THE CHALLENGE OF THE TIMES TO THE
HISTORIAN1
by CARL WITTKE
Professor of History and Dean of the
Graduate School,
Western Reserve University
The question is frequently asked
nowadays, Why do historians
have so little influence in public
affairs, and why have men and
women, who have been especially trained
to study and distill con-
clusions from the long experience of
the past, so little status as
counselors and molders of public
opinion in present-day society?
It is easy to exaggerate the influence
of historians of an earlier
day in this regard, and it must be
remembered that on some of the
burning questions of a century ago,
like slavery, the historical guild
had relatively little to say and rather
studiously avoided becoming
involved in the acrimonious sectional
controversy. Nevertheless,
history probably was more widely read
then than now, and certainly
historians of distinction were more
highly honored and respected,
and received more public recognition
from their fellow Americans.
The so-called "middle group of
literary historians" wrote dis-
tinguished history which was widely
read. One need only recall such
names as Motley, Prescott, Bancroft,
Parkman, and Fiske to make
the point. Parkman, despite his
physical affliction, produced a series
of volumes which stand up well before
the rigorous tests of modern
historical scholarship, yet they were
written in a beautiful, vivid
style that made them popular reading.
Motley's history of the
Netherlands was literature as well as
history, and Fiske, with a
mastery of several fields of learning,
had great influence on his
generation. Bancroft was not only
venerated as a distinguished his-
torian, but was rewarded with public
office.
Why have the disciples of Clio fallen
from that high estate? The
present generation goes for advice to
the scientist and the business-
man, or the psychiatrist, but seldom to
the men and women who
1 An extension of some remarks made at a
luncheon meeting of the Ohio Academy
of History, in Columbus, April 7, 1951.
1