History Commons^™

Did Custer Disobey?, Samuel W. Calhoun

Samuel W. Calhoun

Of the many controversies surrounding the life and death of George Armstrong Custer, none has been more enduring than whether he disobeyed orders given him three days before the Battle of Little Big Horn. Some have argued that Custer willfully disregarded Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry's written instructions concerning his approach to the Little Big Horn Valley; others have said that the order gave Custer sufficient discretion to justify his actions. Evan S. Connell, in his best-seller about Custer, Son of the Morning Star, writes that "[i]t is a matter of interpretation...[i]t depends, like the blind men describing an elephant, on …

From Back Of The Yards To The College Classroom, Dominic Pacyga, David Gerber, Alan Kraut

Dominic Pacyga

No abstract provided.

"The Real Ida May: A Fugitive Tale In The Archives", Mary Niall Mitchell

Mary Niall Mitchell

No abstract provided.

They Could Really Play The Game: Reloaded, Bernard Mccoy

Bernard R. McCoy

McCoy directed, researched, produced, wrote and narrated the updated one-hour documentary.

The documentary is about a 1950’s basketball team whose star player and fiery coach captured America’s imagination, helped restore college basketball’s tarnished reputation, and saved their struggling college from financial ruin. Collaborated with editor Chris Hedrick and videographer Bruce Mitchell. Production support: WOSU Public Media.

The Curse Of Lagniappe: Stamping Out A Quaint Custom Of Extortion, Michael Mizell-Nelson

Michael Mizell-Nelson

No abstract provided.

Siting The Legal History Of Poverty: Below, Above, And Amidst, Karen Tani, Felicia Kornbluh

Karen M Tani

No abstract provided.

Black Jack: The John J. Pershing Story, Bernard Mccoy

Bernard R. McCoy

I am currently in the research and fundraising stage of producing a documentary on WWI General John J. Pershing.

Many Americans know little of Pershing’s important contributions to mankind. Pershing’s story is one of overcoming great adversity through perseverance, discipline and tolerance.

We believe Pershing’s story serves Nebraska and America because it informs, educates and inspires people of every age.

Click on the link below to see a screener of the documentary.

Inventing The Egghead: The Battle Over Brainpower In American Culture, Aaron Lecklider

Aaron S. Lecklider

Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the United States represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening. In Inventing the Egghead, cultural historian Aaron Lecklider offers a sharp, entertaining narrative of these sources to reveal how Americans who were not part of the traditional intellectual class negotiated the complicated politics of intelligence within an accelerating mass culture. Central to the book is the concept of brainpower—a term used by Lecklider to capture the ways in which journalists, writers, artists, and others invoked intelligence to embolden the majority of Americans who did not have access …

“Hearts, Minds, And Herbicides: The Politics Of The Chemical War In Vietnam”, Edwin Martini

Edwin A. Martini

In the early years of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the Departments of State and Defense battled over the decision to use chemical herbicides to defoliate the landscape and destroy enemy access crops. While the Pentagon won the initial battle, allowing herbicidal warfare to proceed, State’s concerns about program ultimately proved prophetic as the chemical war waged by the United States in Southeast Asia further alienated the Vietnamese villagers the program was ostensibly designed to protect. This essay moves beyond previous studies of Operation Ranch Hand by exploring the politics of the herbicidal warfare, and crop destruction in particular, from Washington …

Las Declaraciones De Independencia: Los Textos Fundamentales De Las Independencias Americanas, Jordana Dym, Erika Pani, Alfredo Ávila

Jordana Dym

No abstract provided.

Grant, Roger H. Railroads And The American People. Indiana University Press, 2012. Choice, March., Bruce Sarjeant

Bruce Sarjeant

No abstract provided.

