American Studies Commons^™

“Reckoning” With America’S Past: Robert Penn Warren’S Later Poetry, Joan Romano Shifflett

Robert Penn Warren Studies

Robert Penn Warren’s later poetry, specifically Rumor Verified and Altitudes and Extensions, deserves closer critical attention to the function served by the American past. Whether it is facing the bloody reality of westward expansion or acknowledging the alienation and dehumanization that results from the Industrial Revolution, Warren’s poems suggest a method of self-reflection that yields a fuller sense of American identity and, consequently, an awareness and knowledge of how to live in this modern world. A close study of the poetic techniques in “Going West” serves as a model for how Warren uses historical backdrops to employ his underlying philosophy …

The Writing On The Stall: Graffiti, Vandalism, And Social Expression, Brett Wolff

Kaleidoscope

Graffiti and vandalism are everywhere in the modern city; they seem to be part of the typical urban background. While graffiti are usually associated with concrete walls, bridges and train cars, one particular area of focus of vandalistic writing is the walls and stalls of public bathrooms. This area, for both obvious, and sometimes unclear reasons, is a popular forum for anyone wanting to write. This project was conducted with the intent of better understanding these somewhat ubiquitous and seemingly mundane scribbles. As the first step toward this goal, a literature review of approaches to vandalism was conducted. This theoretical …

A Psychoanalytical Approach To Bich Minh Nguyen's Stealing Buddha's Dinner, Wenying Xu

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

Racial minorities in the U.S. are often tormented by the tension between the corporeal and the ontological, with the former experienced as confining and the latter expansive. Such ambivalence often expresses itself in one's relationship with food. Here I propose to illustrate how Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytical theory on desire can assist us in understanding ethnicity as a bodily performance, which I venture to call an embodied ontology, applying this concept to Bich Minh Nguyen's Stealing Buddha's Dinner (2007).

The Tribulations Of The White Water Shakers: The Child Molestation Trial Of 1840, Thomas Sakmyster

American Communal Societies Quarterly

The historian who attempts to reconstruct the events surrounding the Shaker child molestation trial of 1840 faces a daunting task. Much of the relevant primary source material simply has not survived. White Water village lost many of its records in a devastating fire in 1907. As a result, almost no White Water diaries, journals, or other internal records are available to the researcher. Most nineteenth-century Cincinnati court records were similarly lost in courthouse fires. Curiously, most contemporary Cincinnati newspapers neglected to report on the Shaker trial, and only a single copy of the one that did cover it has survived. …

Peter Ayers, Defender Of The Faith, Galen Beale

American Communal Societies Quarterly

The stories of Believers who fought for the freedom of their country and then dedicated the remainder of their lives to a faith based on communalism, celibacy and pacifism are inspiring. One of these stories is told by Elder Henry Blinn in his epic two-volume history of the Canterbury Shakers. In his history, Blinn highlighted one of the larger personalities from the founding generation—an unusual early Believer named Peter Ayers who had been fortunate enough to meet Mother Ann several times. Blinn’s journals took particular notice of the Believers who knew Mother Ann, and his stories of Ayers embedded him …

Free Press Of The House Of Israel: The First Publication Of Benjamin Purnell

American Communal Societies Quarterly

The first publication by Benjamin Purnell, who, along with Mary Purnell, founded the House of David in Fostoria, Ohio, in 1902, and relocated the community to Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 1903, was a four-page pamphlet published in 1894, titled Free Press of the House of Israel, New House or Body of Israel. We had not been able to locate a copy until we discovered that the House of David had reprinted it in Shiloh’s Messenger of Wisdom, in March 1911 (v. 8, no. 11). Below we print three items related to this publication. First is the accompanying article …

Making The Bible Argument: John H. Noyes’ Mission Statement For The Oneida Community, Anthony Wonderley

American Communal Societies Quarterly

In February of 1848, the man about to found one of America’s most successful utopias composed a plan to bring Christ and social reform to upstate New York entitled Bible Argument: Defining the Relations of the Sexes in the Kingdom of Heaven. The communitarian venture envisioned by John Humphrey Noyes aimed to duplicate life in Christ’s kingdom—a place of communal ownership and group marriage—in order to bring that kingdom to earth. At the same time, the community’s unconventional sexual practices would transform society and correct its ills. As a prospectus for an intentional community, the Bible Argument contains “almost …

Writing The Female Body In Alvarez's In The Time Of The Butterflies, Darren K. Broome

The Coastal Review: An Online Peer-reviewed Journal

Julia Alvarez in In the Time of the Butterflies utilizes the female body and sexuality to combat male dominated rhetoric. The use of the female body retrieves women’s forgotten role as subjects instead of objects as seen in male-oriented novel. Expressing sexuality in a way that is determined by women, she discovers new means of verbal or written expression. The female body emerges as a form of expression in Butterflies which at times is connected to one of the characters’ revolutionary participation.

