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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 …

Perceptions And Realities Of The Irish Republican Army During The Second World War, L.B. Wilson Iii

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the British and German perception of the IRA and claims that the organization represented an insurmountable obstacle to the progress of both German intelligence and British counter-intelligence. The IRA was also the primary contributor to the political troubles oflrish neutrality during World War II. It examines the perceived threat of the IRA in the minds of the Irish Prime Minister Eamon de Valera and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and those ministers' respective governments. The thesis looks at official debates in the British Parliament and the Irish Dail as well as interwar newspapers and official records. Additionally, …

Girls "In Trouble": A History Of Female Adolescent Sexuality In The Midwest, 1946-1964, Charissa Keup

Dissertations (1934 -)

This dissertation attempts to show how Americans reacted to adolescent female sexuality, looking specifically at unwed school-age pregnancy in the post-World War Two decades. It documents the origins of the transition of the conversation about unwed teens from caring for them in maternity homes and boarding houses to discussing their problems on television shows and in popular magazines. Teenage sexual delinquency and pregnancy have always raised innumerable questions about American culture and values. Because they challenged the traditional concept of motherhood, they offer a lens through which to study American sexuality and reveal that an alternate 1950s existed beyond the …

Paper Towns: Sense Of Place In Industrial, Small-Town New England, 1869-1927, David William Deacon

History - Dissertations

After the Civil War, new technologies and business structures transformed the American economy and society. One area that has received much attention in the antebellum period but much less after the Civil War, is small town New England. In the late 1860s, the introduction of wood pulp paper technology transformed formerly small market and manufacturing communities into centers of heavy industry. This dissertation is a study of this transformation. It focuses on three communities: Bellows Falls, Vermont, Franklin, New Hampshire, and Turners Falls, Massachusetts.

This study examines four broad areas: the historical background of the towns, and townspeople's awareness of …

From Confederate Expatriates To New South Neo-Filibusters: Major Edward A. Burke And The Americas, Michael Powers

All Theses

The traditional historiography of the American South presents the New South creed as a vision emphasizing national reconciliation based upon the advancement of Southern commerce and industry. In addition, scholars broadly define New South spokesmen as men who came to maturity after the Civil War and did not involve themselves in state or national politics. An examination of Major Edward Austin Burke, however, reveals that at least one pivotal New South booster was a Confederate veteran and leading political figure; it also suggests the presence of an international component inherent in the New South paradigm of the 1880s. It is …

A “Christian America” Restored: The Rise Of The Evangelical Christian School Movement In America, 1920-1952, Robert G. Slater

Doctoral Dissertations

Finding the origins and causes of the twentieth century evangelical Christian school movement in America during the years 1920-1952 was the subject of this study. Numerous primary and secondary sources were utilized. Primary sources consisted of original minutes of the proceedings of the National Education Association, the National Union of Christian Schools, and the National Association of Evangelicals. In addition, numerous evangelical publications of this era such as Moody Monthly, The Sunday School Times, and United Evangelical Action were consulted. From within the movement original sources such as Christian School Statistics, The Christian Teacher, and The National Association of Christian …

The 1868 St. Landry Massacre: Reconstruction's Deadliest Episode Of Violence, Matthew Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The St. Landry Massacre is representative of the pervasive violence and intimidation in the South during the 1868 presidential canvass and represented the deadliest incident of racial violence during the Reconstruction Era. Southern conservatives used large scale collective violence in 1868 as a method to gain political control and restore the antebellum racial hierarchy. From 1865-1868, these Southerners struggled against the federal government, carpetbaggers, and Southern black populations to gain this control, but had largely failed in their attempts. After the First Reconstruction Act of March, 1867 forced Southern governments to accept universal male suffrage, Southern conservatives utilized violence and …

The Vox Populi Is The Vox Dei: American Localism And The Mormon Expulsion From Jackson County, Missouri, Matthew Lund

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 1833, enraged vigilantes expelled 1,200 Mormons from Jackson County, Missouri, setting a precedent for a later expulsion of Mormons from the state, changing the course of Mormon history, and enacting in microcosm a battle over the ultimate source of authority in America's early democratic society. This study will reexamine the motives that induced Missourians to expel Mormons from Jackson County and explore how government authorities responded to the conflict. Past studies contend that Mormon communalism collided with the Jacksonian individualism of Missouri residents, causing hostility and violence. However, recent studies have questioned many of the conventional notions of law …

Drunk And Disorderly: The Origins And Consequences Of Alcoholism At Old Fort Hays, Ryan M. Kennedy

