History Commons^™

The 1985 Move Bombing: A Study In Perspectives, Kaci Delisle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped a military grade bomb on 6221 Osage Avenue, a row house in a Black neighborhood in West Philadelphia. This home was occupied by a revolutionary group called MOVE. The bomb started a fire that the police and firefighters decided to “contain” rather than put out, resulting in the deaths of eleven people and the destruction of sixty-one homes. Only two MOVE members survived the fire. Using court records, documents from the investigation conducted by the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (PSIC), and other interviews regarding MOVE and the bombing, this paper reconstructs different perspectives …

Forgotten Mistakes: Crossing The Rhine Gorge, 1945, Michael Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the years following World War II, official military records along with news reports and personal accounts of senior military leaders formed a narrative that emphasized American exceptionalism and focused on the success of the United States military. That original narrative became a foundation for foreign policy and military doctrine, and its characterization of the tactical and operational decisions made by American military leaders has remained almost entirely unchallenged. This thesis seeks to reverse that trend by carefully analyzing the tactical and operational aspects of one specific event, the crossing of the Rhine Gorge by the 89th Infantry Division.

The …

The Solid South: The Suffrage Campaign Revisited, Abby Lorraine Crenshaw

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This examination of the southern suffrage campaign focuses the movement through the eyes of three prominent southern women within the political movement: Kate Gordon, Sue Shelton White, and Josephine Pearson. The merged National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) planned and organized a focus on the South during the second half of the suffrage campaign, which presented new challenges. The Nineteenth Amendment passed through Congress in 1918 and consequently set the stage for a raging political battle between suffragists and anti-suffragists. The suffrage campaign prompted women to question how the political platform of suffrage should be addressed. Women argued over the …

Vanguard Of The Right: The Department Of Education Battle, 1978-1979, Logan Michael Scisco

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Satisfying a campaign pledge to the National Education Association (NEA), President Jimmy Carter pushed for a federal Department of Education in 1978 and 1979. In the ensuing legislative battle, Carter confronted opposition from states’ rights, social, and religious conservatives that were beginning to form the nucleus of the New Right in the Republican Party. Using divisive racial and religious issues, these conservatives tried, and failed, to thwart the Department of Education project. Congressional testimony, the Carter administration’s internal documents, and newspaper editorials illustrate that the Department of Education battle foreshadowed the Reagan Revolution of 1980.

The Greens Of Falls Of Rough: A Kentucky Family Biography 1795-1965, Hugh Ridenour

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of writing about the Greens of Falls of Rough is to record the extraordinary lives of three generations of a prominent, but somewhat neglected, Kentucky family that contributed greatly to the history of the Commonwealth. This family’s activities parallel that history in social, economic and political aspects from the state’s inception to the 1960s.

In addition, this thesis should alleviate a pervasive misunderstanding regarding the identity of Willis Green, founder of the Greens of Falls of Rough. Mr. Green, a prominent Kentuckian in his own right, has been confused with another Kentuckian, a Willis Green of Danville. The …

President Reagan's Rhetorical War Against Nicaraugua, 1981-1987, Donald Morton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Reagan administration launched a two term campaign to win support for the Contra rebels fighting Nicaragua. The rhetorical war began in secrecy and ended in scandal. With Reagan's reputation as a "great communicator" and the priority he assigned to the Contra cause it seemed surprising to find virtually nothing on the topic in a search of the communication journals through mid 1992.

The central research question of this thesis is whether President Reagan used rhetorical strategies and similar depictions to other presidents in his prowar rhetoric against Nicaragua. A common theme of war rhetoric is the dehumanizing of the …

German Foreign Policy & Diplomacy 1890-1906, Lee Button

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

From 1871 to 1914, Germany experienced its first taste of world power and the failure of controlling and retaining that power. German power after 1871 had sought only a dominance of continental politics and a maintenance of a status quo in Europe favorable to Germany. Following 1890, however, the German course deviated to include a vision of world power. German foreign policy until 1890 was based on two things: hegemonic control of the heart of Europe and the force of will of one man, Otto von Bismarck. Yet despite relative control of the European situation and a cautious and able …

The Works Progress Administration In Daviess County, Kentucky, 1935-1943, Shelia Heflin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) aided 8.5 million people across the United States during its existence WPA projects in Daviess County, Kentucky, admirably served as an example of the way national laws and regulations filtered down and worked in a single county. The federal program touched the lives of a variety of Daviess Countians in a positive manner. Blue collar workers, white collar workers, women, slacks, and even people involved with the arts received jobs through this program. Local WPA projects illustrate the various jobs obtained by needy men and women from the relief rolls. The WPA aided these local …

The Public Career Of Maurice Hudson Thatcher, Randy Ream

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The public career of Maurice Hudson Thatcher was wedded to one of the most interesting epochs in Kentucky history and Kentucky politics. From 1895, with his election as county clerk of Butler County, to his defeat for the United States Senate in 1932, Maurice Thatcher was intimately involved in almost every statewide political campaign. He participated in the rise of the Republican party to a point where it was a definite force in state politics and won almost as many statewide races as it lost. He also participated in the party’s relegation to minority status with the advent of the …

