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“For The Right To Live”: Radical Activity In Portland’S Parks During The Great Depression, Eliana Bane

Anthós

During the Great Depression, Portland's working class joined in the national surge of radicalism to fight for economic relief and social justice. One of organized labor’s most effective strategies was to stage mass demonstrations in highly visible public spaces, such as Plaza Park adjacent City Hall in downtown. Rallying in city parks represented workers’ determination to exercise their free speech in spite of Red Scare suppression of leftist radicals. This essay explores the role of public parks in the history of the labor movement in Portland during the Depression, primarily focusing on Plaza Park since it was a hub for …

Myths, Museums, Mothers, And The Power Of Letitia Carson, Hailey Brink

University Honors Theses

Letitia Carson was a trailblazing Black Oregon pioneer woman whose life offered remarkable and unprecedented departures from the white pioneer status quo. Letitia's story presents numerous points at which she could be heralded for her successes; her pregnant journey across the Overland Trail, giving birth in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, cultivating and maintaining two separate homesteads, challenging and conquering two lawsuits against administrator Greenberry Smith, her midwifery and community involvement, and lastly, becoming the first Black woman to own land in Oregon in 1862. And yet, her story fell to obscurity, only to be revived nearly a century …

Sartorial Representations Of Trans Men In The Post-Frontier West: A Case Study In Gender, Class, And Concepts Of Societal Degeneration, Rose Caughie

University Honors Theses

Clothing is communication. How it is perceived reveals a society's values and anxieties. In the post-frontier American west, moralistic laws against cross-dressing combined with fears of societal degeneration, resulting in the formation and enforcement of normative visions of gendered dress. When trans men Harry Allen and Milton Matson were arrested, images of them were published in newspapers across the nation. Allen's working class wear and close criminal contact with racial minorities reflects one perceived source of degeneration while Matson's high class look and British immigrant status reflects the other. This essay will consider how these men's clothing and bodies were …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Sings Which Story?: Narrative Production And Race In The Curriculum Of Film Musicals, Joanna Batt, Michael Joseph

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Film musicals serve as a tool to infuse historical and cultural content into social studies curricula towards greater student engagement—for example, Lin Manuel-Miranda's Hamilton has become a celebrated classroom piece due to its ability to blend history with hip-hop and pop culture. Yet beyond language and content scans, teachers rarely examine or utilize musicals for how their narratives (mis)represent racial communities. This critical film analysis of three film musicals, using the theoretical framework of history production, reveals themes of historical morality, romantic relationship and race, and implicit/explicit racial messaging. Although troubling in their overall contribution to racial projects, film musicals …

9/11, Culture War, And The Pitfalls Of History, David Horowitz

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

9/11 marks one of the traumatic events of modern U. S. history. Yet its occurrence and aftermath must be placed in the context of social movements and global developments. This presentation focuses on getting past political and social divisiveness. Professor Horowitz has taught at Portland State since 1968, where he won a prize for outstanding achievement in 2007. He is co-author of a U.S. history textbook and has a number of publications to his credit. He is the author of a personal, professional, and political memoir with the title “Getting There: An American Cultural Odyssey.”

A Grave Issue-Lone Fir Cemetery, Block 14, And Chinese Exclusion With Charlie Huxley, Charlie Huxley

PDXPLORES Podcast

Lone Fir Cemetery, located in inner Southeast Portland, Oregon, was established in 1855 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Block 14 within the cemetery was a segregated section reserved for Chinese immigrants in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this episode of PDXPLORES,

Charlie Huxley (History, '22) discusses how their research illustrates how community engagement with Block 14 in the nineteenth century was defined by discrimination, aggression, and racism toward Portland's Chinese immigrant community.

Click on the "Download" button to access the audio transcript.

An Exploration Of The Wide-Reaching Effects Of The Repeal Of Roe V. Wade On Women's Access To Abortion, Mitchell J. Foster

University Honors Theses

Since 1973, the federal government, through the Supreme Court of the United States, has acted to protect, the rights of women in their ability to choose to have an abortion without excessive governmental restriction. This thesis analyzes how and why access to abortion will shift in the face of the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade (1973), likely to occur this June. This thesis begins with an in-depth description of how and why abortion became illegal, how and why abortion became legal, and how the opposition has developed against legal abortion. Through the last few decades, though especially in …

"I Just Had To Do Most Everything": Gender, Settlement And American Empire In The Far West, Hannah Alexandra Reynolds

