Date of Award
8-8-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy and Liberal Studies
First Advisor
James Levernier
Abstract
From 1700 to 1770, the population of the English colonies in North America grew from a mere 260,000 to 2,150,000 (Breen & Hall, 2004, p. 257). New settlers came from various cultures and faiths unlike the earlier settlers. Thomas Paine united these now diverse peoples into one people creating an American culture, not from new ideas, but from a perpetuation of existing ideals in Colonial America. Paine’s language preserved and rekindled colonial ideals for a melting pot of peoples that would have quickly become a varied nation of states instead of what became a nation of “United States.” This thesis will show that Thomas Paine expounded the existing ideals of exceptionalism, spiritual destiny, and the Puritan “Errand.” Further, his extension of these ideals created a lasting effect that formed the rhetoric of the American identity.
Recommended Citation
Quiroz, Oma Jean, "Thomas Paine and the Rhetoric of American Identity" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 751.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/751
