History Commons^™

By Other Means: The Political And Economic Motivations For The Formation Of The Anglo-Japanese Alliance Of 1902 In The United Kingdom, David Cornell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis is an attempt to answer the question of why British political leaders made the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. To answer this question, I have used primary sources such as government communications, newspaper articles, and articles from scholarly journals. Also, I have consulted the works of past historians to better understand the complex topic of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. This thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One explains the events that led up to the creation of the treaty between Britain and Japan and clarifies why this treaty was so unusual for the British Empire in the early 1900s. …

Decolonizing Memory: Erasure And Resurgence Of Indigenous History In The Intermountain West, Chase Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Decolonizing language, memory, and history is an important step in confronting dominant historical narratives in higher education and the general public. This paper focuses on the settlement of the US Intermountain West – where the violent roots of white settlement have been downplayed in the public historical consciousness through the dominant narrative of "pioneer heritage." Beginning with a study of Ogden, Utah, early histories of the area are reexamined, analyzing the contexts in which Native peoples are mentioned (or not) in order to understand their presence by the turn of the twentieth century. Next, my focus moves on to analysis …

Central American Saints: The Formation And Preservation Of Latter-Day Saint Community And Identity In El Salvador And Guatemala, 1960–1992, Hovan T. Lawton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

After World War II, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew dramatically throughout Latin America, with much of this growth happening after 1960. My thesis studies how the growing numbers of Latter-day Saints in Guatemala and El Salvador (between 1960 and 1992) developed strong and meaningful religious community and became more and more committed to their new Latter-day Saint identity. Being a Latter-day Saint in these two countries was similar in many ways to the experience of being a Latter-day Saint in the U.S., but there were also some important differences. My thesis considers what made the Salvadoran …

“Whan The Turuf Is Thy Tour”: Analyzing Gender Codes Of Burial Monuments In Late Medieval And Early Modern England, Shelbie Durrant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cultural pressures of gender conformity and "norms" have lasted as long as the social constructs of gender themselves. Gender is present and can be analyzed in symbols within material culture such as the Russell family funerary monuments located in their private chapel in Chenies, London. Gender, although not always transparently at the front of consciousness, was interacted with, performed, and memorialized in life and death, especially for families that were high status. The presence of gender in these funerary monuments illuminates how expected conformity of gender norms were in this time — so present that they were literally set …

Subduing The Wolf: Utah Pioneer Identity And The War On Wolves Between 1852 And 2020., Mason Lytle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah has a unique history of pioneer settlement connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This history has become a source of pride that began with the first white settlers. I have come to call this the “deseret pioneer” identity, to differentiate from other western settlers. From the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, politicians and agriculturalists used this “deseret pioneer” identity to thwart federal protections for wolves and respond to wilderness policies that made Utah the only “rocky-mountain” state to not have wolves in the twenty-first century.

Ars, Virtus, Impetus: Gladiatorial Training And Roman Legionaries, Daniel Porter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 105 BCE, the Roman consul Publius Rutilius Rufus employed gladiatorial training for his legionaries. This thesis examines the physiological and psychological consequences of this style of training on the human body in an effort to understand why these particular soldiers were so effective. I used experiential testing alongside primary and secondary source research to examine how this process better prepared Roman troops for engaging in actual combat.

Tacitus, Barditus, And Odin's Eleventh Spell, Marie Skinner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Roman Historian Cornelius Tacitus wrote about native Europeans in 98 C.E., around a thousand years before the same peoples began recording their own history. Despite this, the work titled Germania is little-known and under-utilized. It is only by studying Germania and discussing it that the text will be seen for what it is and neither dismissed nor taken out of context. This thesis examines a few of the many passages of Germania that correspond with archaeological, literary, legal, and artistic information from later periods, demonstrating the value of Tacitus’ work to anyone studying European history.

