Scott Spillman

Scott Spillman is an American historian. His forthcoming book, Making Sense of Slavery: America’s Long Reckoning, from the Founding Era to Today (Basic Books, March 2025), examines the history of the study of slavery in the US from the Revolution to the present. His essays and reviews have appeared in The Point, Liberties, The New Republic, n+1, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and he has published academic articles in History of Education Quarterly and the North Carolina Historical Review.

Scott has a PhD in history from Stanford University, and before that he studied history, English, and political philosophy at the University of North Carolina (and Duke University) as a Robertson Scholar. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in Denver with his partner, their twin daughters, and an old Italian greyhound named Devo. He also spends part of his time in Leadville, where he serves as chair of the city’s historic preservation commission. When he is not reading and writing, he enjoys running in the mountains.