Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism

This paper analyses the commercial and institutional context in which Jeremy Belknap founded the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1791-1792. It reads his “Four Dissertations” of 1792 as a series of methodological and theoretical arguments in favor of the unique chronology and thematic content of...

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Autor principal:	Agnès Delahaye
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN FR
Publicado:	Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2020
Materias:	Jeremy Belknap exceptionalism New England historiography early America Atlantic history History America E-F America E11-143
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/eb771128c13d45eca61e60b30a467bc3
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:eb771128c13d45eca61e60b30a467bc3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:eb771128c13d45eca61e60b30a467bc32021-12-02T10:14:25ZJeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism1765-276610.4000/transatlantica.13032https://doaj.org/article/eb771128c13d45eca61e60b30a467bc32020-02-01T00:00:00Zhttp://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/13032https://doaj.org/toc/1765-2766This paper analyses the commercial and institutional context in which Jeremy Belknap founded the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1791-1792. It reads his “Four Dissertations” of 1792 as a series of methodological and theoretical arguments in favor of the unique chronology and thematic content of American history. It argues that Belknap’s overall historical project is the origin of American exceptionalism as a historical practice, based on an exclusive focus on settlement and expansion as the engines of history, and on the experiences of American settlers since their arrival on the continent, as the only sources on which to build a relevant paradigm of the American character. His legacy is problematic, but it represents a crucial avenue of postcolonial inquiry, in which the structuring effects of exceptionalist historiography can be studied.Agnès DelahayeAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesarticleJeremy BelknapexceptionalismNew Englandhistoriographyearly AmericaAtlantic historyHistory AmericaE-FAmericaE11-143ENFRTransatlantica : Revue d'Études Américaines, Vol 2 (2020)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN FR
topic	Jeremy Belknap exceptionalism New England historiography early America Atlantic history History America E-F America E11-143
spellingShingle	Jeremy Belknap exceptionalism New England historiography early America Atlantic history History America E-F America E11-143 Agnès Delahaye Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
description	This paper analyses the commercial and institutional context in which Jeremy Belknap founded the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1791-1792. It reads his “Four Dissertations” of 1792 as a series of methodological and theoretical arguments in favor of the unique chronology and thematic content of American history. It argues that Belknap’s overall historical project is the origin of American exceptionalism as a historical practice, based on an exclusive focus on settlement and expansion as the engines of history, and on the experiences of American settlers since their arrival on the continent, as the only sources on which to build a relevant paradigm of the American character. His legacy is problematic, but it represents a crucial avenue of postcolonial inquiry, in which the structuring effects of exceptionalist historiography can be studied.
format	article
author	Agnès Delahaye
author_facet	Agnès Delahaye
author_sort	Agnès Delahaye
title	Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
title_short	Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
title_full	Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
title_fullStr	Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
title_full_unstemmed	Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism
title_sort	jeremy belknap and the origins of american exceptionalism
publisher	Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
publishDate	2020
url	https://doaj.org/article/eb771128c13d45eca61e60b30a467bc3
work_keys_str_mv	AT agnesdelahaye jeremybelknapandtheoriginsofamericanexceptionalism
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Jeremy Belknap and the Origins of American Exceptionalism

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