BG: Bellesiles resigns

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Sun Oct 27 04:19:41 PST 2002


http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/299/living/With_research_in_question_Emory_historian_resigns_post+.shtml

With research in question, Emory historian resigns post

By David Mehegan, Globe Staff, 10/26/2001

H istorian Michael A. Bellesiles, author of a controversial 2000 book

on gun ownership in early America, resigned from Emory University in

Atlanta yesterday after a devastating indictment of his research was

made by an outside committee of scholars.

Bellesiles's major argument in the book ''Arming America: The Origins

of a National Gun Culture'' was that the image of the yeoman Colonist

with his trusty flintlock was a myth, that few early Americans owned

guns, and that those they did own were usually broken or useless. The

book won the coveted Bancroft Prize for history in 2001 and was hailed

by gun-control advocates while being fiercely attacked by gun-owner

groups.

At the same time, mainstream scholars raised questions about research

Bellesiles did into probate records. His credibility problems were

compounded when he said that he had lost all of his research notes in

a flood at Emory. A Globe review last year found that San Francisco

records Bellesiles cited in his book had been destroyed in the 1906

earthquake and fire there, and that records in Providence and Vermont

contradicted his book and explanations on his Web site.

Emory dean Robert A. Paul named a blue-ribbon panel to investigate

last year; it comprised Hanna H. Gray, former president of the

University of Chicago; Stanley N. Katz, professor of public affairs at

Princeton; and Harvard historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.

Focusing mostly on allegations that Bellesiles had falsified research

on probate inventories of California and New England, the committee's

report said attempts to evaluate a key table on which Bellesiles's

central thesis was based were ''an exercise in frustration because it

is almost impossible to tell where Bellesiles got his information. ...

The best that can be said about his work with the probate and militia

records is that he is guilty of unprofessional and misleading work.''

It was not clear yesterday whether the finding would affect the

Bancroft Prize, which is given by the trustees of Columbia University.

In a defiant statement issued yesterday, Bellesiles said, ''The

overwhelming bulk of the evidence in support of this book's thesis

remains unchallenged. ... All that remains in question are the few

paragraphs and tables on probate materials. On those paragraphs,

Emory's committee of inquiry found no evidence of fabrication, though

they do charge evasion. ... I adamantly deny both charges. I have

never fabricated evidence of any kind nor knowingly evaded my response

as a scholar. I have never consciously misrepresented any data or

evidence.''

''His answers raise doubts about his veracity,'' the report states.

''He seems to have been utterly unaware of the importance of the

possibility of replication of his research. His responses have been

prolix, confusing, evasive, and occasionally contradictory. Even at

this point, it is not clear that he understands the magnitude of his

probate research shortcomings.''

Although the report also says, ''we do not believe it possible to

state conclusively that Professor Bellesiles engaged in intentional

fabrication or falsification of research data,'' it adds, ''we are

seriously troubled by Professor Bellesiles's scholarly conduct. ...

the failure to clearly identify his sources does move into the realm

of falsification.''

Paul's statement said all the members of the committee ''had agreed

not to discuss or respond to questions'' about their report, which has

been posted, along with Bellesiles's response, at www.

emory.edu/central/NEWS/index

.shtml. Bellesiles could not be reached for comment yesterday.

David Mehegan can be reached at mehegan at globe.com.

This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 10/26/2001.

© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list