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to discover the causes and consequences of alcoholism at old Fort Hays. Unlikely to encounter Indians, soldiers longed for entertainment to fill the void of boredom in their lives. Serving as a regional supply center and railroad subsidy, Fort Hays deployed the majority of its soldiers as laborers, serving nearby Hays City, the railroad, and the fort itself. The tedious, routine-driven lifestyle enforced by Fort Hays commanders, in combination with feelings of frontier isolation, often led to resistance in the form of alcohol usage. Utilizing court-martial records, Post Orders, and soldier journals, this thesis …

Dancing With A Literary Devil: The Rushdie Affair In Britain, Arjun Mishra

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This paper studies the Rushdie Affair, which gripped the world from 1988-1990 and at its height included a death sentence from the Ayatollah of Iran to a British subject. The Rushdie Affair was a series of events that began with the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, a critically acclaimed British-Indian novelist. The situation spiraled out of control from there, as Muslims throughout the world claimed offense to what they perceived as insults to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The Rushdie Affair came to be characterized by violent riots in Pakistan and India, censures throughout the world, and …

A Scandal In Britain: The Mary Anne Clarke Affair And Representations Of Gendered Patriotism, Parissa Djangi

All Theses

In 1809, Mary Anne Clarke served as a key player in an investigation against her former lover, the Duke of York. She testified before the House of Commons that the Duke, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, did not provide her with enough financial support and allowed her to accept bribes for commissions in the army. Her confession rocked early nineteenth-century Britain, and the scandal caused the Duke to resign his military position. With Britain in the thick of the Napoleonic Wars, 1809 was a bad year for a scandal, as it encouraged Britons to doubt the authority of their military …

Paradise Found: Religiosity And Reform In Oberlin, Ohio, 1833-1859, Matthew Hintz

All Theses

Founded as a quasi-utopian society by New England evangelists, Oberlin became the central hub of extreme social reform in Ohio's Western Reserve. Scholars have looked at Oberlin from political and cultural perspectives, but have placed little emphasis on religion. That is to say, although religion is a major highlight of secondary scholarship, few have placed the community appropriately in the dynamic of the East and West social reform movement. Historians have often ignored, or glossed over this important element and how it represented the divergence between traditional orthodoxy in New England and Middle-Atlantic states, and the new religious hybrids found …

Wet Chicago: Prohibition And The Development Of The Informal Alcohol Economy, Brian Doumeth Jolet

Dissertations

The Prohibition-era presents a story of both continuity and change. While the illegal alcohol manufacturing and selling that occurred during the period was not an aberration from the past, the resultant increased wealth and sway of the criminal underworld and the increasing disrespect for the law were new transformations. This dissertation seeks to understand the informal economy in alcohol by examining the multitude of men and women who participated in this black market in the city of Chicago, Illinois. The analysis describes the movement from small-time bootleggers operating within a narrow market to the development of a complex and hierarchical …

Historical Accuracy And The Ira Over 70 Years Of Cinema, Eric Scott Elliott

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how the Irish Republican Army has been represented in theatrical cinema since the 1930s. The goal is to demonstrate the necessity for historical accuracy in movies produced for public entertainment, which often neglect historical facts and circumstances in portraying an organization as controversial and complex as the IRA. This has been done by examining five movies produced for wide-distribution and comparing each to the detailed historical record. Upon analysis of these movies, it becomes clear that the films which are the most historically relevant are also the most powerful cinematic productions, both …

Rebels, Settlers And Violence: Rebellion In Western Munster 1641-2, Christopher Sailus

LSU Master's Theses

This study challenges current historical assumptions about the nature, scope, and timeframe of the 1641 Irish Rebellion in Kerry, Clare, and Limerick counties in western Munster. Placing the start of the popular rebellion in these counties around 1 January 1642, the beginning of unrest is set several months further back. In the process of analyzing the actions of popular and organized rebels alike, the motivations for rebellion are characterized as political and social rather than religious. In turn, seventeenth-century Irish society was transformed from the traditional narrative of a rigid, religiously-divided society into something far more complex and amorphous, with …

“The Pastime Of Millions”: James B. Haggin’S Elmendorf Farm And The Commercialization Of Pedigree Animal Breeding, 1897-1920, Amber Fogle Sergent

Theses and Dissertations--History

Called “The Pride of the Bluegrass,” Elmendorf Farm changed the style and substance of commercial pedigree breeding in early twentieth-century America. Between 1897 and 1914, James B. Haggin readily transformed the Kentucky farm first as a nationally preeminent horse stud, famous for its bloodlines and scales, and second as a premier dairy operation, exceptional for its sanitation, science, and size. Here rested the large-scale production of the world’s fanciest Thoroughbreds and finest milk. At the same time, Haggin’s farm reflected a lifestyle that has come to be celebrated and cherished as the ideal Kentucky landscape. A factory-style plant of large …

Anti-Slavery And Church Schism Among Protestants In Antebellum Central Kentucky, Lance Justin Hale

