RUcore: Rutgers University Community Repository
"His mind was great and powerful"
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
"His mind was great and powerful"
SubTitle
George Washington's reading and the fashioning of his American self
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Harrison
NamePart
(type = given)
Adrienne Marie
NamePart
(type = date)
1979-
DisplayForm
Adrienne Harrison
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
author
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Clemens
NamePart
(type = given)
Paul G.E.
DisplayForm
Paul G.E. Clemens
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
chair
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Fabian
NamePart
(type = given)
Ann
DisplayForm
Ann Fabian
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Lewis
NamePart
(type = given)
Jan
DisplayForm
Jan Lewis
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Crackel
NamePart
(type = given)
Theodore J.
DisplayForm
Theodore J. Crackel
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
(qualifier = exact)
2013
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2013-01
Place
PlaceTerm
(type = code)
xx
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO639-2b);
(type = code)
eng
Abstract
(type = abstract)
This dissertation explores George Washington's intellectual development through the reading he conducted over the course of his lifetime. The chapters that follow offer answers to the questions: why did he develop his unique reading preferences at different periods in his life; what did he read; how did he use the knowledge gained from his reading; and where did Washington read. Answering these questions opens a window into Washington's mind. Over the course of his adult life, Washington meticulously cultivated his reputation and played a large part in the creation of his own myth. The success of this endeavor largely hinged on his ability to maintain a certain aloofness from those around him. As a result, Washington's closest contemporaries and scores of historians and biographers over time all concluded that Washington's mind was inaccessible. As long as the keys to understanding Washington's intellect remained hidden, the studies of how he achieved such greatness were somewhat hollow. However, this dissertation argues that one of these keys has hidden in plain sight -- in his library. Washington eventually amassed a library of over nine hundred volumes, a fact that many scholars have noted, but none have seriously examined. By examining the library to determine what Washington read and then placing that reading in the context of the events taking place in his life and world, what emerges is a picture of a man driven to succeed. Washington spent a lifetime compensating for a "defective education" through self-directed study. He pursued useful knowledge so that he could lead scores of men who were often more qualified than he. This reading was the key to Washington's self-fashioning project. This project not only makes Washington more real and accessible, but it also sheds important light on how his own American identity was formed. This project will therefore contribute to future research on the development of American nationalism.
Subject
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
History
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Presidents--United States--Knowledge and learning
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_4432
PhysicalDescription
Form
(authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
v, 317 p.
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = vita)
Includes vita
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Adrienne Marie Harrison
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
(type = personal)
Washington, George, 1732-1799--Books and reading
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000067773
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
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(authority = marcorg);
(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3R78CV4
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights
RightsDeclaration
(ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder
(type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Harrison
GivenName
Adrienne
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
(encoding = w3cdtf);
(qualifier = exact);
(point = start)
2012-12-18 13:19:20
AssociatedEntity
Name
Adrienne Harrison
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
RightsEvent
DateTime
(encoding = w3cdtf);
(qualifier = exact);
(point = start)
2013-01-31
DateTime
(encoding = w3cdtf);
(qualifier = exact);
(point = end)
2015-01-31
Type
Embargo
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after January 31st, 2015.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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Technical
RULTechMD
(ID = TECHNICAL1)
ContentModel
ETD
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