Skip to main content

John E. Ferling papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS-0001

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and other papers and materials related to the teaching and writing career of John E. Ferling, professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia and the author of 16 books and numerous articles on the American Revolution and the Early Republic.

Dates

  • 1960 - 2023

Conditions Governing Access

Closed until January 10, 2025, to all researchers per letter from Ferling to Archivist at Ingram Library, May 8, 2000.

Conditions Governing Use

John Ferling retains all rights.

Biographical / Historical

John E. Ferling, professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia, taught at Lutcher Stark High School in Orange, Texas; Morehead State University in Kentucky (1965-1968); West Chester State University in Pennsylvania (1970-1971); and West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) (1971-2004). He is the author of 16 books and numerous articles dealing with the American Revolution and the Early Republic. Among these books are The Loyalist Mind: Joseph Galloway and the American Revolution (1977), A Wilderness of Miseries: War and Warriors in Early America (1980), The World Turned Upside Down: The American Victory in the War of Independence (1988), The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (1988), John Adams: A Life (1992), Struggle for a Continent: The Wars of Early America (1993), John Adams: A Bibliography (1994), Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution (2000), A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic (2003), Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800 (2004), Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence (2007), The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon (2009), Independence: The Struggle To Set America Free (2011), Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged A Nation (2013), Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War that Won It (2015), Apostles of Revolution: Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in American and Europe (2018), Winning Independence (2021). A Leap in the Dark won the Fraunces Tavern Book Award as the year’s best book on the American Revolution. Ferling has also appeared in several television documentaries devoted to the American Revolution and the Early Republic.

Extent

23.82 Linear feet (57 boxes)

Language

English

Overview

Papers related to the teaching and writing career of John E. Ferling, professor emeritus of history at the University of West Georgia and the author of numerous books and other publications on the American Revolution and the Early Republic.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Initial gift by John Ferling on May 8, 2000. Additional gifts of papers were made by him in subsequent years including February 2020, October 2021, and April 2023.

Processing Information

Materials processed by Catherine Hendricks, 2019; Jennah MacPherson, 2020; Avery Stanley, 2021; and Elizabeth Reeves 2023.

Title
John E. Ferling papers
Status
Completed
Author
Catherine Hendricks
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of West Georgia Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections, Ingram Library
University of West Georgia
1601 Maple Street
Carrollton GA 30118-2000 United States