Treason Town: Cities As Traitors During The U.S.-Mexican War, Kelsey Foster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the U.S.-Mexican War (1846-48) the U.S. army invaded Mexico from several fronts. The Mexican Army was unable to prevent U.S. troops marching into and occupying Mexico City, resulting in the transfer of a vast swath of territory from Mexico to the United States. Historians offer several explanations for Mexico's inability to repel this invasion, and one of them is the disunity of the Mexican nation. Evidence of this disunity can be seen in the response of some local leaders when they were confronted with the invading army: instead of fighting, they elected to surrender, allowing U.S. troops to occupy …

The Latter-Day Saint Home As A Site Of Religious Transition, 1890–1930, Cathy Gilmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examines religion as practiced in the Latter-day Saint home during a period of religious transition between 1890 and 1930. Using the family of June A. Bushman and Hyrum Smith as subjects, we examine how families managed the religious reforms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during this period. As individuals who came of age at the turn of the twentieth century, June and Hyrum’s lives intersected with their church’s transition from an isolated religion to a modern, American church.
Administrative modernization, priesthood reforms, reimagined family relationships, and other ecclesiastical changes came into tension with the …

The Bray Schools And Black Education In The Early American Republic, Mitchell Allen Fellows

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ideas about the role of education in American society were contentious during the early years of the Nation. Despite this discord, the vast majority of African Americans lacked access to educational opportunities regardless of whether they were free or enslaved. When schools for African Americans did exist, they were often established by local community leaders or by benevolent societies. Benevolent societies in the early United States existed to prevent what they perceived as a moral decline in the nation. This thesis analyzed the records of schools established by two benevolent societies, the Associates of the Late Dr. Bray and the …

The Rio Virgin: A Turbulent River, Mormon Pioneers, And The Creation Of A Landscape 1854-1921, Spencer Wayne Mcconkie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis explores the changes to the landscape of the Virgin River Basin by Mormon pioneers and the environment between 1854 and 1921. This thesis shows the ways in which the Mormons replaced the local vegetation of the basin with new crops and expanded the area available for farming through the use of irrigation canals and different farming techniques. Along with showing the ways in which the Mormons changed the landscape the thesis explores the ways in which environmental changes played into this process. The process of creating the new landscape of the Virgin River Basin involved both natural and …

The Working Man's Rendezvous, Tameron Gentry Raines Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The mountain men—fur traders of the Rocky Mountain trade between 1822-1840—are prominent in the history of the American West. Their adventures and exploits have been told and retold as their legend grew as did the myth surrounding their lives. This thesis seeks to dismantle that myth through focused study on the conditions of fur trapping work, the interactions between mountain men and Indigenous tribes of the region, and the role of lesser-known Black fur trappers.

The Life Of Socrates: Plato, Xenophon, And The Untapped Potential Of The Socratic Problem, Abigail R. Fritz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary objectives of this thesis are to argue for an approach to the Socratic problem that (1) examines Xenophon’s Socratic writings along with those of Plato, and (2) analyzes the Socratic problem with a view to the ancient conception of philosophy as a way of life. To achieve these objectives, the introductory chapter provides an overview of scholarly approaches to the Socratic problem, which have tended to favor Plato as the only reliable source on the historical Socrates. This chapter argues that such approaches are flawed, and that both authors are important sources on the historical Socrates.

The second …

History Strikes Back! The Portrayal Of Greek And Roman History In Hollywood Films And How It Furthers The Discussion Of History, Ethan P. Frost

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In an article published in 2009, Robert Rosenstone expressed disappointment in two films he played a role in developing the Reds (1981) and the The Good Fight (1984). He expressed regret the films did not reach his expectations as a historian. As a result, he wondered whether there was a point in historians being involved in the making of historical films.

This thesis focused on six historical films set in ancient Greece and Rome. The six films are Alexander the Great (1956), The 300 Spartans (1962), and 300 (2006) for Greek history; and The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), The …

Cultural Memory And Media: Spanish Republicans And The Spanish Civil War, Stuart Cameron

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This project examines the interplay between memory, history, and politics relating to Spanish Republican memories of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the following authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975). In my analysis of this relationship, I focus on the years around the passage of the Law of Historical Memory in 2007; I explore how Spaniards used several forms of media, namely books, graphic narratives, and interviews, to relay their messages regarding the recovery, preservation, and passage of the memories of the defeated Republicans. The authors in each medium, despite telling different stories, both real and fictional, portrayed the act …

Telling Her People's Story: Mae Timbimboo Parry, Matriarch Of The Northwestern Band Of The Shoshone Nation, 1919-2007, Dean Mcguire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mae Timbimboo Parry played a significant role in changing the public’s narrative about the Bear River Massacre and shaping the current knowledge about Northwestern Shoshone history. According to Mae Parry, Northwestern Shoshones were not desperate victims of violence but rather Native Americans who adapted from a great tragedy and survived on their own terms. This thesis explores the meaning of her work for Northwestern Shoshones today.

