Remembering Daniel Walker Howe and His Study of Early America

Daniel Walker Howe, a distinguished historian of nineteenth-century America, died on December 25, 2025, at the age of 88. He was professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, and he taught earlier at Yale and at Oxford. Colleagues and students remembered his clear lectures and his skill at bringing ideas to life.

His major study, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848, was published as part of the Oxford History of the United States and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2008. The book examines how innovations such as the telegraph and expanding rail networks accelerated communication and movement, while religious revivalism and reform movements reshaped public debates about slavery, women's rights, and national purpose. Although political figures played important roles, Howe emphasized that technological and social changes often set the broader terms in which leaders acted.

Howe’s scholarly voice was recognized by election to learned societies, and he held prestigious positions including the Rhodes Professorship at Oxford; his career spanned classroom teaching, detailed archival research, and public writing. Had he not been drawn to teaching, many students say, they might never have encountered nineteenth-century history with such enthusiasm. Nevertheless, his work is read widely because it combines narrative sweep with careful attention to moral and cultural history.

Born in Ogden, Utah, and raised in Denver, Howe completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and spent decades shaping the field. He died at his home on Christmas Day and a memorial was held on January 10, his birthday. His books remain on reading lists and continue to prompt discussion about how modern America was formed.