books were correctly organized. During her high school years, Norton felt she did not fit with the rest of her classmates, as she was the only student interested in books and history. When she reached college, at the University of Michigan, she met many other people with the same interests and got involved in national and campus politics.
In 1960, she campaigned for
John F. Kennedy with the youth wing of the
Democratic Party. She was part of the student group that welcomed Kennedy on a visit to Michigan, where he first came up with the idea of the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
. Thanks to the students' support in Ann Arbor, Kennedy decided to make the Peace Corps one of his priorities during his campaign for the U.S. presidency.
During her years at the University of Michigan, she held a seat on the Michigan Student Government Council, went to many congresses of the
National Student Association (NSA) as a delegate, where she took part actively in the politics around the civil rights movement. The first time she experienced sex discrimination for being a woman was during her participation in the NSA, where male members would not allow her or other women to take leadership roles.
When applying for the
Woodrow Wilson fellowship for graduate school, she was told by the professor at Michigan responsible for the applications that girls did not have many chances to obtain that fellowship. However, she decided to apply both to the Wilson and the
Fulbright
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 ...
fellowships (the only two offered to women at that time) in the face of sex discrimination. She obtained the Wilson fellowship, which brought a year of study in addition to the four years offered her by Harvard. She did much of her Ph.D. research in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
and in 1970 her work won the Allan Nevins prize from the
Society of American Historians for the best-written dissertation. Two years later, it was published as ''The British-Americans: The Loyalist Exiles in England, 1774-1789'' by
Little, Brown and Company
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...
.
Subsequently, she was offered a job at the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
as an assistant professor of history, a turning point in her career. She spent two years there and got to know Tom Paterson, with whom she would later coauthor a new U.S. history textbook,
the two-volume ''A People & A Nation'', currently in its 11th edition. After learning of the Nevins prize, and reading Norton ́s Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University (
New York) offered her a job as an assistant professor of history, becoming the first woman in Cornell ́s history department.
In 1973 she took part in the first
Berkshire Conference on the History of Women. Now called the Conference on Women, Gender, and Sexuality, it meets every three years and reaches more than 1000 participants from all over the world, including Mary Beth Norton in every single meeting. At the 6th conference in 1984, Norton co-chaired the event committee and published alongside her cochair the book ''“To Toil the Livelong Day:” American Women at Work, 1780-1980'', containing 17 of the best papers from the conference.
In 1974 she was promoted to associate professor of American history. In 1987 she became the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History. She continued teaching, managing her academic writings, and serving on the faculty senate, having been chosen by election twice to the
Board of Trustees
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
, until her retirement at the end of 2018.
Cornell was the place where Norton started to develop her interest in women's history. During her first year there, she took part in converting the small female studies program, of which graduate students had been in charge, into one of the most successful in the United States. She also started to research about women in United States history, and returned to England to research the gender question in
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
claims, which she wrote about in her first article on women's history. It was published in 1976 in the
William and Mary Quarterly
The ''William and Mary Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed history journal published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. The journal originated in 1892, making it one of the oldest academic journals in the Un ...
, a leading journal of American history and culture, and was the inspiration for ''Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800'', her second book. The book won extremely positive reviews, including the ones written by
Lawrence Stone, from the
New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
, and by
Gerda Lerner, from the
Washington Post Book World,
who said "Norton's thoroughly researched evidence ... makes a valuable addition to our knowledge of the lives, thoughts and activities of women in the revolutionary era."
In 1985 the
International Federation for Research in Women's History, whose current members come from more than 20 countries, was founded by Norton, along with Karen Offen and Ida Blom.
She also served as the general editor of the
AHA Guide to Historical Literature in 1995.
Her book ''Founding Mothers & Fathers: Gendered Power and the Forming of American Society'' explains the gender and power differences in the 17th century in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
and the
Chesapeake and the deep analysis displayed in this book won her in 1997 a finalist place 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 ...
in History.
Norton appears in a variety of history programs and documentaries about colonial times, including ''Salem Witch Trials'' in the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
's ''
Unsolved History'' series in 2003 and in ''Witch Hunt'' on the
History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
in 2004. She was interviewed in 2008 for the PBS Series ''History Detectives'', on Season 6, Episode 7, "Front Street Blockhouse.". She appeared in ''Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence'' in 2011 for the
Essex National Heritage Commission and the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
She made an appearance in the very first episode of the American version of
Who Do You Think You Are?, helping
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...
trace her
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
ancestry, which involved the
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
. She also appeared, with historian
Margo Burns, in Season 8 (2016) of the
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
genealogy show, speaking with actor
Scott Foley about his ancestor,
Samuel Wardwell, who was executed for
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
during the
trials in 1692.
Memberships and Positions in Organizations
Norton has served on the
National Council on the Humanities, as president of the
Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, and as vice president for research 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 ...
.
She also served as the general editor of the ''AHA Guide to Historical Literature'' in 1995.
Norton was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1999. She was also elected Speaker of the third Cornell University Senate. Norton has won
grants
Grant or Grants may refer to:
People
* Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters
** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...
and
fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
ships from the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
, the
Guggenheim Foundation, and the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
.
Norton was elected as president-elect 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 ...
in summer 2016. She served as president-elect during calendar 2017 and as president in 2018.
She has also been a member of the
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 ...
, the
Society of American Historians, the
American Antiquarian Society, the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, the
Conference Group on Women's History, the Coordinating Committee of Women in the Historical Profession, the
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
, the
Mortar Board and the
Phi Kappa Phi.
Norton was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society in 2010.
Works
*
*''The British-Americans: The Loyalist Exiles in England, 1774-1789'', Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1972.
*(Editor, with Carol Berkin) ''Women of America: A History'', Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1979.
*(Coauthor) ''A People and a Nation: A History of the United States'', Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1982, 6th revised edition, 2001, 6th brief edition, 2003.
*(Editor, with Carol Groneman) ''"To Toil the Livelong Day": America's Women at Work, 1780-1980'', Cornell University Press (Ithaca, NY), 1987.
*(Editor, with Ruth M. Alexander) ''Major Problems in American Women's History: Documents and Essays'', D. C. Heath (Lexington, MA), 1989, 3rd revised edition, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2003.
*(Editor, with Pamela Gerardi) ''The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature'', 3rd revised edition, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1995.
*
*
*
* ''1774: The Long Year of Revolution'' (2020
online reviewby
Gordon S. Wood
Contributor to ''Women in the Age of the American Revolution'', edited by Ronald Hoffman and
Peter Albert, 1989; ''The Transformation of Early American History'', edited by
James Henretta, and others, 1991; and ''Learning History in America'', edited by Lloyd Kramer, and others, 1994. Also contributor to
History Today
''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...
,
William and Mary Quarterly
The ''William and Mary Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed history journal published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. The journal originated in 1892, making it one of the oldest academic journals in the Un ...
, Signs, and many other journals.
Awards and honors
*Woodrow Wilson fellowship, 1964–65
*Allan Nevins Prize of Society of American Historians for best doctoral dissertation in American history, 1969
*National Endowment for the Humanities Younger Humanists fellowship, 1974–75
*Charles Warren Center fellowship,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, 1974–75
*Shelby Cullom Davic Center fellowship, Princeton University, 1977–78
*Berkshire prize for Best Book, Woman Historian for Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750–1800, 1980
*Rockefeller Foundation fellow, 1986–87
*Society for Humanities fellow,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, 1989–90
*John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellow, 1993-94
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Mary Beth
1943 births
Living people
Cornell University Department of History faculty
University of Michigan alumni
Harvard University alumni
Historians of the American Revolution
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American women historians
Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Historians from Michigan
Women's historians