Carl Lotus Becker

Carl Lotus Becker
Carl Lotus Becker (1873–1945) was an influential American historian best known for his work on the American Revolution and intellectual history. He taught at Cornell University and wrote extensively on the Enlightenment and its impact on democratic ideas. His notable works include "The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth-Century Philosophers" (1932), which explores the philosophical underpinnings of modernity, and "The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas" (1922). Becker's writing emphasized the relativity of historical knowledge, arguing that historical facts are shaped by the historian's perspective and societal context.

Author's Books:


EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION In the following volumes the authors seek to present a brief account of the beginnings, development, and final unity of the people of the United States. There are many histories of the country, many biographies which are in large measure histories; but these are exhaustive works traversing minutely certain periods, like Rhodes's History of the United States from 1850 to... more...

CHAPTER I. A Patriot Of 1763 His Majesty's reign... I predict will be happy and trulyglorious.—Benjamin Franklin. The 29th of January, 1757, was a notable day in the life of Ben Franklin of Philadelphia, well known in the metropolis of America as printer and politician, and famous abroad as a scientist and Friend of the Human Race. It was on that day that the Assembly of Pennsylvania... more...