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The Political Effect Of The Ku Klux Klan In North Dakota, Trevor M. Magel

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The 1920s was a transitional decade in the political history of the United States. Progressivism did not have the influence it had had in the first couple of decades of the 20th Century but its ideas were still part of the debate. But many other elements became more prominent such as: Americanism, Urbanization, and Nativism. North Dakota is a good case study of these trends and how the Klan tried to use these trends to gain power. The Nonpartisan League, Independent Voters' Association, and Ku Klux Klan conflict in North Dakota reflected broader political conflicts happening within the country over …

A Small City's Big Scandal: Municipal Corruption, Progressive Reform, And The Grand Rapids, Michigan Water Scandal, 1900-1906, Brian F. Sarnacki

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At the turn of century the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan began debating plans for expanding its water supply. These debates quickly spawned corrupt dealings, which in turn produced the city’s water scandal. The city’s first genuine scandal, the water scandal marks a turning point in the city’s history. The fact that the rather ordinary bribery scheme became a scandalous event reveals the city had adopted enough of the Progressive ethos to punish corruption. The water scandal stands as the tipping point of municipal politics in Grand Rapids between Gilded Age politics rooted in personal connections and Progressive politics centered …

Dean Of The Range: George Edward Lemmon, Open Range Cattle Ranching And The Development Of The Northern Great Plains, Nathan B. Sanderson

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

George Edward Lemmon (1857-1945) lived a life full of significant achievements and played an integral role in the growth and settlement of the northern Great Plains. A renowned cowboy and cattleman, Lemmon saddle-handled more cattle than any man who ever lived, bossed one of the nation’s largest roundups, operated an 865,000-acre lease on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation and later became an inaugural member of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Part of his early success came as a result of trespassing—illegally grazing thousands of cattle—on the Great Sioux Reservation. Due to his unparalleled cattle-handling skills and reputation as one …

Empire Of The Young: Missionary Children In Hawai'i And The Birth Of U.S. Colonialism In The Pacific, 1820-1898, Joy Schulz

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Hawaiian by birth, white by race, and American by parental and educational design, the children of nineteenth-century American missionaries in Hawai‘i occupied an ambiguous place in Hawaiian culture. More tenuous was the relationship between these children and the United States where many attended college before returning to the Hawaiian Islands. The supposed acculturation of white missionary children in Hawai‘i to American cultural, political and religious institutions was never complete, nor was their membership in Hawaiian society uncontested. The tenuous roles these children played in both societies influenced the trajectories of each nation in surprising ways. Similarly, the children’s cultural experiences …

Smoke And Mirrors: A History Of Nagpra And The Evolving U.S. View Of The American Indian, Lindee R. Grabouski

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While paintings of Native Americans and Europeans exchanging goods and cultural values adorn the walls of museums around the United States, actual Native/non-Native interaction over the past 500 years has been one of illusion, not cooperation. Until recently, legislation “protecting” Native Americans appeared altruistic on the surface, but, instead, served only as a facade for keeping Native artifacts in the hands of scientists and collectors. Even the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the most recent legislative attempt to reconcile the past mistreatment of Native Americans, is riddled with obstacles and optical illusions.

Certainly, NAGPRA demonstrates the most …