Collection Overview
Hawkins, Hugh
Hugh Hawkins Papers
1914-2012
1950-1990
8 records storage boxes, 1 oversize box
(9 linear ft.)
English, French, German
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, MA
Personal and professional papers of an Amherst College professor of History and American Studies. The collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, committee records, course materials, general printed matter, and audiotapes.
Biographical Note
Hugh Hawkins was born in Topeka, KS on September 3, 1929, and raised in El Reno, OK. He received a Bachelor's degree from DePauw University in 1950 and a Ph.D from John Hopkins University in 1954. He served in the U.S. Army, 1954-1956, and taught at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1956-1957. Hawkins began teaching History and American Studies at Amherst College in 1957. He was active in several notable social movements and causes, including academic freedom and anti-McCarthyism, the Civil Rights movement, nuclear disarmament, the anti-war movement (both the Vietnam War and the Gulf War), and LGBT rights.
In 1976 Prof. Hawkins was instrumental in designing the first-year introduction to Liberal Studies curriculum at Amherst College and helped build both the History and American Studies departments. He is a distinguished scholar of American higher education, the American South, and of cultural and intellectual history, and in particular is the author of several notable publications on the history of higher education in the United States. These include
The Emerging University and Industrial America (1972); Between Harvard and America: The Educational Leadership of Charles W. Eliot (1972); Banding Together: The Rise of National Associations in American Higher Education, 1887-1950 (1992); and Pioneer: A History of the Johns Hopkins University, 1874-1889 (1960 and 2002). In 2006 he published Railwayman's Son: a Plains Family Memoir. Upon his retirement from the faculty in 2000 after a teaching career of forty-three years at Amherst, Hawkins was the Anson D. Morse Professor of History and American Studies.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
Correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, appointment books, committee records, printed materials, audiotapes, and newspaper clippings related to Hugh Hawkins. Much of the collection consists of correspondence between Hawkins, his colleagues, family, and friends. Manuscripts include fiction, poetry, plays, academic writings, lectures, and notes. Much of the material relates to Hawkins's career as a professor, historian, and activist.
Organization of the Collection
This collection is organized into five series:
-
[CORRESPONDENCE (1914-2011, bulk 1950-2001)](list-ser1)
-
[WRITINGS (1950-2012)](list-ser2)
-
[COURSE MATERIALS (1957-1994)](list-ser3)
-
[PRINTED MATERIAL (1940-2010)](list-ser4)
-
[OVERSIZED MATERIALS (1964-1971)](list-ser5)
Access to the Hugh Hawkins Papers for research use is restricted for a finite period. Requests for permission to examine specific items from the papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections.
Requests for permission to publish material from the Hugh Hawkins Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
[Identification of item], in Hugh Hawkins Papers [Box #, Folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.
The papers were donated to the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections by Hugh Hawkins in increments between 1996 and 2012.
Processed Oct-Nov 2012 by Colleen O'Connor (AC 2011)
Lattimore, Owen, 1900-1989
Amherst College. Dept. of American Studies
Amherst College. Dept. of Black Studies
Amherst College. Dept. of History
Harvard University -- History
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Korean War, 1950-1953
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Persian Gulf War, 1991
Gay liberation movement
Education, Higher -- History -- United States
Greene, Theodore P., 1921-
O'Connell, Barry, 1943-
Guttman, Allen
DeWitz, Friedel
Arkes, Hadley
Wilson, Douglas C.
