Digital Commons Network^™

Two Murder Confessions And The Struggle For Black Authority In Early 19th Century Philadelphia, Garrett Gaither

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

As Richard Allen Headed to the prision to help facilitate the confessions of a murder that shook the city of Philadelphia, he let his mind wander. It felt just like yesterday that he arrived in the city and started preaching and helping his Black brothers and sisters. They had made so much progress over his few decades in Philadelphia: an independent church they were still fighting to hold onto, the new law against the Atlantic slave trade, and a large Black community that was active in his church. Despite all of this success, racial tensions were rising in the city. …

Unity And Dissent: Exploring The United States Constitution Ratification Among The States, Luke Wyatt

Honors College Theses

The research presented here, analyzes the states in 1787 and the ratification Convention of five states: Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, New York, and Virginia. There were three states that ratified the United States Constitution unanimously while others had great opposition by anti-federalist. The research analyze why those three states ratified the constitution unanimously while other states had great opposition for it and supported the articles of confederation.

The American West And Nozick’S Theory Of Entitlements, Kaitlyn E. Price

The Purdue Historian

Customary law emphasizing the protection of private property rights rather than the authoritative assertion of the law characterized expansion into the American West from 1848-1895. The subsequent legal systems developed in a minarchistic manner that aligned with Robert Nozick’s “theory of entitlements,” leading to the adoption of a “night-watchman state.” This theory asserts that a society built upon customary law that focuses on the protection of individual rights will undoubtedly develop a protective body to safeguard these rights in pursuit of the third principle, the “rectification of justice.” Thus, the chaotic and often disorganized way the West’s extralegal and formal …

Choiceless Choices: The Sonderkommando Of Auschwitz As Victims, Taylor Rice

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

To undertake the Extermination of Europe's Jews, the Nazis needed more manpower than the ranks of the SS could provide. The Germans relied on the constant supply ofJewish prisoners to meet their need for a large labor force in the concentration camps themselves. At its highest rate of extermination, more than one hundred inmates were assigned to work in each crematorium at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Sonderkommando (special detachment) at Auschwitz was composed of prisoners selected by the Nazis to participate in extermination work. As a result, members of this special detachment had an incredibly intimate view of the inner workings of …

The Legal Culpability Of Emperor Hirohito In The Outbreak Of The Second Sino-Japanese War, Joseph Castellano

Honors Projects

An analysis of the legal culpability of Emperor Hirohito in the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War based on primary source evidence. Combines an examination of primary and secondary sources to demonstrate that Emperor Hirohito was legally responsible for his role in the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

"A Secessionist And French Red": The Life Of Pierre Soulé In Transatlantic Context, Caedmon P. Kollmer-Dorsey

History Honors Projects

This thesis analyzes the life of Pierre Soulé (1801-1870), a US Senator representing Louisiana and Minister to Spain who began his political life as a liberal political exile from Restoration-era France. It argues that Pierre Soulé’s fights for slavery and US expansion were in fact not as contradictory with his radically democratic liberalism as they appear to contemporary observers. The particular social, economic, cultural, and political conditions of the 19th century Atlantic World created an environment where liberals such as Soulé engaged in a transnational struggle for increasingly democratic governance which did not necessarily draw them into conflict with the …

Considering The “Special Considerations”: The Treatment Of Female Inmates In The People’S Republic Of China Since 1994, Niklas Berry

Madison Historical Review

The purpose of this paper is to historicize contemporary gendered legal practices in the People’s Republic of China and to demonstrate that, despite rhetoric to the contrary, paternalistic assumptions rooted in Confucianism still inform the treatment of female prisoners today. Though China underwent massive political and economic shifts after the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, certain longstanding societal principles were preserved in modern China, including long-held paternalistic stereotypes about the physical and mental fragility of women. These precepts undergirded the PRC’s reforms of its judicial and criminal systems …

A Most Despicable Hoax: Women, Crime, And Newspapers In Depression-Era St. Louis, Nancy Stiles

Theses

This paper delves into the captivating saga of Nellie Muench, a St. Louis housewife whose life intersected with the burgeoning celebrity culture, evolving media landscape, and shifting gender dynamics of the early 20th century. Muench's involvement as a co-conspirator in the 1931 kidnapping for ransom of a wealthy doctor propelled her into the spotlight, where she navigated media manipulation to attempt to craft her own narrative. Secretly obtaining a baby and passing it off as her own child to gain jury sympathy and blackmail a rich paramour took interest in her case to sensational tabloid (and legal) heights. Drawing from …

Gaijin Shogun: The Effectiveness Of Macarthur In The Early Stages Of The Military Occupation Of Japan, Jack Cashion

Senior Honors Theses

In the aftermath of World War II, the Allied powers occupied Germany and Japan to ensure a peaceful transition at the end of the war. While the Allies had conquered Germany in its entirety, Japan’s surrender in the wake of the atomic bombs forestalled a costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. President Harry Truman granted General Douglas MacArthur the title of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) when he appointed the general as the leader of America’s occupation force in Japan. As SCAP, MacArthur oversaw the initial years of the reconstruction of Japan and its transition from a war-torn …

The Contributions Of Nuevomexicanas To New Mexico Lowrider Culture, Traditions, And Rituals: The Significance Of Young Chicana Cultural Pachuca And Chola Aesthetics And Identity Expression In The Albuquerque Lowrider Community, Valerie J. Chavez

Chicana and Chicano Studies ETDs

The lowrider community in Albuquerque creates a space for families and individuals to gather and express themselves within Chicana/o/x culture. Nuevomexicanas have played a significant role in the teaching and preservation of the New Mexican traditions and rituals of lowriding. This research project is a visual and plática-based study. It explores how young Nuevomexicanas express their Chicana identity through la pachuca and chola cultural aesthetics and identity while actively participating in lowrider culture. This project utilizes the research methods of la resolana, querencia, and plática to understand, discover, and document the roles of young Nuevomexicanas in the Albuquerque …

American Resistance: The Bund And Their Opposition, Emily Copeland

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

This Honors Thesis investigates American opposition to the German American Bund during the turbulent 1930s. It reveals the differing attitudes within American society during the German American Bund's peak. While some embraced fascist ideologies, others protested against them, highlighting the intricacy of American politics leading up to World War II. This study explores the efforts undertaken by Americans to counter the fascist doctrine of the German American Bund on democratic soil. The research gathered insight from documents and artifacts at institutions such as the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, Curtis Laws Wilson Library, and other archival sources, investigating the …

"Yearning To Breath Free": American Policy's Impact On The Experience Of Imprisoned Migrants, 1980-1989, Samuel Johnson

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The evidence against the Immigration and Naturalization Service was clear. "The agent grabbed me by the arm and twisted it behind my back. He threw me against the van and held me by the arms while a second agent cook out his revolver and struck me very hard in the face, twice. I began to bleed profusely from the nose and mouth," recalled plaintiff Crosby Orantes Hernandez. "He told me that I would be placed in a cell with men, leaving me with the impression that I would be sexually molested," testified fellow plaintiff Dora Elia Estrada. Jose Sanchez Flores …

The Wolfenden Report: The Key To The English Gay Rights Movement, Ryan Hollister

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The history of homosexuality in Great Britain is long and complicated, extending all the way back to the Roman conquest. Romans had a tradition of homosexuality, but when Rome fell, churches became the authority on homosexuality, leading to numerous movements to fight against it. King Henry the 8th of England outlawed buggery, a term for anal intercourse, in 1533, and there are suspicions chat King James had homosexual relationships, but the scope of English history cannot be fully summarized in a paper of this length. Instead, this paper will focus on the British decriminalization of homosexual practices in the 1950s …

U.S. Government Agency Podcasts, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Presents podcasts from U.S. Government agencies which can be discovered through the U.S. Government Publishing Office's Catalog of Government Publications. Agencies whose podcasts are presented include the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Peace Corps, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Government Accountability Office (GAO), National Park Service, Department of Justice, Federal Reserve System, and U.S. Naval War College.

