Rewriting the Frontier: Making History in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
REWRITING THE FRONTIER: MAKING HISTORY IN TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA by THOMAS CHASE HAGOOD (Under the Direction of Allan Kulikoff) ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the dynamics of white settlement at Tuscaloosa, Alabama and the role of settlers’ written words in mythologizing the nineteenth-century, American frontier. The lived experiences of settlers, captured in individuals’ letters, diaries, deeds, wills, poems and books, tell how they transformed a frontier into the Old South. Over the course of the nineteenth century, however, generations of migrants, storytellers and local writers also blended historical accounts, memories, Native legends and fiction, thereby contributing to the creation of the myths of the American frontier and the early formations of southern identity. INDEX WORDS: White settlement, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, American frontier, Old South, southern identity. REWRITING THE FRONTIER: MAKING HISTORY IN TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA by THOMAS CHASE HAGOOD B.A., The University of North Alabama, 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2011 © 2011 Thomas Chase Hagood All Rights Reserved REWRITING THE FRONTIER: MAKING HISTORY IN TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA by THOMAS CHASE HAGOOD Major Professor: Allan Kulikoff Committee: Claudio Saunt Kathleen Clark Stephen Mihm Michael Kwass Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2011 DEDICATION My parents, Thomas and Linda Hagood, have stood by me my whole life. Because of their unfailing love and unwavering support, this work is dedicated to them. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project’s maturation and my evolution as an historian who takes seriously the people of the past has left me deeply indebted to countless individuals I have encountered over the past seven years.
[Show full text]