Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Overlooked Diplomacy: A Look Into Missed Diplomatic Efforts In The Pacific Theater Of World War Ii, Maxwell Melanson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines possible diplomatic solutions that may have ceased United States-Japanese conflict throughout the late 1930s and 40s. The first chapter analyzes the declaration of the policy of unconditional surrender, and what this policy entailed. Despite Roosevelt claiming that the idea just came to him, it was a carefully developed policy, and was chosen to be enacted for a multitude of reasons. After the Casablanca conference in January 1943, unconditional surrender became a unifying policy and a politically smart policy in Roosevelt's favor. The second chapter then analyzes the tensions rising between Japan and the United States through the …

La Operación: Coerced Sterilization Of Puerto Rican Women In The 20th Century, Alexandra Lazar

Honors Theses

This project examines the ways that Puerto Rican women’s fertility was discussed over time in the United States, and the ways in which these discussions influenced decisions regarding reproductive choices. Looking at articles from popular American publications reveals the way that Americans felt about Puerto Rican sterilization, which can be compared to publications from activist newsletters at the same time. Personal testimonies from Puerto Rican women who chose sterilization reveal that the way others spoke about sterilization was different from how the women themselves viewed it. Their stories also show how the circumstances women were forced to live in influenced …

"Gone, But Never Forgotten:" Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Girls In The United States, Julianna Kramer

Honors Theses

Native women and girls in the United States are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted compared to white women, and murder rates on certain reservations can be tenfold higher than the national average. This pervasive violence traces back to colonialism. Native women have historically been abused, exploited, and neglected by America’s institutions, and lasting prejudice against Native peoples endures.

The United States government has stripped tribal governments of their ability to seek justice for their women. The Major Crimes Act of 1885, Proclamation 280, and the Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978) decision place responsibility for investigating and prosecuting …

“Realizing Democracy”: A Study Of The Regional And National Social, Political, And Economic Factors Driving Suffrage Development In The Age Of The Common Man, 1820-1850, Matthew Prosper

Honors Theses

The Age of the Common Man was a period of American political history lasting from 1820 to 1850 characterized by the implementation of universal white manhood suffrage by every state through removing property and tax qualifications from state constitutional suffrage laws, as well as the “common man” entering the center of much political discourse. These conventions were demanded by the political, social, economic, and in some cases physical climates and conditions of each state. To look at these factors, this thesis divides the nation into three regions, two of which are examined: the Northeast, the Northwest, and the South (the …

“As An American, May I Have The Privilege Of Pulling The Switch?” : The Fate Of Julius And Ethel Rosenberg During The Second Red Scare In Cold War America, Morgan Peters

Honors Theses

The Cold War escalated at the end of World War II when the tension between the United States and Soviet Union significantly increased. The stakes of the Cold War were considerably high, especially during the atomic age. Hence the creation of the Venona Project, which began in 1943 and was originally a small project intended to break down Soviet diplomatic communications, but later expanded to be a full-blown counterintelligence operation. The project’s American cryptologists took nearly two years to decode the first Soviet coded telegraph cable. The project exposed multiple Soviet Spies in the United States, some of the most …

The Codependent Development Of Patriotism And Xenophobia In The United States, Particularly In Regard To Arabs And Muslims In America Following September 11, 2001, Zachary Baum

Honors Theses

The United States has always claimed to be endowed with unique values, such as tolerance and justice, and so throughout its history has sought to convey these values with expressions of patriotism. However, is this patriotism simply symbolic, and further, does it even lead itself to xenophobia and racism. This thesis seeks to answer this question by examining the genesis and development of patriotism throughout the country’s history, as well as the way in which its racism and xenophobia have changed. Beginning with a general examination of the usefulness and positivity of patriotism from a scholarly standpoint, the basic points …

Nevertheless, She Persisted: Title Ix And The Fight For Gender Equity In Athletics In The Twentieth Century, Gillian O'Dowd

Honors Theses

During the first half of the twentieth century, the field of athletics in the United States was dominated by a culture of masculinity. Due to this inherent link with masculinity, American women were kept from participating in sports to protect their feminine nature. As the years passed of continuous oppression, only a small handful of women were able to fight back and make a name for themselves as prominent and successful athletes. To combat the larger issue of gender discrimination in America, a women’s movement was launched in the 1960s and 1970s. This movement would in turn spur the creation …

Bread And Repression, Too: The Battle For Labor’S Memory And The Lawrence Textile Strike Of 1912, Andrew Hubbard

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the historiography of the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912 as representative of a larger trend of repression of American labor narratives. It draws from oral history accounts, news coverage and analysis from 1912, resources at the Lawrence History Center collected throughout the city’s process of memorialization, secondary historical accounts of the event, and formative works of labor history.

