The myth of the American Revolution and the heroic representations of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the American press of the Early Republic
The myth of the American Revolution and the heroic representations of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the American press of the Early Republic

Summary/Abstract: The article offers an analysis of the representations of Tadeusz Kościuszko in early American newspapers (1776-1820). The study shows that the American press presented Kościuszko as a heroic figure, significant in the making of America as a nation through his participation in the War of Independence. Kościuszko was not initially recognized as an important military leader of the Revolution, but he was re-discovered as an American hero after he had distinguished himself as the leader of the 1794 uprising in Poland. The mythologization of Kościuszko consisted in interpreting his life as a struggle for liberty, equality, and republicanism, the values which laid at the foundation of America as a nation.

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