Ward, John William, 1922-1985
Amherst College. Dept. of American Studies
Amherst College. Dept. of History
Amherst College. Dept. of Black Studies
- American Studies Department Records
-
Amherst College Curriculum Reports Collection
-
Amherst College Committee Records, 1826-2010
- Hugh D. Hawkins, interviewed by Douglas C. Wilson. Friends of the Amherst College Library Oral History Project, 2009 (available on DVD and streaming video as of 2012)
- Non-Alumni Biographical Files -- Hawkins, Hugh
SERIES 1: CORRESPONDENCE
Series 1 is organized into three sub-series, each arranged chronologically:
[Sub-Series A: GENERAL](list-sub1a)[Sub-Series B: EVENTS](list-sub1b)[Sub-Series C: COMMITTEES, REPORTS, MEETINGS, AND PANELS](list-sub1c)
Sub-series A: GENERAL
Sub-Series A: GENERAL, spanning over fifty years, includes letters between Hawkins and his family, friends, and colleagues. There are many letters from friends regarding the draft in 1950-51. There are several letters from Hawkins to his family during his time in the army between 1954 and 1956. There is a good deal of material regarding Amherst College beginning in 1957 until present day, including first impressions of the college and faculty. In box 4, folder 32, there are letters from Senators Kennedy and Kerry, as well as White House statements regarding US intervention in Kuwait.
1
1
Hawkins Family Letters
1914-1949
1
2-51
Correspondence
1950-1962
2
1-44
Correspondence
1963-1973
3
45-51
Correspondence
1974-1986
4
1-61
Correspondence
1987-2011
Sub-series B: EVENTS
Includes correspondence regarding specific events in Hawkins's personal and professional life, including topics such as the Westover Protest and the arson of the Plainfield home that Hawkins shared with Walter Richard.
4
62
Hugh Hawkins personal information
[RESTRICTED]
4
63
Visit to Belgrade
1956
4
64
Student recommendations, grades, disciplinary concerns
1959-2000
[RESTRICTED]
4
65
Letter to Senators Saltonstall and Kennedy regarding nuclear testing; includes the signatures of 50 faculty members
1960
4
66
Re: Edward Jones (AC 1826)
1961-1973
4
67
Recommendations not affiliated with Amherst College
1962-1990
[RESTRICTED]
4
68
Honoraria
1963-1987
[RESTRICTED]
4
69
Recommendations to and about Amherst faculty
1964-1994
[RESTRICTED]
5
1
FBI file on "Faculty for the Resistance"
1967
5
2
Selective services and military recruiting
ca. 1967
5
3
Conscientious objector status materials
1967-1969
[RESTRICTED]
5
4
Letters from H. Hawkins and W. Richard to Freidel DeWitz (American Studies secretary)
1970-1980s
5
5
Letters from Freidel DeWitz to Hugh Hawkins
1970-1980s
5
6
Letters from American Studies Dept. faculty to Freidel DeWitz
1970-1980s
5
7
Between Harvard and America: Critiques of MS and reviews of book
1971-1973
5
8
Faculty involvement with Westover protest and reactions
1972
5
9
Re: John Mason "Tip" Tyler
1975-1976
5
10
Plans for a general history of American higher education
1978-1979
5
11
Arson of Plainfield home
1992-1993
5
12
Fellowship in Germany
1993-1994
5
13
Re: Amherst history
1991-2011
Sub-Series C: COMMITTEES, REPORTS, MEETINGS, AND PANELS
Contains correspondence and other materials of the many panels, committees, and events that Hawkins was involved in. Highlights include SCLC's SCOPE project (which Martin Luther King Jr. participated in), which includes an audiotape of speeches, newspapers, and more. Several academic committees are included, such as the Task Force on Admission and Financial Aid.