Online Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the effects of anti-slavery and church schism among Protestant Christians in the Bluegrass region of antebellum Kentucky. A variety of secondary and primary sources are utilized, including books and journal articles from current scholarship, journals kept by historical actors, books, letters, and articles, written during or some years after the time under consideration, as well as publications of churches and denominations. Throughout the antebellum years, churches and denominations in the United States fractured over disagreements on slavery and theology. Pastors, such as James Pendleton and Peter Cartwright, endeavored to keep Christianity vibrant and relevant …

Making Of A Second-Class Citizen: A Case Study Of The Institutionalized Oppression Of Blacks In New Orleans, Andrew Stowe

Senior Independent Study Theses

New Orleans has been a cultural melting pot since the four centuries since its foundation. Along with all the mixing of cultures and races in the former slave city, racial divisions were created by the governments that controlled the city. This history of inequality and oppression has been a blight on the city's records and this paper will explore the three main injustices that have placed blacks into the role of being second-class citizens. These three issues are race-based violence, environmental injustice, and neighborhood segregation. This paper will chronicle events of the three injustices that have pushed blacks to be …

The Tri-River Region : The Geographic Key To Lasting Change In Ireland, Eugene Ryan Fitzpatrick

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research aims to identify the geographic area between the Nore, Barrow, and Suir rivers as the primary gateway for significant permanent changes to the Irish cultural landscape between the fourth and sixteenth centuries. This has been done by examining the successive waves of invasion which have swept over the island, and noting the high frequency with which many pivotal events have occurred in the region. Christianity, the Vikings, continental Church reforms, the Norman invasion, and many subsequent repercussions by English administrators, entered into Ireland through this area first. Upon examination, it becomes clear that Ireland possess a geographic corridor …

Divided On Unity : The Competing Strategies Of The Republican And Nationalist Movements During The Northern Irish Troubles, Matthew James Roche

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Divided on Unity:

British Identity And The German Other, William F. Bertolette

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

British identity evolved through conscious comparisons with foreigners as well as through the cultivation of indigenous social, economic and political institutions. The German other in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain, like the French other in previous centuries, provided a psychological path toward unity against a perceived common enemy. Because German stereotypes brought into sharp focus what the British believed themselves not to be, they provided a framework for defining Britishness beyond Britain’s own internal divisions of race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender and politics. Post-World War II devolution and European integration have since revived British internal national divisions. The image of innocuous …

Harvey Milk And California Proposition 6: How The Gay Liberation Movement Won Two Early Victories, Ramy K. Khalil

WWU Graduate School Collection

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) movement scored two historic victories in California in the late 1970s. Despite difficult odds, the movement succeeded in electing Harvey Milk as the first openly gay male candidate to political office in the country. The election of Harvey Milk to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors took place at time when anti-gay ballot initiatives were being approved by large majorities of voters in states across the country. Furthermore, the LGBT liberation movement succeeded in defeating an anti-gay ballot initiative in California in 1978, Proposition 6. Based on extensive primary source research, this thesis …

The World's Fare: Food And Culture At American World Fairs From 1893-1939, Elizabeth Badger

WWU Graduate School Collection

Why is the American culinary tradition as conflicted as it is? How is it that processed foods, foreign cuisine and home cooking can all be lauded as American ways of eating? This paper highlights the conflict between top-down government and corporate prescriptions on how we should eat and the reality of what was consumed by using American World Fairs as snapshots of particular points in time. Utilizing guidebooks, cookbooks, magazine articles and advertisements, this paper aims to show that these trends, rather than suddenly appearing, were already beginning to develop in part due to ideas presented at these fairs intentionally …

Canning Foods And Selling Modernity: The Canned Food Industry And Consumer Culture, 1898-1945, Kristi Renee Whitfield

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

At the turn of the twentieth century, Americans feared commercially canned foods. From the Spanish American War until well into the 1920’s, canned foods received a barrage of media attacks and accusations of unhealthiness, lack of cleanliness, and a lack of transparency and regulation in processing. Moreover, as gastrointestinal distress was quite prevalent among American society, many Americans feared that it was commercial foods that were making them sick. By the time Americans were coming home from World War II, the climate of opinion concerning commercially canned foods had changed, and this was in large part due to the unyielding …

Imperial Consensus: The English Press And India, 1919-1935, David Lilly

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Between 1919 and 1935, the lion’s share of the interwar era, the British government’s most important overriding task was constitutional reform of India. The subcontinent’s importance to Britain was undoubted: economically as an important trading partner and militarily a source of fighting men and material, as demonstrated in the Great War. However, scholars have relegated India to a relatively minor topic and instead have portrayed Britain’s interwar period as the era of appeasement. Appeasement only became an issue in 1935 and a major topic with the Munich crisis of September 1938. Voluminous press coverage of the India issue throughout the …