Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"In The Footsteps Of Hercules": The Influence Of Classical Antiquity On Eighteenth-Century Militaries, Scott Madere

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project examines the pervasive influence of ancient Roman and Greek figures, historical events, literature, and military methods on the leaders and practitioners of eighteenth-century warfare. Rulers, generals, military theorists, and officers frequently consulted classical histories and literature for solutions to the common military problems of the period – tactical, operational, and strategic – showing remarkable faith in ancient military methods despite their growing dependence on gunpowder weaponry and related technologies. This dissertation examines why this was the case and concludes that classical antiquity not only maintained the credibility of its wisdom in the context of modern warfare, but also …

The Impact Of The Saratoga Campaign Of 1777 Upon The Communities Of Upstate New York During The American Revolution, Matthew J. Hamm

Theses

From the spring of 1776 to the summer of 1777, there was a looming threat to the northern region of the colony of New York bordering Canada. Across the border, British forces were marshaling for an invasion. Finally, in June of 1777, the inevitable came true; British General John Burgoyne moved south from St. John’s toward Lake Champlain in upstate New York with an army numbering approximately 9,500. This diverse force consisted of British army regulars, hired German troops, Indian allies, Canadian volunteers and loyalists, and a glut of camp followers, who helped support Burgoyne’s army. His aim was to …

“What Have We Got To Celebrate?”: Native American Contestation To Commemoration During The Late 20th Century, Jennifer C. Tennison

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how Indigenous groups in the United States have contested mainstream historical narratives of America’s founding during major commemorative events in the late twentieth century. To analyze this, I have examined two major national commemorative events during which Native Americans spearheaded a marked shift in the popular interpretation of national origins. The first event I analyze is the 1976 Bicentennial of the American Revolution; the second event is the 1992 Columbus Quincentenary. Native Americans contested the ways that the federal planning bodies for both events represented the history of the nation’s founding. How could they be called on …

Imagining A New Nation: Patriotism And National Identity In The Writing Of Late-18th Century American Women, Aysia S. Brenner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Benedict Anderson defined the nation as “an imagined political community” that is “imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” The research for this paper began with a desire to know how American women in the time leading up to, during, and immediately after the American Revolution and War of Independence did or did not imagine themselves as members of the newly emerging political community eventually known as the United States of America. As tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain increased, as tea was dumped in Boston harbor, and as independence was declared in 1776, how did women make sense …

“The Spirit Of Revolution:” The Impact Of Rum On The Formation Of The United States, Charles Streator

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the impact of rum, be it the distillation, consumption, or trade of it, upon the formation of the American Revolution and the desire of American Colonists for independence. Through the analysis of three distinct subfactors: rum as an economic force, rum as a political tool, and the cultural and societal impacts of the rum trade and its subsequent removal from the American ethos, this project contends that rum as a commodity became a driving factor in the creation of the United States. While much has been written on the roles of stamps, sugar, and tea in the …

Men Set On Fire. Algernon Sidney & John Adams: Remodeling Anglo-American Republicanism, Deborah B. Charnoff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation systematically examines the republican political ideas of the relatively unknown seventeenth-century English aristocratic Algernon Sidney, a passionate author and political activist who was executed for his ideas, and the famous but generally misunderstood eighteenth-century American revolutionary, Founder, and second President of the United States, John Adams. Republicanism is an entangled field of intellectual history in which historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and others have grappled for years, often without regard to the work of those in disciplines other than their own; yet we have consistently failed to take into account critical elements that inform the tradition, indeed, one …

Navigating Wilderness And Borderland: Environment And Culture In The Northeastern Americas During The American Revolution, Daniel S. Soucier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the evolving interactions of nature and humans during the major military campaigns in the northern theatre of the American War for Independence (1775 – 1783) as local people, local environments, and military personnel from outside the region interacted with one another in complex ways. Examining the American Revolution at the convergence of environmental, military, and borderlands history, it elucidates the agency of nature and culture in shaping how three military campaigns in the “wilderness” unfolded. The invasion of Canada in 1775, the expedition from Quebec to Albany in 1777, and the invasion of Iroquoia in 1779 are …

Referendum On The Revolution: The Pennsylvania Constitutional Debate, 1776-1784, Tristan James New

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Pennsylvania constitution of 1776 ignited an extensive and intractable debate that remained at the center of the state’s politics throughout the Revolutionary period. This debate encompassed disagreement over a broad range of questions relating to the relationship between government and society, many of which brought into question the implications of the concept of popular sovereignty for governmental structure and popular political agency. Competing notions regarding these issues, while expressed within a general framework of consensus concerning the source of political authority [the people], revealed fundamentally different visions of governmental order. Partisans presented these visions as inextricably connected to their …

The Relationship Between The Methodist Church, Slavery And Politics, 1784-1844, Brian D. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

The Methodist church split in 1844 was a cumulative result of decades of regional instability within the governing structure of the church. Although John Wesley had a strict anti-slavery belief as the leader of the movement in Great Britain, the Methodist church in America faced a distinctively different dilemma. Slavery proved to be a lasting institution that posed problems for Methodism in the United States and in the larger political context. The issue of slavery plagued Methodism from almost its inception, but the church functioned well although conflicts remained below the surface. William Capers, James Osgood Andrew, and Freeborn Garrettson …

Samuel Adams And John Hancock: The Relationship That Determined The Formation Of America, Bruce D. Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations

This paper argues that the relationship between Samuel Adams and John Hancock and their cooperation played critical/pivotal roles, especially in garnering New England support for the beginning of the American Revolution as well as the ratification of the Constitution.