The American Liberalism Of Eleanor Roosevelt, Janet Wolfe

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A biographical study of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt was undertaken to explore the various obstacles she was required to overcome as she grew to become an influential figure in the world of liberal politics. During the New Deal years her influence was most visible as she traveled across the country and relayed to her husband the concerns of the average man. As a delegate to the United Nations, after the death of her husband, Eleanor's devotion toward attaining a United Nations which would keep peace among all nations and her ability to carry out tasks in a patient and …

The 1938 Kentucky Senate Election: Alben Barkley, The New Deal & The Defeat Of Governor A.B. "Happy" Chandler, Walter Hixson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Analysis showed that the 1938 Kentucky State primary became the focal point of a national political struggle over the New Deal. The Kentucky campaign was the most significant of the mid-term elections which represented a major test of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's political strength. Senate Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley gave unwavering support to Roosevelt and the New Deal while his opponent, Kentucky Governor Albert B. Chandler, represented conservative Democrats who sought to wrest control of the party from Roosevelt. The clash of two powerful Kentucky politicians and the widespread use of federal and state patronage distinguished the campaign. Barkley's …

Thomas Jefferson And The West, Denise Baker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

From his childhood on the fringe of the Virginia frontier until his years of retirement at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson displayed a special interest in the vast expanse of land stretching westward. The land provided the ideal place for the expansion of Jefferson’s dream of an American empire for liberty. He viewed the continent as the home of an agrarian nation living under the principles of democracy.

Chapter one is introductory in nature, linking Jefferson’s ideals to his interest in the West. Chapter two concentrates on his early contributions to the West. Emphasis is placed on land speculation, the western land …

A Study Of The Political Activity Of Mexican University Students, Angela Rodriguez Fernandez

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

An overview of the political activity of Mexican university

students during the 1968 disturbances in Mexico was compared with data

taken from a 1964 attitudinal survey conducted by the International

Research Associates, Incorporated of university students from nine

Mexican universities in an attempt to find possible trends and attitudes

that could have predicted the 1968 and subsequent riots. The population

for the analysis came from three of the nine universities based on the

levels of activity shown during the 1968 riots ranging from most active

to least active. Three main variables; activism as of 1968, ideological

self-designation as of 1964 …

The Concept Of Tension In New England Puritanism, Edgar Porter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The New England Puritans who settled in Massachusetts in 1629 were the product of the Reformation as experienced in England. They struggled with Catholicism and Anglicanism for many years before deciding to move to New England. Moving as non-separating Congregationalists (not separating from the Anglican Church, yet rejecting episcopacy), they left the tensions of being Puritans, or radical Protestants, behind them only to find more tensions in their new holy state. When they settled New England they hoped to build a state that answered to God's call for the development of a new Israel. The saints were to interpret that …

Luke Pryor Blackburn: The Good Samaritan, Nancy Baird

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Luke Pryor Blackburn, Kentucky’s only physician governor, is one of the forgotten public health figures of the 19^th century. As health officer of Natchez in the 1850s he instituted the first effective quarantine used in the Mississippi Valley and became a strong advocate of its use as a preventive measure in the control of yellow fever. During his lifetime Blackburn also became well known for his unselfish aid to communities stricken with the disease.

In March 1878 announced his candidacy for governor of his native state. Local politicians scoffed at his chances for election, but his actions during the …

The Rhetoric Of Laura Clay: A Southern Argument For Woman Suffrage, Margaret Wesolowski

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study focused on the persuasive efforts of Laura Clay (1848-1941) as they represented a particularly southern argument for woman suffrage as opposed to the northern, or National American Woman Suffrage Association, suffrage argument. As a Kentuckian, she believed she understood southern attitudes on the three major issues she encountered during her thirty-two years as a suffragist.

The three issues were those of woman's traditional role, the race question, and state versus federal legislation. The arguments of Miss Clay concerning these issues were premised on justice and expediency, which formed the rationale of suffragist rhetoric.

Her arguments, tailored to southerners, …

The Growth Of Anti-British Attitudes In Kentucky Prior To War Of 1812, Edward Pippin Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the causes of belligerency in Kentucky in this period of diplomatic crisis, thus examining the second level of causation for the war as suggested by Brown's study. The test case used is Kentucky which was known as one of the states most anxious for war against Britain, both in Congress and in the state itself. However, this study will not attempt to interpret the role of the state's representatives in the Congress of the United States, since, if Brown is correct in his interpretation, the causes of public belligerency had little to …

White Attitudes Toward Racial Tolerance & The Perception Of Party Differences: 1956-1969, Paul Messick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine attitude change toward a particularly salient political and social issue "over time." A second purpose is the examination of the perception of party differences in their positions toward the aforementioned issues "over time."