Pilgrims And Martyrs: The Engraved Title Page Of Ephrata’S Martyrs Mirror, Jeff Bach

American Communal Societies Quarterly

The largest book produced in colonial America, known in English as the Martyrs Mirror, was translated and printed by the celibate brothers of the Ephrata Community in Pennsylvania in 1748. The illustration that serves as a title page in some of the Ephrata volumes gives a pictorial allegory for the Christian life, featuring the baptism of Jesus by immersion at the center of the picture. After renouncing the world, believers bear the cross of Christ and arrive in heaven. It is likely that the title page was done by the Frankfurt engraver, Michael Eben.

Price Ceilings And Rationing: The Base Ingredients Of The Black Market Food Industry In Nevada During World War Ii, Richard B. Keeton

Psi Sigma Siren

After the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Americans braced themselves for what would surely be a long, hard-fought war. In World War II, brave young United States soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice across the seas on both the European and Pacific fronts. However, the millions of citizens on domestic soil also made countless sacrifices in a national mobilization to support the war effort. People in Nevada and across the nation gave up everyday conveniences and seemingly ordinary items to show their support for the troops. Government agencies instituted tight rationing guidelines on a variety of consumer goods. Perhaps the …

The Story Of Brother Ricardo’S Song, Darryl Charles Thompson

American Communal Societies Quarterly

An account of how Charles "Bud" Thompson recorded the words and notes of a spirit song from Brother Ricardo Beldon, the last male member of the Hancock Shaker community and of the Hancock Bishopric. Includes transcription.

Back Matter, Tom Mack, Ph.D.

The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English

No abstract provided.

“Born Again Hard”: Sexualized Violence In The Creation Of American Warriors, Katherine Highfill

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

Cultures are built upon myths that reinforce and glorify the way citizens wish to view themselves as part of a larger, stronger whole. These myths are central to the strength of a culture due to the shared sense of greatness, responsibility, and cohesion mutual belief instills. Globally, examples of cultural myth include French elegance, Arabic divine religious sanction, and British diplomatic proficiency. Specifically American mythology includes the pioneer mentality, equality for all citizens, and global caretaker. These myths, as with those of other countries, were born of historic actuality or ideology. The basis for each of these American myths, however, …

Two Early Photographs Of Amana, Peter Hoehnle

American Communal Societies Quarterly

Two carte de visite albumen prints of scenes of the Amana Society in Iowa have been located among the papers of an Amana family. The two images depict the Amana calico print works and the Amana woolen mill and date to the early 1870s. These photographs are the earliest datable images of any of the Amana villages and, as such, merit consideration. Both images bear the stamp of William H. Masters, a pioneering photographer whose career spanned the 1850s to 1880s and led him from Illinois to Iowa and, finally, to Kansas.

“Freedom Of The Press Is Guaranteed Only To Those Who Own The Presses”, Henry M. Yaple

American Communal Societies Quarterly

In the late nineteenth century, Benton Harbor, Michigan, was little more than a sleepy small town located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The arrival of Israelite preachers Benjamin and Mary Purnell in March 1903 ultimately made Benton Harbor the home of two extraordinarily prosperous communal societies and a thriving destination resort for the burgeoning city of Chicago just across the lake. It is my firm conviction that by the time of their arrival in southwestern Michigan the Purnells had learned how powerful the printed word could be. By December 1903, the Purnells’ nascent colony had established a print …

National Register Testing At 41hm46, Hamilton County, Texas: Cr 294 Bridge Replacement At The Leon River, John E. Dockall, Cory J. Broehm, Karl W. Kibler

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted test excavations at site 41HM46 in Hamilton County, Texas, to determine its eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The work was performed in September 2003 in conjunction with a proposed bridge replacement on County Road 294 over the Leon River.

