The Bancroft Prizes, given annually by Columbia University, were awarded last night to Stanley L. Engerman and Robert W. Fogel, authors of “Time on the Cross,” the twovolume study or American slavery; Eugene D. Genovese, author of another slavery work, “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” and Alexander L. George and Richard Smoke, who wrote “Deterrence in American Foreign Policy: Theory and Practice.”
Some of the university’s trustees disputed selection of the work by Professors Engerman and Fogel. A university spokesman said that some trustees who were not named, were concerned over conclusions in “Time on the Cross,” that were “based on new methods of data analysis.” The spokesman said further that the dissenting trustees “believed that the authors’ methods of processing vast amounts of materials statistically may require further study before full value can be placed on the books’ indings. which challenge traditional views r.f American slave life.”
In “Time on the Cross” the two economics professors contended that the life of black slaves in America was less wretched and more productive than had previously been depicted.
Each $4,000 award is for “books of exceptional merit and distinction in American history (including biography), American diplomacy and the international relations of the United States.” The awards were presented at a dinner in Low Memorial Library on the Columbia campus.
