History Commons^™

From Confederate Deserter To Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring The Enigmatic Life Of C.I. Scofield 1861-1921., D. Jean Rushing

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyrus Ingerson Scofield portrayed himself as a decorated Confederate veteran, a successful lawyer, and a Bible scholar who was providentially destined to edit his 1909 dispensational opus, The Scofield Reference Bible. This thesis offers a multilayered image of Dr. Scofield's life by considering political and regional influences, racial and gender attitudes, and religious views he encountered between 1861 and 1921. This study includes an examination of his participation in the American Civil War including his desertion of the South in 1862. After becoming a Union loyalist, Scofield excelled as a lawyer and Republican politician before corruption rumors radically altered …

Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be: America Attempts To Collect Its War Debts 1922-1934., James Chambers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During and immediately after World War I the United States lent over $10 billion to various countries to sustain their war efforts and to provide post-war relief. The United States's insistence that these loans be repaid led to sharp disagreements with its erstwhile allies as to the nature of these loans and whether they should actually be repaid.

This thesis examines the processes, and the policies upon which those processes were based, by which the United States attempted to compel the debtor nations to begin repaying their loans.

The central theme of the thesis was developed largely from primary sources, …

On The Imperishable Face Of Granite: Civil War Monuments And The Evolution Of Historical Memory In East Tennessee 1878-1931., Kelli Brooke Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After the Civil War individuals throughout the country erected monuments dedicated to the soldiers and events of the conflict. In East Tennessee these memorials allowed some citizens to promote their ideas by invoking both Union and Confederate Civil War sympathies. Initially, East Tennesseans endorsed the creation of a Unionist image to advertise the region's potential for industrialization. By 1910 this depiction waned as local and northern whites joined to promote reconciliation and Confederate sympathizers met less opposition to their ideas than in the past. After 1919 white East Tennesseans, enmeshed in the boom and bust cycles of the national economy, …

An International Reformer: Jessie Ackermann And American Progressivism., Michael Jonathan Sheffield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Jessie Ackermann traveled throughout the world representing numerous American reformist organizations during the Progressive Era. Over the course of her lifetime, she promoted progressive reforms in foreign lands. This study examines Ackermann's career a progressive in an international context. The Jessie Ackermann Collection in the Archives of Appalachia holds various records that document Ackermann's career. Ackermann also authored three books during her lifetime. This thesis employs these primary materials along with other appropriate primary and secondary sources dealing with Ackermann and the Progressive Era. Several historical studies have surveyed Ackermann's work as a reformer; however, none have sought exclusively to …

Wired For Business: The Roebling Story., Kelley Marie Hatch-Draper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

John Augustus Roebling, a classically educated civil engineer and young Hegelian, immigrated to America in 1831 in search of freedom from a repressive political system that afforded him no opportunity for advancement. Arriving in the midst of the American market revolution, his dream of establishing an agrarian farming colony changed in response to societal transformations resulting from mechanization and the rise of industry. Within forty years, Roebling achieved fame as a canal engineer and bridge designer while establishing the American wire rope industry. Without Roebling's innovation in wire-rope, modern suspension bridges, high-rise elevators, construction cranes, and cable cars would not …

The Crucible Of Texas Politics: An Analysis Of The United States Senatorial Primaries Of 1941 And 1948., Ginger Mcgoldrick Spradlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lyndon Johnson's opponents used the outcome of his 1948 senatorial bid to demonstrate his dishonesty. This win by eighty-seven disputed votes gave him the derogatory title, "Landslide Lyndon." Johnson's initial senate campaigns in 1941 and 1948 are examined for Texas Politics as usual.

Upon Senator Sheppard's death in 1937, a special election precipitated with Martin Dies, Gerald Mann, Lyndon Johnson, and W. Lee O'Daniel as the candidates. Although this election has not received the notoriety of 1948, it exemplifies Texas Politics as usual where thousands of manipulated votes resulted in O'Daniel's late victory.

Johnson's next race for the senate came …

A Tumultuous Tenure: The Presidency Of Lyndon Baines Johnson., Michael Paul Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a work that focuses on how significant the press was to the success and failure of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In the thesis, three aspects of the Johnson years are analyzed. The first chapter discusses the media's portrayal of Lyndon Johnson during the presidential campaign of 1964. The second chapter is an analysis of how the press reported on President Johnson concerning the issue of civil rights. The third chapter dissects the media's perception of Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam conflict. The primary research used in the thesis is a culmination of polls, editorials, personal letters, and …

A Comparative Study Of America's Entries Into World War I And World War Ii., Samantha Alisha Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies events that preceded America's entries into the First and Second World Wars to discover similarities and dissimilarities. Comparing America's entries into the World Wars provides an insight into major events that influenced future ones and changed America.

Research was conducted from primary sources of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In addition, secondary sources were used that study the events preceding America's entries into World War I and World War II. Research was also conducted on public opinion.

