This study analyzes the reporting and editorializing in several major American newspapers during the height of the Citizen Genêt Affair in July and August, 1793. A hybrid form of sociological moral panic theory, focused predominantly on the "iteration" of moral panics and the language used to communicate them, is used to understand the dynamics of the information landscape of 1793. Specific attention is paid to the effects of time and space, personal and political bias, and incendiary historical rhetoric on reporting of and reactions to Genêt's actions. In doing so, this study highlights possible flaws or blind spots in both moral panic theory and historiography, and brings new understanding to the media environment in which America's political traditions gestated. Brief connections are drawn between this historical information landscape and series of events and contemporary concerns with regards to social media and incendiary political rhetoric. / Master of Arts / One of America's first political and diplomatic scandals, the Citizen Genêt Affair of 1793, had a large impact on the foundation of the nation's original political traditions. Though this event usually constitutes little more than a footnote in traditional histories of America's formative years, newspaper reporting from the time casts the events of this scandal in a much different light. Numerous similarities can be observed between reporting on the Citizen Genêt Affair and a classic moral panic as outlined in sociological theory. At the same time however, studying these newspaper reports as a moral panic displays certain complications in moral panic theory in its present form. Finally, in studying this reporting, we can gain new understanding about incendiary political rhetoric in contemporary American media.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83575 |
| Date | 19 June 2018 |
| Creators | Whitley, Daniel Edward |
| Contributors | English, Radcliffe, David H., Reed, Ashley, Graham, Peter W. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
Page generated in 0.006 seconds