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Creator
Carpenter, John A. (John Alcott), 1921-
Call number
Sc MG 296
Physical description
9.29 linear feet (10 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], John A. Carpenter research material collection, Sc MG 296, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

John Alcott Carpenter (1921–1978) was a historian, history professor, and public speaker. He published biographies of Oliver Otis Howard and Ulysses S. Grant. This collection includes manuscripts, typescripts, research notes, and printed matter used by Carpenter for various writing.

Biographical/historical information

John Alcott Carpenter (1921–1978) was a historian, head of the department of history at Fordham University, and public speaker. He specialized in the Reconstruction Period following the American Civil War, and published biographies of Oliver Otis Howard, the founder of Howard University (Sword and Olive Branch: Oliver Otis Howard), and Ulysses S. Grant (Ulysses S. Grant). Carpenter was also the recipient of grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society in support of his research on the Federal Government's Freedmen's Bureau, which was set up after the Civil War. Besides writing books, he also contributed articles to the Journal of Negro History, the New York Historical Society Quarterly, and Civil War History, and appeared on the 1974 CBS television series, The American Presidency: The Men and the Office. Carpenter died in 1978.

Scope and arrangement

This collection consists of material for Carpenter's writing on Oliver Otis Howard, Ulysses S. Grant, and the Freedmen's Bureau. Material includes holograph manuscripts and typescripts of his biographies; research notes; photocopies of correspondence and reports from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands; biographical data sheets on military and civilian agents of the Freedmen's Bureau; miscellaneous correspondence; and printed matter used by Carpenter. Subjects include Freedmen's Bureau agents, Oliver Otis Howard, and Ulysses S. Grant. Additionally, the following manuscripts are included: "The Military Career of Oliver Otis Howard"; "The Civil War Career of Oliver Otis Howard"; and "An Account of the Civil War Career of Oliver Otis Howard, Based on His Private Letters". Also included are articles, book reviews, lectures, notes, and bibliographies.

The John A. Carpenter research material collection is arranged in four series:

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mimi Carpenter, 1985.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2021 October 14)

Processing information

Accessioned by Andre Elizee, February 1987.

Bibliography

The New York Times. "Dr. John A.Carpenter, 57, Historian Specialized in Post‐Civil War Period." Accessed October 14, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/17/archives/dr-john-a-carpenter-57-historian-specialized-in-postcivil-war.html?searchResultPosition=1.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor