Theodore Fawcett

Research Topic

Crisis of Compromise: Generational Politics and the Coming of the American Civil War.

My doctoral research explores whether a ‘generational shift’ animated the profound political changes taking place in mid-19th century America, particularly between 1848 and 1860. By tracing the extraordinary prominence of language associated with ‘youth’ and ‘generations’ in public and private political discourse, and how key political movements captured the support of the ‘rising generation’, my research will document how generational dynamics shaped the dominant political debates of the decade over temperance, nativism and slavery. Ultimately, the project will determine whether the rise of the Republican Party in the North and growing support for secession in the South can be characterised as the product of this ‘generational shift’, and therefore whether generational analysis is necessary in understanding Civil War causation.

My broader research interests include the politics and political language of the Antebellum Era, Civil War and Reconstruction.

Supervisor: Professor Adam Smith & Dr Mark Power Smith