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Founding Fathers EVOLVING OUR HEROES: AN ANALYSIS OF FOUNDERS AND "FOUNDING FATHERS" IN AMERICAN HISTORY DISSERTATIONS John M. Stawicki A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2019 Committee: Andrew Schocket, Advisor Ruth Herndon Scott Martin © 2019 John Stawicki All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Andrew Schocket, Advisor This thesis studies scholarly memory of the American founders and “Founding Fathers” via inclusion in American dissertations. Using eighty-one semi-randomly and diversely selected founders as case subjects to examine and trace how individual, group, and collective founder interest evolved over time, this thesis uniquely analyzes 20th and 21st Century Revolutionary American scholarship on the founders by dividing it five distinct periods, with the most recent period coinciding with “founders chic.” Using data analysis and topic modeling, this thesis engages three primary historiographic questions: What founders are most prevalent in Revolutionary scholarship? Are social, cultural, and “from below” histories increasing? And if said histories are increasing, are the “New Founders,” individuals only recently considered vital to the era, posited by these histories outnumbering the Top Seven Founders (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine) in founder scholarship? The thesis concludes that the Top Seven Founders have always dominated founder dissertation scholarship, that social, cultural, and “from below” histories are increasing, and that social categorical and “New Founder” histories are steadily increasing as Top Seven Founder studies are slowly decreasing, trends that may shift the Revolutionary America field away from the Top Seven Founders in future years, but is not yet significantly doing so. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis, while credited solely to me and appearing only as a finished project, required many strenuous hours of collaborative writing, revising, and brainstorming. I would like to give a small notice to all those who have guided me throughout this process. First and foremost, I remain indebted to my thesis advisor and close historical companion, Dr. Andrew Schocket. Dr. Schocket’s expertise in the memory of the American Revolution, digital humanities, and database search functions proved invaluable. His wealth of knowledge and historiographical essay at the end of his monograph Fighting Over the Founders: How the Americans Remember the American Revolution led directly to much of the secondary literature I surveyed. His mentorship and adaptability to my writing techniques made my thesis experience smooth and enjoyable. Bluntly, without his advice, knowledge and historical craft, this thesis would not exist. The immense contributions from my two other thesis committee members, Dr. Scott Martin and Dr. Ruth Wallis Herndon, are more than worthy of consideration. Dr. Martin provided excellent critiques that helped hone my thesis, introduced many new perspectives to my work, and provided invaluable recommendations and analysis. Dr. Herndon served as the initial head of my committee and helped craft the project. Other professors I would like to thank include Dr. Benjamin Greene and Dr. Michael Brooks, who went above and beyond to ensure I could graduate at an accelerated pace. Dr. Amilcar Challu served as a professional mentor and gave input on statistical methods. Dr. Rebecca Mancuso has been an amazing professor, mentor and friend throughout my career at BGSU. One of the professors I assisted, Dr. Michael Carver, was incredibly understanding throughout the final writing process, allowing me to focus on my thesis rather than “work.” v Personally, my time at BGSU afforded me the opportunity to work with many talented and interesting individuals, none more so than my graduate student peers. The 2020 cohort provided friendship, entertainment and discussion throughout seminars and while in the computer lab. The 2019 cohort provided mentorship and insightful comments that gave fresh perspectives to my research. Finally, my family was always there for me when I needed them the most. Whether I needed monetary, emotional, or informational support, I knew I could count on my mom (Diane), dad (John), sisters Erin and Brittany, and many wonderful friends to pick me up and keep me moving forward. My dogs Jax and Manny, and hamster Ricki, were constant companions and my best friends (despite being unable to speak English). Without my family, I would be significantly less sane than I am today (yikes). Thank you and I love you more than you will ever know. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………..... ... 1 CHAPTER I: DEFINING “FOUNDING FATHERS” ......................……………………… 13 What is a “Founding Father?” ................................................................................... 13 The Founders Place in American Culture ................................................................. 29 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY…… ................................................................................ 34 Data and Study Limitations ………………………………………………………… 42 General (GEN or Gen) Search Limitations ………………………………………. .. 46 Abstract (AB) Search Limitations …. ....................................................................... 47 Title (TI) Search Limitations ..................................................................................... 47 Keyword (DISKW) Search Limitations .................................................................... 48 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...................………………………. 50 General Search Parameters…………………………………………………………. 50 General Findings……………………………………………………………………. 51 Location Findings……………………………………………………. ..................... 63 University Findings………………………………………………….. ...................... 64 Advisor Findings ........................................................................................................ 66 Era Periodizations ...................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER IV: PERIOD ANALYSIS .....................................……………………………. 74 Methodology ……… ...........……………………………………………………….. 74 Period 1: 1873-1925: The Early Days of American Academia ................................. 78 Period 2: 1926-1953: The Steady Rise of American Academia ………………… ... 80 vii Period 3: 1954-1974: The Early Boom of American Academia …………………... 85 Period 4: 1975-1992: The Post-War and Bi-Centennial Decline……....................... 91 Period 5: 1993 to Present: Founders Chic ………..................................................... 99 CHAPTER V: THE “NEW FOUNDERS?” ……………………………………… ............. 114 Methodology ………………………………………………………………………. 115 Findings ……………………………………………………………………………. 118 CONCLUSION……………………………… ..…………………………………………… 130 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………… ……. 136 APPENDIX A: PERIOD DATA…………………………………………………………… 161 APPENDIX B: TOPIC MODELS ....……………………………………………………… 181 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Use of Capitalized Singular and Plural Forms of “Framer,” “Signer,” and “Forebearer” on Google Ngram Viewer from 1800 Forward .................................... 14 1.2 Use of “Founding Fathers” and “founding fathers” on Google Ngram Viewer from 1800 Forward. ...................................................................................... 16 1.3 Use of “Founding Father” and “founding father” on Google Ngram Viewer from 1800 Forward ....................................................................................... 17 1.4 Interest in the Term “Founding Father” Globally in the Google Search Engine, 2004-Present. ................................................................................................ 18 1.5 Interest in the Term “Founding Fathers” Globally in the Google Search Engine, 2004-Present ................................................................................................. 19 1.6 Interest in the Term “Founding Fathers” in the United States in the Google Search Engine, 2004-Present ................................................................................................. 19 1.7 Interest in the Term “Founding Fathers” in the United States During an Election Year in the Google Search Engine, 2018 .................................................................... 20 1.8 Use of Several Analyzed Founders on Google Ngram Viewer from 1800 Forward. .................................................................................................................... 26 1.9 Use of Several Analyzed Founders on Google Ngram Viewer from 1800 Forward ..................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Home or Primary Associated States of Selected Founders. ....................................... 50 3.2 Percentage of Top Seven Founders to Whole, General Search Results .................... 52 ix 3.3 Thomas Jefferson Percentage of Abstract Results, Adjusted (Duplicate Dissertations Removed) and Un-Adjusted ................................................................ 52 3.4 Percentage of the Adjusted Abstract Search Results by Top Seven Founders .......... 53 3.5 Top Nine Resulting Founders in the General Search................................................. 54 3.6 Top Eight Resulting Founders in the Abstract Search ............................................... 54 3.7 Top
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