In World War I, German actions angered Wilson and segments of the American public, persuading Wilson to ask …

The Power Behind The Constitution: The Supreme Court., Sallie Raye Trudden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The framers of the Constitution designed a document to be the "Supreme Law of the Land" and within its pages a branch of government, a federal judiciary, never before envisioned. The Constitution, along with the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789, set the framework for building the strongest branch of government, the Supreme Court. Historical events and court decisions with few exceptions strengthened the power of the judiciary contributing to its authority. The Supreme Court Justices, by interpreting the Constitution and judging the legality of laws instituted by both state and federal legislatures, solidified its superior position in the government hierarchy. …

Internal Dissent: East Tennessee's Civil War, 1849-1865., Meredith Anne Grant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

East Tennessee, though historically regarded as a Unionist monolith, was politically and ideologically divided during the Civil War. The entrance of the East Tennessee and Virginia and East Tennessee and Georgia railroads connected the economically isolated region to Virginia and the deep South. This trade network created a southern subculture within East Tennessee. These divisions had deepened and resulted by the Civil War in guerilla warfare throughout the region. East Tennessee's response to the sectional crisis and the Civil War was varied within the region itself. Analyzing railroad records, manuscript collections, census data, and period newspapers demonstrates that three subdivisions …

Faith In Action: The First Citizenship School On Johns Island, South Carolina., Amanda Shrader Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the first Citizenship School, its location, participants, and success. Johns Islanders, Esau Jenkins, Septima Clark, Myles Horton, Bernice Robinson, and the Highlander Folk School all collaborated to create this school. Why and how this success was reached is the main scope of this manuscript. Emphasis is also placed on the school's impact upon the modern Civil Rights Movement. Primary sources such as personal accounts, manuscripts, and archive collections were examined. Secondary sources were also researched for this manuscript. The conclusion reached from these sources is that faith was the driving force behind the success of the Citizenship …

Radical Religious Rebels: The Rise And Fall Of Jerry Falwell And The Moral Majority., Andrew Francis Bell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I intend to illustrate the impact that Jerry Falwell had upon the rise of religious fundamentalism within the United States during the latter part of the 20th century. By elucidating the various factors that led Jerry Falwell from a little-known minister from Lynchburg, Virginia to becoming the figurehead of the movement known as the Religious Right, I wish to show how one of more controversial figures in both the religious and political spheres of contemporary American history became one of the more influential and infamous men of recent times. By focusing on the predecessors of Jerry Falwell …

The American Expeditionary Forces In World War I: The Rock Of The Marne., Stephen L. Coode

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American participation in the First World War developed slowly throughout 1917 to a mighty torrent during the last six months of the war. United States participation undoubtedly helped not only repel but to stop all German assaults on the Western Front: it had substantially aided in defeating Imperial Germany.

Through primary and secondary sources a timeline, as well as a few of the more significant events, has been established following the United States' involvement in the war. Special attention has been focused on the United States Third Infantry Division and its part in the July 15- 17, 1918 Second Battle …

Pearl Harbor And 9/11: A Comparison., Chad L. Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pearl Harbor and 9/11 have been compared together since the 9/11 attacks. This thesis analyzes the two from the viewpoints of the politicians, the media, and finally the effects on culture. Sources were gathered from newspapers, books, journal articles, government resources, and internet web sites. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are similar on the surface, but upon looking into further circumstances, dissimilarities are found between the two events. With sixty years between the two events the outcome and delayed reactions are different, but the initial response is similar.

Lost Cove, North Carolina: The Life And Death Of A Thriving Community (1864-1957)., Christy A. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the history and events that shaped the people and community of Lost Cove, an isolated Appalachian settlement. Chapter 1 surveys previous written and oral accounts of Lost Cove and the physical/cultural attributes of the community. Chapter 2 explores Lost Cove's identity, name, and first settlers. Chapter 3 explores the community's buildings and the families' livelihood. Chapter 4 examines the effect that the CC & O Railway and the sawmills had on the community. Chapter 5 examines moonshine selling in Lost Cove. Chapter 6 reveals how the church and school acted as a gathering place and how sermons …

The Carter Mansion Revisited., Jenny L. Kilgore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Historic John and Landon Carter Mansion, a satellite property of Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton, Tennessee, is one of Tennessee's earliest historic homes.

Because the house is not open year-round, the state park service has expressed a need for an interpretive kiosk to stand on the property and provide visitors with information on the Carter Mansion. This project represents an effort to summarize existing knowledge on the house, to address common misconceptions, and to create an interpretive kiosk design based on historical research.

Chaos In Clinton., Heather Flood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The integration of Clinton High School, located in Clinton, Tennessee captivated the nation in the fall of 1956. This paper depicts the events that occurred during that period. Also included are the events that occurred prior to the desegregation of the high school, the understanding of which is necessary to fully appreciate the events that unfolded in Clinton.

