Featured Author Richard J. Ellis
Richard J. Ellis is the Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. His academic background includes a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (1989), an M.A. from the same institution in Political Science (1984), and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz in Politics (1982). Professor Ellis has made significant contributions to the field of political science through his research, teaching, and writing.
Ellis teaches a number of courses in the area of American politics, including on the presidency, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the initiative and referendum process. He has written widely on the history of the American presidency and American political culture. Among his recent books are Old Tip vs. the Sly Fox: The 1840 Election and the Making of a Partisan Nation (2020), a fourth edition of The Development of the American Presidency (2022), and Lincoln's Last Card: The Emancipation Proclamation as a Case of Command (2025). He was featured on NPR in 2005 in a historical discussion about the pledge of allegiance.
Honors and awards include: Grant from National Endowment for the Humanities, 1991; Earhart Foundation fellow, 1993, 1998; George and Eliza Gardner Howard fellow, 1993; research grant, Oregon Council for the Humanities, 1994; Donner Foundation grant, 1995; Graves Foundation grant, 1998; Earhart Foundation Fellowship research grant, 2003; Oregon Council for the Humanities research grant, 2003; Lawrence D. Cress Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship, 2003; Langum Prize in Legal History, 2005, for To the Flag; Outstanding Scientist, Oregon Academy of Science, 2007.
Content and image source from: Richard J. Ellis webpage at Willamette University.
Ellis teaches a number of courses in the area of American politics, including on the presidency, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the initiative and referendum process. He has written widely on the history of the American presidency and American political culture. Among his recent books are Old Tip vs. the Sly Fox: The 1840 Election and the Making of a Partisan Nation (2020), a fourth edition of The Development of the American Presidency (2022), and Lincoln's Last Card: The Emancipation Proclamation as a Case of Command (2025). He was featured on NPR in 2005 in a historical discussion about the pledge of allegiance.
Honors and awards include: Grant from National Endowment for the Humanities, 1991; Earhart Foundation fellow, 1993, 1998; George and Eliza Gardner Howard fellow, 1993; research grant, Oregon Council for the Humanities, 1994; Donner Foundation grant, 1995; Graves Foundation grant, 1998; Earhart Foundation Fellowship research grant, 2003; Oregon Council for the Humanities research grant, 2003; Lawrence D. Cress Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship, 2003; Langum Prize in Legal History, 2005, for To the Flag; Outstanding Scientist, Oregon Academy of Science, 2007.
Content and image source from: Richard J. Ellis webpage at Willamette University.
