Hoffer, Peter Charles 1944-

PERSONAL:

Born August 3, 1944, in Brooklyn, NY; married, 1970; children: one. Education: University of Rochester, A.B. (summa cum laude), 1965; Harvard University, M.A., 1966, Ph.D., 1970.

ADDRESSES:

Home—GA. Office—Department of History, University of Georgia, Ste. 220, LeConte Hall, Athens, GA 30602. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Professor of history and researcher. Ohio State University, Columbus, assistant professor of history, 1970-77; University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, visiting assistant professor of history, 1977-78; University of Georgia, Athens, assistant professor, 1978-82, associate professor, 1982-86, professor, 1986-93, research professor, 1993-2001, distinguished research professor of history, 2001—. Wolfe Lecturer, Brooklyn College, 1994; Rorshach Lecturer, Rice University, 1994.

MEMBER:

American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, Institute of Early American History and Culture, American Society of Legal History, Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Harvard-Ford Foundation Five-Year Prize Fellowship, 1965-70; National Endowment for the Humanities research grant, 1973-74, and 1975; American Philosophical Society research grant, 1977, 1983; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation research grant, 1978; Project '87 research grant, 1979; American Bar Foundation research fellowship, 1980-81; National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, 1986, 1989-90; University of Georgia Humanities Center fellowship, 1989; Golieb fellow, New York University Law School, 1991-92, 1995, 1997; Outstanding Book Award, Choice, 1992; Albert Christ-Janer Award for Creative Research, University of Georgia, 1993; University of Georgia research grant, 1996; Best of the Best Book Award, American Library Association, 1998-99.

WRITINGS:

(With N.E.H. Hull) Murdering Mothers: Infanticide in England and New England, 1558-1803, New York University Press (New York, NY), 1981.

Revolution and Regeneration: Life Cycle and the Historical Vision of the Generation of 1776, University of Georgia Press (Athens, GA), 1983.

(With N.E.H. Hull) Impeachment in America, 1635-1805, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT), 1984.

Liberty or Order: Two Views of American History from the Revolutionary Crisis to the Early Works of George Bancroft and Wendell Phillips, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Law's Conscience: Equitable Constitutionalism in America, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1990.

Law and People in Colonial America, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1992.

(With William W. Stueck) Reading and Writing American History: An Introduction to the Historian's Craft, D.C. Heath (Lexington, MA), 1994.

The Devil's Disciples: Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1996.

The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 1997.

The Brave New World: A History of Early America, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2000, 2nd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2006.

(With N.E.H. Hull) Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 2001.

American History: Early Colonizations to 1877, College Network (Indianapolis, IN), 2002.

American History I: Study Guide, College Network (Indianapolis, IN), 2002.

The Great New York Conspiracy of 1741: Slavery, Crime, and Colonial Law, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 2003.

Sensory Worlds in Early America, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 2003.

Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, and Fraud in the Writing of American History, PublicAffairs (New York, NY), 2004.

Seven Fires: The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America, PublicAffairs (New York, NY), 2006.

(With others) The Supreme Court: An Essential History, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 2007.

The Treason Trials of Aaron Burr, University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 2008.

EDITOR

(With Bradley Chapin and William W. Beck) Modern Strategies for Teaching the American Revolution, Ohio Historical Society (Columbus, OH), 1976.

(With William B. Scott) Criminal Proceedings in Colonial Virginia: (Records of) Fines, Examination of Criminals, Trials of Slaves, etc. from March 1710 (1711) to (1754), University of Georgia Press (Athens, GA), 1984.

A Rage for Liberty: Selected Articles on the Immediate Causes of the American Revolution, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Stresses of Empire: Selected Articles on the British Empire in the Eighteenth Century, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Africans become Afro-Americans: Selected Articles on Slavery in the American Colonies, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

An American Enlightenment: Selected Articles on Colonial Intellectual History, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

American Patterns of Life: Selected Articles on the Provincial Period of American History, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Colonial Women and Domesticity: Selected Articles on Gender in Early America, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Commerce and Community: Selected Articles on the Middle Atlantic Colonies, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Context of Colonization: Selected Articles on Britain in the Era of American Colonization, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Homage to New England: Selected Articles on Early New England History, 1937 to 1963, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Indians and Europeans: Selected Articles on Indian-White Relations in Colonial North America, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

An Empire Takes Shape: Selected Articles on the Origins of the Old English Colonial System, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Marrow of American Divinity: Selected Articles on Colonial Religion, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

A Nation in the Womb of Time: Selected Articles on the Long-term Causes of the American Revolution, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

New England Rediscovered: Selected Articles on New England Colonial History, 1965 to 1973, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Pace of Change: Selected Articles on Politics and Society in Pre-revolutionary America, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

The Peopling of a World: Selected Articles on Immigration and Settlement Patterns in British North America, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Planters and Yeoman: Selected Articles on the Southern Colonies, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

Puritans and Yankees: Selected Articles on New England Colonial History, 1974 to 1984, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1988.