The excavations consisted of three backhoe trenches, eight shovel tests, and seven hand-dug test units totaling 7 m3 . Excavations yielded a small assemblage of chipped stone artifacts (tools, cores, and unmodified debitage), two features, and other cultural materials that appear to be associated with occupations ranging from the Late Archaic …

Archaeological Data Recovery (41tr198) And Survey Within The Riverside Oxbow Project Tarrant County, Texas, Duane E. Peter, James Harrison

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

This report presents the findings of the survey of 75 acres and the excavation of 28 cubic meters of site 41TR198 (Crooked Oxbow Site) within the Riverside Oxbow Project sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, in partnership with the City of Fort Worth and the Tarrant County Water District. Planned impacts from this proposed project include habitat restoration, channel reestablishment, vegetation plantings, new roads, and sports field construction. The deepest impacts planned for the Area of Potential Effects are one meter and involve the excavation of a shallow lake utilizing the relict oxbow bordering site …

Early To Mid-19th Century Occupation At The Dead Cow Site (41sm324), Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Dead Cow site is an early to mid-19th century archaeological site located within the northern part (Sabine River basin) of the proposed Republic of Texas 1836 Cherokee Indians land grant in East Texas, generally east of the downtown area of the modem city of Tyler. Cherokee Indians had moved into East Texas by the early 1820s, and "most of the Cherokees cleared land and carved out farms in the uninhabited region directly north of Nacogdoches, on the upper branches of the Neches, Angelina, and Sabine rivers. By 1822 their population had grown to nearly three hundred."

To date, historic …

Analysis Of The 19th Century Historic Archaeological Material Culture Remains From The Browning Site In Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Mark Walters

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Browning site (41SM195A) is located on a 3800 m² alluvial terrace that overlooks the Auburn Creek floodplain in eastern Smith County, Texas. This setting is near the headwaters of a stream system in the Harris Creek drainage; Harris Creek meets the Sabine River ca. 34 km to the north. In the vicinity of the Browning site, the valley, being narrow with steep valley walls, offers few locations suitable for either prehistoric or historic occupations. Soils here arc Entisols; they vary in depth from 30-70 em across the landform, terminating at a sandstone C-horizon. These arc soils that formed …

The Marcus Kolb Site (41ce438), Cherokee County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In 200 l, Claude McCrocklin conducted metal detecting and test excavations at an historic 19th century site in the upper Neches River basin of East Texas. Based on the findings from that work, unreported until now, McCrocklin believed that this site was occupied by the East Texas Cherokee. This site, the Marcus Kolb site (41CE438), "was confirmed by the artifacts identical with those found on Lost Prairie in Arkansas." The Lost Prairie sites referred to by McCrocklin are the early 19th century Lost Prairie Cherokee sites along the Red River in southwestern Arkansas investigated by McCrocklin. The Marcus Kolb site …

Analysis Of The Prehistoric Artifacts From The Pace Mcdonald Site (41an51), Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Pace McDonald site (41AN51) is a poorly known prehistoric Caddo mound center on Mound Prairie Creek in Anderson County, Texas, in the upper Neches River Basin. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford, the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology are planning on initiating an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010. The ultimate purpose of this work is to learn more about the native history of this mound center-when it was occupied and used, and by which prehistoric Caddo group--its intra-site spatial organization, and ultimately obtain site-specific archaeological information that can help understand the …

A Prehistoric Caddo Site On Black Fork Creek, Upper Neches River Basin, Smith County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Bo Nelson

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

During the course of recent archaeological survey investigations for a proposed waterline, a previously unrecorded prehistoric Caddo site Lakewood Gardens (41SM425)-was found near, but outside the right-of-way and construction casement of, the proposed waterline. This article provides summary details about the site, hopefully adding information to the sparse archaeological record of prehistoric Caddo sites along Black Fork Creek.

The site is situated on a natural upland rise (440 feet amsl) overlooking the Black Fork Creek floodplain less than 200 m to the north. Black Fork Creek is in the upper Neches River basin; the creek flows west into Prairie Creek, …

An Unique Shell Gorget From Wood County, Texas, Jesse Todd

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

During the excavations preceding the construction of Lake Fork Reservoir, archaeologists from Southern Methodist University uncovered a child's burial at the Gilbreath site (41WD538) in Wood County, Texas. The child was from 2 to 3 years of age and burial furniture consisted of five ceramic vessels and an unique marine shell gorget from the chest area. The age of the site, which has a Titus phase component, ranges from ca. A.D. 1430-1680.

