History Commons^™

The Sharper Image: Bringing Irish Nationalist Identity Into Focus, 1880-1923, Meghan M. Ferriter

History Theses & Dissertations

From 1880 to 1923, Irish nationalists created and sustained an independent cultural identity shaped by external and internal forces. British political cartoons reveal key external cultural perceptions of the Irish, while Irish nationalist writings endorse internal concepts of character and project political aims. Irish nationalists present an uninterrupted internal identity in pursuit of autonomy. Images published in Punch, or the London Charivari, provide external factors of identity that evolve from exaggerated threat to trivial concern while the nationalist political demands they represent escalate.

Identity is the product of complex interaction and compromise between external and internal definitions. Individuals …

Visualizing Complexity : A Spatial Analysis Of Decorative Geometric Pattern In The Islamic World, 900-1400 Ad, Tracy Elizabeth Harrison

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores how the use of complex decorative geometric patterns in Islamic architecture spatially relates to advances in the fields of science and philosophy in the Islamic world between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. This project examines hypotheses developed by vario~s scholars on the forces that shaped the use of these patterns (known as the geometric mode) in Islamic architecture. The prevailing assumption that advances in mathematics contributed to the use of the geometric mode is used as a starting point for subsequent analysis.

For this study, two spatial databases were created. One contains over two hundred and twenty …

Grand Strategy Analysis: A Proto-Theoretical Approach, Patrick Magee

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

International relations scholarship begins and ends with assumptions—about human nature; about human interaction; about starting points, relative information, and outcomes. Such assumptions are necessary to further the intellectual coherence and development of scholarly work. However, they restrict the applicability of scholarly research to those situations that parallel the work's underlying assumptions.

This work argues the body of international relations scholarship as a whole would benefit from the development of a pre-theory state, absent any assumptions about international relations, from which observers can identify those works of scholarship that are most effective in explaining perceptive states and the strategic decisions taken …

"Make It Real": A Guide To Implementing And Connecting State Madated Classroom-Based Assessments With The National History Day Curriculum At The Middle School Level, Richard Reuther

All Graduate Projects

This manuscript is intended to provide a framework for teachers to use the National History Day curriculum as a qualifying classroom-based assessment which will be required for all Washington State gth Grade Social Studies classes in 2008. A review of the literature of National History Day as well as classroom-based assessments is included. A plan for a preliminary assessment of available resources is explored, as well as a sequential topic-bytopic plan for implementing National History Day. Possible variations of student-centered activities are included; student roles in the research process and self-assessment are discussed. Alignment with Washington State Essential Academic Learning …

Roosevelt’S Monetary Policy, Steven Napier

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This qualitative analysis of the monetary policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration covers his entire presidency. Through scholarly research based on arguments presented in major scholarly publications, great questions are raised as to the primary causes of the economic successes of the Roosevelt administration. Some of the most conservative and reputable scholars in history, while disagreeing with most of the measures taken by Roosevelt to regulate the economy, agree that the goals by the administration to raise the prices of basic commodities was generally achieved. The thesis demonstrates that almost all of FDR’s economic successes were the direct …

The Samuel Smith Land Grants: A Historical Study Of Land Ownership And Use In Southern West Virginia, Stephen M. Porter

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study intends to illustrate the history of several tracts of land granted to General Samuel Smith, of Baltimore, Maryland by the state of Virginia in the years 1796 and 1797 containing, in totality, 300,000 acres (more or less). This research attempts to untangle some of the tangled web of ownership (both surface and mineral) that has affected this tract in particular and reflects the general trend of corporate land ownership in southern West Virginia.

Fostering Pride And Badges Of Oppression: A Contextual Study Of British Military Buttons From Paget Fort, Bermuda, 1778-1820, Paul M. Nasca

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Predator Management And Colonial Culture, 1600-1741: A Study In Historical Ecology, Samuel Taylor Elswick

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The New Orleans Free People Of Color And The Process Of Americanization, 1803-1896, Camille Kempf Gourdet

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Continuity And Change In A Southern Community: Commercial And Occupational Development In Mid-Nineteenth Century Orange County, North Carolina, Andrew Hunter Heffner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

"More Than Shelter": Community, Identity, And Spatial Politics In San Francisco Public Housing, 1938--2000, Amy L. Howard

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

During the second half of the twentieth century, scholars and journalists documented the failures of the public housing program in the United States with a range of studies focusing on the Midwest and East. Problems such as displacement, criminal activity, high vacancy rates, racial segregation, and the isolation of tenants informed critiques of federally-subsidized housing for low-income families. These aspects contributed to the national image of "the projects" as high-rise ghettos, populated primarily by African Americans, and located in run-down areas. Public housing with its position at the crossroads of national, state, and local politics and policies as well as …

