Sean Wilentz is an American historian who serves as the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. His primary research interests include the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of US social and political history. He has written numerous award-winning books and articles, including, most notably, The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of Bob Dylan in America, a landmark book reflecting his vast knowledge of the Village folk scene and New York artistic history.