This dissertation investigates a prominent group in the patriot/militia movement called the Oath Keepers. It explores how the group uses references to core political ideas and important political events from American history. It argues that these rhetorical strategies serve three purposes: (1) helping the group’s supporters to make sense of contemporary America, (2) providing the group’s supporters with models of appropriate behavior in response to ongoing events, and (3) help the group to gain additional support. It also argues that different rhetorical strategies are useful for different purposes and target different audiences.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation investigates a prominent group in the patriot/militia movement called the Oath Keepers. It explores how the group uses references to core political ideas and important political events from American history. It argues that these rhetorical strategies serve three purposes: (1) helping the group’s supporters to make sense of contemporary America, (2) providing the group’s supporters with models of appropriate behavior in response to ongoing events, and (3) help the group to gain additional support. It also argues that different rhetorical strategies are useful for different purposes and target different audiences.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jackson, Sam"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Social Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Michael Barkun"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-06-29T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-06-29T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:55:27Z","subjects":["anti-government extremism","patriotism","political violence","social movement","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/etd/896","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Michael Barkun"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jackson, Sam"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Social Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["anti-government extremism","patriotism","political violence","social movement","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/896"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation investigates a prominent group in the patriot/militia movement called the Oath Keepers. It explores how the group uses references to core political ideas and important political events from American history. It argues that these rhetorical strategies serve three purposes: (1) helping the group’s supporters to make sense of contemporary America, (2) providing the group’s supporters with models of appropriate behavior in response to ongoing events, and (3) help the group to gain additional support. It also argues that different rhetorical strategies are useful for different purposes and target different audiences.
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