James Ford Rhodes

James Ford Rhodes (May 1, 1848 – January 22, 1927), was an American industrialist and historian born in Cleveland, Ohio. After earning a fortune in the iron, coal, and steel industries by 1885, he retired from business. He devoted his life to historical research and publishing a seven-volume history of the United States beginning in 1850; his work was published from 1893-1906. He published an eighth volume in 1920. His work, History of the Civil War, 1861-1865 (1918), won the second-ever Pulitzer Prize for History that year.

Born in Ohio, Rhodes attended New York University, beginning in 1865. After graduation, he went to Europe, studying at the Collège de France. During his studies in Europe, he visited ironworks and steelworks. After his return to the United States, he investigated iron and coal deposits for his father.

In 1874, with his father, Rhodes started in the iron, coal, and steel industries at Cleveland. Having earned a considerable fortune in this business, he retired in 1885.

Rhodes moved to Boston for access to its libraries. He devoted the rest of his life to historical research and writing United States history. His brother-in-law was Mark Hanna, a leader of the Republican Party. Rhodes developed his own political viewpoint.

His major work, History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850, was published in seven volumes, 1893–1906; the eight-volume edition appeared in 1920. His single volume, History of the Civil War, 1861-1865 (1918), earned him a Pulitzer Prize in History that year. (This work is available online at History of the Civil War, 1861-1865 (1918).)

Rhodes focused on national politics. Working from primary sources of newspapers and published memoirs, Rhodes reconstructed the process by which major national decisions were made. He evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of all the major leaders. Rhodes emphasized that slavery and the anti-slavery movement were the chief causes of the Civil War. He detailed what he classified as corruption in the Reconstruction Republican governments in Washington, D.C., and the Southern states. He said that granting of unqualified suffrage to blacks after emancipation was a mistake and added to the problems during Reconstruction.

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