King Bacca's Throne: Land, Life, And Labor In The Old Bright Belt Since 1880, Evan Patrick Bennett

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In the late nineteenth century, bright tobacco came to dominate the agricultural production of the Virginia-North Carolina Piedmont. as the cultivation of bright tobacco spread, it created a new economy and social order centered on small, family-operated farms. For over a century, tobacco remained at the center of the region's economic and social order, even as numerous economic, technological and cultural forces reshaped the realities of tobacco agriculture. This dissertation explores the effects of these forces on the lives of the region's farm families. While many historian's have described tobacco farm life in terms of inexorable decline, this work takes …

Ticket Splitting In Arkansas Elections, Chase Carmichael

Honors Theses

The Republican Party is sweeping the South, or is it? Throughout the Old South Republicans have been making gains in an area that has traditionally been a bastion of Democratic strength in American politics. While Arkansas may appear to be following this trend, in reality GOP gains in the Natural State may be only superficial. Despite strong showings by Republican candidates for higher offices in Arkansas, a GOP contender has yet to win a statewide office past the Lieutenant Governor's race.

This research paper examines "ticket splitting" in Arkansas elections. Ticket splitting is the practice of voting for candidates of …

"We Want Smokestacks And Not Swamps" : Filling In Portland's Guild's Lake, 1906-1925, Kathleen D. Tucker

Dissertations and Theses

Between 1905 and 1926. developers. real estate speculators, and the Port of -Portland filled in Guild's Lake, a riparian marsh that had been the location for Portland's 1905 Lewis and Clark.: Exposition and Oriental Fair. There were two phases in the filling process. The first phase, which began before the fair ended and lasted until 1914, involved developers using high-pressured hydraulic hoses to sluice soil from nearby hills into the lake. Their primary goal was to terrace the hillside to create a high-end view neighborhood; Guild's Lake was a convenient "dump" for the gravel and dirt. During the second phase. …

The Historical Geography Of Good Thunder, Minnesota, 1870-2005, Robert L. Bothmann

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Good Thunder is a small village in south central Minnesota on the Maple River. Founded in 1870, it is named for two prominent Indian leaders, one a Winnebago chief who lived at the site, and the other a Dakota who was active in the conflict of 1862. It began as an agricultural commerce center when the railroad arrived in Minnesota. The purpose of the study is to consider the transformation of the village, focusing upon the origins and significance of its physical and cultural features in the context of historical geography. The changing historical events and geographical features of the …

Islam "Saint-Ified": A Description Of Islamic Saint-Worship Practiced By Middle Atlas Berbers, Alaina Cates

Honors Theses

Man has ever invaded, pushing aside previous owners to claim possession. Thus history tells us: of nations conquered, peoples displaced, and foreigners that become inhabitants, who will in tum be conquered, displaced, and replaced. In this telling of history, however, a position exists for those whose story knows no previous inhabitants. These people are called indigenous. The shore of North Africa is a vast land that has known countless invasions and times of foreign rule. It has also known the continuation of a single people group, indigenous to its soil for as long as history can recall. These people are …

Who Was Buried In James Madison's Grave?: A Study In Contextual Analysis, Charles Thomas Chapman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to receive exposure in national periodicals. This thesis will explore that image from 1982 to 1990. During those years, the church continued to grow in membership and expand its existing programs.

National periodicals can assist in assessing the public image of the Church because they help "mould public attitudes by presenting facts and views on issues in exactly the same way at the same time throughout the entire country." In this manner, they help to form the public opinion about the Church. They also reflect existing opinions because magazine publishers …

"Down Where The South Begins": Virginia Radio And The Conversation Of Nationhood, Caroline Chandler Morris

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Subconscious Influences: The Leopold-Loeb Case And The Development Of An American Criminal Archetype, John Carl Fiorini

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

A Diabolical Disneyland In Zion: The Mormons And The Mx, Jacob W. Olmstead

Theses and Dissertations

In September 1979 President Jimmy Carter publicly announced his decision to support the deployment of the MX missile and mobile basing scheme in Utah and Nevada. Despite local opposition and the close proximity of the proposed base to its headquarters, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) remained silent until 5 May 1981, when the First Presidency issued a statement opposing the MX plans. The purpose of this work is to narrate the history of the development of the Mormon position regarding the deployment of MX missile in the Great Basin and evaluate the response to the statement …