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: A Case Study Of Hamilton: An American Musical To Understand The Effect Of Engaging The Past In The Culture Of Today, Adrianna C. Halsey

Selected Honors Theses

This thesis is a look into how Alexander Hamilton has been portrayed on stage in the musical Hamilton: An American Musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The goal of this research is to show that this musical is not history, but rather a commentary on current culture through one of America’s favorite stories (that of the Revolution.) In this show, past figures have been used to discuss the issues of modern America, and that is now being sold as history. This has been discovered through the analysis of primary and secondary sources of the time period, as well as through a …

Friend From France: The Popular Image Of The Marquis De Lafayette In Early America, Elisabeth Iacono

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper addresses the impressions the Marquis de Lafayette made upon the American people during the American Revolution and his return tour in 1824. As someone who has admired Lafayette since I was young, I was aware of the fact that many locations are named after the general and that he plays a prominent role in shows such as the Broadway musical Hamilton. I wanted to study why Lafayette had such an impact on the American people, and why he has been memorialized in a positive manner. As a promoter of liberty, Lafayette was embraced by the colonists for his …

Settlement In The Old Northwest Frontier And The Merging Of Culture, 1750 -1790, Sandra K. Ellefsen

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

SETTLEMENT IN THE OLD NORTHWEST FRONTIER

AND THE MERGING OF CULTURE, 1750 -1790

An Abstract of the Thesis by Sandra Ellefsen

During the late 1700s, the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountain Chain became the main corridor that precipitated settlement into Kentucky. Along this frontier line, settlers had to contend with various Native American tribes, and settlement on the frontier from the beginning of colonization irrevocably altered the Native American way of life. Warfare, encroachment, and disease caused the Native American population to decline drastically in the process of contact; often as a result, Native tribes chose to adopt many …

The Destruction Of Property And The Radical Nature Of The Boston Tea Party, Holly K. Nehls

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

For Country, Liberty, And Money: Privateering And The Ideologies Of The American Revolution, Scott D. Wagner

Senior Independent Study Theses

Along with service in the Continental Army and Navy and the various state militias, American patriots during the Revolutionary War had the option of sailing aboard privateers, private ships authorized to attack British commerce during the war. Where studies analyzing other military forces during the Revolution have been more nuanced, scholars that have looked at privateering have either focused on its strategic effectiveness during the conflict or merely written it off as a profit-driven phenomenon of maritime plunder. Privateering played a role in the course of the Revolution to a degree, but more importantly the practice was influenced by the …

"The Nest Of Tories Which Has Invested This Precinct": The Loyalists Of Newburgh, New York, Kieran John O'Keefe

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This thesis uses a case study approach to examine loyalism during the American Revolution, by considering the Loyalists of Newburgh, New York. I examine the Loyalist community by exploring its origins before the Revolution, analyzing its composition, examining the Loyalists' wartime experiences, and by considering their post-war exile. Studying Newburgh's Loyalists allows for a nuanced understanding of loyalism both in the Hudson Valley and more generally. I argue that migration, religion, wealth, and geographic location shaped Loyalist communities and their experiences.

My thesis is divided into four chapters, the first of which considers the origins of the Loyalist community, which …

"'We Began The Contest For Liberty Ill Provided': Military Leadership In The Continental Army, 1775-1783", Seanegan P. Sculley

Doctoral Dissertations

In 1775, a Virginia gentleman-planter was given command of a New England army outside of Boston and the Continental Army was born. Over the course of eight years, a cultural negotiation concerning the use of and limits to military authority was worked out between the officers and soldiers of the Continental Army that we call leadership today. How this army was led, and how the interactions between officers and soldiers from the various states of the new nation changed their understandings of the proper exercise of military authority, was codified in The Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the …

James Wilson And Anglo-American Customary Constitutionalism., Sean Allen Southard

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Trading Identities: National Identity, Loyalty, And Backcountry Merchants In Revolutionary America, 1740-1816, Timothy Charles Hemmis

Dissertations

This project tracks the lives a select group of Philadelphia frontier merchants such as George Morgan, David Franks, and others from 1754-1811. “Trading Identities” traces the trajectory of each man’s economic and political loyalties during the Revolutionary period. By focusing on the men of trading firms operating in Philadelphia, the borderlands and the wider world, it becomes abundantly clear that their identities were shaped and sustained by their commercial concerns—not by any new political ideology at work in this period. They were members not of a British (or even American) Atlantic World, but a profit-driven Atlantic World. The Seven Years’ …

"Life, Liberty..." And The Law: John Adams' Political Thought During The American Revolution, Kelsey Anne Diemand

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

From Subject To Citizen, Or, "At Once Everyone Seemed To Come Alive": Hessian Mercenaries Gain Autonomy And Self Define During The American Revolution, 1776-1783, Perceval Jack Inkpen

Senior Projects Spring 2014

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

From Subject To Citizen And From Slave To Freedman: Labor Contracts At Two Moments Of American Transition, Rose Julia Phipps

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Fraunces Tavern Museum: Revolutionizing Collections Care In A Small Museum Environment, Suzanne Prabucki

History Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to present a comprehensive history of the Fraunces Tavern Museum and its collection along with an official catalogue comprising approximately 5,000 artifacts. It documents the Museum’s own experience with the collections care remediation process so that other institutions may use this Museum’s success story as a model for their own collections care issues.