Bearing The Benefit: An Evolution Of Passing To Trespassing & How We Got Here, Kennedi J. Williams

Honors College Theses

In recent years, we have seen a shift in the social treatment of white people in America. The desire to be politically correct at all times, in hopes of avoiding becoming the next viral “Karen” or racist has become imperative. The following thesis will explore the latest trend of white women buying racial capital by producing mixed-race children. At first glance, this idea can be a bit problematic. How can we assume the reasoning behind a woman choosing to bear a child? With this in mind, I would like to emphasize that individuals do not have to consciously be racist …

Dogma: How A Convenient Narrative Led To The Holocaust, Morgan R. Schroeder

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

No abstract provided.

Legislating Morality In The Gilded Age And Progressive Era: Moral Panic And The “White Slave” Case That Changed America, Nancy C. Unger

History

This article is based on the presidential address presented to the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era at the meeting of the Organization of American Historians in Los Angeles in 2023. Its focus is Maury Diggs and Drew Caminetti, two white men from Sacramento, California, charged with violating the Mann Act (known as the White Slave Trafficking Act) in 1913. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era obsession with white slavery, a phenomenon that has particular resonance in today’s climate, reveals the power of moral panics. Examining the steps, and missteps, that various legal, social, and political …

La Traducción Política: El Silenciamiento Narrativo Y La Traducción Inglés-Español Bajo Francisco Franco, Avery Austin

World Languages and Cultures Student Papers and Posters

We tend to live under the assumption that translations will always attempt to be faithful to their original texts, blindly believing in the infallibility of the translator. However, in doing so, we ignore how translation can be used to take advantage of the reader – how can one know that a change has occurred in a translated work if they have no knowledge of the text’s original language? This paper studies the power dynamics of translation, and how it can be used as a tool to aid censorship. By focusing on translated literary works under the Franco regime, this work …

Beyond The Ballots: An Exploration Of Indonesian Democracy Through The Lens Of Campaigning And Dynasticism In The 2024 Indonesian General Election, Alexandra Richmond

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper offers a comprehensive exploration of Indonesian democracy, focusing on the dynamics of campaigning and dynasticism within the context of the 2024 Indonesian General Election. Drawing on the anthropological frameworks of historical particularism and functionalism, the research employs a mixed-method approach, combining cultural and participant observation, archival review, and interviews. Through cultural and participant observations in Bali and Java, the study unveils the intricate connections between political support, community unity, and the influence of vote-buying practices. Archival review delves into contentious issues surrounding electoral laws, particularly the Constitutional Court's exception to the age requirement for presidential candidates, revealing conflicts …

Security, Stability, Or Both? Peru's Complexities In Detaining German Peruvians, Brissa Campos Toscano

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The United States established internment camps during World War II, detaining families from Latin American Countries for national security, with a focus on German, Italian, and Japanese ethnicities (Roosevelt 1941). However, German ethnicity families living in Latin America who were taken to internment camps in Crystal City, Texas, are less visible in history, Jane Jarboe Russell’s book “The Train to Crystal City” made some of the internees’ stories more visible. I will contend that the principal reason for Peru’s collaboration in the U.S-Latin American Internment Program was to obtain economic, political and social benefits from the United States which would …

From Covenants To Classrooms: Uncovering The Impact Of Racial Segregation On Education In St. Paul, Minneapolis, And Duluth, Alexis C. Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Minnesota's history contains a narrative of segregation that not only shaped the physical landscape of its cities but also entrenched disparities in education and fractured communities. The racial covenants that first emerged in 1910 built the bedrock of housing segregation that led to segregated neighborhoods. The consequences of this systemic segregation extended beyond residential boundaries and infiltrated the corridors of education, where the harsh realities of racial imbalance often betrayed the promise of equal opportunity. By examining the interconnectedness of housing policies, school integration efforts, and community development, this study uncovers the roots of inequality and proves how Minnesota failed …

Antislavery White Supremacists And The Mistreatment Of African Americans In Indiana, 1787-1870, Mark A. King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Conventional wisdom holds that Indiana was always predominantly antislavery because it had begun as a territory of the United States under the Northwest Territory Act of 1787, which prohibited slavery; however, this is incorrect. This northern state had about as much proslavery sentiment as most states in the South. The state wrestled with the issue in the legislative session after the legislative session and court case after court case for decades during the antebellum period. Prominent settlers and state organizers petitioned Congress to allow the Indiana Territory to become a slave region. After statehood, proslavery forces continued to push for …

