Arts and Humanities Commons^™

From The Social Margins To The Center: Lebanese Families Who Arrived In South Carolina Before 1950, Elizabeth Whitaker

All Theses

The Lebanese families who arrived in South Carolina found themselves in a different environment than most had anticipated. Those who had spent time elsewhere in the U.S. found predominantly rural and predominantly Protestant South Carolina to be almost as alien as they or their parents had found the United States due partly to the religious differences and partly to the cultural differences between the Northeast, where most of them had lived for at least a few years after arriving in the United States, and the Southeast. Most of these new arrivals eventually found success and some degree of acceptance, but …

Christian Missions And Islam: The Reformed Church In America And The Origins Of The Moslem World, Christopher Cleveland Montrose

History Theses

This thesis examines the historical background of missionary attitudes toward Islam within the framework of the mission emphasis of the Reformed Church in America between the 1880s and 1911. It argues that the historical experience of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands produced a sense of pride and destiny that was transplanted by Dutch emigration to North America and maintained in the relationships of the Reformed Church in America with other nationalities and missions. That sense of pride ad destiny prepared the church to stand on its convictions in the face of opposition, which it drew upon itself when …

San Francesco D'Assisi E Santa Caterina Da Siena. La Loro Influenza Sulla Letteratura, La Cultura, La Religione E L'Arte Italiana Dei Primordi, Ann-Frances Hamill

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Examines the works and thoughts of two Italian saints: Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) and Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). Explores the common ideological denominator in the works of these major figures and analyzes their impact on Italian society and culture.

“Let Every One Of Us Take His Gun And Put Himself In The Ranks”: The Louisiana Native Guard's Defiance Of Antebellum Ideas Of Gender And Race, 1861–1863, Jeremy B. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Louisiana Native Guards are an appropriate topic for the study of the relationship between gender and race in Civil War era America. After Louisiana seceded in 1861, free men of color from New Orleans began an odyssey that led them to fight on both sides of the conflict. They eventually became the first black regiment mustered into the United States military and the only one to have black officers.

This study will attempt to demonstrate how the men of the Louisiana Native Guard helped redefine the nineteenth century ideas of manliness. Through their soldiering these men demonstrated qualities associated …

"Under Every Tree:" The Relationship Between Agriculture And Sawmilling In Central Minnesota, Kyle L. Kohl

Culminating Projects in History

Small-scale sawmilling in the deciduous forest region of Minnesota is firmly rooted in an agriculture past resulting in many small-scale farmers transitioning to the . milling enterprise. Throughout the twentieth century some farmers have turned to small-scale sawmilling' as a way of preserving their distinct way of life and remain on the farm. This development can be seen through four stages: the coming together of the agriculture and forest products industries; the supplemental income generated though the adaptation of a sawmill; the increasing importance of the mill; and the specialization and preservation of sawmilling in Minnesota. Throughout this process those …

A Peculiar Diversion: The Social Ramifications Of Quarter-Racing In The Eighteenth-Century Tidewater Virginia, Tollie Jean Banker

Masters Theses

Virginia's horse culture combined with the colonists' obsession with immediate gratification created the perfect ingredients for the formation of quarter-racing. Not only did short racing afford the ideal outlet for tidewater Virginians' independence, competitiveness, and materialism but it also functioned as a tool to police social order. Consequently, seventh and eighteenth-century tidewater Virginians embraced their new innovation, transforming it from an ad hoc drag race into a formalized competition complete with specially made race courses, racing covenants that stipulated the how, when, and where of the race, and even public notices announcing upcoming events.

As a result Quarter-racing became one …

"One Major Step Short Of War:” Jimmy Carter, The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan, And The Last Chapter Of The Cold War, George Uriah

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the foreign policy of Jimmy Carter and his Administration in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. The study is based on newly declassified documents from the Jimmy Carter Presidential in Atlanta, Georgia as well as published material by and about Jimmy Carter.

The thesis challenges the popular caricatures of Jimmy Carter, that he was ineffective in matters of foreign policy and that he was largely concerned with establishing a legacy as a peacemaker. The thesis contends that Jimmy Carter was a much more cunning Cold Warrior than …

Santa Evita: The Mother Of The Descamisados: An Analysis Of The Rhetoric Of Eva Peron, Gabriela Andrea Masut

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Santa Evita: The mother of the descamisados is an analysis of the rhetoric of Eva Peron, her ability to deliver a public communication primarily focused on the descamisados (shirtless ones), represented by the poor men, women, and workers of Argentina. By wrapping her rhetoric with personal imagery and ritual symbolism that alleged the Peronist doctrine, Eva Peron successfully cemented those social classes to her own right, identifying herself in the figure of a descamisada to secure devotion from them and legitimize her political role.

