George M. Dennison Papers

George M. Dennison Papers, 1950-2017

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Dennison, George M. (George Marshel), 1935-2017
Title: George M. Dennison Papers
Dates: 1950-2017 (inclusive)
Quantity: 3.0 linear feet
3 electronic files (6.52 megabytes of electronic files)
Collection Number: Mss 909
Summary: George M. Dennison was a student of history, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a longtime member of the Academy. He spent his professional career teaching history and serving in university administration, including as President of the University of Montana from 1990-2010. This collection contains lectures notes, research notes, and drafts of manuscripts, including drafts of a book he was writing about the history of the University of Montana at the time of his death in 2017.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

George Dennison was born on August 11, 1935 in Buffalo, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1957 and married his wife, Jane Irene Schroeder, in 1954. They had two children born in 1956 and 1958. Following his military service, Dennison received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with Highest Honors, from the University of Montana in 1962. He continued his education at the University of Montana receiving a Master of Arts in history in 1963. Leaving Montana, Dennison pursued his Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington, graduating in 1967.

Dennison began his professional career at the University of Arkansas where he worked as an assistant professor of history from 1967 to 1968. In the 1968-1969 academic year, he taught as a visiting professor of history at the University of Washington before accepting a job teaching at Colorado State University. Dennison worked at Colorado State University from 1969 to 1987 earning the title of Professor of History. While at Colorado State University Dennison also assumed the roles of Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Associate Dean for International Development, Graduate School; Acting Academic Vice President; and Director of Admissions and Records. He served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Professor of History at Western Michigan University from 1987 to 1990. In 1990, Dennison assumed the role of President at the University of Montana and served until he retired in 2010.

George M. Dennison passed away on January 3, 2017, from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The George M. Dennison Papers contain Dennison's personal papers. These include his original lectures from his many years as a professor of history; his research notes for a two-volume history of the University of Montana; draft copies of the unpublished book, tentatively titled The University of Montana: Institutional Mythology and Historical Reality, that he did not finish before his death; and his research notes and an unpublished article about the Missoula County High School Board.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright was not transferred to or shared with the University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

George M. Dennison Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This collection has been arranged into three series:

Series I: History Lectures and Course Materials, circa 1967-1990, 1.5 linear feet

Series II: University of Montana History, circa 2010-2017, 1.25 linear feet and 2 electronic files

Series III: Missoula County High School Board, circa 2016, 0.25 linear feet and 1 electronic file

Custodial History

This collection was in three different locations prior to donation to the Archives, including in Dennison's home and office.

Acquisition Information

The majority of the collection contents were donated to the Archives by Jane Dennison in 2018.

Processing Note

This collection was divided into series during processing.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: History Lectures and Course Materials, circa 1967-1990Return to Top

1.5 linear feet

Series I is largely comprised of lecture notes and course materials from Dennison’s many years as a professor of history.

