John Dittmer

John Dittmer (b. 10/30/1939 ) is an American historian, and Professor Emeritus of DePauw University.

Life
John Dittmer is from Seymour, Indiana. He graduated from Shields High School in Seymour in 1957, being inducted into SHS Wall of Fame in 2006. He later graduated from Indiana University with bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

He taught American history at Tougaloo College from 1967 to 1979, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, and at DePauw University from 1985 until 2003.

The John Dittmer Award at DePauw University is named in his honor.

Reviews of Other Books
He reviewed The Confederate and New-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth" about the "Lost Cause" (edited by James W. Loewen and Edward Sebesta). He called the book an "important" and "persuasive" book, and he argued that it should be "required reading for classroom teachers." He agreed with what the book had to say about "slavery, secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction."

Awards

 * 1995 Bancroft Prize
 * Lillian Smith Book Award