The Fraunces Tavern Museum, located in New York City, is best known as the site where George Washington bade farewell to his officers at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The lineage group, the Sons of the Revolution in the …

City Of Brick And Stone : New York And Hanover Square From Settlement To Revolution, 1626-1783, Jeffrey Heymann Knaack

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

As the only city occupied for the duration of the American Revolution, 1776-1783, New York City has been the subject of numerous studies that have sought to evaluate the nature of the British occupation, its significance militarily and culturally, its impact on the populace, and the loyal or rebel character of the population. In general, these studies single out specific individuals or groups; themes or trends; or attempt to place the story of New York City during the American Revolution in the greater context of the founding of a nation and the development of a people. The character and impact …

An Unfortunate Affair: The Battle Of Brier Creek And The Aftermath In Georgia, William Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Battle of Brier Creek on March 3, 1779 has been overlooked for many years by historians of the American War of Independence in Georgia. Because it was so brief and did not include massive field armies, the importance of the battle has been ignored. This is unfortunate as the Battle of Brier Creek had many severe consequences and changed the direction of the war in Georgia. The loss of men, arms, and equipment derailed Patriot offensive plans and gave the British valuable time to secure their position in the small frontier colony. It allowed them to establish civil government …

Short Remarks On The Political And Social Writings Of Reverend Anthony Walke Of Princess Anne County, Virginia & A Concise & Impartial Account Of The Causes Of Their Origins & Progress, Roberta Vogt

All Theses

The following thesis examines multiple social and political topics in the largely unstudied writings of Reverend Anthony Walke (c. 1755-1814) of Princess Anne County, Virginia. His papers reside at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as appearing in Virginia newspapers of the period. Walke's works comprise more than four hundred pages of primary source documents that relate to late eighteenth-century Virginia, and span the period of 1786 through 1805.
My research emphasizes his Revolutionary War pamphlet, Remarkable Occurrences during the unhappy American War, & a concise & impartial Account of the Causes of its Origin & Progress: …

Losing The Colonies: How Differing Interpretations Of The British Constitution Caused The American Revolution, Brian M. Flint

Master's Theses

Faced with an economic crisis following the French and Indian War, the British Parliament, along with a young and inexperienced King George III changed its longstanding policy towards the North American colonies. Prior to 1763, Parliament allowed the colonies to generally govern themselves. After 1763, Parliament began to pass legislation aimed at increasing revenue received from the colonies. As the colonies protested these new taxes on constitutional grounds Parliament began a process of implementing and repealing different attempts at controlling the economic system in the colonies. Due to differing interpretations of the British Constitution regarding Parliament's authority over the colonies, …

British Perspective On The Colonial Rebellion, Kayla Smith

Honors Theses

Great Britain and her colonies began their disagreements leading up to the American Revolution over the idea of taxation and representation in Parliament. A new form of taxation came with the passage of Sugar Act in March, 1764. This form aimed at raising revenue to pay for part of the cost of Britain's colonial expenses in North America. All previous taxation on the colonies had only been used to regulate commerce. The British judged the colonists should be taxed to help pay for the cost of the French war that had been fought in their defense and protection. The previous …

The Republican-Liberal Continuum: De-Polarizing The Historiographical Debate, Katrina Loulousis Combs

M.A. in Philosophy of History Theses

The historiography of the American Revolution and the Early National Period remains a polarized debate. Historians attribute either classical Whig republican ideology or classical liberal ideology to influencing those periods. However, republicanism and liberalism exist along a philosophical and practical continuum. Because Louis Hartz attributed American liberalism exclusively to John Locke, I first examine Locke’s relationship to Algernon Sidney, observing similarities between these exemplars of liberalism and republicanism. Next I examine the confluence of Thomas Reid’s commonsense moral philosophy (via John Witherspoon) and republicanism, particularly concerning views on man and moral liberty. These commonalities are further demonstrated in Thomas Jefferson’s …

Loyalists In War, Americans In Peace: The Reintegration Of The Loyalists, 1775-1800, Aaron N. Coleman

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

After the American Revolution a number of Loyalists, those colonial Americans who remained loyal to England during the War for Independence, did not relocate to the other dominions of the British Empire. Instead, they sought to return to their homes and restart their lives. Despite fierce opposition to their return from all across the Confederation, their attempts to become part of a newly independent America were generally successful. Thus, after several years of struggle most former Loyalists who wanted to return were able to do so.

Various studies have concentrated on the wartime activities of Loyalists, but few have examined …