 Debby Applegate spoke about her thesis, now a Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Pulitzer prize winning book
| |
Although the majority of students dread a lengthy senior thesis, perhaps they would view the project more favorably if it involved a subject as intriguing as sex, politics, religion and the life of Henry Ward Beecher. They might even be able to use it as the foundation for a nationally acclaimed book, as in the case of Debby Applegate, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography The Most Famous Man in America. Applegate spoke at the event, "Sex, Politics, and Religion, Or How I Turned My Undergraduate Thesis into a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biography." Sponsored by the American Studies Program, the history department, Religion and the Arts, and the College of Arts and Sciences, it was the first in a three-part American Speakers Series. Applegate's interest in Henry Ward Beecher was sparked while working at a library as an undergraduate student at Amherst College.
She then chose Beecher as her thesis topic and, as the title of the event states, after 20 years of research, turned her American studies dissertation into the winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Although Beecher died as the most famous man in America, Applegate said that his story was forgotten in the 20th century.
She viewed researching and writing her book as an attempt to bring him back to life, a task which did not prove to be easy.
"My aim is to restore him to his rightful place in history, without whitewashing his sins," said Applegate on the book's Web site.
Applegate told the story of the 19th century preacher whose political life was defined by controversy. Highly regarded by intellectuals of his time such as Walt Whitman, Beecher would be instrumental in the abolition of slavery.
Although Beecher had a distinctly different approach from his sister Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, he earned fame for his riveting sermons, and hundreds came to hear him preach.
A sex scandal would eventually end his career at its peak, but not his fame. "Like a lot of people, I found him lovable," Applegate said.
2008 Woodie Awards