Original order and folder titles were maintained during processing.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	Constitutional Revolution Continued, The Court Fight and the Reversal of 1937, Lecture XIII	circa 1967-1990
1/2	The Bobbs-Merrill Reprint Series in the Social Sciences	1950
1/3	Hughes Court, Lecture XII	circa 1967-1990
1/4	Constitutional History, Lecture XIV	circa 1967-1990
1/5	Constitutional Revolution, Conference Notes	circa 1967-1990
1/6	The New Republic, 1787-1815	circa 1967-1990
1/7	Diagram of Constitutional Functioning	circa 1967-1990
1/8	Lists of Court Cases	circa 1967-1990
1/9	Triumph of Institutionalism	circa 1967-1990
1/10	Women's Rights Lectures	circa 1967-1990
1/11	History 413, Introduction	circa 1967-1990
1/12	America in 1763, Lecture I	circa 1967-1990
1/13	The Imperial Crisis, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
1/14	The Revolution Consummated: 1774-1776, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
1/15	Consolidating the Revolution, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
1/16	The New Nation, Lecture V	circa 1967-1990
1/17	The Problem of an Acceptable Political Theory, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
1/18	History 265, Introduction	circa 1967-1990
1/19	History 265, U.S. in the 1950s	circa 1967-1990
1/20	Politics of the 1950s, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
1/21	The Kennedy Year, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
1/22	The Johnson Years, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
1/23	The Socio-Economic Milieu of the 1960s, Lecture V	circa 1967-1990
1/24	The Election of 1968, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
1/25	The Nixon Years and Watergate, Lecture VII	circa 1967-1990
1/26	History 477, Introduction	circa 1967-1990
1/27	Colonial Constitution, Lecture I	circa 1967-1990
1/28	The Revolution, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
1/29	Re-Establishing Authority, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
1/30	Articles of Confederation, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
1/31	The Convention of 1787, Lecture V	circa 1967-1990
1/32	Constitution and Ratification, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
1/33	Federalist Period, Lecture VII	circa 1967-1990
1/34	Jeffersonian Constitutionalism, Lecture IX	circa 1967-1990
1/35	The Marshall Court, Lecture XI	circa 1967-1990
1/36	The Crisis of the Twenties and the Marshall Court, Lecture XII	circa 1967-1990
2/1	Jacksonian Democracy and Popular Sovereignty, lecture XIII	circa 1967-1990
2/2	Course Toward the Civil War, Lecture XIV	circa 1967-1990
2/3	Civil War, Lecture XV	circa 1967-1990
2/4	Constitutional history, 1865-1971, Lecture I	circa 1967-1990
2/5	Reconstruction, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
2/6	Supreme Court During Reconstruction, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
2/7	Revolution to Revolution: Federalism Revisited, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
2/8	The Fuller Court and the Progressives, Lecture V and VII	circa 1967-1990
2/9	The Fuller Court and the 90s, Lecture VIII	circa 1967-1990
2/10	The Warren Court, Lecture XVI	circa 1967-1990
2/11	The Nixon Court	circa 1967-1990
2/12	Constitutional Duty	circa 1967-1990
2/13	New Government	circa 1967-1990
2/14	Tragedy of Progressivism, Lecture IX	circa 1967-1990
2/15	White to Taft and Prohibition	circa 1967-1990
2/16	The Taft Court, Lecture XI	circa 1967-1990
2/17	The Vinson Interlude, Lecture XV	circa 1967-1990
2/18	Hamilton, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
2/19	Political Parties, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
2/20	Free Speech, Alien and Sedition Acts, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
2/21	Party Development to 1800, Lecture VIII	circa 1967-1990
2/22	The Election of 1800, IX	circa 1967-1990
2/23	Environmentalism and American Thought, Lecture X	circa 1967-1990
2/24	Jefferson, Lecture XI	circa 1967-1990
2/25	Jeffersonian Republicans in Power, Lecture XII	circa 1967-1990
2/26	Jeffersonian Republicans in Power II, Lecture XIII	circa 1967-1990
2/27	The Madisonian Alternatives, Lecture XIV	circa 1967-1990
2/28	The War of 1812, Lecture XV	circa 1967-1990
2/29	Jeffersonian Tradition, Lecture XVI	circa 1967-1990
3/1	An Age In transition, Lecture XVII	circa 1967-1990
3/2	Seminar 550	circa 1967-1990
3/3	Federalism to 1815, Lecture XV	circa 1967-1990
3/4	History 150, Lecture I	circa 1967-1990
3/5	European Background, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
3/6	The Indian Problem, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
3/7	English Settlements in the Seventeenth Century, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
3/8	From Settlement to Provincialism, Lecture V	circa 1967-1990
3/9	Proprietary Colonies in Pennsylvania, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
3/10	Rise of Political Autonomy in the Colonies, Lecture VII	circa 1967-1990
3/11	The Eighteenth Century, Lecture VIII	circa 1967-1990
3/12	Slavery in America to 1800, Lecture XIV	circa 1967-1990
3/13	Georgia - The Frontier, Lecture IX	circa 1967-1990
3/14	Great Awakening, Lecture X	circa 1967-1990
3/15	American Colonists and the Colonial Wars, Lecture XI	circa 1967-1990
3/16	To the Revolution, 1763-1774, Lecture XII	circa 1967-1990
3/17	The Revolution, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
3/18	Fruits of the Revolution, Lecture VII	circa 1967-1990
3/19	Revolution to Constitution, Lecture XIII	circa 1967-1990
3/20	Federalists, Lecture XV	circa 1967-1990
3/21	Jeffersonians, Lecture XVI	circa 1967-1990
3/22	Nationalism and Sectionalism, Lecture XVIII	circa 1967-1990
3/23	History 151, Introduction	circa 1967-1990
3/24	The Republic in 1840, Lecture I	circa 1967-1990
3/25	Manifest Destiny, Lecture II	circa 1967-1990
3/26	Cultural Conflict and Civil War, Lecture III	circa 1967-1990
3/27	Northern Response to Slavery, Lecture IV	circa 1967-1990
3/28	Civil War and Reconstruction, Lecture VI	circa 1967-1990
3/29	Economies and Politics of the Late Nineteenth Century, Lecture VII	circa 1967-1990
3/30	Farmers in Revolt, Lecture IX	circa 1967-1990
3/31	Labor in Revolt, Lecture X	circa 1967-1990
3/32	Populism - End of an Era, Lecture XI	circa 1967-1990
3/33	Imperialism, 1898-1900	circa 1967-1990
3/34	Progressivism, 1900-1918	circa 1967-1990
3/35	War and Aftermath	circa 1967-1990
3/36	Twenties	circa 1967-1990
3/37	Hoover and Depression, End of an Era	circa 1967-1990
3/38	Roosevelt and New Deal	circa 1967-1990
3/39	New Deal, 1932-1941	circa 1967-1990
3/40	Foreign Policy, 1930-1941	circa 1967-1990
3/41	Foreign Policy, 1941-1946	circa 1967-1990
3/42	Truman Years, I	circa 1967-1990
3/43	Truman years, II and McCarthy	circa 1967-1990
3/44	Notes	circa 1967-1990
3/45	Constitutional Notes, 1865-1970	circa 1967-1990
4/1	Constitutional Notes, 1930-1969	circa 1967-1990
4/2	Constitution Lectures, 1866-1970	circa 1967-1990