Dissertations and Theses

The field of settler colonial studies has made huge strides in recent years toward problematizing the establishment of the United States on stolen land and the nation's steady, violent expansion across the continent. Settler colonial framework provides a rich opportunity for historians of the American West to reframe white settlement on the frontier, especially that which was made possible through land grant legislation such as the Homestead Act of 1862. As the families who took up land grant property sought new opportunities for themselves, they also acted as drivers of U.S. territorial acquisition. This process was inherently gendered, in terms …

Eating Real Mexican: Identity, Authenticity, Americanization, Health, And Food Culture In The United States After 1900, Alexandra H. Ibarra

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the connection between Mexican food and identity in the early to mid-twentieth century (1900-1950). Anglo-Americans created evolving racial/ethnic stereotypes during a period of intense Mexican immigration and nativism that used descriptions of food, hygiene habits, and health to reinforce boundaries of whiteness and citizenship.

By examining Americanization teaching manuals, food articles, as well as personal and corporate cookbooks, I seek to understand how Americanizers and other food writers used food to point to emphasize, unhygienic habits, excess use of spice and grease, as well as the "questionable" nature of immigrate food culture to separate them from Anglo-Americans. …

Letitia Carson In Court: African American Women, Property, And Wages In The Pacific Northwest, Stephanie Marie Vallance

Dissertations and Theses

Letitia Carson arrived in Oregon from Missouri in 1845, accompanied by David Carson and their newborn child, a daughter named Martha. The Carsons settled in the Soap Creek Valley and took advantage of Oregon's Provisional Government's donation land claim program, living on 640 acres in the newly formed Benton County with Martha and a second child, a son named Adam, born a few years after arriving in Oregon. Within ten years, however, David would be dead and Letitia would be dispossessed of all property and belongings. A former slave, Letitia had little social standing in the new territory and no …

Regionalist Romance: "America Eats" And The Culinary Myth-Making Of The Federal Writers' Project, Icarus J. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis expands upon food historian Camille Bégin's assertion that the "America Eats" manuscript of the New Deal's Federal Writers' Project was "in tune with the interwar revival of regionalism" in the United States. Using archival material associated with the project and regionalist literature of the period, this study explores the dichotomies inherent in the broader regionalist movement of the Depression Era -- particularly using the project's treatment of the American West. Using foodways as the topic and regionalism as the intellectual framework, the FWP employees sought to document what they believed was the authentic culinary character of the nation …

Finding A Community Niche: Rethinking Historic House Museums In Oregon, Liza Julene Schade

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis discusses current preservation and public history in the field of historic house museums in Oregon, looking at two case studies that are undergoing processes of reinterpretation. The first chapter provides a brief history of heritage preservation in the United States, describes the spectrum of historic homes, and presents a key framework of four factors that need to be addressed when evaluating sites today. Current methodology refers to reinterpretation of sites to be more diverse, working with collections, doing research and restaging, along with innovating new programs. Public access and engagement pertain to finding a unique niche in the …

Battle Rock: Anatomy Of A Massacre, Adam R. Fitzhugh

Dissertations and Theses

On June 9, 1851, nine men under the direction of a steamboat captain and land speculator named William Tichenor landed on the southern coast of the Oregon Territory at present-day Port Orford with the intention of establishing a permanent settlement. Tichenor's plan was to establish a commercial port that would supply gold mining endeavors in the interior. The landing party's instructions were to survey the townsite while Tichenor traveled to San Francisco to gather more men and supplies. Before departing, he promised the group he would return in exactly two weeks. He also assured them that the local Quatomah Indians, …

Judicial Review As An Instrument Of Natural Rights Theory: An Intellectual History, James M. Masnov

Dissertations and Theses

The unique and antidemocratic power of judicial review by the United States Supreme Court is not a bug, but a feature. Its role was critical in establishing and affirming a separation of powers horizontally among the federal branches as well as vertically between the federal government and the individual states. More than this, the Court's power of judicial review acts as an instrument of rights theory and is informed by a rich and rarely-discussed intellectual history. Though judicial review as a mode of constitutional law and the legal history surrounding it has been discussed by various legal scholars, political scientists, …

Session 1: Panel 3: Presenter 1 (Paper) -- Fight For Star Wars: The Reagan Doctrine And The Ending Of The Cold War, Roselyn S. Dai

Young Historians Conference

The strenuous conflict between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which persisted for over four decades, finally came to a close in the early 1990’s, shortly after the presidency of Ronald Reagan. A common assumption is that Reagan’s hardline foreign policies and weapons buildup finally forced the Soviet Union to back down. However, this assumption is only a small portion of the picture. The cause for the ending of the Cold War is a much more nuanced story centered not only around the arms race but also the collapsing Soviet economy and the domestic issues of …

