Graduation Year
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.L.A.
Degree Name
Master of Liberal Arts (M.L.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Humanities and Cultural Studies
Major Professor
Benjamin Goldberg, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Brook Sadler, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Brendan Cook, Ph.D.
Keywords
American revolutionary war, John Locke, liberty, patriotic songs, Thomas Paine
Abstract
This thesis analyzes American literature dedicated to the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the events which led to it. The overarching goal of the analysis is to lay out a coherent account of the concept of freedom in American literature of that time period. To reach this goal I will use The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke as a main philosophical text, which outlines the key elements of political freedom. As the main literature pieces of the selected time period, Common Sense by Thomas Paine and The Liberty Song were chosen. I will also use multiple songs by various authors where different aspects of the issue are being touched upon. The research shows that different parts of this thesis were covered separately by numerous authors. This thesis attempts to establish the connection between major philosophical, political and fictional texts in order to understand the general mood of the American people at the dawn of the nation. The people of the United States of America are being divided right now over major political, social and economic issues. That is why it is so important to look back at the beginning to try and see what united these people in the first place, on which principles people stood, on which they chose to live by, and for which they were ready to die.
Scholar Commons Citation
Pylynskyi, Mykhailo, "The Concept of Freedom in American Literature at the Dawn of the Nation" (2020). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/8283
