Digital Commons Network^™

The Immigrant Woman:Jewish Assimilation In The Lower East Side Ghetto Of New York City, 1880-1914, Rachael Siegel

History Theses

This paper looks at the factors that affected the extent to which Eastern European Jewish women were able to assimilate into American society between 1880 and 1914. By 1920, approximately 45% of Eastern European Jewish immigrants resided in New York City, primarily on the lower East Side. The population density of the Lower East Side made it the most crowded neighborhood in the city, if not the world. Eastern European Jews, especially Russian Jews, comprised the largest number of immigrants to the United States.

When these immigrants moved into the safety of the United States, they transplanted the traditions of …

Daniel O’Connell’S Struggle To Harness Religion And Nationalism In The Pursuit Of Universal Civil Rights And Home Rule In Ireland, Colin Daunt

History Theses

In this paper I examined the religious shift in Irish national identity, from Protestant to Catholic, in the early 19^th century. This shift was led by Daniel O’Connell, who led the Irish home rule movement up until his death in 1847. O’Connell had to maintain a delicate balance in his push for independence; he wanted a legislatively independent and unified Ireland for both Catholics and Protestants. But he could never attain the balance he desired because the Protestants were always wary of the O’Connell’s Catholicism. Their wariness was due to O’Connell’s early focus on Catholic Emancipation; he believed every …

Expulsion Of The Sudeten Germans: Influence On The Socialization Of Czechoslovakia, Andy Read

History Theses

The German expulsions of 1945-46 in Czechoslovakia would inspire massive shifts in the political orientation of the Sudetenland with drastic consequences for the Czechoslovak state. Build-up in organic communist support began as large border areas implemented agrarian and industrial reform to distribute former German assets. Local political orientation further shifted leftwards and was reflected in the 1946 general parliamentary elections where communists captured over 30% of the vote. Representation was disproportionate for exterior areas and helped swing the balance against the democrats and make Czechoslovakia into a communist state.

The Calico Acts: Why Britain Turned Its Back On Cotton, Peter Fisher

History Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between nascent British Nationalism and the Calico Acts. The Calico Acts were passed between 1701-1721 and banned the importation and selling of most cotton items in Britain. My thesis challenges the traditional idea that the Calico Acts were the result of rent-seeking behavior by the Wool and Silk industries and instead focuses on the influences of mercantilism, xenophobia, and conservative social pressures. At the heart of all these controversies lurked the specter of nationalism which influenced and drove the debate against calico. Ultimately the thesis attempts to create a nuanced view of the creation and …

Why Are There So Many Diverse Holocaust Museums?: A Journey Through The Holocaust Museums Of Five Nations, Marjorie E. Carignan

History Theses

Holocaust museums around the world are unique in their respective missions, funding, architecture and exhibitions. Some of these distinctions are extreme, leaving museums seemingly opposites of each other. To better understand these diversities, this thesis analyzes Holocaust museums in France, Germany, Poland, Israel and the United States. Through analysis, unique facets in many basic areas of the museums can be found, with many of these being affected by which country the museum is in. By seeing what museums choose to include and leave out, we are able to see what parts of the Holocaust could use more attention and how …

Ralph Raico: Champion Of Authentic Liberalism, Daniel P. Stanford

History Theses

ABSTRACT OF THESIS

Ralph Raico: Champion of Authentic Liberalism

This paper explores the intellectual life and writings of Professor Emeritus in History at Buffalo State College, Ralph Raico. The central thesis seeks to portray Professor Raico as the great modern libertarian revisionist historian, and the great modern champion of historical, classical liberalism. More broadly, the work attempts to solidify Professor Raico’s reputation as a major figure in the modern American libertarian movement.

Raico’s intellectual foundations are fully developed, beginning from grade school at Bronx High School of Science, to his attendance of Ludwig von Mises’s New York University seminar, to …

He Honored Death, Too: The Subterranean Life Of Jack Kerouac, Christopher Wayne

History Theses

Regarded as the founder of the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac is upheld as a symbol of post-war freedom and opportunity in America, a precursor of the cultural shift of the 1960s. This paper is an exploration of the lesser known traits of Kerouac: qualities that are in conflict with the persona that is most closely associated with the author. The thesis begins with an examination of Kerouac’s childhood in Lowell, Massachusetts, and his exposure to those traits he adopted in adulthood, and chronicles events in his life that display his subversive character. The main argument of the thesis is that …

Bawds, Babes, And Breeches: Regendering Theater After The English Restoration, Laura Larson

