Date of Award

Summer 8-31-2016

Document Type

Thesis: Open Access

Degree Name

MA History

Department

History

Committee Chair

Michael Gonzalez

Committee Co-Chair

Thomas Smith

Abstract

This work examines classical reception in early America. Specifically, it addresses the role of classical ideas on pastoralism in the thought of one of America’s founders, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson is best known for his role in the forming of United States government, but he was also influential on developing the idea of “America.” As such, his political theory on agrarian republicanism has strong ties to how the classical poets, such as Virgil and Theocritus, likewise thought about the relationship between land and government.

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