History Commons^™

Urban Warfare: Emerging Geopolitical Conundrum, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Urban warfare is as old as human history. It is becoming increasingly important in international political and military planning due to increasing global urbanization and the presence of megacities (urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million) in many global regions and being in areas of recent and potential military conflict. 2018 World Bank data notes that approximately 56% of the world's population lives in urban areas which is up from 34% in 1960. Many of these megacities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Manila are adjacent to oceanic waters and vulnerable to trade and supply …

Charles H. Smith: A Direct-Line Ancestry, Since Colonial Times, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

A direct-line ancestry of American forebears of Charles H. Smith (1950-), constructed by Dr. Smith through the aid of Ancestry.com and other sources.

Dry-Land Farming, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

Dry-land farming is a system of land use, crop management, and timing of operations that are designed to cope with the conditions of climate and rainfall of a semiarid land. Experiments began on dry-land techniques as early as the 1860s and the methods became well-known in the Great Plains by the end of the 1880s. A major component of dry farming, which is a term (along with dry-land farming) of western American origin, is the conservation of soil moisture during dry weather by special methods of tillage and plant adaptation. It is not farming without moisture, but farming where moisture …

Reasons For Vacating The Land, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

According to interview data, the mid droughts began very early. The first was in 1908 and 1909 followed by a low rainfall period of 1910 and 1911. These mild droughts were followed by another dry period in 1925 and 1926 and later by the dust bowl period of the mid-1930s. To experience even a mild drought was sufficient to weed out the land speculators who had little interest in farming the land. There were also a number of people who intended to farm, but arrived with insufficient funds to purchase the necessary equipment to produce enough surplus to ride through …

Subdividing The Public Lands: The Apportionment And Settlement Of Northeast New Mexico, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

The land of northeastern New Mexico, outside of the recognized title rights of the former Mexican citizens, became the public domain of the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This immediately allowed for US control over 10,000 square miles of land within the area east of the 105° meridian and north of a line roughly defined by Interstate 40 in Quay County and the boundary between San Miguel and Guadalupe counties. Portions of the northeast which were excluded from this public domain by the action of the Court of Private Land Claims between 1891 and 1904 …

Peopling The Northeast Plains, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

During the 1880s and the early part of the 1890s the cattle companies were continuing to hire ranch hands to prove up homesteads around water holes. At the same time the early farmers began to appear in the northeast, but not in the form of the sodbusters who were to later swarm over the highland llanos during the early part of the twentieth century. The early farmers were not labeled "nesters," which was the derogatory term coined by the stockmen for the people who turned small parcels of the grassland into fields and began erecting fences over the plains. The …

Natural Elements Of Northeastern New Mexico, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

Northeastern New Mexico is one of the most diverse natural landscapes in the state. Large volcanic vents dot the basalt flows that cap the piedmont surface, providing a very rugged horizon rather than the flat monotonous topography usually associated with the Great Plains of the United States. The dissected and rolling plains are broken by severely eroded canyons that have cut through the sandstone layers topped with caliche. In some areas where the major drainages confluence (such as the intersection of the Ute and Canadian or the Conchas and the Canadian) the narrow canyons broaden into extensive valleys characterized by …

Missouri Avenue On The Caprock, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

Lured by reports about grama grass that was so high it tickled the belly of a horse, the settlers poured onto the high plains of New Mexico during the first decade of the twentieth century. Boom towns began to sprout up along the sidings that the single-line railroads needed for intersecting trains and for locating maintenance crews. The towns especially blossomed if the siding was next to a highland area of prairie that appeared capable of dryland farming. The railroad companies, which were provided with large blocks of land to promote settlement, and the merchants of the new railroad towns …

Interviews With Pioneers, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

There are many first-generation pioneers still living in northeastern New Mexico. Most are over eighty years of age and several are nearing the century mark. Their recall of the era of farming is remarkable and it is fascinating to record the events which are firmly locked into their minds. Many decades have passed since their families abandoned the farm and the homestead and either migrated to urban areas for employment or remained on the land by converting to a cattle economy. When probed or reminded of events through the line of questioning, most interviewees would discourse with clear details and …

Homesteading And Public Land Law, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

It is important to the discussion of Butcher and Wyatt as homesteaders to understand the public land laws which affected their choice of land. Consequently, a review of the history of land legislation affecting the allocation and use of the public domain is in order and particularly that legislation under which Butcher and Wyatt made entry: the Homestead Act of 1862. Through this act early settlers around Tucumcari were able to acquire, at little expense, 160 acre tracts of land. In addition, the shortcomings and beneficial aspects of other acts of Congress concerning the acquisition of public domain will be …

Elements To Assist The Farmers And Promote Immigration, Jerry L. Williams

Homestead Geography Project - Oral Histories and Publications

The purpose of this portion of the resource survey of the northeastern plains is to reconstruct the settlement phase which occurred between 1880 and 1940, the period generally referred to as the homesteading era. To reconstruct the 60 years of human settlement and resettlement required an extensive review of secondary information resources as well as a field project(?) oriented around the collection of data from primary information resources. Much of the information that was compiled was directed toward a mapping project of the northeastern plains which included the location of the places named by the settlers as well as identifying …

