Producing America's Enemies and the Contested Rhetorics of Nationhood in the United States, 1775--1815

"To build a nation, Americans had to renege on their history. Once the American Revolution was won, the types of mob violence and citizen participation that brought victory in the war were no longer desirable. Hence, this dissertation investigates how the radical democracy of the Revolutionary War was tamed in the founding years of the United States. I conclude that Americans were brought under the control of government through the rhetoric of ""enemyship,"" which calls on citizens to defend their nation from the threats of enemies who are often discursively fabricated. This historical dissertation has implications for the present, for politics during the Cold War and also following 9/11 have been characterized by a similar rhetorical strategy."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Speech Communication

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Engels, Jeremy David

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stephen J. Hartnett

• History, United States

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3223586

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87523