Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Pierce County, Washington: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic And Public Health, Colton Abbey

History Undergraduate Theses

As of 105 years ago this October, the deadliest pandemic of the twentieth century arrived in Tacoma and the greater Pierce County area, putting its residents and officials in an arduous position. The choices made in October of 1918 were not made lightly, as the potential for a public health crisis weighed heavily on the minds of those in the face of the “Spanish Flu.” With a public health lens, I have used local newspapers, health reports, military history books, the transcripts of the Pierce County Medical Society meetings, and adjacent scholarship to analyze the influenza policies of 1918 Peirce …

The Dixie Mission, Patrick J. Hurley, And America's Diplomatic Failure In China, 1944-45, Sarah Moody

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper examines the American diplomatic effort in China in 1944-45 including the attempts at military coordination with Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government as well as the "Dixie Mission," which was the first official American contact with the Chinese Communist Party. I argue that the personalities of the American diplomats, the structural issues endemic to the China-Burma-India Theater, the fractured and complex Chinese political situation, and the lack of clear and rational foreign policy on China all culminated in the diplomatic efforts failing. While acknowledging the numerous contributing factors that led to diplomatic failure, this paper also suggests ways in which …

A Deep Voice: How Newspapers Talk About Harry Allen, 1900 - 1923., Oryan Widdowson

History Undergraduate Theses

Looking at a variety of newspaper articles published in Seattle, Tacoma, other Washington cities, and a few published sparsely across the rest of the country, I examined how these texts represented Harry Allen: his crimes, his character, and his gender expression and presentation. Reporters were fascinated with Allen’s deviancy from gender norms. Over years of culminated exaggerations and false details, they weaponized Allen’s life as a man against him. Contradictions and manipulations in reporting help to show how Allen’s dangerous persona was crafted over the course of his life. Harry Allen’s closeness, or perceived closeness, to the criminal underworld was …

The 1918 Flu: Lessons Learned From Seattle, Heather Somers

History Undergraduate Theses

The 1918 “Spanish influenza” was the worst influenza pandemic in recorded history. This paper traces advancements made in medicine and public health, especially those made during the latter half of the nineteenth century through the early twentieth century, leading up to the 1918 pandemic, by examining primary source materials and scholarly secondary sources. Unfortunately, the viral cause of influenza would not begin to be understood until the early 1930s. In 1918, the lack of scientific understanding of viruses led to many theories on the nature of influenza, including how to best treat it, and, ultimately, to a feeling of failure …

Women’S Impact On Cooking Culture During The Great Depression: Limited To Being A Homemaker, Unlimited In Their Authority On Nutrition In Their Communities, Michelle Molina

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper examines American cooking culture of the Great Depression, as the impact it had on everyday people’s diet was much greater than one may initially think. By analyzing interviews, photographs, and newspaper advertisements, and conducting archival research, I illuminate the public history of the Great Depression’s impact on diet and the roles women played during it. The existing scholarship on the Great Depression typically focuses on the relief efforts made to help people affected by this economic downturn, but this paper will focus more specifically on the cooking culture that involved women during this desperate time. Harsh conditions experienced …

Tổi Là Người Viet (I Am Vietnamese): The Construction Of Third-Wave Vietnamese Identity In The United States, Eric Pham

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper focuses on the third wave of Vietnamese migration to the United States, which occurred from the 1980s to the 1990s, and how this group of immigrants constructed their identity in a new country. From a Western perspective, particularly an American one, it is easy to categorize all Vietnamese immigrants under the same umbrella. Although there are similarities among all three waves, one significant element that differentiates the third wave from the other two is the United States’ enactment of the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1987, which facilitated an influx of Vietnamese Americans to the U.S. mainland. This allowed …

Plowing For Pennies, Protesting For Pride: An Examination Of The United Farm Worker Union’S Impact In Washington State, 1965-1972, Israel Cuevas

History Undergraduate Theses

People of Hispanic descent have been central to the agricultural production of the United States since the eighteenth century. This paper highlights how the signing of the Mexican Farm Labor Agreement by the United States and Mexico in 1942 enabled the spread of Mexican labor workers to the agricultural fields and railroads of the US due to the labor shortage produced by World War II. This migration of labor delivered two decades of poor wages and atrocious working and living conditions for braceros by the hands of white farm growers. By the 1960s, the efforts of Cesar Chavez and the …

