Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Much of the preliminary work of the project is done. During my work on the John Dickinson Writings
Project (JDP), I created a detailed chronology of his life with primary source quotations, conducted
intensive research on materials, and published scholarly articles on several aspects of his life. I have also
thought extensively about the framing, voice, incorporation of primary sources, how to deal with gaps in
information, and other problems of biographical writing. To date, I have written the prologue and begun
the first chapter.
Also in preparation for this work, I created an upper-division course called “US Founders,” in which
we spend two weeks on each major figure—Washington, Franklin, JD, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and
Madison. For each (except JD), we read a popular biography written by an historian. We explore not only
the lives of the subjects, but also the technique of the biographers. For JD, I assign my work—the parts of
the biography along with the chronology of his life, supplemented with primary material and a few of my
essays—and solicit feedback. By these methods, I have gained a better sense of what works for the general
reader and what does not and seen students’ excitement at learning about JD
I hope to have two full years (2019–2021) to devote to this project. Because JD’s activities are relatively
well-known during the Revolutionary era, those chapters will likely be easiest, while the years before and
after will require more work to research and frame, because little or nothing his been written on them by
me or others. To help me to focus on the project, Governor John Carney of Delaware has apportioned
$300,000 of state funds to release me from my duties as Chief Editor of the JDP and some of my teaching
duties at the University of Kentucky. I am seeking NEH support for 12 months of full-time work from
September 1, 2019 to September 1, 2020. My goal is to have a publishing contract before the end of 2019
and a rough draft of the entire manuscript by the end of the grant period. I will use the following year for
soliciting feedback, filling gaps in the narrative, checking sources and citations, and polishing the prose.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 9/1/20 → 8/31/21 |
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