Digital Commons Network^™

How A Book Changed A Nation [2022], Teodora Buzea

Master's Theses

“We don’t believe in vampires.”

I didn’t bother to turn away from the TV to look at my parents. On screen, a crew of young men were interviewing an old woman. She spoke only Romanian, and a too-perfect female voice spoke for her in English. I could see the confident fear in her expression as she exclaimed that vampires were indeed real and that she was always scared of them. She wasn’t alone. All of Transylvania were aware of the existence of vampires. Truly, these young men— ghost hunters and cryptologists—were right to come here to this haunted nation. The …

"You Wanna Play Rough?": The Unlikely Partnership Of The Italian Mafia And Butch Lesbians In Greenwich Village, 1945-1968, Alison Jean Helget

Master's Theses

During economic and political upheaval in Europe beginning in the late-1910s and dramatically progressing throughout the 1920s, young Italian men emigrated to the United States to earn decent salaries to bring back to their families across the ocean. However, some single men embraced the opportunities of New York City and its diversified neighborhoods. Since xenophobic sanctions forced disenfranchised minorities into confined spaces and immigrants tended to find comfort settling in neighborhoods with well-established ethnic enclaves, this pushed Italian immigrants into the same space as butch lesbians in a counterculture place referred to as Greenwich Village on the west side of …

The Irish Republican Army: An Examination Of Imperialism, Terror, And Just War Theory, Avery R. Barboza

Master's Theses

Analysis of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and their actions in the 1970s and 1980s offer insight into their use of just war theory in their conflict with the British government and ultra-loyalist Protestant forces in Northern Ireland. The historiography of Irish history is defined by its phases of nationalism, revisionism, and anti-revisionism that cloud the historical narrative of imperialism and insurgency in the North. Applying just war theory to this history offers a more nuanced understanding of the conflict of the Troubles and the I.R.A.’s usage of this framework in their ideology that guided their terrorism in the latter …

No Ordinary Times: Reason For And Reactions During The First Red Scare., Timothy Setter

Master's Theses

With American involvement in World War I a drastic change in United States domestic policy occurred. Through the use of wartime Espionage and Sedition Acts came the tool to begin a campaign of suppression of political radicals. This came as the compounding of earlier events like the Los Angeles Times bombing in 1910 occurred with a campaign of anarchist bombings, a growing number of strikes, and wartime propaganda created a setting allowing for government officials to carry out raids, arrests, and both a censoring and punishment of speech. Between the actions of groups and government officials this caused an escalation …

"For All Such, A Country Is Provided": Choctaw Removal, Slave Trading, And Law In Southwestern Mississippi, 1800–1841, Anthony Albey Soliman

Master's Theses

At the beginning of the nineteenth century there were few white settlers in the Mississippi Territory. Over the course of two decades, the United States used treaties to force the indigenous inhabitants, the Choctaw, out of this area by the United States to lands west of the Mississippi River. The United States’ goal in the region was to create a plantation economy in the Mississippi Valley based on the production of short-staple cotton sustained by enslaved African American labor. Focusing on the removal of the Choctaw and the subsequent installation of a plantation regime in the Mississippi Valley, this thesis …

From Dago To White: The Story Of Sicilian Ethnic Evolution In New Orleans Amidst The Yellow Fever Epidemic Of 1905, H. Denise Lopresto Saucier

Master's Theses

The story of the Sicilian immigrants’ experiences in Louisiana is a tale of racial and ethnic evolution in the face of physical threats. With the end of the Civil War, many emancipated slaves migrated to other parts of the country, which left Louisiana planters in need of laborers. Planters turned to European labor to fill that need, bringing thousands of Sicilian peasants to work on their plantations. Extreme poverty and oppression made the opportunity to emigrate highly attractive, but Sicilians found problems in Louisiana as well. In addition to low wages, crowded living conditions, discrimination, and violence, the immigrants faced …

No Foreign Despots On Southern Soil: The American Party In Alabama And South Carolina, 1850-1857, Robert N. Farrell

Master's Theses

During the 1850s in the South, the American Party, also known as the Know Nothing Party, rallied southerners culturally and politically around nativism, an anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic ideology. This thesis studies nativism in the Deep South and challenges existing scholarship by Tyler Anbinder and William Darrell Overdyke. Anbinder claims that southern Know Nothings held little in common with their northern counterparts and exhibited only regional characteristics. Overdyke maintains that the American Party in the Deep South participated in the national organization, but he argues that nativism appeared only as an incidental component.

