Bernath (Stuart L.) Collection, ca. 1958-1976

Summary

Title:

Stuart L. Bernath Collection

Dates:

ca. 1958-1976

Creators:

Bernath, Stuart L.

Abstract:

The Stuart L. Bernath Collection consists primarily of his writings and research materials, both published and unpublished, on a variety of topics concerning international diplomacy and foreign relations.

Extent:

ca. 3 linear feet (7 document boxes, one half-size box, and one oversize item)

Language:

English.

Preferred citation:

Stuart L. Bernath Collection. Bernath Mss 1. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The Stuart L. Bernath Collection consists primarily of his writings and research materials, both published and unpublished, on a variety of topics concerning international diplomacy and foreign relations. The bulk of the material is related to his work, Squall Across the Atlantic. There is also a substantial amount of material related to an uncompleted project on William Randolph Hearst. In addition, there is a small amount of correspondence, mostly concerning his writing projects and some material related to the Bernath Prize that was established in his name.

The Stuart L. Bernath Collection contains the following series:

I. Writings.Squall Across the Atlantic: Mss and drafts; includes research notes and files for both dissertation (1968) and UC Press publication (1970). Other writings: Academic papers (graduate and undergraduate), journal articles and reviews, and material from an unfinished work on William Randolph Hearst, mainly research files and notes.

II. Correspondence. Mainly related to writings and research outlined above. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Bernath's research on Hearst.

III. Material related to Bernath Prize. Correspondence related to the Bernath Prize; a number of submitted entries.

IV. Miscellany. Bookplate stamp / Oil portrait (OS).

Biographical / historical:

Much of the following information is drawn from a memorial authored by Gerald J. Bernath (SB's father) and Alexander DeConde, his academic mentor at UCSB.

Stuart Loren Bernath was born on April 10, 1939 at Detroit, Michigan. In 1961 he graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He received his M.A. from Humboldt State College in 1964. Although brief, his career was distinguished. As a candidate for the Master's degree, he won the Barnham Prize for the writing of local California history. While working on his doctorate, he received the Civil War Round Table Fellowship Award for 1967. While still a Ph.D. candidate, he continued to write extensively and had several articles published.

In 1968, he received his Ph.D. with distinction from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In February 1970, the University of California Press at Berkeley published his major work, Squall Across the Atlantic; American Civil War Prize Cases and Diplomacy. Reviewers hailed it as a remarkable first book, a masterful account and analysis of an intricate subject. At the request of Encyclopedia Americana, he wrote short articles on "Christian Herter" and on the "Hay-Pauncefote Treaties". These appeared in the 1970 edition.

In August 1969, after several months of intensive research on William Randolph Hearst, the Hearst Press, and American foreign relations, 1887-1951, which he calculated could be an extensive five-year project, he was stricken by bone cancer. He had already interviewed several associates of Hearst, and had planned on doing this with all known Hearst contacts while they were still alive. This, in itself, would have been a major work with an approach entirely different from previous books on Hearst. He had received inquiries evidencing great interest from several publishing houses, asking to read the manuscript when completed. His topic, encompassing the influence of the Hearst press on United States foreign policy, intrigued the publishers.

During the period in which he acquired his M.A., he also included the necessary courses to receive his California teaching credential. He earned his own way towards a Ph.D. as a high school teacher at Eureka, California. Subsequently, he taught at Humboldt State College and at California State College, Long Beach, where he was a serious and devoted teacher. Among colleagues and friends, he left the image of a dedicated teacher and a promising young scholar who seemed destined to become an outstanding historian of America foreign relations.

His life ended prematurely as the result of his illness on July 3, 1970 at Beverly Hills, California at the age of thirty-one.

In recognition of his outstanding scholarship, the History Department of the University of California at Santa Barbara named its annual award, for the best essay in History to an undergraduate student, the Stuart L. Bernath Memorial Prize. Book collections in his honor were set up at the Libraries of that University and at California State Collage at Long Beach. An endowment in Stuart L. Bernath's name continues to support these collections.

Acquisition information:

Donated by the family and friends of Stuart L. Bernath, 1971-1991.

Physical location:

Boxes 1-8 (SRLF); Oil Portrait (Annex 2).

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Copies of Stuart L. Bernath's Squall Across the Atlantic (1970) have been cataloged and can be found in both the Main Library and in Special Collections. A copy of his 1968 dissertation of the same title is also in the Main Library. These and other published works (see below) have been cataloged separately and may be searched in Pegasus, the UCSB Libraries online catalog.

The Stuart L. Bernath Diplomatic History and International Studies Collection was initiated by his family and friends following his death in 1970. The collection consists of approximately two thousand monographs and serials (primarily housed in Special Collections) and approximately two dozen manuscript collections related to various aspects of international diplomacy and foreign policy. The Stuart L. Bernath Memorial Prize is issued each year by the UCSB Department of History for the best essay in history written by an undergraduate student.

Separated material:

The following material has been transferred to the Main Library:

• Microfilm: Five short reels mostly relating to William Randolph Hearst.
• Naval War College Review, May-June 1975, US Navy, Newport, R.I (Reprint from Vol. XXVII, No.6/Seq. No. 255.

The following material was added to existing holdings in UCSB Special Collections:

• International Bulletin, Vol. 3, Nos.11-17; 24, Internews, Berkeley: 1976.

Indexed terms

Names:

Bernath, Stuart L. -- Archives.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Processed by Edward C. Fields

Date Prepared:

© 2002-2012

Date Encoded:

Machine-readable finding aid in EAD v. 1.0 derived from MS Word 2000 file by David C. Gartrell. Date of source: 01 October 2002 .

Restrictions:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Terms of access:

Collection is stored off-site; advance notice required for retrieval.

Preferred citation:

Stuart L. Bernath Collection. Bernath Mss 1. Department of Special Collections, Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:

UC Santa Barbara, Special Research Collections

UC Santa Barbara Library

Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US

Contact:

(805) 893-3062

special@library.ucsb.edu

Website