This thesis uses myth criticism as a methodology applied to the ideology of Peronism. The premise …

To Pick Up Again The Cross Of Missionary Work: The Life Of W. J. Northen, 1835-1913, Casey P. Cater

History Theses

Primarily focusing on his political career (1878-1894) and as an unofficial public figure after his retirement from formal politics (1895-1911), this study considers William J. Northen’s efforts in leading Georgia to the vague but resonant ideal of progress by analyzing his combination of religion and politics for social change, modern governance, and economic progress. After Reconstruction, urban middle-class southern Baptists like Northen began to realize the social problems of their civilization. Gradually, these reformers worked to expand their traditional mission of saving indivdual souls into a modern mission of saving the collective soul of society. Whereas personal, localized relationships customarily …

Letters From The Communications Zone: Lt. Edwin Best In The Second World War., Jeremy Eugene Cobb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subject of this paper is the experiences and observations of Lt. Edwin Best of the 618th Ordnance Ammunition Company from 1943 until 1946. This includes time in the United States, England and France.

The primary sources for this paper include letters home from Lt. Best and an oral history transcript. Secondary sources have been used to place Lt. Best into the overall context of the war.

He made keen observations regarding the level of training before D-Day, comparisons of life in England and the US, from the "communications zone" in Normandy, as a temporary Judge Advocate General officer, and …

American Reeducation Of German Pows, 1943-1946., Pamela Croley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States held almost 500,000 enemy combatants within her borders during World War II. Out of those 500,000 men, 380,000 were from Nazi Germany. Nazi POWs were confined to camps built near small rural towns in almost every state. It was not something that was well known to the American public. Even less known was the American Military's effort, through reeducation, to introduce Hitler's soldiers to a new political ideology-democracy. This thesis will explore how the reeducation program was formed; examine the people, both German and American, who participated in it, and make a determination on whether or not …

Designed For The Good Of All: The Flushing Remonstrance And Religious Freedom In America., Tabetha Garman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On December 27, 1657, the men of Flushing, Long Island, signed a letter of protest addressed to the Governor-Director of New Netherlands. Though the law of the colony demanded otherwise, the men of Vlissengen pledged to accept all persons into their township, regardless of their religious persuasion. Their letter, called the Flushing Remonstrance, not only defied the laws of one of the most powerful, religious governors of the colonial age, it articulated a concept of religious freedom that extended beyond the principles of any other contemporary document.

Given its unique place in early American colonial history, why have historians not …

Separation Of Church And State: A Diffusion Of Reason And Religion., Patricia Annettee Greenlee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of America's religious liberty was birthed by a separate church and state. As America strides into the twenty first century the origin of separation of church and state continues to be a heated topic of debate. Conservatives argue that America's version of separation of church and state was birthed by principles of Christian liberty. Liberals reject this idea maintaining that the evolution of a separate church and state in America was based on enlightened thinking that demanded rational men should have religious liberty. The best way to achieve this was by erecting a wall of separation between church …

The Life And Public Career Of Robert F. Kennedy., Daryl Anthony Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There have been many notable politicians in the United States during the twentieth century. Some, like Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, were known for their swagger and appeal to the common man. Others, like Bill Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt, were known for their charisma and intelligence. However, one in particular was known for caring, compassion, strength, and determination. Robert Francis Kennedy lived in interesting times, surrounded by large egos and near mythical figures. But Kennedy was arguably one of the most important figures of the last fifty years. The ideas and ideals that he espoused still resonate nearly forty years …

A Queer Miracle In Georgia: The Origins Of Gay-Affirming Religion In The South, Jodie Talley

History Theses

The intersection of homosexuality and faith values, a very controversial topic in the United States, has generated both social accommodation as well as “culture war.” In the past forty years this nation has witnessed the establishment of predominantly gay congregations, gay “welcoming” and “affirming” mainstream congregations, as well as virulently anti-gay religious organizations. This study investigates the origins and evolving history of gay and gay-affirming religious traditions in America with an emphasis on Atlanta and Georgia. Primarily an oral history, this project draws from eighty-two interviews as well as primary and secondary documents to construct this history. Several conclusions unfold: …

