The making of Stephen Decatur: A study of heroism and myth building in America

Abstract

This thesis seeks to show how heroes are created, the role hero-making plays in the creation of national identity and how the mythology constructed around heroes affects historical memory, by examining the heroic narrative constructed around Commodore Stephen Decatur, United States Navy. Stephen Decatur became a hero during the first Barbary War in 1805, his abrupt rise to heroism was occasioned by a mix of luck, drama, partisan politics and nationalism. After his death, Decatur received very complimentary attention from nineteenth century biographers anxious to present Americans with national heroes. In the twentieth and twenty-first century Decatur remained popular, especially with American reengagement in the Middle East and the "War on Terror." Recent biographies of Decatur are of interest as they reveal the continuities and changes in the American heroic ideal over time, and how the momentum of a narrative can deeply shape our understanding of the past.