Scope and Contents
Slotkin's historical studies documented in the collection include: Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860 (1973); The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800-1890 (1985); Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America (1992); Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality (2005); and No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864 (2009), as well as an article, "Equalizers: The Six-Gun Mystique in American Culture."
Slotkin's historical fiction documented in the collection include The Return of Henry Starr (1988) and Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln (2000).
Slotkin's unpublished works documented in the collection include a biography of George Armstrong Custer and a novel based on Oglala Indian leader Crazy Horse.
Dates
- 1959-circa 2012
- Majority of material found within 1969 - 1999
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Boxes 41, 59, and 61 (computer media): Restricted fragile material. Access copies of digital files may be requested. Consult Access Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Material within this collection has been organized by acquisition reflecting the fact that the collection has been acquired in increments over time.
Researchers should note that material within each acquisition overlaps with and/or relates to material found in other acquisitions. In order to locate all relevant material within this collection, researchers will need to consult each acquisition described in the Collection Contents section.
Researchers should also note that similar material can be arranged differently in each acquisition, depending on how the material was organized when it was received by the library.
Extent
36.31 Linear Feet (61 boxes)
5.327 Megabytes (42 digital files)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Richard S. Slotkin (born 1942)
Slotkin’s historical works comprise a trilogy on the mythology of the American West: Regeneration Through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600-1860 (1973); The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800-1890 (1985); and Gunfighter Nation: The Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century America (1992). His other historical studies include Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality (2005) and No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864 (2009). Slotkin also edited So Dreadfull a Judgment: Puritan Responses to King Philip's War, 1675-1677 (1978), with James K. Folsom, and provided notes and an introduction to a Penguin Books edition (1986) of The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper. His works of historical fiction consist of The Crater (1980), The Return of Henry Starr (1988), and Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln (2000).
Processing Information
This collection received a basic level of processing, including rehousing and in some instances minimal organization. Various acquisitions associated with the collection have not been merged and organized as a whole. Each acquisition is described separately in the contents list below, titled according to month and year of acquisition. Includes material formerly classed as Uncat WA MS 13, Uncat WA MS 44, Uncat WA MS 50, Uncat WA MS 51, Uncat WA MS 64, Uncat WA MS 159, Uncat WA MS 160, Uncat WA MS 251, Uncat MSS 814, and Uncat WA MSS File.
As a rule, descriptive information found in the Collection Contents section is drawn in large part from information supplied with the collection and from an initial survey of the contents. Folder titles appearing in the contents list below are often based on those provided by the creator or previous custodian. Titles have not been verified against the contents of the folders in all cases. Otherwise, folder titles are supplied by staff during initial processing.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- African American soldiers -- History -- 20th Century
- American literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism
- American literature -- History and criticism
- Authors -- 20th Century -- Archives
- Born digital
- Crazy Horse, approximately 1842-1877
- Custer, George A. (George Armstrong), 1839-1876
- Frontier and pioneer life -- United States
- Frontier and pioneer life -- United States -- Historiography
- Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
- Frontier and pioneer life in literature
- Frontier thesis
- Historians -- 20th Century
- King Philip's War, 1675-1676
- Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 -- Childhood and youth -- Fiction
- Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 -- Historiography
- Minorities -- United States
- Mythology in literature
- National characteristics, American
- New England -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
- Petersburg Crater, Battle of, Va., 1864
- Popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th Century
- Puritans -- New England
- Slotkin, Richard, 1942-
- Starr, Henry, 1873-1921 -- Fiction
- United States. Army -- African American troops -- History -- 20th Century
- United States. Army (Recruiting, enlistment, etc.)
- United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 369th -- History
- West (U.S.) -- History
- Western films -- Political aspects
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Participation, African American
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- United States
Creator
- Title
- Guide to the Richard Slotkin Papers
- Author
- by Clayton McGahee and Matthew Daniel Mason, Brooke McManus
- Date
- July 2012. Revised: October 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.