5
14
JHU Students for Academic Freedom (re: Owen Lattimore)
1953-1990
5
15
"Report on a Questionnaire" George Rogers Taylor
1955
5
16
Curriculum Review Committee
1957-1960
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
5
17
Re: Faculty salary and tenure
1958-1988
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
5
18
History Dept. minutes and curriculum planning
1959-1967
5
19
Faculty Ad Hoc Committee on grades
1963
5
20
New England American Studies Association
1963-1969
5
21
American Studies Dept. minutes and course planning materials
1963-1996
5
22
SCLC's SCOPE Project: correspondence
1965
5
23
SCLC's SCOPE Project: notes
1965
5
24
SCLC's SCOPE Project: print material (see also box: OS1, folders: 2-10)
1965
5
25
SCLC's SCOPE Project: audiotape of speeches
1965
5
26
SCLC's SCOPE Project: accounts
1965
5
27
Group on Disadvantaged Students (later: Black and White Action Committee)
1966-1967
5
28
Library Committee
1967-1969
[RESTRICTED]
5
29-34
Committee on Educational Policy
1967-1969
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
6
1
Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee
1968
6
2
Five-College Committee on Social Responsibility (Mary Holmes College)
1968
6
3
Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
1968
6
4
Black and White Action Committee: working draft of first report
1968
6
5-6
Black and White Action Committee
1968-1969
6
7
African-American student activism (Ralph Ellison visit)
1968-1969
6
8
Plan for exchange program with Black colleges
1969
6
9-10
Moratorium
1969
6
11
Black Studies major, founding
1969-1970
6
12
Task Force on Admission and Financial Aid
1970-1971
[RESTRICTED]
6
13
Task Force on Admission and Financial Aid
1971
[RESTRICTED]
6
14
College archives upgrading
1971, 1976
6
15
Need-blind admission follow-up
1972
6
16
Select Committee on the Curriculum
1975-1977
[RESTRICTED]
6
17-19
Select Committee on the Curriculum
1975-1977
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
6
20-21
Early history of ILS courses
1977-1982
6
22
Five-College Public School Cooperation Program, planning
1983-1984
6
23
Advisory Committee on Student Residential and Social Life
1984
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
6
24
Jakob Holdt's American Pictures presentation
1985
6
25
Committee of Six: miscellaneous notes
1970-1999
[PERMANENTLY RESTRICTED]
6
26
American Studies Visiting Committee Report and response from Frank Couvares
1989
6
27
Reports on the History of Amherst College Departments
1989-1990
6
28
Dept. History: External Review Committee Report
1995
6
29
"Coeducating Amherst:" Panel on Coeducational History at Amherst
1997
SERIES 2: WRITINGS
Series 2 is organized into three sub-series, each arranged chronologically:
[Sub-Series A: FAMILY](list-sub2a)[Sub-Series B: DIARIES AND APPOINTMENT BOOKS](list-sub2b)[Sub-Series C: ACADEMIC AND CREATIVE WRITINGS](list-sub2c)
Sub-series A: FAMILY
Includes a notebook that was shared by the Hawkins family, audiotapes, and notes regarding genealogy.
6
30
Hawkins family household notebook
1940s
6
31
Hawkins family history: notes, 2 audiotapes (1-J.A. Hawkins, 1-Hugh Hawkins on family history)
1978-1986
Sub-series B: DIARIES AND APPOINTMENT BOOKS
Documents the daily life of Hugh Hawkins.
6
32-35
Diaries (1942, 1946, 1947, 1948-54, 1954-66)
1942-1966
7
1-3
Appointment books
1967-1993
Sub-series C: ACADEMIC AND CREATIVE WRITINGS
Consists of poems, short stories, plays, novels, academic writing, lectures, recollections, notes, and schoolwork.
