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DEBATES OVER KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTIONS in the EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC By INSTITUTIONALIZING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION: DEBATES OVER KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTIONS IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC by George D. Oberle III A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History Committee: Director Department Chairperson Program Director Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: Spring Semester 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Institutionalizing the Information Revolution: Debates over knowledge institutions in the Early American Republic A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by George D. Oberle III Master of Library Science University of Maryland, College Park, 2003 Master of Arts George Mason University, 1999 Bachelor of Arts George Mason University, 1996 Director: Rosemarie Zagarri, Professor Department of History Spring Semester 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, VA INSTITUTIONALIZING THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION: DEBATES OVER KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTIONS IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC by George D. Oberle III A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy History Committee: Director Department Chairperson Program Director Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: Spring Semester 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Institutionalizing the Information Revolution: Debates over knowledge institutions in the Early American Republic A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by George D. Oberle III Master of Library Science University of Maryland, College Park, 2003 Master of Arts George Mason University, 1999 Bachelor of Arts George Mason University, 1996 Director: Rosemarie Zagarri, Professor Department of History Spring Semester 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, VA This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noderivs 3.0 unported license. ii DEDICATION This is dissertation is dedicated to my Grandparents Roy and Madeline White. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation seems like a selfish undertaking that has clarified, in my mind, how much we all rely on the generosity of spirit and devotion to spreading knowledge by so many people. I have never even met some of these people. On the other hand, some people assisted me quite regularly providing research, writing, and emotional assistance weekly or even daily. All of them contributed to the completion of this work. My teachers, information professionals, fellow students, colleagues, institutions, and family all deserve special attention. It is particularly humbling, especially as a student of history, to remember the many people that have helped me develop intellectually and personally over the years. From my first history methods class with Jack Censer until my last class learning to apply digital methods to my scholarship with Lincoln Mullen I have been fortunate to receive exceptional training from a host of scholars at George Mason University. Specifically: Jack Censer, Martin Cohen, Timothy Conlan, Dina Copelman, Marion Deshmukh, Matthew Karush, Cynthia Kierner, Thelma Z. Levine, Lincoln Mullen, James P. Pfiffner, Jennifer Ritterhouse, Zachary Schrag, Randolph Scully, Jeffrey Stewart, Pillarisetti Sudhir all assured that I was equipped to execute this project. In addition, Michael Bottoms and Professor Johann Neem, kindly listened to early ideas related to this dissertation, and they provided very helpful ideas to consider. I am grateful to them and to all of my teachers for helping me become engaged in a scholarly community. Writing can be a lonely and a psychologically draining experience. My friends in Mason’s History doctoral program provided consistent and generous support over the eight years I worked in this program. Steven Harris-Scott led the charge to encourage our own civil society dubbed as the “early Americanists with too much to do.” In particular, Royce Gildersleeve, Allison O’Connor, Lynn Price and Jeri Wieringa each read different versions of this dissertation and provided extraordinary feedback. I am grateful for theire support and the support of the entire community of doctoral students from the department. This endeavor would have been impossible without the support of my employer and co-workers. Jamie Coniglio and Steve Stratton hired me as a Graduate Assistant in 1997 and I have been fortunate to work with scores of outstanding people at Mason’s University Libraries. I am appreciative of the support that comes from working with a group of colleagues that support you. I am grateful for the support of senior leadership of George Mason University Libraries. When working at the Johnson Center Library several iv exceptional librarians mentored me and helped me become a proficient librarian. Specifically Craig Gibson, Sharon Kerr, Kevin Simons, and Jim Young all spent significant time and care to make sure that I lived up to the significant responsibility that we hold as librarians. Several colleagues have been supportive across the units of the University Libraries, including Technical Services and the Gateway Library. Lastly, my colleagues at Fenwick Reference have supported this endeavor by listening to me ramble on about this work and by picking up extra shifts for me at our public service desks when I needed to take off to work on this project. Thank you! I benefitted greatly from diverse institutional support. The librarians and staff at George Mason University Libraries, especially in the interlibrary loan department, supported my work by assuring that I had the collections needed for this scholarship. I benefited greatly from the expert guidance of librarians at the Library of Congress. I also received funding from George Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences as well as a research fellowship from the American Philosophical Society (APS). The generous fellowship that I received from the APS helped pay for my visit to their research library in Philadelphia allowing me to use their rich collections and consult with their knowledgeable staff, both of which were invaluable to the completion of my dissertation. In particular, librarian Roy Goodman spent a considerable amount of time assisting me with navigating the resources available at the library and kindly listened to some of my early ideas about this dissertation project. My dissertation committee provided exceptional leadership and guidance throughout the project. Paula Petrik assured me that I was capable of completing a doctorate and that I had something important to add to our scholarly community. Jane Censer has been a devoted teacher and friend since we meet in 1996. Her expert editing and insightful questions helped improve the quality of this work greatly. Finally, I would like to thank my dissertation director, Rosemarie Zagarri, who is an enthusiastic champion for her students. Rosie believed in this work, and in my ability to complete it, long before I believed in myself. Rosie’s commitment to exceptional teaching and her demands for rigorous scholarship have provided an exceptional model for scholarship and teaching that I strive to emulate. I could not have finished this project without the steadfast commitment that my family has provided. My Texas family has always been supportive, especially my Father. Thanks Dad! My family in Virginia has put up with a house littered with books, and with my attention diverted to a project that seemed like it would never end. My aunt, Linda White, eagerly read drafts, and helped clean up some of my messy writing while also helping me think through the arguments in the dissertation. I have delighted in watching my son grow and develop such a wonderful sense of humor while always committed to doing the right thing. I am proud of you Mason! “You’re a good kid man. You’re a good kid…man.” Finally, my partner in life and best friend, Heather, I would not have been able to accomplish this without you. Every day, you think of how you can make life easier for our family. Thank you providing me with the time to do this work by taking on v the extra chores we needed to do and for reading the drafts of this work to help me make this dissertation better. Thank you for your determined and unconditional support. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ............................................................................................................ viii Abstract .................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Washington’s National University: Forging Citizens and Diffusing Republican knowledge in a democratic age ................................................................................. 19 Educating citizens in Jefferson’s Empire of Liberty: Establishing the Military Academy and debates over National Institutions of Knowledge ................................................ 51 Democratizing Knowledge: Collecting, Preserving and Displaying Knowledge in the Early Republic’s New Museums ............................................................................... 110 Columbian Institutions: The Diffusion of Knowledge in the Federal City. ................. 165
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