author
C. Perry (Caleb Perry) Patterson
1880–1971
A longtime University of Texas professor and prolific political scientist, he wrote widely on American government, constitutional history, and Texas public life. He is also remembered for helping shape the study of political science as a field in the United States.
1 Audiobook
The Negro in Tennessee, 1790-1865
by C. Perry (Caleb Perry) Patterson
About the author
Born in Saltillo, Tennessee, on January 23, 1880, Caleb Perry Patterson became a teacher, scholar, and author whose career stretched across much of the twentieth century. He studied at several institutions and went on to teach at Vanderbilt, West Tennessee Teachers College, and Columbia before joining the University of Texas in 1919.
At Texas, Patterson spent decades in the government department and later became professor emeritus after retiring in 1957. Sources on his career describe him as an important figure in political science, noting his role in founding Pi Sigma Alpha and helping organize the Southwestern Political Science Association. Alongside his teaching, he wrote textbooks, scholarly articles, and books on constitutional law, government, and Texas politics.
Readers who come across his name today often know him through works such as The Negro in Tennessee, 1790–1865 and later studies of Thomas Jefferson and American constitutional government. He died in Austin, Texas, on November 29, 1971.