Contextualizing Filipina/O Experiences Through The Life And Lens Of Virgil Duyungan, Benjamin Huff

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper serves a dual purpose: to examine the world of Filipina/o immigrants and Filipina/o Americans during the 1930s in the Puget Sound region, as well as look at the life and death of Filipina/o labor leader Virgil S. Duyungan. Incorporating these two different aspects into one paper reveals how Duyungan’s experiences contextualize and highlight key issues of the greater Filipina/o community in the region at the time, such as racial identity and tensions, labor rights, corruption and exploitation, and socio-economic conditions. By utilizing a body of primary and secondary sources, such as books, journal articles, government documents, images and …

A Clear And Present Danger: Portrayals Of Destruction In Modern American Cinema Before And After The September 11 Attacks, Ember Ashford

History Undergraduate Theses

The attacks on September 11, 2001 were a devastating and shocking event that was observed on live television throughout the world. This event was traumatic for those that watched it on television, knew about it, and saw it in person in New York City and Washington D.C. The impacts on the American government have been profound, with emphasis placed on security, aggressiveness, war, and surveillance. These changes occurred in the United States following a studied phenomenon called cultural trauma, where a society reacts as if it were a person traumatized by an event. This can have a significant effect on …

The Rise Of The New White Nationalism In America, Megan Padgett

History Undergraduate Theses

White nationalism has been a part of United States history since the dawn of the nation but remained a secondary issue in comparison to white supremacy. Within the last thirty years however, white nationalism has been on the rise in the United States, and is slowly becoming mainstream rhetoric within politics, as well as in social and economic discussions. What has caused this rise in white nationalism? Has the popularity of social media and the internet since the 1990s influenced its growth?

With the use of primary sources such as speeches, books written by white nationalists, and insider internet sources, …

Politicizing Our Waters: An Examination Of The Boldt Decision’S Role In Anti-Indian Activism In The Pacific Northwest, Drew Slaney

History Undergraduate Theses

The Pacific Northwest is home to a multitude of industries that utilize the region’s vast amounts of natural resources from timber to the soil. On February 12, 1974, the political fabric that encompassed the region’s state and local governments, American Indian tribes, and sport along with commercial organizations was significantly altered by Judge George H. Boldt and his decision to affirm the promises made by the Washington territorial government to Indigenous peoples over a hundred years prior. This decision was celebrated by Indigenous peoples for it guaranteed rights listed in the many treaties the United States made with American Indian …

Crafting Of An American Dream: The Skansie Shipbuilding Company, Nathan Patrick

History Undergraduate Theses

The Skansie name is commonplace even today in Gig Harbor, Washington and the fishing communities of the Puget Sound, but it was once known from Southern California to Alaska. The Skansies departed the Dalmatian coast in a time of growing unrest with almost nothing and headed to America in search of only an opportunity to work for a better life. They were part of a mass wave of emigration out of Europe, spurred on in part by the introduction of the steamship. When the family settled as fishermen in the Puget Sound in 1903, Peter, Joseph, Mitchell, and Andrew Skansie …

Think Of The Children: Child Labor Through The Progressive Era In Early Twentieth-Century America, Thomas Clark

History Undergraduate Theses

Child labor in America was a pivotal component of the Progressive reform movement throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning my research, I looked into the role of child labor in the creation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The FLSA was the first federal law to abolish child labor successfully. Throughout my research, I noticed a trend of law passage and Supreme Court denial.

The most referenced events involving child labor as an evil to society came in the early part of the twentieth-century. The two most famous events were Mary “Mother Jones” Harris and …

The Integrated Alien: Chinese In The American West And Their Political And Legal Responses To Mob Violence, 1885-1886., Gabriel Lanham

History Undergraduate Theses

In the literature on anti-Chinese violence in the American West during the 1880s, the depiction of Chinese immigrants is often limited to that of a faceless group, the pawns in an American political struggle that they neither understood nor had agency in. This historical interpretation of the Chinese as a people entirely alien to their communities is largely based on an over-reliance on contemporary white sources while ignoring Chinese accounts. Many contemporary whites were unwilling to honestly describe their relationship with Chinese immigrants, either because of racial bias or because of the threat of mob violence against those perceived as …

Finding Manilatown: The Search For Seattle’S Filipino American Community, 1898 – 2016, John D. Nonato