Oregon's Racial Purity Regime: The Influence Of International Scientific Racism On Law Enforcement, Legislation, Public Health, And Incarceration In Portland, Oregon During The Victorian And Progressive Eras (1851-1917), Katherine N. Bush

Dissertations and Theses

In 1983, the Oregon State legislature repealed the eugenic sterilization law that had been in use for 60 years. Initially passed during the Progressive era, this law epitomized the State's legacy of surveilling, policing, caging, and inflicting brutality on marginalized and racialized communities who were deemed dangerous, threatening, or contagious. Public health leaders, political officials, law enforcement authorities, and private charities worked together as a multivalent system to maintain racial purity in the State. This racial purity regime drew upon a legacy of international pseudo-scientific racism to justify and bolster policies, legislation, and practices that targeted impoverished communities, people of …

Pacification Gone Awry: The U.S Failure To Underpin Hearts And Minds In South Vietnam, 1966–1968, Simon Mai

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: Throughout the escalation of American involvement in Vietnam from 1964 – 1968, one key strategy focused on pacification – the winning of the allegiance of South Vietnamese civilians to the Saigon-based Government of Vietnam (GVN). This paper will argue that American/GVN implementation of pacification programs at the provincial and village level revealed three fundamental factors that proved fatal and counterproductive. These factors were the political and social entrenchment of the Viet Cong or National Liberation Front (NLF), the provincial cronyism and corruption of GVN, and the indiscriminate application of American firepower in support of General William Westmoreland’s strategy of …

The Revival Of Termination: Fragmenting John Collier’S Bureau Of Indian Affairs, Jacob Taylor

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: The Indian New Deal has been studied through two opposing lenses. Some historians attempt to paint John Collier, Bureau Commissioner under President Roosevelt, as a visionary who attempted to save Native American sovereignty while others denounce his legislation and time in office as ill-fated and corrupt. These two opposing views fail to illustrate the broader context of Collier’s BIA and do not provide an explanation for the ultimate failure of the Indian New Deal. Furthermore, they offer a largely monocausal explanation for the failure of the Indian New Deal. I argue that the BIA had been faltering for a …

Religious Language And The American Presidency, Shinjin Lee

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: The United States is not a theocratic county, yet the importance of, and the emphasis on, religion are a quintessential part of understanding American politics and society. This paper explores the way former presidents of the United States treated and spoke of religion(s) has changed during the history of the nation. In order to discover the role and impact of religion in American history I will analyze a selection of various types of writings of the presidents such as formal letters to Congress or the American people, inauguration remarks, official statements, and other speeches from as early as George …

A ‘Superlicious’ Feast: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Davy Crockett’S Almanacs As An Early Form Of White National Identity, Darren L. Letendre

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: Davy Crockett’s Almanacs, published between 1835 and 1856, have been held as a prime example of nineteenth-century Anglo-American folklore. While authors have commented on their comic qualities and racist content, what has been lacking is a rhetorical analysis, as suggested by Folklorist Stephen Gencarella, which would examine the ways in which “folklore is not something that a folk does, rather… something which constitutes a folk.” This paper analyzes the almanac stories dealing with native peoples in order to understand the political and ideological discourse that was propagated by these publications. Rather than genuine folk-stories faithfully recorded by publishers, these …

The Blood Logs: Factors In The U.S. Decision To Classify The Japanese Biological And Chemical Warfare Program, Linda R. Zhang

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: The Japanese Imperial Army maintained chemical and biological testing facilities during the Asian Pacific War where unwilling civilians and prisoners of war were subjected to human experiments regarding frostbite, germ warfare, syphilis, weapons testing, and human anatomy. As American forces began occupying Japan and restructuring the country, the Allied Powers established an international tribunal to prosecute Japanese leaders deemed responsible for the war. During this time period, American policymakers would classify the Japanese bio warfare program, essentially protecting Japanese participants in the warfare program from facing trial. My research analyzes why American policymakers would classify Japan’s Biochemical Warfare Program …

The No-Color Of Women: Women And Commemoration In The Treasure Valley Of Idaho, Shaina Lynch

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: In this paper, I research the public commemoration of women in the Treasure Valley and Southwest Idaho. Public memorials were sought out, visited, and photographed. A map was created of the locations and added to a website I made as part of this project, www.idahowomeninhistory.com. In order to make an argument for more statuary and monuments to women in Idaho there needed to be an explanation for the omission. I begin with the glaring absence of women in the public sphere and popular history (written and dominated by men), which explains their lack of celebration in public spaces. They …

