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Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in History

A Small City's Big Scandal: Municipal Corruption, Progressive Reform, And The Grand Rapids, Michigan Water Scandal, 1900-1906, Brian F. Sarnacki Jul 2011

A Small City's Big Scandal: Municipal Corruption, Progressive Reform, And The Grand Rapids, Michigan Water Scandal, 1900-1906, Brian F. Sarnacki

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At the turn of century the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan began debating plans for expanding its water supply. These debates quickly spawned corrupt dealings, which in turn produced the city’s water scandal. The city’s first genuine scandal, the water scandal marks a turning point in the city’s history. The fact that the rather ordinary bribery scheme became a scandalous event reveals the city had adopted enough of the Progressive ethos to punish corruption. The water scandal stands as the tipping point of municipal politics in Grand Rapids between Gilded Age politics rooted in personal connections and Progressive politics centered …


"We Are No Grumblers": Negotiating State And Federal Military Service In The Pennsylvania Reserve Division, Timothy J. Orr Jan 2011

"We Are No Grumblers": Negotiating State And Federal Military Service In The Pennsylvania Reserve Division, Timothy J. Orr

History Faculty Publications

The article discusses the status of state and federal military officers from Pennsylvania during the U.S. Civil War. It examines the alleged confusion as to the expiration of contracts for soldiers and sailors in the Pennsylvania Reserve Division who had enlisted in 1861. According to the article, the problems arose from organizational difficulties as the mobilization of the Union army fluctuated following the 1861 call to volunteer service from state governors. The article states that following that call, soldiers were transferred from state service into federal service. According to the article, the organizational dilemma caused discord among the Pennsylvania Reserve …


Trauma And The Limits Of Redemptive Critique, Richard R. Weiner, Karl P. Benziger Jan 2011

Trauma And The Limits Of Redemptive Critique, Richard R. Weiner, Karl P. Benziger

Faculty Publications

The authors continue to test the limits of Emile Durkheim/Maurice Halbwachs approach to collective identity in the experiences of trauma, shame, and yearning related to the ill-fated Hungarian Revolution. In a more poststructuralist vein the authors move from a focus on piacular subjectivity to one of baroque subjectivity, especially in understanding the October 2006 fiftieth anniversary commemorations of the Revolution in Budapest. Specifically, what indexical undercurrents of disposition persist and can not be ignored in attempts at redemptive critique, as well as in colonized nostalgia and the re-enactment of pathos. To what extent do the commemorations of the 1956 Revolution …


The Many Shades Of Praise: Politics And Panegyrics In Fifteenth-Century Florentine Diplomacy, Brian Maxson Jan 2011

The Many Shades Of Praise: Politics And Panegyrics In Fifteenth-Century Florentine Diplomacy, Brian Maxson

ETSU Faculty Works

Fifteenth-century diplomatic protocol required the city of Florence to send diplomats to congratulate both new and militarily victorious rulers. Diplomats on such missions poured praise on their triumphant allies and new rulers at friendly locations. However, political realities also meant that these diplomats would sometimes have to praise rulers whose accession or victory opposed Florentine interests. Moreover, different allies and enemies required different levels of praise. Jealous rulers compared the gifts, status, and oratory that they received from Florence to the Florentine entourages sent to their neighbors. Sending diplomats with too little or too much social status and eloquence could …