History Undergraduate Theses

Filipino presence in the United States has a long history from the time of the Spanish Empire. Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War (1898) resulted in American acquisition of the Philippine islands. By granting Filipinos ‘national’ status, a new wave of post-Spanish Colonial immigration began to the United States. As Filipinos immigrated for education and work to the U.S., they began settling within urban areas and created Manilatowns. These Manilatowns were almost always settled in conjunction with other ethnic enclaves, most of these being Chinatowns. In this paper, I examine the rise and fall of Seattle’s Manilatown and its role …

The War Of 1812: The Rise Of American Nationalism, Paul Hanseling

History Undergraduate Theses

On June 18, 1812, United States President, James Madison, signed a Declaration of War against Great Britain. What brought these two nations to such a dramatic impasse? Madison’s War Message to Congress gives some hint as to the American grievances: impressment of American sailors; unnecessary, “mock” blockades and disruption of American shipping; violations of American neutral rights; and incursions into American coastal waters.[1] By far, the most vocal point of contention was impressment, or the forcible enlistment of men in the navy. For their part, Great Britain viewed every measure disputed by Americans as a necessity as they waged …

Mental Health For The Everyman: World War Ii's Impact On American Psychology, Aeron S. Lloyd

History Undergraduate Theses

World War II transformed the American psychological field, bringing the treatment of mental health out of state hospitals and asylums and making psychological medicine available to the average person. This accessibility rekindled popular interest in psychology, leading to a shift in how Americans perceived the study and treatment of the mind. United States would eventually lead the world in psychological research and practical application, and in turn, American society became decidedly more psychological in nature. This research tracks these changes back to steps taken by the American military to analyse and sustain soldiers’ mental resilience and stability before, during, and …

The City Of Destiny’S Darkest Hour: Tacoma And The Depression Of The 1890s, Ian W. Clogston

History Undergraduate Theses

The Panic of 1893 and subsequent economic depression was significantly detrimental to the economy of Tacoma, Washington. This work details the economic growth in the years preceding the Panic of 1893 in Tacoma as well as the effects the Depression of the 1890s had on Tacoma’s economy, including the numerous business and banking failures, a lack of employment, lack of money, and the miseries of the community’s life during the depression.

Race, Labor, And Migration: The Legacy Of The Fepc And Puget Sound Navy Yard, Aaron Chapman

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper is an exploration of the experiences of black workers at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard during the Second World War. The primary focus is on the immediate effects of President Roosevelt's Executive Order 8802 and Fair Employment Practices Commission, especially discrimination experiences of black workers. However, long-term effects such as migration out of the heavily segregated south and Civil Rights Movement precursors are also emphasized.

1898: The Start Of American Imperialism, Or Its End?, Tyler G. Miller

History Undergraduate Theses

The year 1898, with the annexation of Hawaii and the results of Spanish-American War – namely the acquisition of more overseas territory – has traditionally served as the benchmark for what would be known as ‘American Imperialism’. At the time, and in the 117 years since, very little material has been produced which questions either the nature of ‘American Imperialism’ or its assumed start date. This paper seeks to accomplish exactly those aims. By first exploring the historiography of the broader nature of ‘imperialism’, then seeing how the ‘American System’ adapted and applied it, I will use specific case-study examples …

The Aleut Kayak: How Aleut Technology Shaped History, Andrew M. Wilson

History Undergraduate Theses

If Russian and American imperialism in the north Pacific was the lever that turned the wheel of circumpolar history then the Aleut kayak, or “baidarka,” was the fulcrum. Without Aleut technology, and the labor of the Aleuts, the Russian-American Company would not have been able to derive tremendous profits from high value otter pelts. After the otters were nearly driven to extinction, the fur business transitioned to focusing on extracting a high volume of less valuable fur seal skins. Fur bearing animals were the most easily extractable form of wealth, and this wealth formed the basis for the United States …

A Massacre At China Point, Michael P. Hartman

History Undergraduate Theses

While the frontier was coming to a close in Washington State in the late nineteenth century, Chinese immigration was in full swing. For more than 130 years, rumors of a massacre of Chinese at China Point in the 1870s or 1880s have lingered in the collective memory of residents of the Cle Elum and Roslyn region of the Central Cascades. This work examines available primary sources to determine the validity of the claim. Furthermore, it scrutinizes previous historical works, as well as testimonies left by men claiming to know the truth.