Sister Margaret Mcbride, Lisa Zilinski

Lisa Zilinski

Sister Margaret Mary McBride, RSM is the Vice President of Organizational Outreach at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Sister McBride is a Sister of Mercy who received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is a board member of Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, Hospice of the Valley and Southwest Catholic Health Network (Mercy Care Plan). In November 2009, Sister McBride was latae sententiae (automatically) excommunicated for her decision to approve a life-saving abortion for a 27-year-old mother suffering from pulmonary hypertension. Sister McBride has since …

How The Presidents Ate Their Salmon, Catherine Schmitt

Catherine Schmitt

No abstract provided.

Race As A Motivating Factor In The Zoot Suit Riots, Lauren L. Gallow

Lauren L. Gallow

In cities across the United States, the 1940s were a decade of great changes and adjustments. After the country entered into World War II in 1941, major political and economic shifts redefined everyday life. Tensions ran high as Americans worked hard to defend their country and remain patriotic. Often, these tensions manifested into an intense dislike of anyone who appeared to be un-American, whether due to their actions or their ethnic background. In the western United States, this xenophobia was frequently directed at Mexican Americans, who had already been the target of much discrimination in the decades leading up to …

The Biological Inferiority Of The Undeserving Poor, Michael B. Katz

Michael B. Katz

This article excavates the definition of poor people as biologically inferior. It not only documents its persistence over time but emphasizes three themes. First, the concept rises and falls in prominence in response to institutional and programmatic failure. It offers a convenient explanation for why the optimism of reformers proved illusory or why social problems remained refractory despite efforts to eliminate them. Second, its initial formulation and reformulation rely on bridging concepts that try to parse the distance between heredity and environment through a kind of neo-Lamarkianism. These early bridges invariably crumble. Third, hereditarian ideas always have been supported by …

Table Annexed To Article: The Doctrine Of Stare Decisis In United States Supreme Court Opinions, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

OCL surveys United States Supreme Court cases from 1791 to 1900 for deployment of the phrase stare decisis in opinions and published arguments before the Court. The people, as Madison conceded, make their own precedents by approving (prior) official action taken by current officials as a foundation for resolving issues-of-the-day.

Table Annexed To Article: James Madison’S ‘Imperfections Of Language’, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

No abstract provided.

The War Of 1812: Complete Chronology With Biographies Of 63 General Officers, Michael Tosko

Michael P Tosko

No abstract provided.

The Wright Lawsuit, David Freiwald Ph.D., Csp

David Freiwald, Ph.D.

While the flights ofthe Wnght brothers over a century ago have enshnned their names m aeronautical history, only slightly less important are the lawsuits brought forth by the brothers m defense ofthetr mvention. From 1906 to 1917 the Wnght brothers mamtatned a successful stranglehold on the development and production ofthe airplane m the United States. This paper exammes that history, the ensumg litigation, and the impact that the Wnght brothers actions had upon the readiness ofthe U.S. m World War I.

Distinguished Historical Geography Lecture: Carceral Space And The Usable Past, Karen M. Morin

Karen M. Morin

No abstract provided.

A "Temple Of Pleasure:" Missoula's Wilma Theatre, Elizabeth 'Libi' A. Sundermann

Elizabeth 'Libi' Sundermann

The Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula, Montana, has provided the city and surrounding area with entertainment since 1921. W. A. "Billy" Simons, president of the Northwest Theatre Company, commissioned the building's construction in 1920, during the heyday of the movie palace. In addition to the well-appointed theatre, the building housed a café , an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a gymnasium, offices, and apartments.

Founding Era Conventions And The Constitution's "Convention For Proposing Amendments", Robert G. Natelson

Robert G. Natelson

Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, two thirds of state legislatures may require Congress to call a “Convention for proposing Amendments.” Because this procedure has never been used, commentators frequently debate the composition of the convention and the rules governing the application and convention process. However, the debate has proceeded almost entirely without knowledge of the many multi-colony and multi-state conventions held during the eighteenth century, of which the Constitutional Convention was only one. These conventions were governed by universally-accepted convention practices and protocols. This Article surveys those conventions and shows how their practices and protocols shaped the meaning …