Background
Roy Franklin Nichols was born on March 3, 1896 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. He was the son of Franklin C. Nichols, a retailer in the hat business, and Anna Cairns.
(Excerpt from Religion and American Democracy In View of ...)
Excerpt from Religion and American Democracy In View of the prevailing controversies and rivalries in the world it is appropriate to attempt a definition of the relationship between religion and American democracy. Such a definition is here presented as nearly as possible in the words used by the leaders and formulators of the ideas and by the generations of citizens of the United States whose thoughts and actions have been controlled by them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Franklin Pierce - - the fourteenth President of the Unite...)
Franklin Pierce - - the fourteenth President of the United Sates - - has existed in the public mind as a stereotype rather than as a many-sided human being. The predominate picture that we have of him is that of a weak and shallow man, a "mediocrity" who left little imprint upon the history of the United States. This stereotype, however, is grossly misleading, for Franklin Pierce was not a simple man. Indeed, his personality was complex, made up of varying strengths and conflicting inadequacies, while his life, full of inner turmoil, had an aspect of overwhelming tragedy. This authoritative biography makes available a full-scale study of an unusually interesting human being. With the same thoroughness and intensity that have distinguished all if his historical writing, Roy F. Nichols follows Pierce's life from his earliest years in New Hampshire, though his college career at Bowdoin, his marriage into the distinguished ranks of an established New England family, his rise in politics, his services as a brigadier general of volunteers in the Mexican War, and his election to the Presidency as a "dark Horse" candidate of the Democratic Party. Mr. Nichols minutely examines all the domestic and international crises that beset Pierce's administration - - the growing conflict between North and South that was to erupt within a decade into civil war, the abortive attempt to annex Cuba, the troubled relations with England, the filibustering activities of such men as William Walker which aroused much resentment in Central America toward the United States. Not only does the author refashion the exciting events of these critical days in American history, but he also unfolds, with sympathy and compassion, the tragic developments that dogged Pierce in his personal life -- his difficult marriage, his wife's illness, the death of three sons, the final bleak years of obscurity before he passed away, almost forgotten by the nation he had served.
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(An historical account of how and why the machinery of Ame...)
An historical account of how and why the machinery of American Democracy, despite its expert design and specifications, broke down a century ago and made necessary some new blueprints. Atheneum, 1963. 331 pages. Hardcover. First Edition.
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Roy Franklin Nichols was born on March 3, 1896 in Newark, New Jersey, United States. He was the son of Franklin C. Nichols, a retailer in the hat business, and Anna Cairns.
Nichols attended Barringer High School in Newark where he developed a youthful interest in history. Graduating in January 1914, Nichols remained in high school for a postgraduate term taking courses in history. He entered Rutgers University in September 1914; with plans to pursue a career teaching history, he studied both English and American history. His senior thesis was entitled "Personal Influence in United States Politics. " After graduating in May 1918, he continued working toward a master's degree in history and received his Master's degree from Rutgers University in June 1919. Three months later, he entered Columbia University to pursue the doctorate in history. Under the direction of William A. Dunning and later Nathaniel W. Stephenson, Nichols wrote a dissertation entitled "The Democratic Machine, 1850-1854" that was published in 1923 in the Columbia University series of Studies in History, Economics and Public Law.
In 1925, Nichols joined the history faculty at the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor. For the next four decades, Nichols maintained his academic affiliation with that institution as a professor, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and vice-provost.
Early in Nichols's career, biography as a historical tool came into vogue. Combining biography with his interest in political history soon led to the publication of Franklin Pierce: Young Hickory of the Granite Hills (1931).
As the 1930's progressed, Nichols came to use concepts from other disciplines in the social, natural, and physical sciences to bolster political history with new insights.
Made a full professor in 1930, Nichols was involved in a number of organizations promoting history at the national, state, and local levels.
He was active in the AHA as council member from 1943 to 1947, vice-president in 1965, and president in 1966.
During the late 1930's and early 1940's, Nichols and his wife, Jeannette Paddock Nichols, jointly authored three textbooks: The Growth of American Democracy (1939); The Republic of the United States (1942); and A Short History of the American Democracy (1943).
While dean, Nichols authored a series of studies focusing on institutions with peculiarly American characteristics. In fairly rapid succession, Nichols authored Advance Agents of American Destiny (1956); Religion and American Democracy (1959); The Stakes of Power: 1845-1977 (1961); and Blueprints of Leviathan: American Style (1963). Retiring from the University in 1966, he continued to write and published The Invention of the American Political Parties (1967) and The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission: A History (1967) followed by his autobiography A Historian's Progress (1968).
After retirement, Nichols remained active as historian to the University of Pennsylvania and as a member on the board of trustees and board of governors of Rutgers University until his death.
(Excerpt from Religion and American Democracy In View of ...)
(An historical account of how and why the machinery of Ame...)
(Franklin Pierce - - the fourteenth President of the Unite...)
From 1940 to 1944, Nichols was a board member of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, and from 1958 to 1968, a board member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
While at Columbia, Nichols met Jeanette Paddock, a fellow history graduate student. After passing their preliminary examinations, they married on May 27, 1920.