[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 149 (Thursday, October 15, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           KENNETH M. STAMPP, UC BERKELEY PROFESSOR EMERITUS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 2009

  Ms. LEE of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life of Dr. Kenneth M. Stampp, professor emeritus at the 
University of California at Berkeley. He was a prolific historian, 
accomplished scholar and a devoted friend, husband, partner, father and 
grandfather. Professor Emeritus Stampp passed away on Friday, July 10, 
at the age of 96.
  Dr. Stampp, who was born on July 12, 1912, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
struggled to earn money for his education during the Great Depression. 
He ultimately earned a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D in History at the University 
of Wisconsin in Madison. In 1946, after short teaching stints at two 
other universities, Dr. Stampp joined the staff at Berkeley as an 
assistant professor.
  During his nearly 40-year career at Berkeley, Dr. Stampp established 
himself as a sometime controversial, though conclusively influential 
19th Century historian. He is best-known for his decades of work 
changing historical perceptions about American slavery, the Civil War 
and Southern Reconstruction.
  His trailblazing research and publications helped further humanize 
enslaved African Americans by giving their stories equal historical 
weight. Dr. Stampp heroically countered other historians' arguments at 
a time when the accepted historical record characterized slavery as a 
necessary institution.
  In his books, Dr. Stampp rejected 1950s theories suggesting that 
sectional compromise might have saved the Union from civil war. Rather, 
he traced the cause of the war directly to a moral debate over slavery.
  According to colleagues, his 1956 book, ``The Peculiar Institution: 
Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South,'' remains the preeminent historical 
reinterpretation for that period.
  Dr. Stampp had the distinction of travelling throughout the United 
States and Europe as a visiting professor, visiting fellow, and as both 
a Commonwealth and Fulbright lecturer. His humble upbringing 
contributed to a dedicated sense of social justice, which he 
demonstrated in his professional life and political views. Dr. Stampp 
participated in a 1965 Civil Rights march from Selma to Montgomery, 
Alabama.
  Throughout his career, Professor Emeritus Stampp earned many 
accolades, which included serving as President of the Organization of 
American Historians, being twice-named a Guggenheim Fellow and winning 
the Lincoln Prize from the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.
  Perhaps most admirable is the way in which Dr. Stampp resurrected 
long-forgotten voices from generations of our African-American brothers 
and sisters living through one of the grimmest scourges in our nation's 
history. Over time, Dr. Stampp's work has invaluably altered the 
framework of academic assumption, historical discrimination and public 
perception.
  Today, California's 9th Congressional District salutes and honors a 
great human being, Professor Emeritus Kenneth M. Stampp. Our community 
is indebted to his life's contribution in countless ways. We extend our 
deepest condolences to Dr. Stampp's family and to all who were dear to 
him. May his soul rest in peace.

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