Creating Spaces For Salmon: How Dams And Eurocentric Resource Management Techniques Destroy Salmon And Culture, Jordan L. Woolston

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper utilizes oral history interviews, treaties, governmental, international, and scientific reports, and images to examine the impact of western settlement on the ecology and Indigenous cultures of the Northwest. Central to this examination is the diagnosis of effects that Manifest Destiny ideologies and the implementation of New Deal era practices had on salmon and the cultures reliant upon them for sustenance and cultural survival. Not merely a historical overview of social movements, this paper synthesizes the stories of two rivers, the Elwha and the Columbia. It analyzes the impacts wrought by industrialization and contends that co-management of resources and …

Divided They Fall: The Pacific Coast League’S Failed Attempt To Turn Major, Sean Beireis

History Undergraduate Theses

For over fifty years the Pacific Coast League was considered the highest level of organized baseball west of the Mississippi River. As the population of the West grew in the 1940s and 1950s the Coast League attempted to use their geographic isolation and large population base as assets in an attempt to join the American and National Leagues as a third Major League. This paper details how the Coast League members’ inability to agree on a strategy for League growth led to the collapse of the powerhouse that was the PCL.

Fire And Gold Build Seattle, Jeffery K. Blair

History Undergraduate Theses

The final decade of the 19^th century established Seattle as the preeminent city in the Pacific Northwest. Prodigious changes resulting from the Fire of 1889 paved the way for Seattle to take full advantage of the Klondike Gold Rush eight years later. This work details the impact that each of these events had on Seattle and concludes that the compound effects of two events of happenstance created the foundation for the Seattle we know today.

Wobblies In Washington: The Radicalism And Downfall Of The Iww In The Northwest, Zachary A. Smith

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper is an examination of the radical philosophy and propaganda of the Industrial Workers of The World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies, during the period of 1909-1919. in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on the State of Washington. In order to accomplish this, the paper examines several key Wobbly political cartoons, and explains the impact that their propaganda had on union organizing and labor movements in the Northwest. Additionally, The political atmosphere of the time period and the many clashes between the radical IWW and the mainstream American society of the time. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the way in …

Send In The Mouse: How American Politicians Used Walt Disney Productions To Safeguard The American Home Front In Wwii, Jordan M. Winters

History Undergraduate Theses

Despite the success of Disney’s first full length featured film Snow White in 1937[1], the animators’ strike of the late 1930s and the war in Europe cutting of international profits brought the Walt Disney Company was near bankruptcy by 1941. Walt Disney was faced with the possibility of closing down his studio. However, the entrance of the United States into WWII and the rising threat of the spread of Nazism became the saving grace to the Walt Disney Studio. This essay explores the collaborations between Disney, businessman and politician Nelson Rockefeller, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the …

The Evoluion Of Pacific War Cinema, Dylan J. Eldridge

History Undergraduate Theses

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th 1942, the United States became involved in World War II. Over the last seventy years film makers have attempted to chronicle the events of this war. As society changed and grew so did the interpretations of the Pacific War. Today we are left with four distinct eras of Pacific War cinema.

Southern Injustice And Radical Discontent: The Black Panther Party In The Post-Civil Rights South, Adam Nolan

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper looks at the efforts, obstacles, and outcomes of attempts to organize Black Panther Party chapters in four southern states – Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas - using a variety of sources, including the The Black Panther and Southern Patriot newspapers. Organized in 1966, the BPP mobilized against police brutality and injustices inflicted upon African Americans throughout American history. While successfully establishing various popular community survival programs to help uplift local communities, the BPP’s revolutionary rhetoric and imagery instantly attracted state-sponsored repression that exacted a heavy toll on the organization on local and national levels.

Face Down In The Wishkah, Andrew Osborn

History Undergraduate Theses

This thesis will reexamine the life of America’s greatest unknown serial killer William (Billy) Gohl. Spanning an eight year period (1902-1910) Gohl was able to amass over one hundred victims in the port city of Aberdeen Washington. Gohl did this through taking advantage of people’s trust and integrating techniques from 19th century San Franciscan criminals to produce a systematic murder enterprise. It took a new mayor, chief of police, and over two years of investigation to finally bring Gohl to trial and conviction. Gohl’s story is one that covers a variety of historical studies and hinges on a fascinating narrative. …