History Theses

Restoration England (1660~1720) was a raucous time for theater-making. After an 18- year Puritanical ban on the theater, and with the restoration of the worldly Charles II to the throne, English theater underwent a pivotal rebirth. At this time, women were allowed to act on the public stage for the first time, an event carrying enormous implications for gender roles. This paper argues that actresses posed a threat to the patriarchal hierarchy that was in place at this time. Their unique position in professional theater and unusual access to a public voice not available to the rest of women enabled …

Paris: Reflections Of A Modern City, Brian J. Schultz

History Theses

From 1853-1870, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussman transformed Paris from a medieval infrastructure to a modern bourgeois metropolis. This sweeping reform not only changed the aesthetic of Paris, but also its class structure, forms of leisure, and the way in which people viewed their rapidly changing society. Utilizing two icons of aesthetic modernity, Charles Baudelaire and Edouard Manet, I intend to demonstrate that revisiting Paris in the second half of the nineteenth-century, the very model of infrastructural modernization, can help us discover the roots of aesthetic modernism with all its contingencies and contradictions.

To Better Serve And Sustain The South: How Nineteenth Century Domestic Novelists Supported Southern Patriarchy Using The "Cult Of True Womanhood" And The Written Word, Daphne V. Wyse

History Theses

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, American women were subjected to restrictive societal expectations, providing them with a well-defined identity and role within the male-dominated culture. For elite southern women, more so than their northern sisters, this identity became integral to southern patriarchy and tradition. As the United States succumbed to sectional tension and eventually civil war, elite white southerners found their way of life threatened as the delicate web of gender, race, and class relations that the Old South was based upon began to crumble. Despite their repressed status in southern society, most elite southern women chose to support …

The Professionalization Of The American Army Through The War Of 1812, Robert L. Heiss

History Theses

The American military tradition stretches back to the militia of England. The English colonists brought a tradition of militia service and a fear of standing armies to America. Once in America, the colonies formed their own militias, using them for defense and then later for offensive operations. At the time of the American Revolution the American colonies had to combine the militia with an army. The fear of a standing army hindered the Continental Army, and then later the American Army, from being an effective force. By the time of the American Civil War, this had changed. There was a …

Motivations Of Civil War Soldiers From Western New York, Justin T. Howell

History Theses

The American Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States. Over 620,000 lives were lost during this war. Yet, what motivated volunteer soldiers to fight so valiantly for so long is the focus of this paper. After reading over 100 individual diaries and letters from volunteer Civil War soldiers from Western New York, who fought on the Union side, I have concluded that certain motivations influenced soldiers more than others to keep fighting. Motivations of the thrill of combat, adventure, and hatred of the enemy served as the initial motivations for Western New York Civil …

Cope, Cooperate, Combat: Civilian Responses To Union Occupation In Saline County, Missouri, During The Civil War, Elle Harvell

History Theses

The Union occupation of Saline County, Missouri, during the Civil War brought many challenges to the civilian population. Civilians responded to the federal presence in a variety of ways: a few citizens coped with the situation, most cooperated in the face of an immediate threat, and others combated the federal incursion ruthlessly. A violent cycle of resistance and retaliation erupted between the pro-Confederate civilians and guerillas and the federals. Federal attempts to punish the Confederate enemy and to stabilize society encouraged more resistance. Faced with increasing defiance, the Union hardened policies. The presence of two rival forces in the county …

Buffalo, New York’S Citizen Soldiers: Personal Histories Of Combat, Trauma, And Returning Home After The Second World War, Drew H. Lewandowski

History Theses

Buffalo, New York’s Citizen Soldiers: Personal Histories of Combat, Trauma, and Returning Home after the Second World War

This thesis focuses on interviews from nine World War Two veterans who are from Buffalo, New York and the immediate surrounding areas. Included are three infantry men from the European theatre, including one paratrooper. Three who served in the Pacific theatre, including one medical officer, a medic, and one man served in the occupation of Japan. The remaining three served in the Air Corps in Europe, one pilot, one bombardier, and one fighter pilot.

Through extensive interviews, both written and filmed, this …

By My Side: Charles E. Burchfield's Letters To Bertha K. Burchfield From 1923 To 1963, Alana Ryder

History Theses

Over the past 80 years, research on American artist Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967) has often placed little emphasis on the people and events that were essential for his artistic freedom and the success of his career. This paper, based on the contents of forty years of letters between Burchfield and his wife Bertha Kenreich (1886-1973), challenges the artist’s mythology, which includes misconceptions of his isolation, lack of influences, dislocation from art history and the insignificance of human connections and activities.