Series II: University of Montana History, circa 2010-2017Return to Top

1.25 linear feet and 2 electronic files

This series contains Dennison’s extensive research notes for his history of the University of Montana and two draft copies of his unpublished book, tentatively titled The University of Montana: Institutional Mythology and Historical Reality.

In processing, notebooks were grouped together by the source citation on the first page. Each notebook was assigned a number for organizational purposes; the arrangement of the notebooks within the boxes does not reflect an original order.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
4/3	Notebook 1	circa 2010-2017
4/4	Notebook 2	circa 2010-2017
4/5	Notebook 3	circa 2010-2017
4/6	Notebook 4	circa 2010-2017
4/7	Notebook 5	circa 2010-2017
4/8	Notebook 6	circa 2010-2017
4/9	Notebook 7	circa 2010-2017
4/10	Notebook 8	circa 2010-2017
5/1	Notebook 9	circa 2010-2017
5/2	Notebook 10	circa 2010-2017
5/3	Notebook 11	circa 2010-2017
5/4	Notebook 12	circa 2010-2017
5/5	Notebook 13	circa 2010-2017
5/6	Notebook 14	circa 2010-2017
5/7	Notebook 15	circa 2010-2017
5/8	Notebook 16	circa 2010-2017
5/9	Notebook 17	circa 2010-2017
5/10	Notebook 18	circa 2010-2017
6/1	Notebook 19	circa 2010-2017
6/2	Notebook 20	circa 2010-2017
6/3	Notebook 21	circa 2010-2017
6/4	Notebook 22	circa 2010-2017
6/5	Notebook 23	circa 2010-2017
6/6	Notebook 24	circa 2010-2017
6/7	Notebook 25	circa 2010-2017
6/8	Notebook 26	circa 2010-2017
6/9	Notebook 27	circa 2010-2017
6/10	Notebook 28	circa 2010-2017
7/1	Notebook 29	circa 2010-2017
7/2	Notebook 30	circa 2010-2017
7/3	Notebook 31	circa 2010-2017
7/4	Notebook 32	circa 2010-2017
7/5	Notebook 33	circa 2010-2017
7/6	Notebook 34	circa 2010-2017
7/7	Notebook 35	circa 2010-2017
7/8	Notebook 36	circa 2010-2017
7/9	Notebook 37	circa 2010-2017
electronic_file
Electronic File	The University of Montana: Institutional Mythology and Historical Reality, unpublished manuscript	circa 2016-2017
Electronic File	The University of Montana: Institutional Mythology and Historical Reality, Volume 1, unpublished manuscript	circa 2016-2017

Series III: Missoula County High School Board, circa 2016Return to Top

0.25 linear feet and 1 electronic file

This series contains an unpublished article by Dennison concerning the Missoula County High School board. Also included are Dennison's research notes for this article.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
7/10	Notebook 1	circa 2016
7/11	Notebook 2	circa 2016
electronic_file
Electronic File	Missoula County High School: 1952-1962 "A Matter of Principle", unpublished manuscript	circa 2016

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Universities and colleges--Montana--Missoula--Administration

Personal Names

Dennison, George M. (George Marshel), 1935-2017--Archives

Corporate Names

Colorado State University. Faculty
Missoula County High School. Board of Trustees
University of Montana--Missoula. Administration
University of Montana--Missoula. History
University of Montana--Missoula. Office of the President.
University of Montana--Missoula. Presidents
Western Michigan University. Faculty

Occupations

College presidents--Montana--Missoula
College teachers--United States

Titles within the Collection

The University of Montana: Institutional Mythology and Historical Reality

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents