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Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese: Partners in Life and History Emily Chandler Clemson University, [email protected]

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Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese: Partners in Life and History Emily Chandler Clemson University, Emilyfchandler@Gmail.Com Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2013 Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese: Partners in Life and History Emily Chandler Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Chandler, Emily, "Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese: Partners in Life and History" (2013). All Theses. 1615. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1615 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EUGENE GENOVESE AND ELIZABETH FOX-GENOVESE: PARTNERS IN LIFE AND HISTORY A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History by Frances Emily Fleming Chandler May 2013 Accepted by: Dr. Alan Grubb, Committee Chair Dr. Rod Andrew Dr. Steven Marks ABSTRACT This study examines both the personal and professional relationships of historians Eugene D. Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Considered by many to be a ‘power couple’ in the historical academy, they were pioneers in the field of southern history and offered a number of contributions toward a Marxist interpretation of the antebellum South. They also wielded a considerable amount of influence within their discipline. Previous studies have focused on the Genoveses’ professional collaboration and scholarship, but have neglected to explore their marriage. This study takes a closer look at their personal lives and marriage and seeks to determine the influence they had on one another as well as the influence their marriage had on their historical scholarship. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my husband, William Chandler. He has encouraged me every step of the way and I do not know that I could have done it without his support. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would especially like to thank Billy Hungeling, Sheila O’Connor-Ambrose, and Douglas Ambrose for their kind assistance in my research, especially following Eugene Genovese’s death. Billy was gracious enough to answer questions about Gene and Betsey, share stories of his friendship with them, and he even allowed me to see their home. Sheila and Douglas were also very generous. They answered all of my questions regarding their experiences with Gene and Betsey as teachers, mentors, and friends. Together, they provided invaluable information and allowed me to see Gene and Betsey on a more personal level. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................. iv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 II. “A MARRIAGE MADE IN HISTORY”: BIOGRAPHY OF EUGENE GENOVESE AND ELIZABETH FOX-GENOVESE ........... 4 II. A MARXIST APPROACH TO THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF EUGENE GENOVESE ...................... 54 III. AN UNORTHODOX FEMINIST: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF ELIZABETH FOX-GENOVESE .................................................... 82 IV. A BRILLIANT PARTNERSHIP: THE JOINT HISTORIOGRAPHY OF EUGENE GENOVESE AND ELIZABETH FOX-GENOVESE ....... 105 V. CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 124 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 131 v INTRODUCTION In 1989, historian Bertram Wyatt-Brown asked, “What would antebellum southern history be like without the work of the Genoveses?” 1 Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese were one of the rare power couples within the historical academy. They were erudite, prolific, bold, and controversial. Each made a reputation in southern history by seeking to reinterpret it from a Marxist perspective, and each won national recognition for playing an electrifying role in the culture wars of the 1960s and 1990s. Both had strong personalities and were self-proclaimed agnostics. However, they also worked as a team and influenced each other in a number of ways. They co-taught history courses, co-wrote several influential books, and co-founded the journal Marxist Perspectives and The Historical Society. Further, after meeting and marrying Genovese, Fox-Genovese shifted from a specialty in French history to an emphasis on Genovese’s field, the American South. The two shared an interesting trajectory as well. Late in life, they shifted to a more conservative outlook and both joined the Catholic Church. Up to this point, historians who have written about Genovese and Fox-Genovese have dealt primarily with their historical scholarship. From reviewing their early works and analyzing the merits of their Marxist interpretations of southern history to the slightly grudging acknowledgements of their recent, more conservative histories, historians have credited them with thoughtful and provocative works which have served to advance the study of history. However, outside of a random reference to their ventures into the culture wars, no historian has thoroughly studied either Genovese or Fox-Genovese on a 1 Bertram Wyatt-Brown, “Matrons and Mammies,” Reviews in American History 17 (1989): 219. personal level. Hence, this study presents a unique inquiry into their personal lives in an effort to discover how their marriage influenced their historical scholarship. The first chapter is a biography of Genovese and Fox-Genovese. Beginning with their family backgrounds and childhoods, it goes on to describe their marriage, personalities, professional careers and accomplishments, and participation in the culture wars. It also includes their political migrations, religious conversions, increasingly strained relations with the academic community, and the sexual harassment allegations lodged against Fox-Genovese during her tenure at Emory University. Finally, it examines the Genoveses’ marriage, what they were like as a couple, and the ways in which they helped one another, influenced one another, worked together, and encouraged one another. In all, it offers a glimpse into the lives and marriage of Genovese and Fox- Genovese and provides a greater understanding of the ways in which their lives and marriage influenced each of them as historians. The second and third chapters then examine the scholarship of Genovese and Fox- Genovese respectively. They explore the kind of history each has written, how it is written, each author’s point of view and perspective, and the sources each has utilized. They also discuss the extent to which the scholarship of each was influenced by his or her personal experiences and review the critical opinion of each author’s scholarly work. Finally, the fourth chapter is very similar to the second and third in form and content, but it examines the Genoveses’ collaborative work. 2 Overall, Eugene Genovese and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese were each remarkable in his or her own right. However, their personal and professional partnership, their academic and domestic union, makes their story even more intriguing. 3 CHAPTER ONE “A MARRIAGE MADE IN HISTORY”: BIOGRAPHY OF EUGENE GENOVESE AND ELIZABETH FOX-GENOVESE 2 Eugene Dominic Genovese, nicknamed Gene, was born in 1930 in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York during the Great Depression. 3 Born to Catholic parents of Italian (Sicilian) background, he grew up in a working-class neighborhood and attended Public School 201 and New Utrecht High School. 4 His father was a dockworker, and he often had trouble finding work, especially during the lean winter months. His mother did not work, but stayed at home and took care of the family. 5 Through the summer, she stocked up on food hoping that it would last the family through the winter. 6 Often, the food did not last. Looking back on those hard times, Gene remembered, “The year 1938 was particularly brutal. I was eight years old. I will never forget it.” 7 Too proud to accept welfare, Gene’s parents went without so their children could eat. “It is not enjoyable to watch your parents stint themselves of food in order for you and your brother to get a proper meal.” 8 Such images would have a lasting effect on Gene throughout his life. His father was class conscious and knew that he was a worker. Nonetheless, he respected the owner of the company for which he worked because he had 2 Carlin Romano, “A Marriage Made in History,” The Chronicle of Higher Education 55 (2009): B4. 3 Eugene D. Genovese, “From Marxism to Christianity,” Calvin College, January 20, 1998, http://www.c- spanvideo.org/program/99284-1; Jay Nordlinger, “Up From Leftism: A Visit With the Historian Gene Genovese,” National Review 63 (2011): 42. 4 Eugene D. Genovese, Miss Betsey: A Memoir of Marriage (Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2009), 1-2, 90. 5 Genovese, “From Marxism to Christianity.” 6 Genovese, Miss Betsey , 19. 7 Nordlinger, “Up From Leftism,” 42. 8 Genovese, “From Marxism to Christianity.” 4 labored to build his company honestly,
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