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Record Nr.

UNINA9910821324903321

Autore

Mercieca Jennifer R

Titolo

Founding fictions / / Jennifer R. Mercieca

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Tuscaloosa, : University of Alabama Press, c2010

ISBN

0-8173-8355-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (290 p.)

Collana

Rhetoric, culture, and social critique

Disciplina

973.2

Soggetti

Citizenship - United States - History - 18th century

Citizenship - United States - History - 19th century

Political culture - United States - History - 18th century

Political culture - United States - History - 19th century

Political stability - United States - History

Political participation - United States - History

Democracy - United States - History

United States Politics and government To 1775

United States Politics and government 1775-1783

United States Politics and government 1783-1865

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

"Republicanism was an indefinite term" : political fictions as critical tools for citizenship -- "The Revolution was in the minds of the people" : citizens as romantic heroes, 1764-1776 -- "The American Constitution is that little article of HOPE, left at the bottom of Pandora's box of evils" : citizens as tragic victims, 1783-1789 -- "Who would not have been willing to have died such a death?" : citizens as reified patriot heroes, July 4, 1826 -- "I will not look up to the weather-cock of popularity, to see which way the gale is blowing" : citizens as ironic partisans, 1816-1845.

Sommario/riassunto

Part political history, part rhetorical criticism, Founding Fictions is an extended analysis of how Americans imagined themselves as citizens between 1764 and 1845. It critically re-interrogates our fundamental assumptions about a government based upon the will of the people, with profound implications for our ability to assess democracy today.  



Founding Fictions develops the concept of a "political fiction," or a narrative that people tell about their own political theories, and analyzes how republican and democratic fictions positioned Ameri