(With N.E.H. Hull and William James Hoffer) The Abortion Rights Controversy in America: A Legal Reader, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Oxford Companion to American Law, Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court, Encyclopedia of the British North American Colonies, and Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System. Contributor to periodicals, including William and Mary Quarterly, Rutgers Law Journal, American Journal of Legal History, and Cardozo Law Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Peter Charles Hoffer's writings often focus on early American history, but he has also written on contemporary issues facing historians and educators. Modern-day plagiarism and professional misconduct among historians is the subject of his book Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, and Fraud in the Writing of American History. Hoffer specifically addresses incidents of dishonesty that were revealed in the early 2000s, including overt plagiarism in books by Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and fabrication of data by Michael Bellesiles. David J. Garrow, writing for the Wilson Quarterly, commented that Past Imperfect "offers the most comprehensive and erudite analysis of the Bellesiles scandal to date, and [Hoffer's] thoughtful and wide-ranging review of the full raft of recent plagiarism cases and other transgressions leaves no doubt that Bellesiles's were ‘the most egregious of our era.’ … Past Imperfect offers an exceptionally astute survey of recent trends in the history profession." A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked: "Those con- cerned with the integrity and future of the field will find this analysis illuminating." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews suggested that "what emerges in this well-researched assessment of a nasty problem are both the author's love for his discipline and his grief for the losses it has sustained."

Published in 2003, Hoffer's Sensory Worlds in Early America documents how the five senses were utilized and appreciated by early colonists. English Historical Review contributor Mark Jenner wrote that the book "promises to be a pioneering study which explores the interplay of the senses in practice." Robert Flatley, writing in the Library Journal, called Sensory Worlds in Early America "well written and researched" and "an innovative and unusual work."

Hoffer first tackles the history of abortion rights in the United States in 2001's Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History. Library Journal reviewer Mary Jane Brustman noted that the book "does an unusually good job of covering the full legal history from Colonial times to 2001. It is crammed with information but remains very readable." Mary Carroll commented in a Booklist review that the book "exposes teens to nuanced discussion of often overly simplified controversial and emotional issues." A Publishers Weekly reviewer regarded Roe v. Wade as a "page-turner" and a "remarkable volume" that should be "popular with law students and lay readers alike." In 2004, Hoffer coedited The Abortion Rights Controversy in America: A Legal Reader with N.E.H. Hull and William James Hoffer. Ted G. Jelen described the book in a Perspectives on Political Science review as "an essential resource for anyone seeking to understanding the legal ramifications of the abortion issue."

Hoffer has published two books centering on the Salem Witch Trials, which occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, in the seventeenth century: The Devil's Disciples: Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials and The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History, both of which are aimed at the general reader. In Review of Politics, Timothy J. McMillan wrote that The Devil's Disciples is "a well-documented and well-argued analysis of the roles of psychology and culture in producing the hysteria and trials." He added that "the structure of The Salem Witchcraft Trials is useful and compelling" and that the book serves as "a useful introduction to this important aspect of colonial American history."

In Seven Fires: The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America, Hoffer examines the history of a number of major fires in U.S. cities. He addresses each fire, beginning with the 1760 fire in Boston caused by a tipped-over lamp, and ending with the fires caused by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. The book includes information regarding how fires and fire preparedness have changed through the centuries. Hoffer looks at how people have fought the fires, as well as how they inadvertently have caused or increased the risk of fires, then examines how these trends have affected overall urban development. George Cohen, writing for Booklist, remarked that "Hoffer's mastery of narrative detail brings the history of these disasters vividly alive." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found the work "timely and thoughtful, if not always well told."

In The Supreme Court: An Essential History, published in 2007 by the University Press of Kansas, Hoffer takes a look at the long history of the United States Supreme Court, starting during the colonial era with the nascent court system that would develop with the nation and following it all the way up to the days of William Rehnquist. The book is a joint effort between Hoffer, history professor William James Hoffer, and law professor N.E.H. Hull, the result of which is a well-rounded volume that gives readers a varied perspective on the court's history. They present the history chronologically, addressing each of the chief justices and the major achievements of each of their tenures on the bench, as well as looking at the rest of the court as a whole and the contributions of the other judges associated with the body. Becky Kennedy, in a review for Library Journal, commented that "the book's historical rather than strictly legal contextualizing distinguishes it from other Court histories." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote that the volume should be considered "essential for those who want a historical context for current debates about America's politics and fundamental principles." Theodore Pollack, writing for the New York Law Journal, noted in particular the insights into the various justices, writing: "It adds depth to our knowledge of the Supreme Court by adding a human dimension to the Supreme Court beyond the words of issued decisions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2001, Mary Carroll, review of Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History, p. 297; April 15, 2006, review of Seven Fires: The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America, p. 23.

English Historical Review, June, 2004, Mark Jenner, review of Sensory Worlds in Early America, p. 804.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2004, review of Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, and Fraud in the Writing of American History, p. 788; April 1, 2006, review of Seven Fires, p. 334.

Library Journal, November 15, 2001, Mary Jane Brustman, review of Roe v. Wade, p. 80; November 1, 2003, Robert Flatley, review of Sensory Worlds in Early America, p. 98; July 1, 2007, Becky Kennedy, review of The Supreme Court: An Essential History, p. 106.

New York Law Journal, December 28, 2007, Theodore Pollack, review of The Supreme Court.

Perspectives on Political Science, winter, 2005, Ted G. Jelen, review of The Abortion Rights Controversy in America: A Legal Reader, p. 49.

Publishers Weekly, September 10, 2001, review of Roe v. Wade, p. 79; September 13, 2004, review of Past Imperfect, p. 70; June 25, 2007, review of The Supreme Court, p. 46.

Review of Politics, summer, 1998, Timothy J. McMillan, review of The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History, p. 595.

Wilson Quarterly, winter, 2005, David J. Garrow, review of Past Imperfect, p. 112.

ONLINE

University of Georgia Department of History Web site,http://www.uga.edu/history/ (October 18, 2005), author profile.