An Integrated Approach to American Revolution History: I. The Framers

Document Type

Poster

Campus where you would like to present

Ellensburg

Event Website

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source

Start Date

18-5-2020

Abstract

There are many analyses of the American Revolutionary founders, however there are few that analyze them as a group with respect to quantitative analyses. There is a growing utilization of statistical and network analysis in history that can now deliver new perspectives and the American Revolution is an excellent research area, particularly the people who created the revolution and those that resisted the revolution. This preliminary study is one of three papers based on the full dataset of over 700 individuals with 219 possible attributes including categories such as birth/death (date, location), kinship, careers, education, organizational memberships, occupations, positions, key events, among others. This paper is specifically based on the signatories of the four founding documents of the United States (N=159), the framers who signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. These signatories include Roger Sherman, John Dickinson, and Thomas McKean. The analysis used an integrated approach that combined statistics, cluster analysis, geospatial analysis, network analyses (centralities, cohesion, linkage maps, ego networks) and an example micro-case study of an intriguing individual that typifies the possibilities of integrated approaches. It also is important to present what were common factors such as generation, common educational institutions, geospatial factors, affiliations such as the Freemasons. Considering the importance and relevance to past and present US history, it is crucial to further explore the American Revolution with new approaches that can help us find fresh understandings that may be relevant and useful even in the 21st century.

Faculty Mentor(s)

Marilyn Levine

Department/Program

History

Additional Mentoring Department

https://cwu.studentopportunitycenter.com/2020/04/an-integrated-approach-to-american-revolution-history-i-the-framers/

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May 18th, 12:00 PM

An Integrated Approach to American Revolution History: I. The Framers

Ellensburg

There are many analyses of the American Revolutionary founders, however there are few that analyze them as a group with respect to quantitative analyses. There is a growing utilization of statistical and network analysis in history that can now deliver new perspectives and the American Revolution is an excellent research area, particularly the people who created the revolution and those that resisted the revolution. This preliminary study is one of three papers based on the full dataset of over 700 individuals with 219 possible attributes including categories such as birth/death (date, location), kinship, careers, education, organizational memberships, occupations, positions, key events, among others. This paper is specifically based on the signatories of the four founding documents of the United States (N=159), the framers who signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution. These signatories include Roger Sherman, John Dickinson, and Thomas McKean. The analysis used an integrated approach that combined statistics, cluster analysis, geospatial analysis, network analyses (centralities, cohesion, linkage maps, ego networks) and an example micro-case study of an intriguing individual that typifies the possibilities of integrated approaches. It also is important to present what were common factors such as generation, common educational institutions, geospatial factors, affiliations such as the Freemasons. Considering the importance and relevance to past and present US history, it is crucial to further explore the American Revolution with new approaches that can help us find fresh understandings that may be relevant and useful even in the 21st century.

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2020/CAH/23