Ray Allen Billington

Historian Ray Allen Billington (1903–1981)was the recipient of the 1974 Bancroft Prize and President of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) from 1962-1963. He authored numerous books including The Far Western Frontier and Land of Savagery, Land of Promise: The European Image of the American Frontier in the Nineteenth Century. The Ray Allen Billington Prize is given biennially by the OAH to the author of the best book about American frontier history.

Articles by this Author

The Uses Of Local History, December 1980 | Vol. 32, No. 1

“full Speed Ahead And Damn The Tomorrows”, December 1977 | Vol. 29, No. 1

Our Frontier Heritage of Waste

The Know-Nothing Uproar, February 1959 | Vol. 10, No. 2

Maria Monk’s lurid “disclosures” and Samuel Morse’s dire warnings launched a crusade of bigotry that almost won the White House

How The Frontier Shaped The American Character, April 1958 | Vol. 9, No. 3

A distinguished historian finds that after 65 years Frederick Jackson Turner’s disputed “frontier theory” is still a valid key to understanding modern America

Best Prepared Pioneers In The West, October 1956 | Vol. 7, No. 6

Ably led by Brigham Young, the Mormons made an orderly march to Utah and created ‘Zion” with smooth efficiency

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