Date of Graduation

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

History

Committee Chair

Tyler Boulware

Committee Co-Chair

Daniel Barr

Committee Member

Kenneth Fones-Wolf

Committee Member

Joseph Hodge

Committee Member

Brian Luskey

Abstract

This project explores British colonial interaction with imperial authority in mid-eighteenth century Pennsylvania. The goal is to show that reactions to this authority proved much more complicated than previously identified. This has been done by examining the personal interactions of Pennsylvanians with Britons in political, economic, diplomatic and inter-colonial affairs. Upon examination of these exchanges, it becomes clear that Pennsylvanians differed greatly in their support of British authority depending on their personal place in society and the particular issues they were most personally connected to. By demonstrating the variety of reactions, this research highlights the importance of studying colonial opposition to Great Britain on a local level.

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