The Bancroft Prize is given every year by the leaders of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was created in 1948 through a gift from Frederic Bancroft, to honor him and his brother, Edgar Addison Bancroft, who was a diplomat and lawyer. The prize is widely seen as one of the most respected awards for writing about American history. It includes a $10,000 payment, which increased from $4,000 in 2004. Seventeen winners received support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and sixteen winners also won the Pulitzer Prize for History. After independent studies, the Bancroft Prize was taken back from Michael A. Bellesiles, who had received it in 2000.