From Brooklyn To “Brooklyn” The Cultural Transformations Of Leisure, Pleasure, And Taste, Emily Holloway

Publications and Research

To tell the story of Brooklyn’s complex history in hospitality and cuisine is to tell a story about the tensions of high and low culture, of the mobility of capital and residents, and of the tremendous influence yielded by macroeconomic change. A sleepy bedroom community for the eighteenth and much of the early nineteenth centuries, Brooklyn’s waterfront (both historically and today) is deeply tied to its nineteenth and twentieth-century industrial heritage. The ad hoc economies that supported factory and dock workers, included boardinghouses, saloons, brothels, food carts, and amusement parks and drew a stark contrast to those of factory and …

Digitized Galapagos Tortoise Whaling Data From 1831-1868, Cyler Norman Conrad, Noah Garwood, James P. Gibbs

Anthropology Datasets

This repository includes a spreadsheet of digitized Galapagos tortoise count data originally transcribed from whaling and sealing logbooks by Charles H. Townsend and published in 1925. Notes are included which describe how the counts were digitized. Data published in Townsend (1925) and digitized here are presented in: Conrad, C. and Gibbs, J.P. (in preparation). Chapter 4: The Era of Exploitation: 1535-1959. In Galapagos Giant Tortoises, Gibbs, James P., Linda J. Cayot and Wacho Tapia (eds.). Elsevier.

An Ethnic Cultural Landscape: German Breweries And Social Institutions In Covington, Kentucky, 1860-1920, Andrew Jones

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A useful marker for recognizing the impact that ethnic groups make to the social and cultural characteristics of a city are the institutions and material landscapes created by those groups. In northern Kentucky, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, German immigrants and their descendants in the city of Covington established institutions such as breweries, saloons, social associations, and churches that became the heart of ethnic neighborhoods and shaped the form of the landscape. This research examines institutional and cultural landscape markers of German cultural identity in the city of Covington, Kentucky, from 1860 to 1920. Demographic and spatial data …

Female Cartographers: Historical Obstacles And Successes, Eva Llamas-Owens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For much of history, women have lived in male-dominated societies, which has limited their participation in society. The field of cartography has been largely populated by men, but despite cultural obstacles, there are records of women significantly contributing over the past 1,000 years. Historically, women have faced coverture, stereotypes, lack of opportunities, and lack of recognition for their accomplishments. Their involvement in cartography is often a result of education or valuable experiences, availability of resources, a supportive community or mentor, hard work, and luck regardless of when and where they lived.

This research divides women before and after the turn …

Between History And Geography, Karen M. Morin, Mike Heffernan

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Recent U.S. And International Assessment Of Baltic Security Developments, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this paper is to analyse Baltic security developments from U.S. government and military resources, scholarly journal articles, and multinational public policy research institute assessments. METHODS: The aim is to analyse the content and rhetoric within these resources to learn how those producing these materials view Baltic security developments and their viewpoints on how the U.S. and its allies should respond to these developments focusing on increasing Russian regional assertiveness. RESULTS: The author provides interpretations of Baltic security developments, Russian Baltic policy, and U.S. and NATO responses to these developments in materials produced by U.S. civilian and …

Digitally-Mediated Practices Of Geospatial Archaeological Data: Transformation, Integration, & Interpretation, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Kristin Landau

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Digitally-mediated practices of archaeological data require reflexive thinking about where archaeology stands as a discipline in regard to the ‘digital,’ and where we want to go. To move toward this goal, we advocate a historical approach that emphasizes contextual source-side criticism and data intimacy—scrutinizing maps and 3D data as we do artifacts by analyzing position, form, material and context of analog and digital sources. Applying this approach, we reflect on what we have learned from processes of digitally-mediated data. We ask: What can we learn as we convert analog data to digital data? And, how does digital data transformation impact …

The Baltics And Ukraine: Geopolitical Hotspots, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides detailed historical overview and contemporary analysis on why the Baltics and Ukraine are historical and remain contemporary geopolitical hotspots. Provides analysis of cultural economic, environmental, and security factors influencing long-standing contentiousness over these regions. Places emphasis on how Russian behavior and policies influence this contentiousness. Concludes by noting that differences between the U.S. and its allies and conflicts within the U.S. Government may limit the ability of the U.S. to effectively respond to events in these disputed regions.

