Jacob Piatt Dunn - Legacy

Legacy

As a political reformer, some claim Dunn was an example of a blend between a secular evangelist and progressive, while others believe he was more of a "'hide-bound' partisan". Working behind the scenes in Indiana politics, Dunn worked to secure honest elections in the state through adoption of new ballot laws and a proposal for a new state constitution. In addition, he was an advisor to Hoosier democrats such as Indiana's governor Thomas R. Marshall and U.S. Senator Samuel M. Ralston. At the same time, he combined lifelong interests in politics and history by writing several memorable books on Indiana history.

Dunn is best remembered as the author of several important works on Indiana history, most notably Greater Indianapolis. Although he was not an academically-trained historian, Dunn did "yeoman work" in documentary research on Native Americans in the western United States, supported research and preservation of the Miami language, and wrote extensively on the history of Indiana and its residents. He was also an active journalist and political writer, "notable for his ability to understand and sympathize with the motivations of both sides of most disputes." Two of Dunn's efforts ended unsuccessfully: the first, obtaining precious metals in the American West and Hispaniola; the second, and far more controversial, a desire to write a new Indiana state constitution, which included language that would have removed voting privileges for many immigrants and blacks. Dunn's draft of a new Indiana constitution placed even more restrictions on voting than the existing version. Although the effort failed, Dunn still played a pivotal role in the state's efforts in election reform with the adoption of the Australian ballot system.

Dunn's descriptions of Haiti's cannibalistic aboriginals and voodoo and his use of racist terms such as nigger and chink have caused some historians to question Dunn's sincerity on wanting to preserve the language of the Miamis. Others acknowledge his actions may have "personified the vanities and limitations of his time, place, and social class."