Sean Wilentz (IPA: [ˈʃɔːn wəˈlents]) (born 1951 in New York City) is the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979.
Wilentz took his B.A. at Columbia University in 1972, before earning another B.A. at Oxford University on a Kellett Fellowship and his Ph.D. at Yale University. His historical scholarship has focused mainly on the early years of the American republic. His major study to date, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, received the Bancroft Prize in 2006 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His first book, Chants Democratic, won several awards, including the Beveridge Award from the American Historical Association. A contributing editor at The New Republic, Wilentz writes widely on music and the arts as well as history and politics, and has received a Grammy nomination and, from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a Deems Taylor Award for musical commentary. He is the historian-in-residence of bobdylan.com, the official Bob Dylan web site.
One of his most controversial articles was his attack on the George W. Bush presidency, entitled "The Worst President in History?"[1] which appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine.
Wilentz, a family friend of Bill Clinton, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 1998 to argue against the Clinton impeachment. His testimony -- he told the House members that, if they voted for impeachment but were not convinced Clinton's offenses were impeachable, "history will track you down and condemn you for your cravenness" -- cheered Democratic partisans but earned censure from the New York Times, which lamented his "gratuitously patronizing presentation" in an editorial.
Wilentz is married to fellow Princeton historian Christine Stansell.