Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, on behalf of the panel of judges, announced that John H. Schroeder has been selected to receive the 2001 Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History prize for his biography, Matthew Calbraith Perry: Antebellum Sailor and Diplomat, published by the Naval Institute Press, 2001.

The Roosevelt Naval History Prize, which includes a $5000 cash award, is sponsored by the New York Council of the Navy League, the Theodore Roosevelt Association and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. It was first awarded in 1986 to Ronald Spector for his book, Eagle Against the Sun. Other past winners include Colonel Joseph Alexander's Utmost Savagery, Professor George Baer's 100 years of Naval Strategy, and Shield and Sword by Edward J. Marolda and Robert J. Schneller, Jr.

John Schroeder is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where he has been a faculty member since 1970. From 1990 to 1998 he served as chancellor of the university and for five years prior to that, as vice chancellor for academic affairs. Schroeder is a specialist on 19th century American history and teaches courses on the history of the American Presidency from Washington to Reagan. A graduate of Lewis and Clark College in 1965, he went on to study at the University of Virginia and received his PhD in 1971.

Schroeder's biography of Perry is as John Belohlavek writes, "a fresh, comprehensive study of a 19th century American naval giant…an elegantly written portrait of a dedicated reformer, innovator, warrior and diplomat." The book is also the first biography of this important antebellum sailor since Samuel Eliot Morrison's Old Bruin, published in 1967.

Perhaps best remembered for leading a naval and diplomatic expedition to Japan in 1853, Perry succeeded in getting a treaty signed that led to formal commercial and diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan. But Perry was also the first Commodore of the African Squadron, formed in 1843 to protect American trade and help put an end to the shipment of slaves on American flagged ships. During the war with Mexico, Perry served as Commodore of the Gulf Squadron and directed two amphibious operations, one against La Pena and the other against the city of San Juan Bautista, called Tabasco by Americans. One easily forgets that this not very glorious war ended with America gaining title to Texas, north of the Rio Grande, what became New Mexico, Arizona, part of Utah and Colorado plus California, 1.2 million square miles. Then in 1853 when Santa Ana was back in power, the U.S. bought another large chunk of land, thus acquiring virtually half of Mexico.

The eleven person Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize panel of judges, chaired by Nicholas L. Ludington, includes:
Professor Lori Bogle, United States Naval Academy
Capt. Lawrence Brennan, USNR
Brig. Gen. Charles F. Brower, Virginia Military Institute
Dr. John Gable, Theodore Roosevelt Association
Asst. Professor Richard A. Greenwald, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Dr. Thomas Haas, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Professor John Hattendorf, U.S. Naval War College
Dr. Cynthia Koch, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
Capt. S. Robert Lunney, USNR
Dr. David Woolner, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute