[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3196-S3197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING GORDON S. WOOD

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Gordon S. 
Wood, esteemed scholar and historian whose notable works examined and 
guided our understanding of the ideals that birthed and gave rise to 
the early American Republic.
  Born in 1933 in Concord, MA, site of the earliest skirmishes of the 
American Revolution, Gordon Wood's interest in early American history 
seems almost inevitable. Dr. Wood attended Tufts University; after 
earning his degree, he served in the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He earned 
his master of arts and Ph.D. in history at Harvard University. In 1969, 
the same year he began his illustrious career at Brown University in 
Providence, RI, he published his seminal work, ``The Creation of the 
American Republic, 1776-1787,'' which received the prestigious Bancroft 
Prize.
  Throughout his career, Dr. Wood authored 10 books, including ``The 
Radicalism of the American Revolution,'' which was awarded the Pulitzer 
Prize for History. It was this achievement that, perhaps, most 
forcefully launched him from the realm of academia into the world of 
public humanities. Dr. Wood's work analyzed how the Colonists' 
rejection of British monarchy radically shaped not only self-
governance, but also the ways in which their nascent ideas of liberty 
and equality wove themselves into every facet of American society, 
politics, and culture.
  In their brazen embrace of such radical notions, the Colonists 
transformed from King's subjects to citizens of a modern, democratic 
republic.
  For 40 years at Brown University, Gordon Wood was a devoted teacher 
and humanist, a brilliant lecturer, and a mentor who engaged 
generations of students and critical thinkers. He supported new 
perspectives and historical analysis, welcomed discussion and debate. 
In recognition of his vigorous scholarship and vast contributions to 
the humanistic disciplines, President Obama presented Dr. Wood with the 
2010 National Humanities Medal.
  After retiring in 2008, he continued to research, write, and lecture 
widely. He held the prestigious title of Alva O. Way University 
Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University. Dr. 
Wood remained steadfast about the centrality of these revolutionary 
beliefs: liberty and equality, born out of the Enlightenment, boldly 
propelled early Americans to democratic republicanism and independence.

[[Page S3197]]

Today, these beliefs still sit at the very core of this great 
experiment in democracy.
  Sadly, Dr. Wood passed away on June 7 at the age of 92. He was but 
weeks away from receiving a very special accolade on behalf of Brown 
University's semiquincentennial initiative--Brown 2026--for ``his 
unparalleled contributions to history and to education.'' Indeed, Dr. 
Wood's scholarship has added tremendous depth to our understanding of 
the ideas behind the founding of our Nation, which we will be 
celebrating with great fanfare in a few short days.
  I want to join the Brown University community and a long list of 
colleagues, former students, and friends in extending my condolences to 
Dr. Wood's wife Louise, his children, and grandchildren. His kindness, 
humility, intellect, wisdom, and generous mentorship influenced 
countless people, and his legacy will live on to enrich and remind us 
of the hopeful potential that was and is America.
  Gordon Wood will be rightfully remembered as one of the great 
scholars of American history. Today, I also ask that you remember him 
as a great American.

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