Analysis Of Artifacts From A 2010 Surface Collection At The Pace Mcdonald Site (41an51), A Probable Middle Caddo Mound Center In Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Mark Walters, Bo Nelson

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Pace McDonald site (41AN51) is a prehistoric Caddo mound center on Mound Prairie Creek in Anderson County, Texas, in the upper Neches River Basin. With the permission of one of the landowners, Mr. Johnny Sanford, the Friends of Northeast Texas Archaeology has initiated an archaeological research effort at the site in 2010, the first part of which was an April 2010 surface reconnaissance of the Sanford lands at the site, and the surface collection of artifacts exposed there following shallow disking of several tracts within the known boundaries of the site. This article discusses the character of the artifacts …

Notes On The Hudnall-Pirtle Site (41rk4) In The Buddy Calvin Jones Collection At The Gregg County Historical Museum, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The Hudnall-Pirtle site (41RK4) is an important Early Caddo (ca. A.D. 900-1200) period multiple mound center and large village situated on an alluvial terrace of the Sabine River in East Texas. Although best known through the archaeological investigations conducted by the Texas Historical Commission (on behalf of the Archaeological Conservancy) at the site in 1989 and 1990, Buddy Calvin Jones, then of Longview, completed his own investigations at the site in the 1950s and early 1960s, although he never published any of the archaeological findings from his work, and is has not been clear from the available records and anecdotal …

Archaeological Sites Along King Creek In Western Nacogdoches County, In East Texas, Timothy K. Perttula, Bo Nelson, Mark Walters

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The King Creek area of western Nacogdoches County in East Texas is known to be a locality where Historic Caddo sites (of the Allen phase, ca. A.D. 1650-1800) are abundant, or at least abundant relative to many other parts of East Texas. In addition to there being at least two branches of the late 17th-early 19th century El Camino Real de los Tejas that bisect the area on their way to crossings on the nearby Angelina River, three important Historic Caddo sites have been identified not far apart in the valley: J. T. King (41NAI5), David King (41NA32l), and Wes …

A Cache Of Maud Arrow Points And Other Artifacts From The Jim Clark Site, Red River County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In the winter of 2010, I was contacted by Robert Perino, son of the late Greg Perino, a well-known archaeologist who had worked extensively since the late 1960s along the Red River in southwest Arkansas, southeastern Oklahoma, and northeast Texas in the Caddo archaeological area. According to Robert Perino, Greg Perino had found a cache of 30 Maud arrow points at the Jim Clark site in Red River County, Texas, in 1975, and recorded the discovery in a journal, along with a ground stone celt and a ceramic vessel. It is not known with certainty if this cache was associated …

Another Look At The Grace Creek #1 Site In Gregg County, Texas, As Seen Through Ceramic Analysis, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

The purpose of this article is to present archeological findings obtained from a re-examination of the ceramic sherds from the Grace Creek #1 site (41GG33). The Grace Creek site has been identified as having an early Caddo component by Jones, one that was contemporaneous with the Caddo occupation at the George C. Davis site. Story, in fact, identifies Grace Creek #1 as a "modest Alto-phase habitation site." This re-examination was occasioned by ongoing studies of the Early Caddo ceramics from the ca. A.D. 970-1260 Boxed Springs mound center, and the opportunity thus presented to compare the Boxed Springs ceramic assemblage …

The Pipe Site, A Late Caddo Site At Lake Palestine In Anderson County, Texas, Timothy K. Perttula

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

Buddy Calvin Jones excavated a Late Caddo cemetery and midden site he called the Lake Palestine site, in Anderson County, Texas, in March 1968. His notes indicate that a total of 21 Caddo burials were excavated at the site, and the burials were situated primarily around a midden of unknown dimensions. Jones' notes do not specify how many of the burials he excavated at the Pipe site, but one photograph in the records suggests he excavated at least three, one burial of which is the focus of this article.

Mountain Fork Archaeology: A Preliminary Report On The Ramos Creek Site (34mc1030), Elsbeth L. Dowd

Index of Texas Archaeology: Open Access Gray Literature from the Lone Star State

In May-June of 2010, the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey co-sponsored a field school at the Ramos Creek site (34MC1030) in southeastern Oklahoma. Ramos Creek is located in the Ouachita Mountains along the Mountain Fork, a tributary of the Little River. Recently identified by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), this site is the northernmost known site with a Caddo component along this stream (Figure 1). The best-known Caddo sites identified for this drainage were tested during the Oklahoma River Basin Survey project of the 1960s and today are covered by the man-made Broken Bow Lake. Archaeological investigations …