Fallout From The Wall Street Bombing, Maxwell Mcpherson

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: On September 16, 1920, a bomb would go off in the middle of Wall Street killing forty people and injuring over a hundred more. To this day the perpetrator remains unknown, and in the absence of resolution one might question how the contemporary public reacted to this terrorist attack in the heart of Manhattan. Through an archival examination of newspapers printed in the period after the attack it can be seen how this unsolved mystery would fuel persecution and public hysteria in the ensuing months targeting “suspect” political dissidents and ethnic minorities. From studying newspapers published following the bombing …

Blacks In Oregon, Darrell Millner

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Periodically, newspaper or magazine articles appear proclaiming amazement at how white the population of Oregon and the City of Portland is compared to other parts of the country. It is not possible to argue with the figures—in 2017, there were an estimated 91,000 Blacks in Oregon, about 2 percent of the population—but it is a profound mistake to think that these stories and statistics tell the story of the state's racial past. In fact, issues of race and the status and circumstances of Black life in Oregon are central to understanding the history of the state, and perhaps its future …

Settler Colonial Curriculum In Carlisle Boarding School: A Historical And Personal Qualitative Research Study, Patrick Gerard Eagle Staff

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation research study brings together a historical account and one scholar's personal and family stories of how Indigenous children were stolen and sent to the first Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools and tribal schools. In the case of the researcher's family, the educational experiences at Carlisle Indian Industrial School immediately started a traumatic assimilation process on Indigenous children that instilled generational trauma for them and their descendants. At these schools, Indigenous children were forced to conform to a foreign European school designed to abolish their Indigenous identity that demanded they give up their language and culture to …

Original, Nicole Donisi, Skyler Hayes, Ash Horn, Naomi Likayi, Trudy Chin, Fahad Al-Meraikhi, Matt Davidson, Wolfgang Schildmeyer, Nicola Cheadle, Melissa Delzio, Olivia Ridgley, Portland Design History

Student Work

This magazine showcases some of the people, brands and organizations of significance from Portland’s design scene with a focus on the 1960s & 1970s.

"All Things To All Men": The Life And Work Of Monsignor Thomas J. Tobin, Priest Of The Archdiocese Of Portland In Oregon, Samuel Richard Mertz

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a biographical study of the life and work of Monsignor Thomas J. Tobin, a priest of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon. It covers his leadership in the labor movement during World War II, his participation in the Liturgical Movement, and his efforts to bring the Catholic Church in Oregon into ecumenical dialogue with other Christians. It culminates in his involvement in the Second Vatican Council. His activism can only be truly understood within the context of Oregon's vibrant progressive movement, a movement that carried disproportionate influence in a state that was in many ways politically conservative …

The United States' Relationship With The Insanity Defense Before And After United States V. Hinckley, Natalie R. Peterman

Young Historians Conference

The United States legal system has had a fluctuating relationship with the insanity defense for decades, and the trial of United States v. Hinckley was a critical milestone for this development. Before John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and the jury of his trial found him not guilty, American society generally supported the insanity defense, but both the public and the government were outraged after Hinckley’s verdict. This outrage and the subsequent political backlash against the insanity defense were motivated by progress in the area of mental illness treatment in the United States. In the …

The Evolution Of Slavery-Built Higher Education And Racial Supremacy In American Universities, Olivia A. Ricketts

Young Historians Conference

This paper discusses the connections between American universities and the institution of slavery. It examines four universities connections that were funded in different eras of United States history, including Harvard and Yale in the Colonial Era, University of Chicago in the Antebellum Era, and the University of Oregon in Post-Reconstruction Era, as well as what they are currently doing in the form of reparations. The thesis of the paper is that through the history of the United States, the level of association between slavery and universities decreases, due to the rise of abolitionist ideals.

The Radical Impact Of Madame Delphine Lalaurie On Slavery And The Image Of African Americans, 1831-1840, Sophie A. Rehlaender

Young Historians Conference

The paper covers the history of Madame LaLaurie, and the public reaction of New Orleans in response to her slave abuse. The paper reviews the social climate between New Orleans Americans and the French Creole society, in which LaLaurie was included in. The rivalry between the two groups influenced the widespread hatred for LaLaurie. The paper addresses the extremity of her abuse of her slaves, and the psychological theories that could have allowed for her behavior. The public reaction to the crimes is considered as well, whereas the New Orleanians developed mob mentality in an attack on LaLaurie's house. The …