"He Beheld The Prince Of Darkness": Joseph Smith And Diabolism In Early Mormonism 1815-1831, Steven R. Hepworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Joseph Smith published his first known recorded history in the preface to the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. In it, he recounted the loss of the earliest portions of the book’s manuscript due to theft in a scheme the future prophet believed was concocted by the devil. Smith claimed to receive a revelation that instructed him on how to overcome the diabolic plot meant to discredit and destroy the Book of Mormon. This was not Smith’s first or last recorded encounter with the devil. He believed the devil was real and that he was engaged in a cosmic …

The Challenge Of Hybridity: Mormonism In Mauritius, 1980-2020, Marie Vinnarasi Chintaram

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis focuses on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mauritius. This thesis illustrates the implications and pressures of the Church trying to globalize the faith, correlating Mormonism with and conforming it to cosmopolitan communities such as Mauritius.

Try The Wine: Food As An Expression Of Cultural Identity In Roman Britain, Molly Reininger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research surrounding cultural identity and food customs throughout history are published often, but any research that attempts to combine the two are often based in more recent history. Few combinations of the two are available, and fewer explore the implications within ancient colonization and expansion.

The research for this thesis was conducted with three viewpoints in mind: the colonization of Britannia from Romans within the new colony, the colonization from the native Briton's perspective, and the Roman citizens within Britannia at the end of Rome's military involvement with the colony. This method was chosen because in the early years of …

Rome, Robes, And Rivers: Land, Water, And Power In The Aniene Valley, Jonah R. Bibo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rome, Robes, and Rivers is a multi-century environmental history that shows how different occupants in the Italian Aniene river valley help power through the exploitation and control of its land and water resources. It ranges from the classical to late medieval eras, focusing on the Roman empire alongside later Benedictine monastic societies, who each used different tactics to maintain control over the land. Roman aqueducts brought water to the city, while Benedictine monks taxed peasant laborers to maintain control of the land. Each occupant shaped the land their own needs and left their mark on the landscape in ways that …

Orson Pratt And The Expansion Of The Doctrine And Covenants, Brian C. Passantino

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a faith that is distinguished by its religious texts. The nickname "Mormon," that has been applied to adherents of the faith, comes from the name of its most cherished canonical book, the Book of Mormon. Aside from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, Latter-day Saints accept two other books of scriptures – the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants. These four books constitute the authorized scriptures of the faith, or as they refer to them, "the standard works."

My thesis focuses on the book entitled the Doctrine …

In Defense Of The Modern Company Town: Wyoming's Uranium Communities, Zachary R. Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most people are at least aware that, in the past, companies that owned mines, lumber mills, and other large-scale industrial projects in isolated areas also ran company towns. For many people, such towns conjure up images miserable working conditions, exploitative company stores, and inadequate shacks for most workers, while managers live in relative luxury up on “snob knob.” Most people are also fairly certain that such towns, at least in the United States, died out about the same time as the horse and buggy. Several industries in Wyoming, however, continued to support company towns through the end of the 20th …

More Than Hatchetmen: Chinese Exclusion And Tong Wars In Portland, Oregon, Brenda M. Horrocks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the middle of the nineteenth century, vast numbers of Chinese immigrants arrived on the west coast of the United States. Here, they sought a better life for themselves and their families back home. The new arrivals often became targets of violence and discrimination as anti-Chinese sentiment grew in the country. Chinese immigrants protected and provided for themselves by creating a variety of organizations in their communities. One such organization became known as the tong. Many groups organized themselves around family names, regional background, or employment, but tongs accepted anyone who wanted to join. The promise of physical protection, economic …

