Dr. William J. Cooper, Boyd Professor, Department of History, Louisiana State University will be the guest speaker for the Young-Sanders Center on Saturday April 30, 2011 at 1:30 pm in Franklin, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Princeton University, 1962, and a Ph.D. from John Hopkins University, 1966. Dr. Cooper is a native of Kingstree, South Carolina. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellow, Fellow, Society of American Historians, Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fellow, Charles Warren Center for the Studies in American History, Harvard University, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, Jefferson Davis Award, and LSU Distinguished Research Master.
He is the author of several books including, The Conservative Regime: South Carolina, 1877-1890, The South and the Politics of Slavery, 1828-1856, Liberty and Slavery: Southern Politics to 1860, The American South: A History (with Thomas T. Terrill), Jefferson Davis, American, and Jefferson Davis and the Civil War Era.
Dr. Cooper is considered the leading authority on the history of Jefferson Davis by many historians across the country. All of Dr. Cooper’s books have received great reviews, but his book entitled “Jefferson Davis, American” is a must read for any student wishing to gain knowledge of the man who was the President of the Confederate States of America. “Poignant ….In telling the story of this complex man, Cooper skillfully weaves together details of Davis.” the Houston Chronicle.
The Young-Sanders center will offer a limited number of copies of books for sale by Dr. Cooper, including Jefferson Davis, American, The South and the Politics of Slavery, 1828-1856,
and Jefferson Davis and the Civil War Era.
For more information contact Roland R. Stansbury, Director, Young-Sanders Center for the Study of the War Between the States in Louisiana at (337) 413-1861 or by email at ysc1861@aol.com. Dr. Cooper’s lecture will be held at the J. Y. Sanders Hall located at 701 Teche Drive, Franklin, Louisiana. We are located one block from the St. Mary Parish Court House on Bayou Teche.