Matthew Vajda

I am a recently minted PhD in warfare and American society and intelligence studies where I specialize in government power, suppressing dissent, and counterintelligence. While I am primarily an Early Americanist with interests in the American Revolution and Early Republic (1763-1820), I recently defended my dissertation, entitled "Knowing Your Enemies: Ralph Van Deman and the Origins of American Military Intelligence, 1882-1941," which studies the career of Major General Ralph Van Deman, an army surgeon who became known as the "Father of American Military Intelligence" as he argued the necessity for a permanent and functioning intelligence gathering agency staffed by professionals. In addition to studying military history, I have broader interests in political history, the Atlantic World, and the historical contexts of and history's influence on music, particularly heavy metal. I am currently an adjunct instructor at Massachusetts Bay Community College. In my free time, I am an avid New England sports fan (Go Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics!) and enjoy listening to heavy metal and hard rock.