Rewriting Eden With The Book Of Mormon: Joseph Smith And The Reception Of Genesis 1-6 In Early America, Colby Townsend

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The colonists living in the new United States after the American War for Independence were faced with the problem of forming new identities once they could no longer recognize themselves, collectively or individually, as subjects of Great Britain. After the French Revolution American politicians began to weed out the more radical political elements of the newly formed United States, particularly by painting one of the revolution’s biggest defenders, Thomas Paine, as unworthy of the attention he received during the American War for Independence, and fear ran throughout the states that an anarchic revolution like the French Revolution could bring the …

Mao’S War On Women: The Perpetuation Of Gender Hierarchies Through Yin-Yang Cosmology In The Chinese Communist Propaganda Of The Mao Era, 1949-1976, Al D. Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China in 1949 with the intention of creating a social utopia with equality between the sexes and China’s diverse ethnic groups. However, by portraying gender, ethnicity, and politics in propaganda along the lines of yin and yang, the Party perpetuated a situation of oppression for women and minorities.

"Comme Je Trouve:" The Butlers, Earls Of Ormond, And Political Power In Kilkenny, Ireland, 1392-1452, Senia S. Foster

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

After the English-led invasion of Ireland, between 1169 and 1172, the country was run by Anglo-Irish lords—English and Welsh men gifted with Irish land and titles for their service to the English King. Of these families, the Butlers were one of the three most powerful in the country. The 3^rd and 4^th Earls of Ormond, both named James Butler, each held the highest title in Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, multiple times as well as being successful military leaders. Add to this a large income from all the wine revenues of the country, and the Butlers were a force to …

Crypto-Jewish Identity In The Inquisition Of Mexico City, Suzanne E. Skinner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis studies identity among a group of Roman Catholic converts and accused heretics in Mexico City, called Crypto-Jews. The areas of identity that were examined in depth were, religious identity, gender identity, and racial identity. The records that exist for Crypto-Jews in Mexico City are limited but can be found among the records of the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

In order to study the documents of the Office of the Inquisition in Mexico City, I had to travel to the University of California, Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. I was supported in this endeavor by the History Department at Utah …

Of One Divided Mind: Fundamental Causes Of The Nineteenth-Century Brethren Schism, 1850-1880, Daniel S. Weller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historical research involving the schism within the German Baptist Brethren Church in the 1880s has only been found within broad, general histories of the church. The explanations given by historians relating to the cause of the split have previously centered on individuals and the church publications between 1850 and 1883, and on contemporaries who argued among themselves about whether to adopt practices common among surrounding American religions and society. No known project has focused directly on the content within the publications as it relates to the way these brethren used the Bible and other religious and spiritual rhetoric to substantiate …

Measuring Rural Revolutionary Mobilization: The Militiamen, Soldiers, And Minutemen Of Fauquier County, Virginia 1775 - 1782, Jason Fackrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The story of the rural soldiers and militiamen of Virginia that served in the American Revolution remains open to historical research and exploration. Recent scholarship of Virginia’s military contribution to the Revolution focuses heavily on relationships of power among social groups that operated within the colony’s hierarchy, concluding that a lack of white, lower-class political and economic representation disabled mobilization among the Old Dominion’s more settled regions. My study emphasizes the revolutionary backcountry’s story by using Fauquier County, Virginia as a case study.

A study of Rural Virginia during the Revolution presents scholars with significant challenges. Literacy rates among the …

Weaving A Religious Community: Monasticism, Authority, And Theology In Gujarat, 1830-1905, Kirtan Patel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis demonstrates the intersection of caste, doctrine, religious authority and monasticism in the Swaminarayan sampradāy, a Hindu devotional tradition founded by Sahajānand Svāmī. Religious traditions affected indirectly or minimally by colonialism or the nationalist struggle have seldom been rigorously studied. This thesis brings attention to the Swaminarayan sampradāy to highlight how pervasive societal discourses like that of caste and internal doctrinal developments, impacted religious developments concerning authority, hierarchy, and power. The reification of a doctrine and the creation of a theological office, coupled with the deification of a monk, Guṇātītānand Svāmī, and his low-caste disciple Prāgjī manifested a …