Otis A. Pease was a history professor and author. He was widely known for his productive academic career as a scholar and professor of U.S. history. Peace was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1925 to Frederic and Ruth Pease. He graduated summa cum laude from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943. He enlisted in the Army after his first semester at Yale University. While serving in the military from 1943 to 1946, he was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. After his military service, he returned to Yale University where he received a B.A. in American Studies in 1949 and a Ph.D. in History in 1954. Pease taught for two years at the University of Texas (1953-55) and ten years at Stanford University (1956-1966). He joined the Department of History at the University of Washington in 1966, where he served as department chair from 1967-1972, and retired as Professor Emeritus in 1995. He supervised numerous theses and doctoral dissertations during his lengthy career as a scholar and professor.
Pease served on the Stanford University Board of Trustees from 1969 to1985, and was a life member in the American Historical Association, an organization in which he served as vice president. Pease’s areas of expertise included the Progressive Era, the history of American advertising, civil rights, urban politics and reform, Pacific Coast history, the American character, and the experience of American soldiers in World War II. He published many articles and several books, including
Pease participated in activities that promoted social justice. In 1964, he worked as a volunteer and consultant for the Mississippi Summer Project (also known as Freedom Summer) through the Council of Federated Organizations, particularly the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, assisting with African American voter registration and related civil rights projects in Mississippi. He also had an appreciation for music and the arts. He was a skilled pianist and vocalist. Pease was a founding member of the Northwest Chamber Chorus and performed with them for over thirty years. Pease died in Seattle in 2010.
Arranged into 4 series:
This collection contains Otis Pease's history course files and research files. It also contains records from Pease's direct involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
The collection also contains two nineteenth century documents which Pease possessed - an 1892 original letter written by Francis Parkman and an 1897 Civil War Veteran's commemoration reunion program booklet.
As part of his involvement in the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project, Pease collected newspaper clippings, reports, correspondence, photographs, and original materials on the Mississippi Summer Project and the struggle for civil rights in the American South, which are contained in this collection. These materials are products of Pease's active participation in the Mississippi Summer Project.
Open to all users.
The creators' literary rights have not been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Donor: Otis Pease via his wife Donna McCampbell, 2008 September 02
Notes on teaching; Course materials for graduate seminars and undergraduate courses
Notes and materials gathered in the course of Pease's historical research
Academic records from Pease's doctoral studies at Yale University and varied professional records
Original materials on the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project (Freedom Summer) produced by Pease; Original materials collected by Pease on the Mississippi Summer Project and the struggle for civil rights in the American South, including extensive materials on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Council of Federated Organizations, and Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party