Glover Cary: A Political Biography, Doris Brenner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The elements of contrast within the character of an individual and the heights of attainment in a lifetime of activities appear sometimes unexpectedly and serve to distinguish that person from the rest of mankind. Indeed, if personality, intelligence, physical attractiveness, and the love for political life were the only attributes of Kentucky Congressman Glover Cary, although they are unquestionably magnetic qualities, his life and works might deserve their repose from the critical observations of the historian. He, however, demonstrated an unusual concern for his constituents and a certain devotion to humanity, rare qualities if one applies the general connotative meaning …

The Constitutional Union Party In Kentucky, John Lawrence Kelly

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the period immediately preceding the Civil War, there arose a new political party, the Constitutional Union party. While nearly every other phase of the era around the Civil War has been covered exhaustively, comparatively, very little has been written about the Union movement and its attempt to prevent the war. What has been written about the Union party deals primarily with the movement at the national level. It is the goal of this author to present a history of the Union movement in Kentucky and the part played in the national party by Kentuckians.

The Effect Of Presidential Action On Popular Support Of Foreign Policy: The Case Of Vietnam, William Hines Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Explicitly stated the hypothesis that was tested was as follows: The relationship between Presidential action and an increase in public support for the President on matters of Vietnam policy is equal to zero.

Presidential action was viewed as any major development in Policy (whether it be military or political) toward the war. Furthermore, any major speech by the President or other high governmental official reaffirming the government's course of action was posited into the category of Presidential action. In order for the speech to be considered "major" it either had to have been broadcast over nationwide television or widely disseminated …

The Indonesian Army 1950-1958, James Bigelow

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

If a man could somehow snap a picture of the world today, a viewer one hundred years hence would certainly notice its many revolutionary characteristics. Perhaps the most important of these relates to the growth of non-Western nationalism and modernization, the "revolution of rising expectations," which has resulted in the formation of many new nations within the last twenty years, led by Western-trained intellectuals in many cases. These new leaders have been faced with the problem that their fellow countrymen do not necessarily share their beliefs in or understanding of nationalism.

The leaders, many of them young, have had to …

The Campaign Of 1932 And The New Deal Relief Program In Kentucky, Bill Weaver

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This work is an attempt to tell, and in some measure interpret, the story of the relief phase of the New Deal in Kentucky. In a work of this length, the writer encountered difficulty in giving justice to the various agencies in operation.

United States-Russian Relations, 1917-1933, Raymond L. Cravens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

“One should doff one’s cap to the statue of Jupiter, in case he returned to power.” – Lord Byron

Our task in this study is to determine whether the words of Lord Byron are true in the realm of International Power Politics. This is a study of the application of the principle of non-recognition – the refusal of acknowledgement – to Russo-American relations during the period from 1917 to 1933.

The year was 1917, and the Gladiator of Capitalism stood over the prostrate form of Russian Bolshevism and appealed for the decision of “life” or “death” to be meted out …

Amos Kendall In Kentucky, Kenneth Lam

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the writing of this thesis, I have endeavored chiefly to depict the character and public works of Amos Kendall in Kentucky. In so doing, it has been my purpose to give the reader some conception of the important political questions of the time and the relation of Kendall to them. His life was one of bitter controversies, of humiliating defeats followed by brilliant victories, and toward the end, one of peace vitalized by the promotion of worthwhile public institutions. His place in history, whether good or bad, has been little understood or appreciated; and it is my sincere desire …

Thomas Elliott Bramlette, Florence Edmonds

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Biography of Thomas Elliott Bramlette orator and statesman of Cumberland County, Kentucky.

Young Ewing Allison, Mary Shutt

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Probably no other period in American history has been more productive of romance, strife, bravery, aggressiveness, and conflicting ideas of thought than the period from 1850 to 1865.

One who was fortunate enough to be born in the early years of that period, would have been old enough by 1865 for those various experiences to have branded his future life. Young E. Allison was so fortunate. He was born in Henderson, Kentucky, on December 23, 1853 and was named after his father, who was county judge and county clerk.

Kentucky In The Election Of 1896, John Dickey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The story of the election of 1896 and the part played by Kentucky in that great conflict offers no parallel, so far as interest in a national election is concerned, in the annals of the political history of the state. Perhaps in no other nationwide campaign did both Kentucky's leaders and her citizenry as well take such an active and intensive part. State and national leaders were extolled on the one hand, and degraded on the other. Party principles were invoked to bear witness to the truth by one group, and condemned as the diabolical instruments of the money power …

Isaac Shelby: Pioneer, Soldier, Statesman, Mrs. W. E. Shirley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to find the hidden facts of a man who has done much to illuminate Kentucky's greatness and glory. Yet little but his name is known to the youth of the land. As death has fixed the seal of glory on his life, history should assign to him his rank. Much of the data in this sketch has been gathered from source material.

Trends Of Municipal Expenditures In Second Class Cities Of Kentucky From 1926 To 1933, Howard Taylor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The increase of city expenditures was noticeable for the past two decades. During the depression there arose a greater demand on the part of both tax payers and city officials for some information concerning the costs of city government, what was responsible for the increase, for what municipal funds were expended, and where the cost of city government was headed.

The question of how expenditures in certain departments compared with those of other departments was also a pertinent one. Education suffered an enormous reduction as compared to what had been spent from 1928 to 1932. There was a wide-spread belief …