History Commons^™

The Holocaust, Gulag, And Sociology: Why Is There Less Scholarly Interest In The Soviet Repressive System?, Rachel Schroeder

Honors Theses

The Soviet Gulag and the Holocaust are two formative events that claimed millions of victims in the twentieth century; however, the Gulag has received markedly less interest from scholars. Why does such a major discrepancy exist in the amount of attention that is focused on the Gulag as compared to the Holocaust? This paper offers a response to the above question. It explores the scale and dimensions of the discrepancy through a comparative analysis of a Gulag bibliography and a Holocaust bibliography. The paper also offers a response to the question of why the discrepancy exists by inquiring into the …

"I Have Lived Long And Variously In The World": The Politics And Rhetoric Of Edmund Burke, Amy M. Sandidge

Honors Theses

In the words of Woodrow Wilson, the works of Edmund Burke are "stamped in the colors of his extraordinary imagination. The movement takes your breath and quickens your pulses. The glow and power of the matter rejuvenates your faculties." One cannot help but react viscerally to Burke; the brilliant, blustering Irishman demands attention and response. Some regard him as "the first and most important exponent" of the "theoretical reaction against. .. the tenets of liberalism ... [which] came to be called conservatism." Coleridge called him "a great man;" Victorian liberals even considered him a fellow utilitarian and "the greatest thinker …

Pibun Songkram's Role In Thailand's Entry Into The Pacific War, Lukasz Staniczek

Honors Theses

On January 25, 1942, Thailand followed the Japanese example and declared war on the United States and Great Britain. The reasons for Thailand's entry into the war remain controversial. The extent and timing of Japanese pressure and the genesis of the Thai commitment to the Axis side are in dispute. There is not a generally accepted view on why Thailand declared war; however, the issue has been thus far analyzed principally in consideration of Thai national interest. This paper provides a different approach by focusing on the main decision-maker: Thai Prime Minister Pibun Songkram, as the key to solve the …

The Paths To Democracy In The Czech Republic, Allison Allred

Honors Theses

All of Europe strains for unity, yet Czechoslovakia willingly and peacefully divided itself into two nations on January 1, 1993. Czech Republic and Slovakia share many common interests and a powerful kinship that promotes alliance even under separate flags. The following quote demonstrates the unique history of Czechoslovakia from the perspective of an 80 year-old Czech citizen:

"Look, I was born in Austro-Hungary. I grew up in Czechoslovakia, suffered from Germans, spent 50 years in a colony of Russia--without ever leaving Prague! Now, we're Czechs again, like we've been for a thousand years. What's so bad about that?"

In sociological, …

Voting Rights, Reapportionment, And Majority-Minority Districts, Christy Tosh

Honors Theses

The challenge is to navigate the untrodden area of reapportionment, in particular majority-minority districts. The Supreme Court has ruled in various reapportionment cases, yet these cases continue to plague the dockets of the United States Supreme Court. The focus of research is to evaluate the new phenomenon of majority-minority districts as it has progressed through constitutional amendments, civil and voting rights acts, and Supreme Court cases, all of which culminate in the 1992 elections. The 1990 Census and reapportionment were the birth of majority-minority districts. In creating these districts, one must look at the most effective percentage breakdowns in each …

The Governorship Of Bob Riley, Brian Stanford Miller

Honors Theses

Without a backward glance Bob Riley, his wife, Claudia, and their daughter, Megan negotiated the Capitol stairway to the bottom floor, while above them in the House chamber legislators waited for the arrival of the 39th governor of Arkansas. At the bottom of the steps Vaughn Webb, an aide in the Secretary of State's office, presented Riley with an Arkansas state flag that had flown that morning of January 14, 1975, while several admirers applauded from the second floor railing above. Riley then left for Arkadelphia, where he would resume his role as head of the Political Science department at …

Iran; Nicaragua; Cuba; An Analysis Of Revolutions, Neil Moynihan

Honors Theses

Can these revolutions be explained by the withdrawal of the United States? It seems not. Can all three revolutions fit under any one theory of revolution? The answer here will probably also be: no; each theory, however, gives valuable hints about what aspects of each revolution one should analyze.

