Charles A. Dana, the Civil War Era, and American Republicanism

Authors

Eric X. RivasFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

History

First Advisor's Name

Gwyn Davies

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-chair

Second Advisor's Name

Darden A. Pyron

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Co-chair

Third Advisor's Name

Jessica Adler

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Clement Fatovic

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

intellectual history, political history, United States history

Date of Defense

11-8-2019

Abstract

When Charles A. Dana bought the New York Sun in 1868, he used it to support the presidential candidacy of Ulysses S. Grant and the Republican Party ticket to unify the post-Civil War nation. After a victory for the Civil War general and Republican Party, though, the first fifteen months of the new administration turned the editor against the president and his party. Dana’s Sun criticized Grant and his allies as corrupt, of using the military for political ends, and of growing the size and power of government beyond traditional American practice. Against the backdrop of Reconstruction, Dana also decried the Grant administration’s foreign policy, especially regarding the ongoing war in Cuba. This dissertation explores how Dana’s interpretation of republican values clashed with the American response to transatlantic politics to justify further criticism of the president and his party between March 1869 and the election of 1872.

Identifier

FIDC007847

Recommended Citation

Rivas, Eric X., "Charles A. Dana, the Civil War Era, and American Republicanism" (2019). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4347.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4347