Episode notes
Calls for a resurgence of American nationalism are often defended by a supposed historical American national identity that emerged either with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1789. And indeed, throughout the 1770s, 80s and 90s, American politicians often argued for separation from Britain, and American union, due to their claims of a national identity. However, the idea of American external differences and internal similarities was more of a useful political fiction than a reality. And for years after the emergence of the United States, an American national identity would elude the founding generation as they denounced one another as traitors to the Republic, attempted to form alliances with foreign enemies, and discussed secession from the government that they had helped to create.
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