The first chapter introduces the American labor narrative, the history of repression by authority, the efforts of labor historians to memorialize suppressed history, and the role that monuments, historians, and popular fictional accounts play in the formation …

Forgotten Women: The Involuntary Sterilization Of American Indian Women During The Twentieth Century, Morgan Peters

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the marginalization of American Indian women, specifically in mainstream media and social movements. From 1970 to 1980 it is estimated that at least 25% of indigenous women between the ages of 15 to 44 were sterilized, with some speculating the number to be as high as 50%. American Indian women were not the only targets of sterilization abuse; African American women and Latina women also had similar experiences. The public was more aware of these women’s experiences than those of American Indian women because the mainstream media was more likely to cover the involuntary procedures of women …

“Botany Bay”: The State Of Society At Union College During The Early Nineteenth Century, Andrew Cassarino

Honors Theses

The history of Union College spans nearly the entire history of the United States. Founded in 1795, the school emerged as one of the nation’s premier educational institutions in the early nineteenth century. The changes occurring on the national stage often entered public life on Union’s campus, and President Eliphalet Nott and students actively participated in the civil discourse of the period. The most prevalent issues on campus included the authority of government, temperance, and the question of enslavement. Historians often like to find commonality among individuals with regards to their views on the most pressing topics of the time, …

The Northern Civil Rights Movement: How The Brothers Fought Housing, Employment, And Education Discrimination And Police Brutality In Albany, Ny, Paige Mcinnis

Honors Theses

The North has a conflicted racial history, as it disapproved of slavery and Jim Crow, but kept blacks segregated institutionally and socially. Blacks have been marginalized and excluded from housing, employment, and educational opportunities throughout history, and demanded equality during the Civil Rights Movement. Fighting systematic racism in the North posed greater challenges for blacks, as northerners denied the existence of discrimination, and segregation was not legally enforced. Revolutionary groups strategized ways to overcome oppression, but were targeted by the police, government, and local politicians to prevent them from succeeding. The Brothers, a black male organization in Albany, NY, used …

The Duality Of Freedom: The Colony Of Rhode Island’S Slave Trade Complex, Thomas Shields

Honors Theses

In the eighteenth century British colonies there existed a duality of freedom, in which salutary neglect facilitated economic opportunism in the form of the slave trade. This paper examines how the colony of Rhode Island was a microcosm of this freedom duality in the merchant capitalist world. The colony became the epicenter of the slave trade in British North America, while also the home to a fervent abolition movement headed by the Quakers. This thesis contends that broad economic and individual freedoms in the colony created the environment where the slave trade prospered, the exact opposite of freedom.

After the …

Cold War And The Olympics: An Athlete's Perspective, Mike Vecchione

Honors Theses

When President Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, it was the largest act of political interference in the history of the Olympics. It began in December of 1979 when Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. Carter was having a difficult time getting the hostages back so in response to the invasion of Afghanistan, Carter gave the Soviets one month to withdraw their troops or the United States would boycott their Olympics. Since the Soviets did not respect the demands of the President, Carter stuck to his threat and the United States did not participate in the 1980 …

"We Poor Devils": The Interactions Shared Experiences And Differing Fates Of The Cheyenne Sioux Buffalo Soldiers And U.S. Army In A Post-Civil War America: 1865- 1890, Meghan Keegan

Honors Theses

As a real yet imagined place, the “American West” has a mythical aura surrounding it that hides a deeper reality of extreme violence and chaos. It is a place where great feats have been achieved and profound defeats have been suffered. The wars fought over control of the Great Plains lasted longer than any other armed conflict in United States history. From 1865 through 1890, the chaotic nature of seemingly unorganized warfare and the ensuing violence plagued the lives of those who, either willingly or not, took art. The two most recognizable and seemingly homogenous groups in this conflict were …

From Woody Guthrie To The Big Muddy: The Evolution Of Political Music In America From World War I To The Late 1960s, Alexander B. Kouwenhoven

Honors Theses

Throughout the course of American history, music has served as a vital cultural mode for the expression and articulation of the collective American experience. Perhaps the most iconic connection between music and politics in American history occurred during the 1960s in the era of the counterculture and the Vietnam War. During this period, rock ‘n’ roll musicians became the figureheads for the Anti-War campaign and represented the political objectives of the New Left. However, the iconic status of these political musicians did not arise in a vacuum. These musicians, and their political importance in America can trace its origins to …

