ICOC and Historical Roots

I came across this quotation from Alexander Campbell, founder of the Church of Christ, from which the ICOC springs. It reads, 

"I have endeavored to read the Scriptures as though no one had read them before me, and I am as much on my guard against reading them today, through the medium of my own views yesterday, or a week ago, as I am against being influenced by any foreign name, authority, or system whatever." 

This is interesting because there seems to be a trend within the Evangelical world to disassociate with their historical roots. I know many Protestant Evangelicals, including the ICOC, who are squeamish when I call them "Protestants." 'We're not Protestants,' they'll object, 'We're just Christians.' This is to be completely ignorant of history. While I consider "Protestant" to be something of a bad word, I don't understand why it would be to a Protestant. I can use it in a value-neutral way, and it can easily interpreted that way, so why all the effort to avoid it? Whatever the reason may be, this attitude will disappear when I, as a Catholic, try to make them feel the necessity of ecclesiastical pedigree. 'Well, we don't say tradition has no authority, but only that it isn't infallible and is not equal to scripture.' Okay, that's fine for the time being. I think we can have a good discussion if we enter tradition into considered data. But, when it concerns the ICOC, and the Campbellite movements in general, I don't know that this can be said given the quotation above. Campbell wants to understand the Bible completely and radically apart from tradition, which would be a foreign influence. Ironically, someone can say they wish to interpret scripture apart from Campbell's principle, but then I think that begins to look self-refuting.