Kaethe Kollwitz: Women's Art, Working-Class Agitation, And Maternal Feminism In The Weimar Republic, Jamie Dortch

History Theses

The German artist Kaethe Kollwitz challenged the cultural constraints placed on women during the Weimar Republic. My thesis analyzes the artwork of Kollwitz and the effects of maternal imagery within the political debates of abortion reform, sexual equality and pacifism in the 1920s and explores historians’ use of the ideas of maternal feminism to understand Kollwitz’s art. I challenge the social constructs of private versus public spheres to illustrate the diversity of experience and the agency of women like Kollwitz who manipulated these spheres. I argue that Kaethe Kollwitz gained a voice within the public domain by creating artwork and …

Strike Fever: Labor Unrest, Civil Rights And The Left In Atlanta, 1972, Monica Waugh-Benton

History Theses

This thesis aims to provide a history of African American working class and Leftist activism in Atlanta, Georgia during the early 1970s. It places a series of wildcat strikes within the context of political and social transition, and charges unequal economic conditions and a racially charged discriminatory environment as primary causes. The legacies of both the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left are identified as key contributing factors to this wave of labor unrest. One path taken by former Civil Right activists was to focus on poor peoples’ movements, and one course taken by the 1960s-era New Left activists …

Perpetrators & Possibilities: Holocaust Diaries, Resistance, And The Crisis Of Imagination, Eryk Emil Tahvonen

History Theses

This thesis examines the way genocide leaves marks in the writings of targeted people. It posits not only that these marks exist, but also that they indicate a type of psychological resistance. By focusing on the ways Holocaust diarists depicted Nazi perpetrators, and by concentrating on the ways language was used to distance the victim from the perpetrator, it is possible to see how Jewish diarists were engaged in alternate and subtle, but nevertheless important, forms of resistance to genocide. The thesis suggest this resistance on the part of victims is similar in many ways to well-known distancing mechanisms employed …

Cuban Refugees In Atlanta: 1950-1980, Charlotte A. Bayala

History Theses

This thesis examines the lives of Cuban refugees who entered Atlanta, Georgia between 1950 and 1980. It explores early trans-national ties between the two areas. and how Cuban refugees relied on this relationship when they left the island. It shows the process they went through from finding aid and shelter to becoming a strong active community. It explains the role religious institutions had in settling refugees and shows how the state had to work to become equipped to provide resources to a large influx of Spanish-speakers. Through this thesis one will learn of the beginnings of an important Latino community …

Federico González Garza: A Vanished Hero Of The Mexican Revolution, Mario A. Ferron

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to reveal Federico Gonzalez Garza as a foremost figure of the Mexican Revolution. Chapter I examines the circumstances that gave form to Federico's ideology. Chapters II and III, analyze Federico's transcendental role during the 1910's presidential elections, and his involvement during the consequent revolution. Chapters IV and V analyze the challenges Federico encountered to transform a revolution into a government. Chapter VI reviews Federico's contribution to the insurgency against Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza. Chapter VII gives closure to this study, summarizing Federico's political and diplomatic achievements, and claiming recognition for his transcendental contribution …

From Death Valley To The Río Grande Valley: World War Ii And Korean War Prisoners Of War, Juan David Coronado

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to fill the void in scholarly literature on Mexican American Prisoners of War (POWs) from World War II and Korea from the Río Grande Valley in South Texas. This thesis focuses on POWs' experiences while in captivity and their experiences readjusting back home. Former Mexican American POWs have not received the recognition they deserved. Mexican American POWs survived their captivity as they had the will and drive to exit alive. Their humble upbringing in the Río Grande Valley instilled in them a sense of toughness. They showed that toughness and will to survive in …

Baseball And Boosterism: Henry W. Grady, The Atlanta Constitution, And The Inaugural Season Of The Southern League, David A. Martin

Masters Theses

This study will examine the ways in which southern civic boosters fused the inaugural season of the Southern League of Professional Baseball with the promotion of their respective cities in 1885. Evidence for this work comes primarily from the Atlanta Constitution, the Chattanooga Daily Times, and the Nashville Banner. Articles from these newspapers are put into context with Paul Gaston’s The New South Creed (1970). Henry Grady is the primary focus, as he was the archetypical New South booster.