Culture Of Conflict: Watching The End Of The 1960s American Counterculture Through Documentaries About Rock Music, Matt Steinberg

Honors Theses

The 1960’s was a complicated time in American History. The decade started with Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and concluded on “The End” by The Doors. The explosion of a youth counterculture is captured and preserved on film; a medium that was rapidly becoming more mobile, personal, and artistic. The expansion of the documentary field coincided with a unique cultural blossoming centered around rock music and the results of these films leave us with an audiovisual history of extraordinary moments in time. This thesis closely examines the development and issues of performance or rock documentaries to better understand the violent demise …

Voter Identification Laws: In The Name Of Reform Or Suppression?, Melissa Rodriguez

Honors Theses

Voter identification laws have been at the center of controversy in political discourse for some time now. Proponents of voter identification laws claim that they are necessary in order to curb public opinion regarding voter identity fraud. Even if there were no evidence of fraud in the system, they would still be necessary to protect the integrity of the system. Opponents counter back that due to the lack of evidence of voter identity fraud, these requirements are a part of partisan politics in which the right wing is attempting to disenfranchise groups that tend to vote democratic. These attempts are …

The Philadelphia Catto: Bridging The Racial Gap In The City Of Brotherly Love, Rachel Wyman

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to examine African American activist Octavius Valentine Catto's social and civic contributions to the African American community in Philadelphia and the nation during the Reconstruction era. Catto's militancy, courage, and devotion to the black cause, as a result of major religious and secular revolutionary ideology, offers an alternative view of the black experience in the North which was overshadowed by the myriad of research on Reconstruction in the South. Octavius Catto is part of a long tradition of black activists who led a wave of antislavery reform rooted in the secular political ideology of the American Revolution, …

Voices Trapped Within The Portrait: Annetje Kool Pieter Vanderlyn And The Expectations Regarding Gender In Public And Private Spheres In A Burgeoning Nation, Abigail Hollander

Honors Theses

The main subjects of this study, Pieter Vanderlyn, the attributed artist of “A Portrait of Annetje Kool” (c.1740), and Annetje Kool, the sitter, both had subversive identities relative to the sociocultural expectations of New Netherland, a Hudson River Valley based settlement. The oil portrait on canvas depicts a young woman in an elaborate dress with lace and gilt embellishments. To understand this portrait’s historical context, this thesis examines how male and female voices functioned on the margins of the moral boundaries that shaped expectations of gender appropriate thought and action during the colonial, revolutionary, and post-revolutionary eras in New York …

Faithlessly Or Faithless Lie?: The Name Symbolism Conundrum In Sedgwick's Hope Leslie, Erin Wade

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the symbolic importance of names in Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie. While, historically, other scholars have examined the title character’s name, I argue that examining the oft-ignored significance of Faith Leslie’s name is extraordinarily important to the thematic content of the novel and could be more interesting than an examination of Hope Leslie’s name. To delve fully into the possible meanings of the dual pronunciations of Faith’s name — as either faithlessly or faithless lie — I look at religious discrimination against Catholics and Natives during the 17th and 19th centuries, as well as literary …

Holding Water: The Political And Economic Debates Of The New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903, Erich Grome

Honors Theses

With the allure of the famed Erie Canal deteriorating as swiftly as its traffic and physical condition by the latter half of the nineteenth century, New Yorkers gave serious thought to the future of the waterway. As the commerce of the state and its renowned metropolis of New York City declined relative to its rival states and ports during this period, many questioned if enlarging the canal system would lead to its revival and produce similar results for the economy of the state at large. An ever frequent scene of partisan conflict, the proposals to radically enlarge the Erie Canal …

The Rise And Fall Of The Friends Of Irish Freedom: How America Shaped Irish American Nationalism In The Twentieth Century, Shanon Delia Douglass

Honors Theses

The Friends of Irish Freedom were an Irish American nationalist organization that consisted of prominent leaders and members from other nationalist groups that also attracted more moderate Irish Americans. This thesis focuses exclusively on the leaders and activities of the Friends between 1916 and 1921. During these years, membership both skyrocketed and plummeted within a matter of months. Contributing to both their rise and fall was American public sentiment, the onset and conclusion of WWI, and interactions with nationalist leaders in Ireland. My Thesis shows how despite their seemingly radical nationalist activities and beliefs, it was the gradual Americanization of …