7
4
High School writings
1939-1946
7
5
Washburn papers for freshmen English
1946
7
6
Assorted poems, plays, stories, essays and sketches
1946-1950s
7
7
Assorted poems, plays, stories, essays and sketches
1946-1950s
7
8
DePauw freshmen history research papers
1947
7
9
Boys of Distinction (Coursework for English 102)
1947
7
10
"American Governments" (DePauw coursework)
1947
7
11
Notes for DePauw debate tournaments
1947-48
7
12
And Make Them Laugh Again (radio play)
ca. 1948
7
13
Sweet Stolen Waters (play)
late 1940s
7
14
"The Glory of Motion" (story)
late 1940s
7
15
"Murder Mystery" (story)
1948-1949
7
16
"West in American History" (DePauw coursework, Prof. W.W. Carson)
1949
7
17
Application for Rhodes scholarship
1949
7
18
A History of the Paris Rebellion of 1871 (DePauw thesis)
1950
7
19
Johns Hopkins graduate student papers
1950-1952
7
20
"The Political Exploitation of the Name Abraham Lincoln from the Time of His Death Through the Election of 1866" (JHU paper, Prof. C. Vann Woodward)
1951
7
21
William James (JHU papers, Prof. Victor Lowe)
1951
7
22
Fraternity (novel)
1953-1956
7
23
Writings from time in the army
1956
7
24
"My Visit to Belgrade" (essay)
1956
7
25
Amherst College recollections (includes: "The Importance of Dogs at Amherst College," notes on challenging proposed courses, notes for interview with President Cole, "Henry Steele Commager as a Colleague," "Recollections of JFK visit to Amherst College," "Post-Interview Recollections of Amherst College," "Vietnam War at Amherst College," notes for oral history interview, quotes from George Kateb, notes on Polarities in American Religion 1800-1860, notes for oral history interview with Theodore Greene, notes on M.C. Bateson Composing a Life)
1959-2012
7
26
"John Hopkins University: Opening Years" (notes)
ca. 1960
7
27
Book reviews
ca.1960s
7
28
Chapel addresses
1963-1966
7
29
Unpublished scholarly papers and addresses
1963-1989
7
30
"The Student Revolution: Civil Rights and Southern Negro Colleges" (lecture)
1964
7
31
"Recollections of Selma" (essay)
ca. 1965
7
32
"Negro Protest: Past and Present" (lecture)
1966
7
33
"Reflections on Comparative History" (notes)
1969
7
34
"Dissent and Rational Inquiry" (lecture)
1970
7
35
"Abolitionists in the Civil War Crisis" (lectures)
1972
7
36
"Emergence of a Regional Party" and "Problems of the 1850s" (lectures)
1972, 1974
7
37
"The Ideal of Objectivity Among American Social Scientists in the Era of Professionalization 1876-1916" (essay)
1973
7
38
"Black Americans and the Legacy of Reconstruction" (lecture)
1974
7
39
Harvard under Eliot: Leader in the Professionalization of American Life?" (remarks)
1974
7
40
"On Professionalism in the American University" (remarks)
1976
7
41
"The Changing Publics of American Universities" (lecture)
1977
7
42
"The Specialness of America" (lecture)
1980, 1987, 1990
7
43
Orientation talk to incoming freshmen
1981
7
44
"Urban Universities in Historical Perspective" (lecture)
1984
7
45
"Colleges, Churches, Changes" (address)
1984
7
46
National Coming Out Day (remarks)
1991
7
47
"Race, Sex, and Justice: Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas" (lecture)
1994
7
48
"American Higher Education: The Last One Hundred Years" (lecture)
2000
7
49
History of Education Society (remarks)
2001
7
50
In Goodland: a 1930s Boyhood (memoir)
2003
8
1
Railwayman's Son: a Small-Town Family in the Great Depression (memoir)
2006
8
2
"My Connections to the Civil Rights Movement" (notes)
2012
8
3
"The District School: Its Rise, Decline, and Nature" (lecture)
n.d.
SERIES 3: COURSE MATERIALS
Series 3 is organized into two sub-series:
[Sub-Series A: HAWKINS'S MATERIALS](list-sub3a)[Sub-Series B: STUDENT WORK](list-sub3b)
Sub-Series A: HAWKINS'S MATERIALS
Consists of syllabi, lecture notes, and other documents arranged chronologically.
