Wilentz wins Bancroft prize
History professor, music lover and political activist Sean Wilentz has received the 2006 Bancroft Prize for his recent book, "The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln."Wilentz will be awarded the prize, one of the history world's top honors and a common precursor to the Pulitzer Prize, by the trustees of Columbia University in April.In his 2005 book, which took 10 years to write, Wilentz described the various social and political changes during the early and mid-19th century that helped transform American politics into the democracy we know today."There are many books written about this time period, but there needed to be something to cover the general sweep of the rise of American democracy," he said.Educated at Columbia, Oxford and Yale, Wilentz has been a member of the Princeton faculty since 1979, and currently directs the Program in American Studies.Wilentz, who teaches History 373: The New Nation, said his teaching at the University has had a "tremendous impact not only on writing of books but also my perception of the period," making him think more clearly about the politics of a particular time period.In addition to his most recent book on the rise of American democracy, Wilentz has also written "The Kingdom of Matthias" (1994), which describes a New York-based cult in the 1830s, and "Chants Democratic" (1984), which chronicles the rise of the working class during the early history of New York City.