New dimensions of Burchfield's identity are examined, significantly his positions as a husband, father, friend to other artists represented by …

The Old Bailey: The Court Of Londoners In An Era Of Revolution, Nathaniel Goodwin

History Theses

The history of the laws and courts of England is a rich subject, but little work has been done on the history of common law prior to the eighteenth century. With fewer sources than later periods and a confusing system of overlapping jurisdictions the late seventeenth century has largely been ignored by legal history scholars. Furthermore, the history of this period is often dominated by grand events like the Glorious Revolution. This thesis attempts to chronicle the activities of the Old Bailey - London's central criminal court during the era of the Glorious Revolution. Analysis of the Old Bailey Sessions …

Regency Rabble Rousers: The Impact And Legacy Of The Cato Street Conspiracy, Kathleen M. Beeson

History Theses

What were the reasons behind the virtual disappearance of the Cato Street Conspiracy from historical discussion and debate as well as from public consciences? This thesis poses the question: How could a group whose activities had been closely watched for several years by government officials and deemed dangerous enough for these government officials to plant spies within their ranks, not receive the same historical treatment as those who were responsible for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605? This study maintains that both the Cato Street Conspirators and the Gunpowder Plotters set out to do the same thing: they desired to create …

Vanished Legacies And The Lost Culture Of I.M. Terrell High School In Segregated Fort Worth Texas, Samuel A. Wilson

History Theses

From 1954 until 1973, the Fort Worth Independent School District worked to adhere to the ruling of Brown v. Board and entered several years of litigation brought about by the NAACP and attorney Clifford L. Davis. The process of this integration, beginning with the crisis over Fort Worth black students attempting to integrate into the Mansfield School System, and ending with the closing of several all-black schools, most notably the century-old school that was I.M. Terrell High School, was a very difficult process not unlike that of other schools across the nation. However, the Fort Worth School District, after seeing …

"To Get Their Labor For Nothing" Criminal Courts And Jim Crow In Tarrant County, Texas: 1887-1908, Thomas A. Paige

History Theses

The county jail records reveal that Tarrant County Jim Crow was a function of custom and thoroughly institutionalized as a matter of public policy by 1890, before the Texas state legislature required separate railroad coaches for blacks and whites in 1891. Chapter 1 explores Tarrant County's founding as a slave jurisdiction, the county's support of the Confederacy, and the county's post Civil War success in segregating blacks. Chapter 2 describes the machinery of county law enforcement and analyzes the county jail records between 1887 and 1890 using modern statistical methods. The analysis demonstrates that whites used the county court system …

Ronsons, Zippos, Brew-Ups, And Tommycookers: The M4 Sherman Tank And American Armored Development During World War Ii, John Michael Muller

History Theses

In January 1945 the M4 Sherman tank became embroiled in bitter controversy for its inability to match-up with certain tanks of the German Army. Citing many deficiencies of the Sherman, angry American tankers vented their frustrations to the media during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. Questioning the effectiveness of the Ordnance Department and U.S. Army doctrine that governed the tanks produced, members of the media demanded a congressional investigation why American tanks appeared to be substantially inferior in mobility, firepower, and protection in comparison to German tanks. High-level commanders tried to quell the controversy …

The Dominican Crisis Of 1962-1965, Communist Aggression Or U.S. Intervention, Cary W. Beshel

History Theses

In this paper I deconstructed the U.S. Invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965. I also look at the events leading up to the military intervention, such as assassination of Trujillo, the Bosch presidency, and the turbulent period of the military junta. The paper also takes a broader look at the implications of communist expansion and the U.S. response under George Kennan's Domino Theory. I utilized a number of primary documents that have been recently made public to examine the U.S. response to what was seen as a left leaning rebellion within the Dominican Republic. I found that the Cuban …

The Role Of Ritual And Ceremonial In The Reign Of Edward I, Marla Lynn Morris

History Theses

Often it is said that no one is better at pomp and pageantry than the British monarchy, and indeed, this has been the case at least since the time when medieval kings ruled England. One monarch in particular stands out as having successfully utilized royal ritual and ceremonial to great political, military and personal gain. Edward I is widely considered one of England's most dynamic, respected and successful monarchs. Called a "precedent seeker," the king's reign was ". . . one of the most pivotal in the whole of British history, a moment when the destinies of England, Wales, Scotland …