Richard C. Wade
Richard Clement Wade (1921 – 2008) was an urban studies professor in the USA who advised many Democratic politicians and candidates, including Adlai Stevenson, Robert F. Kennedy and George McGovern. As a historian, he pioneered the application of social science techniques to the study of urban history and helped make cities an important academic subject. His first book, The Urban Frontier (1959), was a challenge to Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis, asserting that the catalysts for western expansion were the western cities like Pittsburgh, Louisville and Cincinnati, not the pioneer farmers. Other books include: Slavery in the Cities: The South, 1820-1860 (1964)Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis (1973) (with Harold Mayer)
Articles by this Contributor
American Heritage is proud to host the
National Portal to
Historic Collections
Recently added:
- American Revolution Center
- National Museum of Civil War Medicine
- National Museum of the U.S. Navy
- Manassas National Battlefield
- Maryland State House
In association with the
American Association for State and Local History
Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?
-
“Save America’s Treasures” has been totally eliminated—the largest Federal program supporting preservation of such treasures as the original Star Spangled Banner and George Washington’s tent.
-
65% of Americans don’t know what happened at the Constitutional Convention, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
-
The “Teaching American History” grants—the largest Federal program supporting history education—have been completely eliminated.
-
Visits to the Top 20 Civil War battlefields have dropped in half from 1970 to 2009 according to official National Park Service statistics.
-
40% of Americans can’t identify whom we fought in World War II, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
-
A quarter of Americans believe Congress shares power over U.S. foreign policy with the United Nations, according to a recent Annenberg survey.
-
“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country,” John F. Kennedy wrote in American Heritage.
-
The “We the People Program,” which touched some 30 million students and 90,000 teachers over 25 years, has been completely eliminated.
-
Two-thirds of Americans could not correctly name Yorktown as the last major military action of the American Revolution, according to a recent national Gallup survey.
-
The National Heritage Areas and Scenic Byways program, the only major Federal program encouraging visits to historic places, has been completely eliminated in Congressional committee.
