Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Committee On Public Information And The Four Minute Men: How The United States Sold A European War To American People, Madison Mcternan

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Shortly after America’s entry into World War I, President Woodrow Wilson created the Committee on Public Information to garner public support for the War. This committee was created not only to drum up support for the war, but to ease a public frustrated by an isolationist president’s entry into such a conflict. Notable reporter and writer George Creel served as its chairman, and together with countless others created a massive propaganda campaign. The Committee was incredibly successful in its mission of “selling the war.” This was largely due to the fact that Creel and his men revolutionized the way propaganda …

African American Women In The Domestic Service Industry During Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis, Kathryn Small

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis.

My paper focuses on the experiences of African American women, within the workplace, during Reconstruction. Whilst the Civil War resulted in the emancipation of the African American population, the day-to-day attainment of freedom posed a very different reality, most notably in respect of limited opportunities for economic advancement. All working women of this time were subjected to discrimination. However, black women were especially discriminated against due to their race. Most markedly, this can be seen in the fact that work opportunities available to black women were restricted …

Burr: An American Conspiracy, Kathleen J. Brett

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Former vice president and political figure Aaron Burr was one of the most ambitious and controversial Americans of the early 18^th century. After killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, plotted against the United States in order to create his own country. This plot became known as the Burr Conspiracy. Within this conspiracy, Burr consulted not only the Spanish for support, but America’s rival, England. Burr’s detailed scheming against his own country served as enough to arrest him under the charge of “high treason.” The trial proved to be crucial in American history, as the definition of “high treason” was …

Move: Philadelphia's Forgotten Bombing, Charles Abraham

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

On May 13^th, 1985, the city of Philadelphia erupted into flames. Under the orders of Mayor Wilson Goode, the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb onto the rowhouse containing MOVE, a cult-like organization, on Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia causing a fire which killed eleven people, including five children, and burning down sixty-one other houses. But instead of the bombing ending his political career, Mayor Goode was reelected, and the bombing slipped into obscurity outside of Philadelphia. This major event in the history of Philadelphia was forgotten because of the lack of connection between the city and the …

The Land Of Steady Habits: Anti-Abolition And The Preservation Of Slavery In Connecticut, Griffin R. Watson

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper explores the history of slavery in Connecticut from its inception during the Pequot War in the 1630s to its abolishment in 1848. The research pays particular attention to the reasons for the persistence of slavery as a formal institution in Connecticut while so many other northern states had abolished it. What was uncovered is that slavery was not supported as much in Connecticut as abolition was opposed. The people of Connecticut saw immediate abolition as a threat to the preexisting social order, despite their view of slavery as immoral. Slavery persisted as a means of preventing social upheaval.

The Death Knell For Jim Crow: How African-American Soldiers’ Experiences Abroad Impacted The Modern Civil Rights Movement, Richard J. Sipe

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

This paper examines African-American soldiers’ experiences abroad in Europe during the Second World War and the occupation of Germany, and how these experiences affected their fight for Civil Rights on their return to the United States. The paper argues that the experiences of African-American soldiers in Europe, where they were free from Jim Crow Laws and treated with respect and equality by Europeans, created a new consciousness of equality that led to the demand for equal rights at home. The paper challenges traditional historical interpretations of the Civil Rights Movement by emphasizing the Movement’s international aspect. It accomplishes this by …

The Effect Of Religious Opposition On The Mexican-American War (1846-1848), April L. Pickens

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The Effect of Religious Opposition on the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848

By April Pickens, History Major

James Madison University

The Mexican-American War began in dubious circumstances, and some Americans disagreed with “Polk’s War” from the beginning. But it was the united efforts of three Protestant denominations—the Congregationalists, the Unitarians, and the Quakers—that finally turned a large segment of the populace against the war. They were able to do this with their multiplying publications, which wielded significant influence in the religiously aware society that existed in America after the Second Great Awakening. When sufficient numbers of ordinary citizens and politicians began voicing …

The American Allies: The Impact Of The Oneida Involvement In The American Revolution, Ashlen M. Clark

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

The American Revolution extended its grasp far past the white men who started it, forcing Natives across the colonies to become involved. Soon after the beginning of the Revolution the Iroquois Six Nations of New York were drawn into the conflict and forced to choose between the Americans, the British, or attempts at neutrality. After the war the Iroquois Six Nations emerged divided, broken, and severely less powerful than when they entered the strife. This paper examines the impact of the American Revolution on this Iroquoian division, specifically focusing on the Oneida Indian Tribe and the effects of their alliance …