America's Rhetorical Revolution: Defining Citizens in Benjamin Rush's Philadelphia, 1783--1812

This is a study of the creation of a distinctly American citizenship during the Early Republic. By focusing on Philadelphia, and by examining Benjamin Rush's institutions and the dialogues that he engaged in, I argue that the foundations of American citizenship produced the possibility of an inclusive nation. Indeed, over the course of American history women, African Americans, and White workingmen have ultimately been incorporated into democratic deliberations. This dissertation discovers the origins of inclusiveness by studying America's rhetorical revolution, a period when words were redefined, when institutions created rhetors who could speak truth to power, and when a new constitutional and legal framework encouraged women, African Americans, and White workingmen to defend their rights, not through violent protest, but rather through rhetorical deliberations.

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

• Goodale, Gregory Scott

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stephen Hartnett

• American Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3269906

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87531