Far From The Heart: The Social, Political, And Ecclesiastical Milieu Of The Early Abbotsof La Chaise-Dieu, 1052-1184, Maureen M. O’Brien

Dissertations

This study examines the institutional development of the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, whose evolution depended upon its community of monks, its patrons, and its response to the demands placed upon it by the society at large and the Church in general. It examines these factors as they were managed by its first eightabbots by tracing the development of their personal, social, political, and ecclesiastical networks in an effort to identify how those interactions took place and why they took the forms they did. This analysis rests on the examination of charters that were drawn up by the abbey and by …

From Death, Life: An Economic And Demographic History Of Civil War Era Knoxville And East Tennessee, Steven Bradley Davis

Masters Theses

This thesis seeks to understand the economic/demographic impact of the American Civil War on Knoxville, Tennessee and the greater East Tennessee region. It is the contention of this work that the Civil War served as an economic/demographic catalyst, accelerating (although certainly not completing) the process by which both city and region were transformed from a rural, pre-modem economy based predominantly on subsistence agriculture to a more modem, industrializing economy based on manufacturing, resource extraction, and limited commercial farming.

From Triumph To Tragedy: African American Soldiers Fight For Citizenship And Manhood In The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War, Le'trice Danyell Donaldson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to provide a re-examination of the black soldier in the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War. Specifically, by adding a gender analysis, this study will demonstrate that black soldiers fought in the war for two principle reasons: first, it was a means of exercising their citizenship; and secondly, it was a means of demonstrating that they were real men. Reflecting on an era when proving one's manhood was a national obsession--this thesis provides a critical window through which we can reconstruct their motivations for fighting in America's first overseas war.

Stop Taking Our Privileges! The Anti-Era Movement In Georgia, 1978-1982, Kristina Marie Graves

History Theses

Graves discusses the important role that women played in the anti-ERA campaign in Georgia during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a controversial and divisive piece of legislation that polarized both legislators and constituents throughout the United States. Graves uses the anti-ERA campaign in Georgia as a model for studying the women who opposed the ERA on a national level. She writes about the differences between the feminist movement and the conservative grassroots movement, the role that anti-ERA women played in the rise of the New Right, and the legacy of the ERA’s failure …

The Polish Army In France: Immigrants In America, World War I Volunteers In France, Defenders Of The Recreated State In Poland, David Thomas Ruskoski

History Dissertations

Independent Poland ceased to exist in 1795 and the various insurrections to restore the Polish state were thwarted by the Germans, Austro-Hungarians, and Russians. During the First World War, Polish statesmen called upon the thousands of Polish immigrants in the United States to join the Polish Army in France, a military force funded by the French government and organized by the Polish Falcons of America and Ignacy Paderewski, the world-famous Polish pianist. Over 20,000 men trained in Canada and fought in the final months of the war on the Western front. While in France they were placed under the command …

Protestant Christian Missions, Race And Empire: The World Missionary Conference Of 1910, Edinburgh, Scotland, Kim Caroline Sanecki

History Theses

This thesis explores prevailing and changing attitudes among Protestant Christians as manifested in the World Missionary Conference of 1910, held in Edinburgh, Scotland. It compares the conference to missionary literature to demonstrate how well it fit the context of the missionary endeavor during the Edwardian era. It examines the issues of race and empire in the thinking of conference participants. It pays particular attention to the position of West Africa and West Africans in conference deliberations. It suggests that the conference, which took place soon after the scramble for empire and just before World War I and the subsequent upsurge …

Proud To Send Those Parachutes Off: Central Utah's Rosies During World War Ii, Amanda Midgley Borneman

Theses and Dissertations

World War II affected individuals across the nation, both on the home front and on the front lines. Manti, Utah received a new industry, a parachute plant, in connection with the war. Hundreds of women from Sanpete County and neighboring counties were employed through the duration of the war in everything from sewing and inspection to supervision of production. Some of the women utilized childcare facilities, some formed a union, and many found community and familial support. For many of them, this wartime wage work provided a welcomed alternative to the work usually found in rural areas, such as farm …

Ahead Of The Curve : A History Of The National Baseball Congress Tournament In Wichita, Kansas,1935-2005, Travis M. Larsen

Master's Theses

This thesis provides a history of the National Baseball Congress (NBC) tournament in Wichita, Kansas, from its founding in 1935 to 2005. The NBC tournament, since its inception, has had an impact culturally, economically, and socially on the city of Wichita, and to a lesser degree, an impact on Major League Baseball and other facets of organized baseball. By using a decade-by-decade over view of the history of the NBC tournament, one finds how social and cultural events have played a role in the success of the NBC tournament, and how the tournament influenced the baseball world. Raymond "Hap” Dumont, …