Structural Limitations To The Success Of Third Parties In The American Political System: A Study Of The Life Cycle Of The Republican Party, Louis Fierro

Honors Theses

American Politics has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties for much of its history. Third parties, those bodies representing a challenge to the political system from outside the Democratic and Republican structures, have been largely unsuccessful in challenging for power. The sole exception to this rule was the Republican’s ascension to a main party following the collapse of the Whig Party in 1860, no other third party has been able to replicate this maneuver due largely to structural characteristics associated with American politics and the winner-take-all voting system it employs in most elections. Despite not directly posing a …

An Analysis Of Soviet Spy Networks In The United States Throughout The Twentieth Century, Julia S. Shively

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Provision Of Refugee Services In The United States: A Look At The Non-Profit Organizations That Facilitate The Resettlement Process, Venetia Varnett Alegria Gomez

Honors Theses

Throughout history conflicts have always had severe consequences on the people surrounding them. Regardless of the nature of the conflict, when it happened, or where, it always seems to leave behind vulnerable individuals with very little hope for the future. As a result, many people chose to immigrate elsewhere as an attempt to find a new home and avoid any future events that will disrupt their lives so drastically. The events of the 20th century were an important tool in illustrating the effects of war and more importantly, it provided a platform for countries to step-up and encouraged immigrants to …

U.S. Immigration: The Origins And Evolution Of Contemporary Issues And The Architecture Of Future Reform, Andrew Beaule

Honors Theses

In 1965, the United States Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act, attempting to remove racial, religious, and cultural discrimination from the immigration system. However, the infamous act and subsequent legislation have caused unintended consequences. Illegal immigration has skyrocketed despite a massive increase in border enforcement; and Central Americans, particularly Mexicans, have become the target of racial and cultural discrimination, much like the Southern European immigrants of the early 1900s. The current immigration system still relies on the framework passed nearly 50 years ago, proving to be insufficient for contemporary United States. This thesis investigates the historical patterns in immigration …

The Origins Of Wave Elections: Narrative Control Polarization And Turnout In New Hampshire Electoral Politics 2006-2012, Zachary Jonas

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the origin of wave elections in New Hampshire in 2006, 2010 and 2012. It finds that recent demographic shifts in the state laid the groundwork for these dramatic electoral results. This paper also examines the nationalization and polarization that have redefined New Hampshire’s political landscape and contributed to massive partisan shifts in state government. The combination of demographic changes and a polarized political culture have created an electoral environment for both Republicans and Democrats that favors turnout, increasing the importance of agenda setting and narrative control in order to produce high turnout among core constituencies. Chapter 1 …

Killing Time: An Analysis Of Civil War Soldiers' Discussion Of Free Time In Camp, Madeline Norton

Honors Theses

While most Civil War history deals with a glorified and romanticized version of a soldier’s experience of war, the time a soldier spent combating the idleness of camp proved to be a more consuming battle. Though lacking in grandeur, how a soldier ‘killed time’ provides an important yet often overlooked insight into the camaraderie and culture of Civil War soldiers. Historians that have looked into camp amusements and vices tend not to go beyond the soldiers psychological need to mentally manage the war. This thesis takes their theory a step further. Examining soldiers’ records of their experiences in camp activities …

Working Hard Or Hardly Working?: An Examination Of Work Relief In Upstate New York 1931-1943, Maxwell Prime

Honors Theses

Becoming the first U.S. state to provide direct funding and administrative support for work relief to its cities, counties and townships; with the creation of the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration in November of 1931, New York took its first steps in what would become a long tradition of work relief in the state. However, existing academic examinations of work relief in upstate New York in large part ignore activities in the state’s upstate region in favor of higher profile operations in New York City. This thesis attempts to chart the rise and developmental trajectory of work relief in upstate New …

A Zine Of One's Own: Diy And Alternative Expression Among The Beats And The Riot Grrrls, Lauren Brown

Honors Theses

In my thesis, I investigate the cultural, artistic and political effects of the Beat Generation and a subculture within Generation X known as the Riot Grrrls. Both groups serve as an alternative to their mainstream cultural counterparts-the Beats are a reaction to 1950s post‐war suburbia, and the riot grrrls subvert the pop‐culture overload and the backlash against feminism that is indicative of Generation X. Arising in the midst of the conformist 1950s, the Beats were a group of writers and artists, some of them women, who were willing to fight against the constraints of male‐dominated “Wonder bread” culture. Similarly, the …