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What Rock Reveals, W. Michael Weis
What Rock Reveals, W. Michael Weis
Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017
To understand the 1960s, students can learn much by listening to the music that defined the era.
Yours Truly, Abraham Lincoln, Rebecca Welzenbach '07
Yours Truly, Abraham Lincoln, Rebecca Welzenbach '07
Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017
Erika Nunamaker ’01 joins a huge document hunt in search of the true Lincoln.
Presidential Campaign Songs Of The Progressive Era : The Political Language Of Personality, Luke Gullickson
Presidential Campaign Songs Of The Progressive Era : The Political Language Of Personality, Luke Gullickson
Constructing the Past
The Progressive Era’s emphasis on political personalities stands in contrast to most other eras in American history, including our own, and the resultant political discourse encouraged a rich and charismatic political atmosphere. The presidential campaign songs from this era are a testament to this atmosphere. Since these songs were written during the campaigns, for the specific purpose of swaying voters, they can be seen as cultural constructs and as political propaganda. They provide insight into the political atmosphere of the era: into the language that was used to discuss the issues and the rhetoric that was effective at mobilizing public …
Dorothea Dix : Student, Reformer And Crusader, Megan Kokontis
Dorothea Dix : Student, Reformer And Crusader, Megan Kokontis
Constructing the Past
Dix began her prison reform work by visiting prisons across the country, and two systems emerged as the models of reform. Dix sought a total reform of the system, of both its physical structures, and more importantly, its programs and systems. In order to have a better understanding of the prison systems, Dix traveled throughout the country, visiting prisons, meeting with wardens and evaluating the various systems for their effectiveness. From 1841 to 1843, she visited state prisons, evaluating their respective benefits. Despite her efforts to remain objective, her opinions were always colored by her deeply held religious convictions. Finally, …
Sumptuary Legislation And The Fabric Construction Of National Identity In Early Modern England, Rachel Shulman
Sumptuary Legislation And The Fabric Construction Of National Identity In Early Modern England, Rachel Shulman
Constructing the Past
The sumptuary legislation is quite specific, outlining exactly which fabrics were permitted for each social class and in what types of clothing. For example, Elizabeth’s 1562 proclamation asserted, “None shall wear in his apparel any silk of the color purple, cloth of gold tissue, but only the King, Queen . . . except dukes and marquises who may wear in doublets and sleeveless coats cloth of gold of tissue not exceeding £5 the yard, and purple in mantles of the Garter.” The language of exclusion reflects the common conceptions of social hierarchy in early modern England. The most lavish accoutrements …
A Welcome Attack On American Values : How The Doctrines Of Robert Owen Attracted American Society, Elizabeth Johnson
A Welcome Attack On American Values : How The Doctrines Of Robert Owen Attracted American Society, Elizabeth Johnson
Constructing the Past
In November 1824, Robert Owen came to the United States with the intention of putting his beliefs about society into practice. He had done so once before in the “new system of society” that he had created at New Lanark (the site of a textile factory he owned), in which he singled out individualism, competition and selfishness as the sources of social evil. The prescribed cure was an improvement of their environment and circumstances, which Owen believed to be the true determiners of a person’s character. The experiment was considered a great success, and served as an international model. This …
A Page In History, Amelia Benner '09
A Page In History, Amelia Benner '09
Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2002-2017
After Gerald Ford’s passing, Mark Griffith ’77 recalls his own part in presidential history.
Searching For Truth In The Fast Day Sermons Of 1812, Amelia Benner
Searching For Truth In The Fast Day Sermons Of 1812, Amelia Benner
Constructing the Past
It is a vast generalization to say that all Federalists were anti-war, and that Federalist, anti-war feeling was centered in the Puritan northeast. It is equally an oversimplification to assume that all westerners and southerners were pro-war Republicans. But these assumptions were just as common at the time as they are today. The war of 1812, although not one of the most significant wars in the nation’s history, is one of the most complex. Over the years, dozen of causes have been suggested for the conflict: American merchants’ profits from the war in Europe, westerners’ attempt to further expand the …
Flavian Visual Propaganda : Building A Dynasty, Michael Vasta
Flavian Visual Propaganda : Building A Dynasty, Michael Vasta
Constructing the Past
The Flavian triumph itself was a complex and elaborate pageant that must be examined in each of its parts. It, as Beard persuasively argues, was designed to be the “Flavian coronation, the official launch party and press night of the Flavian dynasty.” The usurpers are transformed into an “established imperial dynasty” and Titus changes from “conqueror of Jerusalem to Flavian Caesar.” The triumph is the beginning of the propaganda program designed to give legitimacy to Vespasian and his sons.
A Courage Untempered By Prudence : The Writings, Reforms, And Lectures Of Frances Wright, Erin Crawley
A Courage Untempered By Prudence : The Writings, Reforms, And Lectures Of Frances Wright, Erin Crawley
Constructing the Past
Wright was careful in her approach to slavery, saying it “is not for a young and inexperienced foreigner to suggest remedies for an evil which has engaged the attention of native philanthropists and statesmen and hitherto baffled their efforts.” This changed and eventually she would have no problem asserting her views as well as the accompanying remedies, as is evidenced in Nashoba. She spoke briefly on emancipation and colonization, but only to say that unless they became programs of national concern, they would never be implemented successfully. She also, while still disapproving of slavery, credited slave owners for stoically bearing …
The Speeches And Self-Fashioning Of King James Vi And I To The English Parliament, 1604-1624, Megan Mondi
The Speeches And Self-Fashioning Of King James Vi And I To The English Parliament, 1604-1624, Megan Mondi
Constructing the Past
James sat through approximately 33 months of Parliament during his twenty-two year reign in England (r.1603-1625). His first Parliament, which was also his longest, convened on 19 March 1604 and lasted through five sessions until 1610. His second Parliament lasted only three months (5 April 1614 – 7 June 1614) and was dubbed the Addled Parliament because no new legislation was passed. James did not call another Parliament until 1621. The seven-year absence was England’s longest since 1515. The Parliament of 1621 lasted from 30 January to 18 December. James dissolved each of these Parliaments in anger—he was frustrated with …