Academic Departments. History Department Records
WFU's Department of History was founded in 1957 and currently offers major, minor, and masters degrees in history. This collection contains department materials including memorandums, course syllabi and descriptions, and administrative materials. There are also materials related to the Working Group on Disability in US Presidents and the 25th Amendment.
Biographical and Historical Note
Wake Forest University's History department was originally a course of instruction in the School of Moral Philosophy, which students were required to take in their junior year. In 1890, President Charles Elisha Taylor petitioned the Board to appoint a full-time chair of History and Political Science. In 1897, the Department of History and Political Economy was formed; they split in 1957 which led to the creation of the Department of History, chaired by Dr. Henry Stroupe. Stroupe became the Director of the Graduate Program in 1961 when it was formed, and the dean of the Graduate School in 1967. History was one of the original six subjects of the graduate program, and is still offered to this day.
After Stroupe, Richard Zuber was chair in 1979, followed by Richard C. Barnett in 1985, J. Howell Smith in 1988, J. Edwin Hedricks in 1996, Michael L. Hughes in 2000, and Susan Rupp in 2004. Presently, the Department of History offers a major, minor, masters, and optional thematic concentrations for undergraduate students. Additionally, they host a chapter of the Pi Alpha Theta honor society in the field of history.
The Working Group on Disability in U.S. Presidents and the 25th Amendment was a committee headed by two Wake Forest professors, Arthur S. Link and James F. Toole, to discuss interpretations and possible changes the the 25th amendment. They discussed what limits of incapacitation of the president mentally or physically would warrent envoking the 25th amendment. The group met monthly from 1995 to 2002 and also held larger conferences in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Georgia, and at Wake Forest University. The group published a booklet of their recomendations for changes to the amendment in 2002.
Collection Overview
This collection contains History Department materials as well as materials related to the Working Group on Disability in U.S. Presidents and the 25th Amendment which Wake Forest faculty were involved with. Materials include personal, department, and university correspondence and memorandums, course schedules and descriptions, planning materials, course syllabi, visiting scholars materials, and materials related to grants and funds within the department. There are also reports, transcripts, and recordings from the Working Group. Some materials and correspondence are related to the graduate program and its students, and files may have been curated or maintained by the department's chairs and administrative staff.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is divided into four series: Series 1. Course materials, Series 2. Department and University materials, Series 3. Graduate Program materials, and Series 4. Working Group on Disability in U.S. Presidents and the 25th Amendment materials.
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives
- Revision Description
- Revised by Meg Campbell, new materials added and organization improved, 2024 January
- Access Restrictions
- Collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Academic Departments. History Department Records (RG16.12), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.