Michael Landis - Historian - Ballston Spa, New York

Michael Landis - Introduction

Michael Landis is an author, historian, and educator. Michael Landis obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degree in history from Boston University, as well as a Ph.D. in history from The George Washington University in 2011. His academic interests include slavery, politics and partisanship, and public history in the American Antebellum and Civil War periods. He has gained strong organizational skills as well as the capacity to manage and prioritize his career, as well as a flexible and adaptable work mindset.

Michael Landis is the Saratoga County History Center's Communications Director and Public Programs Manager, as well as a Research Associate at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY). He's written essays, articles, and op-eds for a variety of media, including The Washington Post and Smithsonian Magazine. Northern Men with Southern Loyalties: The Democratic Party and the Sectional Crisis, his debut book, was released in 2014 by Cornell University Press and was named a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title in 2015.

The Presidential Election of 1856: The Slave Power Challenged and Cornerstone of the Confederacy: Slavery and Power in Civil War Georgia are two of his ongoing projects. Michael Landis also worked as an editor and a consultant. In April 2007, Michael Landis received a George Washington University award for outstanding graduate paper, a White House Historical Association research grant in February 2009, and, most recently, a beautification award from the Ballston Spa Business & Professional Organization in November 2020 for the SCHC exhibit Coping with Crisis.