{{short description|American economist}} thumb|right|Mitchell in 1922 '''Broadus Mitchell''' (December 27, 1892 – April 28, 1988) was a 20th-century American historian, writer, professor, and 1934 Socialist Party candidate for governor of Maryland.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell>{{Cite news |title=Broadus Mitchell, 95, Professor, Historian and Hamilton Authority |format=obituary |first=Joan |last=Cook |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/30/obituaries/broadus-mitchell-95-professor-historian-and-hamilton-authority.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1988-04-30 |access-date=2008-11-18}}</ref><ref name=MP3-BroadusMitchell> {{cite interview | last = Mitchell | first = Broadus | subject = | subject-link = | last2 = Mitchell | first2 = Louise | subject2 = | subject-link2 = | last3 = | first3 = | subject3 = | subject-link3 = | last4 = | first4 = | subject4 = | subject-link4 = | interviewer = Mary Frederickson | title = Oral History Interview with Broadus Mitchell | type = | work = | date = 14 August 1977 | publisher = Documenting the American South - Oral Histories of the American South | location = Wendell, Massachusetts | page = | pages = | quote = | url = https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/playback.html?base_file=B-0024&duration=03:53:51 | format = MP3 | url-status = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date = 19 April 2022}}</ref><ref name=Text-BroadusMitchell> {{cite interview | last = Mitchell | first = Broadus | subject = | subject-link = | last2 = Mitchell | first2 = Louise | subject2 = | subject-link2 = | last3 = | first3 = | subject3 = | subject-link3 = | last4 = | first4 = | subject4 = | subject-link4 = | interviewer = Mary Frederickson | title = Oral History Interview with Broadus Mitchell | type = | work = | date = 14 August 1977 | publisher = Documenting the American South - Oral Histories of the American South | location = Wendell, Massachusetts | page = | pages = | quote = | url = https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/B-0024/B-0024.html | format = HTML text | url-status = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date = 19 April 2022}}</ref>
==Background== John<ref name=Text-BroadusMitchell/> Broadus Mitchell was born on December 27, 1892, in Georgetown, Kentucky. His father was a professor of classical languages. He had three siblings. In 1913, he graduated from the University of South Carolina and in 1918 earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/><ref name=Text-BroadusMitchell/>
==Career== Mitchell was primarily a university professor and taught for a half century.
===Academia=== Mitchell was a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins, as well as instructor at the Baltimore Labor College, at the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry,<ref> {{cite conference | url = | title = Workers' Education and Adult Education | first = Jonathan D. | last = Bloom | author = | author-link = | date = March 1989 | conference = Breaking New Ground: The Development of Adult and Workers' Education in North America | conference-url = https://roghiemstra.com/breaking.html | editor = Rae Wahl Rohfeld | others = Irene Quinlan (copy editor) | volume = | edition = | book-title = | publisher = Syracuse University Kellogg Project | location = | pages = | format = | id = | isbn = | bibcode = | oclc = | doi = | access-date = | quote = | language = | page = | at = | trans-title = }}</ref><ref> {{cite book |last1 = Rita |first1 = Heller |author-link1 = |editor-last1 = Kornbluh |editor-first1 = Joyce L. |editor-last2 = Frederickson |editor-first2 = Mary |orig-date = 1984 |chapter = Blue Collars and Blue Stockings: The Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers, 1921-1938 |script-chapter = |trans-chapter = |chapter-url = https://tupress.temple.edu/open-access/epub/15/Kornbluh_9781439917923.epub#epubcfi(/6/34[nav_29]!/4/2/2/1:0) |chapter-url-access = |chapter-format = |title = Sisterhood and Solidarity: Workers' Education for Women, 1914-1984 |script-title = |trans-title = |title-link = |url = |url-status = |url-access = |format = |type = |series = |language = English |volume = |edition = |location = Philadelphia |publisher = Temple University Press |publication-date = 2008 |pages = 120, 124, 154 |no-pp = |arxiv = |asin = |asin-tld = |bibcode = |bibcode-access = |biorxiv = |citeseerx = |doi = |doi-access = |jstor = |jstor-access = |lccn = }}</ref> and also the Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Sweet Briar, Virginia, with Lois Macdonald<ref name=Text-LoisMacdonal> {{cite interview | last = Macdonald | first = Lois | subject = | subject-link = | last2 = | first2 = | subject2 = | subject-link2 = | last3 = | first3 = | subject3 = | subject-link3 = | last4 = | first4 = | subject4 = | subject-link4 = | interviewer = Marion W. Roydhouse | title = Oral History Interview with Lois Macdonald | type = | work = | date = 24 June 1975 | publisher = Documenting the American South - Oral Histories of the American South | location = Yonkers, New York | page = | pages = 25-26 | quote = | url = https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/11195/rec/12 | format = PDF | url-status = | archive-url = | archive-date = | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref> under Louise Leonard McLaren.<ref name=Text-BroadusMitchell/> In 1922, Mitchell was also a member of the advisory board of the Workers' Education Bureau of America.<ref> {{cite book | editor = | title = Workers Education in the United States: Report of Proceedings Second National Conference on Workers Education in the United States | publisher = Workers Education Bureau of America | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=61o7AAAAYAAJ | pages = 193 | date = 1922 | access-date = 20 April 2022}}</ref>