An analysis of private papers, speeches, and newspapers …

Mr. Jefferson's Army In Mr. Madison's War: Atrophy, Policy, And Legacy In The War Of 1812, David Alan Martin

Master's Theses

President Thomas Jefferson is a well-known figure, who is not well understood. His military policies are under-examined in the historiography. Yet, he had a tremendous impact on martial development in the Early Republic. Jefferson reshaped the military to suite his pragmatic republican ideals. His militia system expanded while the regulars were disbanded. The Navy was greatly decreased, and the remainder of his military was used for frontier exploration, riverine trade, road development, and other public works. This disrupted the precedent of strong federal military development as set by his predecessors: George Washington and John Adams. His reforms also left the …

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, …

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 …

The Path To Peace: Conflict Theory And Northern Ireland’S Troubles (1968-1998), Ruairi Wiepking

Master's Theses

This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies …

Losing The Colonies: How Differing Interpretations Of The British Constitution Caused The American Revolution, Brian M. Flint

Master's Theses

Faced with an economic crisis following the French and Indian War, the British Parliament, along with a young and inexperienced King George III changed its longstanding policy towards the North American colonies. Prior to 1763, Parliament allowed the colonies to generally govern themselves. After 1763, Parliament began to pass legislation aimed at increasing revenue received from the colonies. As the colonies protested these new taxes on constitutional grounds Parliament began a process of implementing and repealing different attempts at controlling the economic system in the colonies. Due to differing interpretations of the British Constitution regarding Parliament's authority over the colonies, …

The Reluctant Colonization Of The Falkland Islands, 1833-1851 : A Study Of British Imperialism In The Southwest Atlantic, Shannon Warnick

Master's Theses

After the Napoleonic Wars, British leaders increasingly objected to large burdensome formal annexations. Hence, when South American markets opened in the 1820s British leaders considered using nearby island bases to ward off regional rivals. Britain therefore occupied the Falkland Islands in 1833. Despite governing the world’s strongest industrial and naval power however, British leaders neglected the Falklands’ progress as a colony from 1833 to 1851. Dogmatic faith in “efficiency” and free trade in the 1840s led to modest commercial progress by largely unfettered private interests in the islands, but led to little improvement in defense or society. This study uses …

"Over The Hills And Far Away..." : A Study Of The 95th Rifles : Their Background, Discipline, Doctrine, And Combat Employment During The Defense Of Portugal, 1810-1811, Ryan Jason Talley

Master's Theses

The first chapter of this study of the 95th examines the long struggle through the eighteenth century to create an adequately trained and equipped corps of riflemen in the British Army, culminating in the creation of the Experimental Rifle Corps in 1800. Experiences in North America, the West Indies and Europe that bear relevance will be examined along with those individuals whose experience or works influenced the creation of the 95th. The second chapter investigates the organization and new discipline of the Experimental Rifle Corps, its drafting into the line as the 95th, Sir John Moore's camp at Shorncliffe and …

The Role Of The Tobacco Trade In Turkish-American Relations, 1923-29., Robert Carey Goodman

Master's Theses

This study of the tobacco trade between Turkey and the United States provides new perspectives on two major themes in Turkish-American relations between 1923 and 1929: the effect of Turkish nationalism on American interests in Ataturk's Turkey, and the effort to restore Turkish- American diplomatic ties broken during World War I. The marked rise in American cigarette consumption after World War I made the tobacco trade a crucial link between Turkey and America because it required the importation of aromatic tobacco. During the Turkish Republic' s first decades, the value of American tobacco imports from Turkey exceeded the value of …

Contemporary Reactions To The Popish Plot And The Exclusion Crisis, Elizabeth Breeden Townes

