Article Abstract:
Sailors imprisoned in Britain during the American revolution demonstrated their loyalty to the US evidence of which is found in their diaries and memoirs. The emergence of their national identity was both reactive, stirrings of nationalism due to their incarceration, and proactive, expression of nationalistic sentiments through song and defection by choosing not to join crews of British warships. Hence, the seamen fully defined themselves as Americans by commitment ot the Revolution and their independence despite their capability for collective action.
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Article Abstract:
In the years before and during World War I social critic Randolph Bourne developed a new conception of American national identity that opposed the militant, anti-immigrant nationalism then flourishing. Bourne's idea, which he called trans-nationalism, fused Americanism with cosmopolitanism and espoused a pacifist, inter-cultural cooperation. He believed that the creation of a public interest out of a host of private interests was essential to the survival of pluralistic democracy.
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Article Abstract:
Issues concerning the role US monetary policy played in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in developing a national identity are examined, focusing on the impact of adopting the dollar as US currency. Topics include currencies prior to the revolution, monetary plans presented to the Continental Congress, the influence of Thomas Jefferson, and the implementation of a single currency.
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