8
4
Syllabus: The American West (History 66, Prof. Theodore Greene)
1957
8
5-6
Lectures: Given to introductory American Studies courses (American Studies 11, 12, 21, 22)
1957-1984
8
7
Course Materials: Problems in American Civilization (American Studies 21, 22)
1958-1963
8
8
Course Materials: Southern History (History 57)
1958-1987
8
9
Course Materials: History of American Education (History 36, 66)
1961-1989
8
10
Course Materials: The Hero in America (American Studies 70)
early 1960s
8
11
Course Materials: The Military in American Life (American Studies 70)
1964
8
12
Course Planning Documents: Problems of Inquiry
1964
8
13
Course Planning Documents: Liberalism and Social Order (American Studies 21)
1965
8
14
Course Materials: The Negro in American History (Yale Summer Course)
1966
8
15
Lecture: What is Liberal Capitalist Society? (History 17)
ca. 1966
8
16
Course Materials: The Negro Revolt (Course for Alumni)
1967
8
17
Course Evaluations: Race in American History (History 67)
1968
8
18
Course Materials: Slavery as Serfdom (History 75)
1968
8
19
Course Materials: Race in American History (History 67)
1968-1976
8
20
Course Materials: American Democratic Culture (American Studies 11)
1969, 1972
8
21
Proposal: Course on the 1960s (Prof. Edwin Rozwenc)
1971
8
22
Course Materials: Race in American History (History 67)
1971-1976
8
23
Course Materials: Freshmen Seminars
1972
8
24
Course Materials: Violence in America (American Studies 12)
1972
8
25
Proposal: Program in Inter-Racial Studies
1974
8
26
Syllabus: The United States in the 1890s: a Democratic Society in Urban-Industrial Crisis (American Studies 11)
1975
8
27
Course Materials: Twentieth-Century America (History 56)
1976-1979
8
28
Course Materials: Recent American History: the 1930s (History 89)
1977
8
29
Lectures and discussions on Nixon presidency
1979-1999
8
30
Course Materials: Evolution and Intellectual Revolution (ILS 2)
1980-1981
8
31
Course Materials: Artistic Autonomy and Social Responsibility (American Studies 12)
1984
8
32
Course Materials: Memory (ILS 6)
1988-1992
8
33
Lectures: American Studies (Classes in Hamburg)
1993-1994
Sub-series B: STUDENT WORK
Includes student papers, prize paper submissions, questionnaires, and tests.
8
34
Student Papers A-F
1957-2011
8
35
Student Papers G-R
1957-2011
8
36
Student Papers S-Z
1957-2011
8
37
Student Questionnaires (American Studies 11)
1958-1961
8
38
Quiz: Intro to American Studies (American Studies 22)
1959
8
39
Honors Theses Proposals: George Peterson, Jerry Cohen, and Rick Crosby
1962-1963
8
40
George Roger Taylor Prize submissions
1964
8
41
Student questionnaires: Early American Studies majors
1990
SERIES 4: PRINTED MATERIAL,
1940-2010
Contains material from organizations such as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Chronological
8
42
Early life
1940s
8
43
American Studies/ Mead Art Museum Armory Show
1958
8
44
Miscellaneous social justice
1960-1986
8
45
CORE (Congress on Racial Equality)
1961-1968
8
46
Faculty Opinion: Vietnam Vol. 1 No. 1
1965
8
47
Miscellaneous anti-war
1965-1969
8
48
Conference for New Politics and Thomas Boylston Adams
1966
8
49
Southwest Georgia Project Newsletter vols. 1-3 (incomplete)
1967-1969
8
50
Miscellaneous Amherst history
1984-2000
8
51
Amherst College deaths
2006-2010
SERIES 5: OVERSIZE ITEMS,
1964-1971
Contains an oversized diary and nine of ten parts of the Chapel Hill Weekly series, "Williamston," featuring the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)'s Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project.
OS1
1
Diary
1971
OS1
2
Valley Peace Center Newsletter vols. 1-5 (some missing)
1967-1969
OS1
3
"Williamston--Part I." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
4
"Williamston-Part III." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
5
"Williamston-Part IV." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
6
"Williamston-Part V." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
7
"Williamston-Part VI." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
8
"Williamston-Part VII." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
9
"Williamston-Part VIII." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
10
"Williamston-Part IX." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
11
"Williamston-Part X." Chapel Hill Weekly
1964
OS1
12
Miscellaneous SCOPE newsclippings
1965
OS1
13
Xanadu Press Vietnam poster
nd
OS1
14
"The Teach-In Continues." The New York Times
1966