Master's Theses

It is often said that history is made up of the lies of a man's own times. This thesis looks at the highly controversial years, 1978-81, in England the years of the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis, through the eyes of men prominent on both sides of the issues. Much of the analysis of contemporary cannon draws from the words of Gilbert Burnet, John Evelyn, Roger North, Roger L'Estrange, William Temple, and George Savile, Marquis of Halifax. These men were all close to the court or had connections close to the Court, yet they did not see every twist and …

The Irish Community In Antebellum Richmond, 1840-1860, Kathryn Lynn Mahone

Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the Irish immigrants experienc e in antebellum Richmond, Virginia. Their journey to America and the various reasons for migrating south were also included in the study. The neighborhoods and occupations of the Irish were described as well as the immigrant's role in Richmond's antebellum society. The Catholic church, benevolent groups and militias were reviewed in order to understand how Irish helped fellow immigrants adjust and prosper in their new home.

The paper was based on information from the census records of 1850/1860, and from various city directories. Personal property and death records …

A Frontier Biography: William Campbell Of King's Mountain, David George Malgee

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to tell William Campbell's biography, simultaneously examining not only his better known military achievements, but also his contributions as a frontier justice, member of the House of Delegates, and an American patriot. Nearly all documentary evidence concerns Campbell's life after 1770. Thus, the primary object of this paper is his last decade, his period of public prominence. Since Campbell's fame was wrought to a large degree by the events of the American Revolution, a major objective of this thesis is to determine Campbell's impact on that struggle for independence.

The Estates Of County Wexford In The Nineteenth Century: An Analysis Of Their Changing Financial Situation In The Decades Prior To The Land War, Daniel Gahan

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Lord Birkenhead And The Irish Question, Robert Allen Armistead Kester

Master's Theses

The life of Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead (1872- 1930), was fascinating but puzzling. The second Earl of Birkenhead has described his father as "a brilliant failure," a man of tremendous intel­ ligence and talent who failed to reach the pinnacle of success. Most historians have confirmed this assessment but have added a somewhat sinis­ ter element to Birkenhead' s career. Birkenhead is generally depicted as a latter-day condottiere, reckless and unprincipled, who used his great gifts in any expedient or demagogic scheme that would advance his career.

This thesis is not a straightforward biography of Birkenhead but …

Robert S. Abbott's Chicago Defender: A Study In Negro Journalism And Reform, 1910-1920, Henry C. Vander Voort

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

T.H.S. Escott: A Tory Radical's View Of Victorian Society, Arthur Walter Lysiak

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The History And Development Of Port Facilities Of The Chesapeake And Ohio Railway Company, Newport News, Virginia, Ronald Winborne Odom

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to present a survey of the history and ·development of port facilities of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad at Newport News, Virginia. This survey will cover the embryonic existence of the Port during the Colonial Period and trace its slow but progressive development up to and including the present day.

Potosi, Its Mines And Its Indians, Louis John Casa

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Paper Mill Industry In The Lower Fox River Valley, Wisconsin, 1872-1890, Dorothy Heesakker

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Isle Of Man, 1558-1660, Jack Ongemach

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Louis Kossuth In America, 1851-1852, John Bartholomew St. Leger

Master's Theses

Of the many visitors who came to America before the Civil War, perhaps the strangest guest was Louis Kossuth, the ex-governor and revolutionist who unsuccessfully rebelled against the Hapsburg monarchy. Such visitors as Lafayette, de Tocqueville, Martineau, Dickens and others came primarily to .America to learn more about our society and political institutions. This was not true in the visit of Louis Kossuth. For the first time since our independence was established, an active, central European militarist was upon our shores.

Great Britain And The Irish Treaty Of 1921, Maureen Patrice Buckley

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Interest Of Catholic Leaders In Labor Problems 1875-1900, Jane Dominic Birney

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Migration Into Richmond (1775 To 1860), Ada May Land

Master's Theses

Richmond has today become one or the most important cities in the South. The foundation was laid for this early in its history. In 1775 Richmond was a village of only a few houses; in 1860 it was a growing city.The story o! the years between 1775 and 1860 is tied up closely with the story or the migration or people into Richmond and with their lives as they helped to develop the capital or Virginia.

I have in this paper attempted to show the trend of migration into Richmond from 1775 to 1860 and to show the important part …