Baldwin retired from Duke University in 1947. As an historian, Baldwin is best remembered for her doctoral dissertation "The New England Clergy and the American Revolution". Her other writings include:  Baldwin has been held up as an example of the key issues in the intellectual life of women in the early twentieth century. Upon her retirement, she ordered that her papers and notes be sealed for twenty years. Upon their unveiling, it was revealed that Baldwin had struggled bitterly with her role as a female educator and on the education of women in general. She had found little documentation of interest in her research in the lives of women in colonial times, and left unfinished many papers and treatises in which she expressed the disdain she uncovered for the education of women in America. Baldwin remains a much-beloved figure at Duke University and is credited with advancing the prestige of the Woman's College at Duke and the education of young women. One of the most prominent buildings on Duke's East Campus, the auditorium anchoring the campus, is named in her honor in recognition of her dedication to the institution. Recognizing Baldwin's contributions to the University, Duke has created the Alice Mary Baldwin Collection within their library, wherein all of Baldwin's papers are available for review and research.