The Quest For Woman Suffrage In Arkansas, Michele Roussel

Honors Theses

The struggle for woman suffrage in Arkansas and the entire United States did not end until the twentieth century. It was a long and difficult process but in 1917 with the passage of the Arkansas Primary Suffrage Bill, Arkansas women were allowed to vote in primaries. Then, in 1920 they were given full suffrage rights through the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. In order for these events to occur, women's traditional role had to change in Arkansas and the nation, and it had to be accepted by both men and women. The traditional view of women given by Anne Scott …

The Effects Of The Bolshevic Revolution Of Four Russian Composers, Philip Wayne Hardin

Honors Theses

The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 was the culmination of over fifty years of political and social unrest. For millions of Russian peasants it represented a welcome and just end to an unresponsive, autocratic government. The communism being preached by the Bolsheviks promised economic improvements for these oppressed masses, and they needed and wanted such improvements.

But in the minds of the intellectual classes of Russia, the teachers, scholars and artists, the Revolution created a fear. A fear that in place of an unpredictable, stifling autocracy, a government would develop that would completely control even the creative activity of Russian life. …

The U.S. Policy In Vietnam, As It Relates To The Geneva And S.E.A.T.O. Agreements, Bobby Shepherd

Honors Theses

Few chapters in American history have been filled with more importance and had more impact upon this nation politically, socially and morally than has the era of active involvement in the land war in Vietnam, during the mid 1960's. The war has taken almost 50,000 American lives, has contributed directly to the political end of one American President and had plunged the United States into an ordeal of examination and internal turmoil rarely seen in U.S. history.

As great as the impact of this war has been, it is remarkable that little is recalled by American citizens or acknowledged by …

Senator William E. Borah's Dry Campaign : Its Effect On The Presidential Election Of 1928, Emily White Zehmer

Honors Theses

Like many of its predecessors, the campaign for the Presidency of the United States in 1928 began months before candidates were nominated and ballots were cast. The Republican Party found itself without a candidate when President Coolidge announced late in the summer of 1927 that he would not seek re-election in the following year. There was a slight scramble within Republican ranks for the nomination. Among those considered were Senator Charles G. Curtis of Kansas, majority floor leader, who subsequently was elected Vice-President; Senator William E. Borah, the Idaho Progressive whose role in the campaign is explored herein; Dr. Nicholas …

The Truman Election: Was 1968 A Repeat?, Cloene Biggs

Honors Theses

As election day in 1948 drew nearer, political pollsters, pros and amateurs united in predicting victory for Thomas E. Dewey. Only underdog candidate President Truman and, as it turned out, the American electorate disagreed with this consensus.

At the end of 1947 Truman was considered certain for renomination by his party, and the Gallup Poll showed that he would easily defeat either of the two leading Republicans--Governor Dewey and Senator Taft. A get-tough policy with Russia had pushed up his popularity--the Marshall Plan, his advocacy of government action to curb high prices, his confrontation with labor leader John L. Lewis …

Revolutionary Development In The Republic Of Viet Nam, James N. Davis

Honors Theses

The scope of this study is three-fold. It attempts mainly to explore United States involvement in the Republic of Viet Nam from the perspectives of the history, the aims and the effectiveness of the pacification program.

The rationale for the use of such a method as pacification in the rural areas of the Viet Name may be traced back at least as far as the beginning of Western colonial interests there. Saigon submitted to colonial rule by France in 1885.

Public Life Of Peyton Randolph, Sidney Barney

Honors Theses

Randolph was a man well read in law, and a person whose opinions were often asked and highly esteemed. He was a very large and inert man and this fact caused him to get less business than he could have ordinarily obtained. Randolph was well read and up to date on all political affairs. While in office, he endeavored to carry out the duties to the best of his abilities, and his work was rarely criticized. A good example of his work and philosophy can be found in the Fredericksburg Resolutions of 1775, in which he laid down the principles …