From 1919 to 1939, Mitchell taught at the Johns Hopkins University.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/> His students included the undergraduate Alger Hiss (who later recalled Mitchell as one of his favorite teachers<ref> {{cite book | first = Tony | last = Hiss | author-link = | title = Laughing Last | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SPV2AAAAMAAJ | pages = 37–39 | date = 1977 | isbn = 9780395248997 | access-date = 17 May 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite book | first = John Chabot | last = Smith | author-link = | title = Alger Hiss: The True Story | publisher = Penguin | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GHQOAQAAMAAJ | pages = 51–52 | date = 1977 | isbn = 9780140044270 | access-date = 17 May 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite journal | first = Jess | last = Gilbert | title = Eastern Urban Liberals and Midwestern Agrarian Intellectuals: Two Group Portraits of Progressives in the New Deal Department of Agriculture | journal = Agricultural History | publisher = Agricultural History Society | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/3744845 | page = 175 | date = 2000 | volume = 74 | issue = 2 | doi = 10.1215/00021482-74.2.162 | jstor = 3744845 | s2cid = 163230757 | access-date = 17 May 2022| url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref> {{cite web | title = Distorted Reflections: A Response | publisher = The Alger Hiss Story | url = https://algerhiss.com/media/books/reviews/jeff-kisseloff-2004/ | date = 2004 | access-date = 17 May 2022}}</ref><ref> {{cite web | first = Matthew | last = Richer | title = The Ongoing Campaign of Alger Hiss: The Sins of the Father | publisher = Intercollegiate Studies Institute | url = https://isi.org/modern-age/the-ongoing-campaign-of-alger-hiss-the-sins-of-the-father/ | date = 8 October 2014 | access-date = 17 May 2022}}</ref> but denied that Mitchell's Socialism had swayed him<ref> {{cite book |first = Alger |last = Hiss |author-link = |title = A Liberal Manifesto |publisher = The Alger Hiss Story |url = https://algerhiss.com/alger-hiss/in-his-own-words/alger-hisss-liberal-manifesto/ |pages = |date = 2002 |access-date = 17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809080127/https://algerhiss.com/alger-hiss/in-his-own-words/alger-hisss-liberal-manifesto/ |archive-date=9 August 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>). Throughout his tenure at Hopkins, two recurring issues landed Mitchell in trouble with the university and opened him up to criticism: first, his radical political and economic views as a socialist, and, second, his outspoken stance supporting equal rights along racial lines.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/> As one source recounts: <blockquote> <small> In 1932 a lynching occurred in Salisbury, Maryland. Mitchell was bothered that it received very little attention in the newspapers or by the police. Mitchell decided to do some detective work. The story went that a suspected murderer, Euel Lee, had been abducted and was hanged in front of the courthouse. Broadus talked with many members of the Eastern Shore community to obtain some basic ideas on the opinions of the people in that region. To his surprise nearly everyone involved in the event had been named, but no one had been arrested for the murder. This was very typical of the lynchings that plagued the South from Reconstruction to as late as the 1950s. Many of those who were involved were well-known people in the area. Fear of being socially ostracized, or worse, prevented most people from taking any action at all. [...] The most frustrating aspect for Mitchell was the fact that the local officials had done nothing about it. Mitchell appealed to the state, which replied that it was entirely within the jurisdiction of the local police. Taking his research public, Mitchell said, 'I abhor lynching and officials who allow it should be impeached... The Southerners whom I know and esteem do not believe that the Negro must remain dependant upon the white man and they believe in the orderly administration of law as opposed to mob violence.' Later when asked to write about his experiences at Hopkins, Mitchell mentioned his frustrations with the lynching and wrote, 'Not only did Eastern Shore peace officers do nothing to identify and arrest members of the lynch mob, but the Governor and Attorney General were quiescent.' Unlike nearly all white Southerners of his day, Broadus Mitchell was willing to publicly criticize an entire white community for violating the essential rights of a single African American man.<ref>{{cite book |first=Danton |last=Rodriguez |title=All Quiet on the Southern Front: The Bravery of Edward S. Lewis – A Look at the Policies and Politics Regarding Admission of African Americans to Johns Hopkins in the 1930s |year=2003}} Quoted in Gaynor 2007.</ref> </small> </blockquote> During his time as professor at Johns Hopkins University, those views led to his resignation (1938) over the university's refusal to admit an African American student into the graduate school. The student, Edward Lewis, later headed the New York Urban League.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
