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C. Vann Woodward was born in Vanndale, Arkansas, a town named after his mother's family; he attended high school in Morrilton, Arkansas, then attended Henderson-Brown College a small nearby Methodist school for two years. In 1930 he transferred to [[Emory University]] in Atlanta, where his uncle was dean of students and professor of sociology. After graduating he taught English composition for two years at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. There he challenged the code of segregation by socializing with black scholars, including Will W. Alexander, head of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, and J. Saunders Redding an historian at Atlanta University.

C. Vann Woodward was born in Vanndale, Arkansas, a town named after his mother's family; he attended high school in Morrilton, Arkansas, then attended Henderson-Brown College a small nearby Methodist school for two years. In 1930 he transferred to [[Emory University]] in Atlanta, where his uncle was dean of students and professor of sociology. After graduating he taught English composition for two years at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. There he challenged the code of segregation by socializing with black scholars, including Will W. Alexander, head of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, and J. Saunders Redding an historian at Atlanta University.

Woodward took graduate courses in sociology at Columbia University in 1931 where he met, and was influenced by, Langston Hughes and the [[Harlem Renaissance]] movement. In 1932 he worked for the defense of Angelo Herndon, a young Communist Party member who had been accused of subversive activities. He toured the Soviet Union and Germany in 1932. He was never a member of the Communist party, but was a fellow traveler in the mid 1930s.

Woodward took graduate courses in sociology at Columbia University in 1931 where he met, and was influenced by, Langston Hughes and the [[Harlem Renaissance]] movement. In 1932 he worked for the defense of Angelo Herndon, a young Communist Party member who had been accused of subversive activities. He toured the Soviet Union and Germany in 1932. He was never a member of the Communist party, but was a fellow traveler in the mid-1930s.

He did graduate work in history and sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was granted a Ph. D. in history in 1937 using as his dissertation the manuscript he had written before arriving on Georgia Populist [[Thomas E. Watson]]. Woodward's dissertation director was [[Howard K. Beale]], a [[Reconstruction]] specialist who promoted the [[Charles Beard|Beardian]] economic interpretation of history that deemphasized ideology and ideas and stressed material self-interest as a motivating factor. Woodward skipped the Civil War and reconstruction eras, however, to concentrate on the following period, which historians had neglected.

He did graduate work in history and sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was granted a Ph.D. in history in 1937 using as his dissertation the manuscript he had written before arriving on Georgia Populist [[Thomas E. Watson]]. Woodward's dissertation director was [[Howard K. Beale]], a [[Reconstruction]] specialist who promoted the [[Charles Beard|Beardian]] economic interpretation of history that deemphasized ideology and ideas and stressed material self-interest as a motivating factor. Woodward skipped the Civil War and reconstruction eras, however, to concentrate on the following period, which historians had neglected.

In World War II he served on the historical staff of the Navy, writing battle syntheses of battle reports, including [[The Battle of Leyte Gulf]] (1947).

In World War II he served on the historical staff of the Navy, writing battle syntheses of battle reports, including [[The Battle of Leyte Gulf]] (1947).

===Honors===

===Honors===

Woodward was president of the Southern Historical Association, 1952; president of the Organization of American Historians and of the American Historical Association, 1968-1969; and president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1987-1988. He received numerous honorary degrees. However, by the late 1960s radical historians were attacking his kind of liberalism, and even denouncing him at scholarly meetings.  Angry at their bad behavior and weak scholarship, he turned increasingly to the right, finding more and more wisdom in the works of conservative authors like [[William Faulkner]] and conservative historians like his friend [[David Potter]].

Woodward was president of the Southern Historical Association, 1952; president of the Organization of American Historians and of the American Historical Association, 1968–1969; and president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1987–1988. He received numerous honorary degrees. However, by the late 1960s radical historians were attacking his kind of liberalism, and even denouncing him at scholarly meetings.  Angry at their bad behavior and weak scholarship, he turned increasingly to the right, finding more and more wisdom in the works of conservative authors like [[William Faulkner]] and conservative historians like his friend [[David Potter]].

The Southern Historical Association has established the C. Vann Woodward Dissertation Prize awarded annually to the best dissertation on Southern history. There is a Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Chair of History at Yale; it is now held by southern historian Glenda Gilmore.

The Southern Historical Association has established the C. Vann Woodward Dissertation Prize awarded annually to the best dissertation on Southern history. There is a Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Chair of History at Yale; it is now held by southern historian Glenda Gilmore.