"Reclaiming The Child": Mountain Mission School As A Successful Appalachian Home Mission., Rachel Rebecca Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mountain Mission School of Grundy, Virginia, founded by Samuel Robinson Hurley in 1921, is an anomaly of the mission school era of 1880 to 1940. Unlike other mission schools, Mountain Mission School was independent from its inception and was founded by a self-taught, self-made millionaire from southwest Virginia. The school's purpose to "reclaim" the child from material and spiritual poverty lay in Hurley's desire to develop a child's mind, body, and soul through a Christian, industrial education. Through personal commitment to the school and tireless fund-raising efforts for the school, he inspired others to continue the mission he began. Primary …

Claudius Greer Clemmer, Doctor Of Humane Letters January 4, 1911-November 20, 2005., Sheila Breen Agen Pedersen Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While there are facts that are known about Claudius Greer Clemmer, there is much that is not known. By most accounts, he was a generous man who grew up during some of the hardest years of the Great Depression, worked to get an education, and had a successful teaching career. Clemmer worked diligently to do what he could to support himself and his family, working at two jobs. When his career track changed from teaching to business, in 1946, he experienced success in business and investments, sharing that wealth with East Tennessee State University and others. The intent of this …

The Cracks In The Golden Door: An Analysis Of The Immigration Policy Of The United States Of America, 1882-1952., Brian David Fouche

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since its founding, the economic opportunities and quality of life present in the United States of America have drawn millions of people across the oceans to seek out a better existence for themselves. America's Founding Fathers believed that the country needed as large a population as possible to become a strong nation. The capitalistic economy of the new nation caused immigration to become critically important in the expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure. Once the growth of the nation's population began to exceed that of the economy's needs, the federal government attempted to limit further immigration. The government focused on restricting …

Gouverneur Morris And The Foreign Service: Influence On Issuance Of The Proclamation Of Neutrality Of 1793., Andrew Nicodemus Adler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gouverneur Morris had an influence on the foreign policy of the Washington administration. This thesis will be focusing Morris' career as foreign minister to France. Morris served as the American minister to France during the French Revolution and reported to the Washington Administration on the events that transpired during that event. This thesis intends to show what impact Gouverneur Morris had in keeping the Washington administration neutral during this tumultuous time from his own point of view and various others with whom he corresponded with during his time as minister, most notably, George Washington.

Morris' private diaries and letters will …

Unanimous Voice, Unanimous Symbol: George Washington During The Revolutionary War., Matthew Joseph Hitechew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

George Washington's role in the American Revolution has not been lost in the mists of time, but most modern Americans have lost touch with his actual character and style because of the immense cultural changes that have transpired since the eighteenth century. However, by examining the duties of Washington throughout the Revolutionary War from four different perspectives a more holistic interpretation of Washington during America's fight for independence may be gained. This study examines the relationships Washington had with Congress as well as with his fellow officers and troops. Particular attention is paid to the manner in which Washington led …

Letters From The Communications Zone: Lt. Edwin Best In The Second World War., Jeremy Eugene Cobb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The subject of this paper is the experiences and observations of Lt. Edwin Best of the 618th Ordnance Ammunition Company from 1943 until 1946. This includes time in the United States, England and France.

The primary sources for this paper include letters home from Lt. Best and an oral history transcript. Secondary sources have been used to place Lt. Best into the overall context of the war.

He made keen observations regarding the level of training before D-Day, comparisons of life in England and the US, from the "communications zone" in Normandy, as a temporary Judge Advocate General officer, and …

American Reeducation Of German Pows, 1943-1946., Pamela Croley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States held almost 500,000 enemy combatants within her borders during World War II. Out of those 500,000 men, 380,000 were from Nazi Germany. Nazi POWs were confined to camps built near small rural towns in almost every state. It was not something that was well known to the American public. Even less known was the American Military's effort, through reeducation, to introduce Hitler's soldiers to a new political ideology-democracy. This thesis will explore how the reeducation program was formed; examine the people, both German and American, who participated in it, and make a determination on whether or not …

Separation Of Church And State: A Diffusion Of Reason And Religion., Patricia Annettee Greenlee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of America's religious liberty was birthed by a separate church and state. As America strides into the twenty first century the origin of separation of church and state continues to be a heated topic of debate. Conservatives argue that America's version of separation of church and state was birthed by principles of Christian liberty. Liberals reject this idea maintaining that the evolution of a separate church and state in America was based on enlightened thinking that demanded rational men should have religious liberty. The best way to achieve this was by erecting a wall of separation between church …

The Life And Public Career Of Robert F. Kennedy., Daryl Anthony Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There have been many notable politicians in the United States during the twentieth century. Some, like Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, were known for their swagger and appeal to the common man. Others, like Bill Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt, were known for their charisma and intelligence. However, one in particular was known for caring, compassion, strength, and determination. Robert Francis Kennedy lived in interesting times, surrounded by large egos and near mythical figures. But Kennedy was arguably one of the most important figures of the last fifty years. The ideas and ideals that he espoused still resonate nearly forty years …