| My dissertation, entitled “Imagining New England: Transatlantic Protestantism, Regionalism, and Nationalism in the early Republic,” examines the relationship between regionalism and nationalism in early republican New England. It discusses how, in the years between 1789 and 1825, New Englanders used trans-Atlantic symbols as models and juxtapositions in the creation of their own New England national identity. In inventing their collective identity, New Englanders not only excluded Europeans, but also Southerners from their vision of America. Furthermore, images of New England landscapes, virtues, and people created a strong loyalty to the region. New Englanders utilized their regionalism to forge an American nationalism. |