Quiet River, Heavy Waters: Un-Silencing Narratives Of Social-Environmental Inequalities In The Cradle Of Soviet Plutonium, Rosibel Roman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In December 1948, the Soviet Union’s first plutonium production facility, Mayak Production Association (PO Mayak), began operation in the Southern Urals region of Russia, at the western edges of Siberia, near the restricted city of Chelyabinsk-40, known in the present day as Ozyorsk. Since then, rural communities located downstream from PO Mayak have experienced health, economic, ecological and social impacts of contamination from high-level radioactive wastes released by the facility into the Techa River and its surrounding ecosystem. My research, drawing from archival research conducted in Russia and the United States, as well as secondary sources in English and Russian, …

Rennick, Robert M., 1932-2010 (Sc 3419), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3419. Letters, March 1972, to retired WKU faculty member Frances Richards and her sister Mary Ellen Richards, Franklin, Kentucky, from Robert M. Rennick of the University of Kentucky’s Prestonsburg Community College. Rennick outlines the objectives and methods of a national undertaking to survey all the place names of the United States and his work with a committee to ensure Kentucky’s participation. He requests their help in supervising the research and gathering of data from Simpson County. A second letter thanks Frances for her agreement to participate and asks for a meeting. Rennick’s book, …

Using Gis And Mapping Tools To Access And Visualize Archival Records: Case Studies And Survey Results Of North American Archivists And Historians, Tom Belton

Western Libraries Publications

Online map interfaces and GIS software are means of accessing and visualizing archival holdings associated strongly with places. This article investigates the possibility of an interest among at least some archivists and historians in finding records based on place names and maps. A review of recent tools and case studies on map-based methods of seeking and visualizing information in archives and special collections provides a current overview. A 2015 survey gathered additional information from archivists as to whether they place a high priority on, and are comfortable with, map-based methods, as well as to what extent their patron groups might …

Review Of The Herds Shot Round The World: Native Breeds And The British Empire, 1800—1900, By Rebecca Woods, Andrew Sluyter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

French Place Names In Clark County, Arkansas, Joe Jeffers

Articles

French place names are common in Arkansas, especially in south Arkansas, where after the French explorers left, French trappers and settlers from Canada moved in. Some of those names remain unchanged from the original French. General usage and English speaking settlers modified others. Clark County was one of five counties established in the Arkansas Territory. Its boundaries changed five times before reaching its present form in 1877. This article explores French place names in today’s Clark County and in the original Clark County formed in 1818.

Ua66/8/6 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Geography & Geology Allied Organizations, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about allied organizations associated with the Geography & Geology department, including the Council of Geography Teachers, Green River Grotto, and Kentucky Geographic Alliance.

Societal Rebirth: The Importance Of Spirituality, Lauren Rothstein

English Department: Traveling American Modernism (ENG 366, Fall 2018)

This article offers an exploration of what the social consequences are when modernity strips away religious-human relationships to the land. The two texts Black Elk Speaks and Grapes of Wrath both include moments of anonymous forces imposing systematic modernization on society. Particularly, I try to understand the controversial subject of societal rebirths, traditionally defined through employment and steady food source availability. This paper proposes an approach to societal rebirths that emphasizes the importance of spiritual connection to the land through a critical analysis of Bakhtin's theory of Chronotope and Leopold's theory of Land Ethic. On the issue of spiritual connection …

Carter Family Tree, Mattison Griffin

History Class Publications

This research paper looks at the family tree of Mattison Griffin following the Cart line. The lineage is traced back centuries and looks at the location of the family and how they traveled from England to Arkansas.

Mackinder And The Arctic's Emerging Geopolitics: Recommendations For The U.S. And Its Nato Allies, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

This presentation shows how Halford Mackinder (1861-1947) described Canada and the Arctic region in his geopolitical writings. It goes on to stress how the Arctic is becoming increasingly important in international geopolitical policymaking due to its significant oil and natural gas resources, how warming temperatures are increasing international access to its waters, and the how countries as diverse as Canada, China, Russia, and the U.S. see the Arctic region in their strategic policymaking. It concludes by stressing that the Arctic can no longer be viewed as a region immune from international conflict and presents recommendations for the U.S. and its …

The Slave Trade Route: A Regional And Local Development Catalyst, Chukwunyere Ugochukwu

Geography and Planning Faculty Publications

The conservation of and focus on slave export points turned tourist monuments in Cape Coast and Elmina, Ghana, are incomplete without linkages to other complicit places in the interior that together completes the chain of darkness, the trade in humans along the Atlantic coast of Ghana, as well as in the interior. Completed, it will highlight the infrastructure of the slave business, the domestic, as well as the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. When the chain (route) of the different complicit communities in the interior to these export monuments along the Atlantic coast is conserved, it shall herald a completeness to the …

Disasters Fast And Slow: The Temporality Of Hazards In Environmental History, Fiona Williamson, Chris Courtney

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Popular representations of disasters tend to focus upon dramatic moments of chaos. They envision panicked communities desperately scrambling for safety as earthquakes reduce cities to rubble or lava turns villages to ashes. Yet disasters actually unfold on numerous temporal scales. Media reports tend to reduce disasters to discrete events, initiated on the shallow causal timescale of a meteorological fluctuation or seismic disruption. Social scientists, by contrast, have often sought to emphasise the processual nature of disasters—embedding causality in the deeper timescale of a community, in which risk and vulnerability build over months or years.2 Environmental historians elongate causality even further, …