Henry William Brands Jr. (born August 7, 1953) is an Americanhistorian. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at theUniversity of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD in history in 1985. He has authored more than thirty books onU.S. history. His works have twice been selected as finalists for thePulitzer Prize.[1][2][3]
Born in 1953, Brands grew up inOregon in thePortland metropolitan area. He attendedJesuit High School, where he was a three-sport athlete andNational Merit Scholar. Brands enrolled atStanford University, where he studied mathematics and history. After receiving his undergraduate degree in history in 1975,[4] he worked for a year doing sales in his family'scutlery business before returning to Jesuit High School to teach mathematics. He taught at the high school for the next five years. While doing so he earned an MA in liberal studies fromReed College in 1978, followed by an MS in mathematics fromPortland State in 1981. During this period he came to realize that he wanted to write for a living, and determined his love of history might provide an avenue for him to do so.[5] He enrolled at theUniversity of Texas at Austin to study under historian Robert A. Divine. He wrote his dissertation on theEisenhower administration and itsforeign policy during theCold War, earning his PhD in history in 1985.[6]
While working on his doctorate, Brands taught social studies and math courses—world history, U.S. history, algebra, and calculus—at Kirby Hall School andAustin Community College District. His preferred mode of transit was his bicycle, as he commuted between classes at theUniversity of Texas and his teaching responsibilities at the college preparatory school on the fringe of the UT campus and ACC's Rio Grande site in Central Austin. In his first year after completing his doctorate, Brands worked as anoral historian at theUniversity of Texas School of Law. The following year he taught atVanderbilt University. In 1987 he accepted an academic post atTexas A&M University, where he remained for the next seventeen years. He made the daily commute from his home in Austin to teach in College Station. In 2005, he joined the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was formerly the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History and Professor of Government and now holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History.
He holds a progressive view of the nation's founders and theUnited States Constitution, arguing that the founders were at heart radicals who were willing to challenge the status quo in search of a better future. That being so, he believes that Americans today should not be constrained by the views of self-government held by the founders. "In revering the founders we undervalue ourselves and sabotage our own efforts to make necessary improvements in the republican experiment they began. Our love of the founders leads us to abandon and even betray the principles they fought for."[8] He believes the framers would not want the Constitution to be interpreted by the idea oforiginal intent, and believes that we are in error when we view the founders in a "deified" way.[5] "The one thing that [the Founders] did have was an audacity to challenge conventional wisdom."[9]
Brands believes that Americans place too much importance on the individual in theWhite House. "We have this very interesting relationship with the presidents where the president is supposed to be one of us, but on the other hand he represents everybody so he is sort of above all of us. We make too much of presidents, but we can hardly help ourselves."[10] Though noting how the power of the presidency has increased greatly since the start of the twentieth century, when the United States emerged as a significant world power and U.S. foreign policy became far more important, Brands believes that popular focus on the president is excessive. "We have a cult of the president, where we make too big a deal of the president."[11]
In addition to his works on U.S. history, Brands has written books on the economic development of the United States and biographies of key leaders in corporate America. His books are known for their readability and narrative thrust.[12] He has authored over thirty books and produced numerous articles that have been featured in newspapers and magazines. His writings have received critical and popular acclaim.The First American was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and theLos Angeles Times Prize, as well as aNew York Times bestseller.The Age of Gold was aWashington Post Best Book of 2002 and aSan Francisco Chronicle bestseller.Andrew Jackson was aChicago Tribune Best Book of 2005 and aWashington Post bestseller.What America Owes the World was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize in international affairs.The Wages of Globalism was a Choice Outstanding Academic Book winner.Lone Star Nation won the Deolece Parmelee Award.Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt was his second finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has appeared in the documentariesThe Presidents (2005),10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (2006),America: The Story of Us (2010),The Men Who Built America (2012),The World Wars (2014), andThe Eighties (2016). His writings have been published in several countries and translated into German, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.[6]
Brands has also co-authored various editions of various history textbooks, includingAmerica: Past and Present, andAmerican Stories: A History of The United States.
^"Frequently Asked Questions".The Pulitzer Prizes. RetrievedMarch 17, 2014.Nominated Finalists are selected by the Nominating Juries for each category as finalists in the competition.