Mitchell went on to teach at Occidental College (1939–1941), New York University (1942–1944), Rutgers University (1949–1958), and Hofstra University (1958–1967).<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/> ===Politics=== In 1934, Mitchell ran for governor of Maryland as the Socialist Party's nominee. He finished in third place, receiving 6,773 votes representing 1.32% of the popular vote.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
==Personal life and death== Mitchell married twice. His second wife was Louise Pearson, who also co-authored ''American Economic History'' (1947), ''A Biography of the Constitution of the United States'' (1964), and ''The Price of Independence'' (1976) with him; she died in 1986. He had three children.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
Mitchell served as president of the Baltimore chapter of the National Urban League and chair of the New Jersey Civil Liberties Committee.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
Broadus Mitchell died age 95 on April 28, 1988, at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Tarrytown, New York.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
==Works== Starting in 1957, Mitchell wrote five works on Alexander Hamilton, including a two-volume biography.<ref name=NYTobitBroadusMitchell/>
;Books solo * {{cite book|title=The Rise of Cotton Mills in the South|date=1921|publisher=Johns Hopkins Press|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924002654774}} * {{cite book|title=Frederick Law Olmsted, a critic of the Old South|date=1924|publisher=Johns Hopkins Press|url=https://www.questia.com/library/7912690/frederick-law-olmsted-a-critic-of-the-old-south}} * {{cite book|title=William Gregg: Factory Master of the Old South|date=1928|publisher=Octagon Books}} * {{cite book|title=Depression Decade: From New Era Through New Deal, 1929-1941|date=1947|publisher=Sharpe}} Volume 9 of ''Economic History of the United States: Holt Rinehart and Winston'' series * {{cite book|title=Heritage from Hamilton|url=https://archive.org/details/heritagefromhami00mitc|url-access=registration|date=1957|publisher=Columbia University Press}} * {{cite book|title=Alexander Hamilton: Youth to Maturity, 1755-1788|url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto0001mitc|url-access=registration|date=1957|publisher=Macmillan}} * {{cite book|title=Alexander Hamilton: The National Adventure, 1788-1804|date=1962|publisher=Macmillan}} * {{cite book|title=A Biography of the Constitution of the United States: Its Origin, Formation, Adoption, Interpretation|url=https://archive.org/details/biographyofconst0000mitc|url-access=registration|date=1964|publisher=Oxford University Press}} * {{cite book|title=The Price of Independence: A Realistic View of the American Revolution|date=1974|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=374}} * ''Great Economists in their Times'' (1966) {{OCLC|970418}} * {{cite book|title=Alexander Hamilton: A Concise Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderhamilto0000mitc_y4d2|url-access=registration|date=1976|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-501735-9 }}
;Books co-authored with Louise Pearson Mitchell * ''[https://archive.org/details/amereconhistorymitchell American Economic History]'' (1947)<ref>{{cite book|title=American Economic History|date=1947|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|pages=928}}</ref> * ''A Biography of the Constitution of the United States'' (1964) * ''The Price of Independence'' (1976) ;Books co-authored with brother George Sinclair Mitchell * ''The Industrial Revolution in the South'' (1930) {{ASIN|B000P6ER1W}}
;Articles * "What Can the Workers' Teacher Expect of His Students?" (1921)<ref> {{cite conference | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=85QWAAAAIAAJ | title = What Can the Workers' Teacher Expect of His Students? | first = Broadus | last = Mitchell | author = | author-link = Broadus Mitchell | year = 1921 | conference = Workers Education in the United States: First National Conference on Workers Education in the United States | conference-url = | editor = Spencer Miller Jr. | volume = | edition = | book-title = | publisher = Workers Education Bureau of America | archive-url = | archive-date = | location = New York | pages = 125–129 | format = PDF | id = | isbn = | bibcode = | oclc = | doi = | access-date = | quote = | language = | page = | at = | trans-title = }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Gutenberg author | id=39061| name=Broadus Mitchell}} * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Broadus Mitchell |sopt=t}} * [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/B-0024/menu.html Oral History Interview with Broadus Mitchell] from [http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/ Oral Histories of the American South] * [https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/playback.html?base_file=B-0024&duration=03:53:51 MP3 - Interview with Broadus Mitchell, August 14 and 15, 1977. Interview B-0024. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)]
{{Socialist Party of America}} {{Historical left-wing third party presidential tickets (U.S.)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Broadus}} Category:1892 births Category:1988 deaths Category:20th-century American historians Category:American male non-fiction writers Category:20th-century American economists Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty Category:People from Georgetown, Kentucky Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Kentucky Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from Maryland Category:Economists from Kentucky Category:20th-century American male writers