Date of Award
Fall 2007
Project Type
Thesis
Program or Major
History
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Abstract
John Adams was central to the founding of the United States and has held enduring interest among many generations including his own. The foundation of Adams as a historical character was constructed both by people he interacted with personally and by the turmoil of politics, casting him in roles with conflicting results. After his death, Adams was placed in a variety of roles as a historical character as people struggled to make sense of the contentious decades leading up and including the Civil War. After the Civil War, a more sophisticated "warts and all" portrayal of John Adams as a historical character as American historical identity was reexamined. The ways Adams was constructed and used as a historical character illuminates issues surrounding cultural history, historiography and conceptualization of the American Revolution by historians. That use also highlights recent interest in John Adams.
Recommended Citation
Baures, Heather, "The use of John Adams as a historical character 1789--1874" (2007). Master's Theses and Capstones. 57.
https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/57