Rachel Franks, Double Agent: A Librarian And A Crime Author - William Blick Interviews Rachel Franks (January 2024), William Blick

Publications and Research

The following is an interview from January 2024 with Librarian and Crime Scholar, Rachel Franks and was posted on the Captivating Criminality Blog:

Rachel Franks is the Coordinator, Scholarship at the State Library of New South Wales and an Honorary Associate Lecture at The University of Newcastle (Australia). She holds PhDs in Australian crime fiction (Central Queensland University) and in true crime texts (University of Sydney). A qualified educator and librarian, her extensive work on crime fiction, true crime, popular culture and information science has been presented at numerous conferences, as well as on radio and television. An award-winning …

Challenges To Reindeer, Reciprocity, And Indigenous Sami Sovereignty Amidst The Impact Of Green Energy Developments, Lisa Heikka-Huber

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

The Indigenous people of Europe known as the Sami, (also spelled Saami) many of whom live throughout the world, have continued to maintain active nomadic communities today as their ancestors did. A wide spanning region of Northern Europe’s Arctic Zone or Sampi often referred to as Fennoscandia, encompasses four countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola Peninsula (Roland & Löffler, 2012). The nomadic Sami people follow the migration pathways of their reindeer herds through the wilderness bi-annually. This paper will discuss many perspectives, including the battle Sami people and other Indigenous communities have endured while combating green energy development from …

Captain Charles E. Hawkins, "The Key West Tragedy," And The "Unwritten Law," 1827-1830, James M. Denham

Florida Historical Quarterly

Once Spain transferred Florida to the United States in 1821, Americans moved to secure the sparsely settled island at the end of the Florida Keys. Key West's exposed position atop the Caribbean required enforcement of United States authority. Establishing a federal presence was essential to protecting its commercial interests in the Caribbean. In 1822 the island became home to the U. S. West India Squadron's four-year campaign against piracy. The scourge was all but wiped out but there were still challenges. Key West attracted mariners and interlopers from the West Indies. Florida's close proximity to Spain's Latin American colonies encouraged …

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

International Law, Self-Defense, And The Israel-Hamas Conflict, Eric A. Heinze

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article examines the international law of self-defense as it applies to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to determine whether the October 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel can be interpreted under Article 51 of the UN Charter as an “armed attack” that gives Israel the right to use military force in self-defense against non-state actors. It situates the conflict within ongoing legal and political debates, shows how this conflict fits into a changing global reality where the most dangerous security threats do not exclusively emanate from other states and concludes that Israel’s resort to force in the current conflict appears …

China's Use Of Nontraditional Strategic Landpower In Asia, Sheena Chestnut Greitens

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that the People’s Republic of China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. Instead of limiting analysis of China’s power projection to military forces, this article employs new data on Chinese police engagements abroad to fill a gap in our understanding of the operating environment in Asia. Policymakers will gain an understanding of how these activities enhance China’s presence, partnerships, and influence across the region to inform the development of recommendations for a more effective response.

The Making Of Florida's "Criminal Class": Race, Modernity, And The Convict Leasing Program, 1877-1919, Connon Donegan

Florida Historical Quarterly

"To degrade a white man by physical punishment is to make a bad member of society and a dangerous political element," so declared the report ofthe three person committee appointed by the delegates to Florida's 1865 constitutional convention. Their charge was to facilitate the drafting of a new legal code in conformity with the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a duly convicted crime. The criminal code enacted in the legislative sessions of 1865 and 1866 embodied the conviction of the formerly-Confederate lawmakers that the State of Florida would continue …

The Rise Of China And The Concept Of Civilization: Constructing Conceptual Apparatus For Cross-Civilizational Comparisons, Liah Greenfeld

Comparative Civilizations Review

The paper argues that the rise of China to a position of prominence in the contemporary world offers Western scholars a greatly expanded comparative perspective and, thus, an opportunity to re-assess their fundamental view of social reality. This comparative perspective draws attention to supra-national cultural unities, “civilizations,” first suggested by both Durkheim and Weber.

There are deficiencies in the current understanding of “civilization” in the social science literature, among others exemplified by “civilizational analysis,” and so this paper proposes a new concept which adds to the conceptual apparatus of sociological theory a new — fully independent of others — variant …