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William Appleman Williams Papers, 1877-2012

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Williams, William Appleman.
Title
William Appleman Williams Papers
Dates
1877-2012 (inclusive)
Quantity
15 cubic feet, (43 boxes)
Collection Number
Consult repository.
Summary
William Appleman Williams (1921-1990), an influential American historian and writer, was a member of the History faculty at Oregon State University from 1968-1986. He is regarded to be a founder of the "revisionist school" of American diplomatic history. The author of several books, Williams' The Contours of American History (1961), was named one of the 100 best non-fiction books written in English in the twentieth century by the Modern Library. The Williams Papers consist of correspondence, news articles, books and memorabilia.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions
Restrictions on Access

Permission to examine the Williams Papers will be granted to qualified researchers upon completion of an "Application for Use" form, and contingent upon the researcher's agreement to abide by the rules and policies governing the use of manuscripts.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

William Appleman Williams was a historian known for his sharp critiques of American foreign policy. A graduate of Kemper Military Academy in Booneville, Missouri, and later of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, he served as an officer in the Pacific during World War II, receiving an honorable discharge and a Purple Heart at war's end. He went on to the University of Wisconsin, where he took his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in history. Before coming to Oregon State University in 1968, he taught in Madison, in the process establishing the "Wisconsin School" of diplomatic history. During his career he also taught at the University of Melbourne as a Fulbright scholar and, in 1979, was elected President of the Organization of American Historians. He retired from OSU in 1986 to his coastal home at Waldport, Oregon. On March 8, 1990, Williams died at the age of 86. Nine years later The Modern Library named his volume, The Contours of American History, one of the 100 Best Non-Fiction Books Written in English in the 20th Century.

William Appleman Williams was a prolific and influential writer. His revisionist works -- particularly The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (1959) -- challenged prevailing views of American history, deploring the United States as an imperialist power forcing its economic and ideological will around the globe. Hailed by Eugene Genovese as, "the best historian the Left has produced in this country," the genially combative professor termed himself a radical, isolated from the center of American intellectual life. He was particularly critical of US foriegn policy, especially America's role in the Cold War and in Vietnam. In the estimation of Gore Vidal, Williams was, "the best school teacher who ever taught history in Oregon."

With passionate arguments and complex analysis, he championed self-determination for all people, and argued that refusal by Americans to acknowledge a national desire for expansion and global hegemony has led to major errors and confusion over the nation's future. "The act of imposing one people's morality upon another people is an imperial denial of self-determination," he wrote in his 1976 book America Confronts a Revolutionary World: 1776-1976. "Once begun, there is no end of empire except war and more war."

Detractors accused him and other revisionists of employing a double-standard, by justifying or explaining Soviet actions in the context of national security, while measuring Western actions against a utopian ideal. Reviewers termed his works provocative, honestly stated and admirable, but they challenged some arguments as flawed, simiplistic and naïve in relying on good intentions and communal feeling.

Indeed, there was much that was paradoxical about the career of William Appleman Williams: the perpetual outsider whose personal influence on American historiography was probably greater than that of any of his contemporaries, a deeply American figure whose interpretation of US foriegn policy found readier and wiser acceptance among non-Americans than among his own countryment. Despite these paradoxes, proponents and critics both are compelled to acknowledge Williams' life and work as characterized by intellectual independence and moral seriousness.

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Content Description

The collection consists of newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, published and unpublished manuscripts, memorial service notes, and personal items spanning the years 1945 through 1999. Correspondence includes letters to friends, colleagues and associates and many are in direct relation to articles that Williams authored. In addition, the collection also includes personnel records of his time at Oregon State University, materials and documents from his service in the United States Navy, and biographical and family history information that was collected and kept by him.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions on Use

The Crapol correspondence files are restricted from access or use until 2031. Consult a Reference Archivist for more information.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

William Appleman Williams Papers, Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries, Box #.

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Administrative Information

Bibliography

Bibliography

The International Impact of National Economic Planning. Leeds, England: University of Leeds (1948). American-Russian Relations, 1781-1947. New York: Rinehart (1952). The Tragedy of American Diplomacy. Cleveland: World Publishing Company (1959). Revised 1962, 1972. Also published in Spanish and Japanese versions. The Contours of American History Cleveland: World Publishing Company (1961). Also published in British edition; Italian translation. The United States, Cuba, and Castro. New York: Monthly Review Press (1962). Also published in Spanish translation. The Great Evasion. An Essay on the Contemporary Relevance of Karl Marx and on the Wisdom of Admitting the Heretic into the Dialogue about America's Future. Chicago: Quadrangle Books (1964). The Roots of the Modern American Empire. A Study of the Growth and Shaping of Social Conciousness in a Marketplace Society. New York: Random House (1969). Also published in British edition. Some Presidents: Wilson to Nixon. New York: A New York Review Book distributed by Vintage Books (1972). History as a Way of Learning. New York: New Viewpoints (1974). Also published in Spanish translation. America Confronts a Revolutionary World: 1776-1976. New York: Morrow (1976). Americans in a Changing World: A History of the United States in the Twentieth Century. New York: Harper and Row (1978). Empire as a Way of Life: An Essay on the Causes and Character of America's Present Predicament Along with a Few Thoughts about an Alternative. New York: Oxford University Press (1980). Also published in British edition; Spanish, German and Japanese translations. America in Vietnam: A Documentary History. With Thomas McCormick, Lloyd Garner and Walter LaFeber. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday (1985).

Related Materials

An oral history interview conducted with Bill Robbins recounting his memories of William Appleman Williams is held in the History of Oregon State University Oral Histories and Sound Recordings Collection (OH 03). Correspondence with Williams is also found in the Center for the Humanities Records (RG 221) and the Peter Copek Papers (MSS Copek). Finally, a biographical file on Williams is held in the News and Communication Services Records (RG 203).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Finding aid prepared by Special Collections staff.
2025

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