History Commons^™

Huskies Go To War: St. Cloud State During The World War Ii Era, Kayla Stielow

Culminating Projects in History

This is a three-part project centered on the research, historical interpretation, and effective public history programmatic practice focused on the student experience at St. Cloud State during World War II. The project presents historical research and analysis of the student experience, primarily on the actions and reactions to wartime homefront realities, for the campus community throughout the war era. Centering itself in public history, the analysis is then interpreted in the form of a public program based on effective pedagogical practice. In the final chapter the public program is then rationalized, with the pedagogical practices found within the program grounded …

Trial By Fire: Cultural Complacency, Institutional Learning, And The Development Of The Fire Warden System In Minnesota, 1870-1920, Blake M. Johnson

Culminating Projects in History

Between 1870 and 1920 Minnesota business culture focused on depleting the land of its resources with little regulation while the ecological landscape was influenced by a hot and dry climatic cycle. As these two forces collide, Minnesota experiences its four “great fires” (1894, 1908, 1910, and 1918). Each of these fires provide substantive documentation on emergency response and relief illustrating Minnesota’s development of a disaster response program. With several localized fires, the learning gained from fire to fire can be assessed. After evaluating the responses to each of these fires, one can conclude that although technological advancements and complex relief …

Miter And Sword: Fighting Norman Bishops And Clergy, Timothy Robert Martin

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis examines Norman bishops and abbots, and their involvement in warfare, either as armed combatants, or commanders of military forces in Normandy, and later in England after William the Conquerors invasion in 1066. While it focuses primarily on the roles of the secular bishops, other relevant accounts of martial feats by other Norman militant clergy are also introduced where appropriate.

The foundation for the use of justified force and later the sanctioned use of violence by these militant secular clergy is explored to better understand the rational perceived by the clergy when acting as ‘soldiers of God.’ The use …

Ojibwe Absent Narratives In Minnesota Forest Park History, Elizabeth Steinson

Culminating Projects in History

A discursive analysis of Minnesota conservation history, with particular emphasis on the establishment of national forests, follows a recognizable pattern of the benign development of federal and state initiatives to ameliorate environmental despoliation around the turn of the twentieth century. Tensions over the creation of bureaucratic institutions to solve these problems are also generally described in terms of binary struggles between local special interests and conservationists who argued over proper management the land and its resources. Absent from these narratives are the indigenous populations who continued to use these lands and resources and resisted federal and state efforts to impede …

Families On The Wwi Home Front, Melissa Peterson

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis examines how state and federal policies related to food rationing, volunteer efforts, and political environment affected the daily life of Minnesota residents, such as the family of Charles A. Lindbergh, during the First World War. It was then used with the established methodology for living history programming to create a program at the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum. In addition to learning about the past, the program helps guests make personal connections between the historical content and their lives.

Cokato Through August Akerlund's Lens, Johanna M. Ellison

Culminating Projects in History

Swedish immigrant turned United States citizen August (Gust) Akerlund captured Cokato’s history through his photography from 1902-1950. Today, Akerlund’s photography studio and 14,019 negative collection are preserved due to the care of Akerlund’s family, the staff of the Cokato Museum, and the community of Cokato. Although Akerlund’s collection and studio provides a window into Cokato’s past, the few published works that mention Cokato do not utilize both Akerlund’s life and his photographs as complementary sources. This thesis is an attempt to rectify this neglect by using Akerlund’s resources (including his photographs, life story, and studio) to question the popular perception …

Stalin: From Terrorism To State Terror, 1905-1939, Matthew Walz

Culminating Projects in History

While scholars continue to debate the manner in which the Great Terror took shape in the Soviet Union, Stalin’s education as a revolutionary terrorist leader from 1905-1908 is often overlooked as a causal feature. This thesis analyzes the parallels between the revolutionary terrorists in Russia in the first decade of the twentieth century, particularly within Stalin’s Red Brigade units, and the henchmen carrying out the Great Terror of the 1930s. Both shared characteristics of loyalty, ruthlessness and adventurism while for the most part lacking any formal education and existing in a world of paranoia. As violence spread after the 1905 …

“Extermination Or Removal”: The Knights Of The Forest And Ethnic Cleansing In Early Minnesota, Catherine M. Coats

Culminating Projects in History

The Knights of the Forest was an 1863 secret society that formed in Mankato, MN, during the aftermath of the U.S.-Dakota War. They took an oath to advocate for the banishment of “all Indians” from the state of Minnesota. But newspaper articles written by and about four members show that the organization was only concerned with the exile of the Ho-Chunk people, who had not participated in the U.S.-Dakota War. In the winter of 1862-1863, settlers in the Mankato region pressured the federal government for Ho-Chunk removal under the threat of extermination of the Ho-Chunk people. Their reservation had comprised …

The Register And The Wrecking Ball: A Case Study Of Four Minnesota Carnegie Libraries And What They Reveal About The Destruction And Preservation Of Historic Structures, Karah Hawkinson

Culminating Projects in History

American interest in historic preservation has been on the rise since the late 1960s. Efforts, successful and unsuccessful, to save historic landmarks have involved everyone from historians and city planners to average citizens fighting to save their memories. Much has been written about the process of preservation, but very little has been said about the reasons why one historic structure thrives while another languishes or is lost to the wrecker.

This thesis provides background on the Carnegie library building program and historic preservation in America, and includes a case study of four Minnesota Carnegie library buildings - built during the …

Highway 83 Revisited: Small Towns Rerouted By School Reform, Paul David Anderson

Culminating Projects in History

Highway 83 Revisited is an examination of how small town citizens relate to their local schools and to what extent a local school matters to the vitality of a community. To serve as a case study, I focus on the town of Pemberton, Minnesota and its school. Pemberton was founded in 1907 a railroad stop south east of Mankato and today has a population of 247. Pemberton's school began with planning by town's residents in the early twentieth century, and in subsequent decades the school district went through two consolidations, and ended in 1995 with the school's closing. I place …

"Uniquely American": The Great Northern Railway, The Blackfeet, And The Creation Of A National Identity In Glacier National Park, 1910-1935, Caitlin A. Carlson

Culminating Projects in History

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, upper-class urban Americans began to feel that the ills wrought by a modem society, including the influx of European immigrants and labor disputes at various mills and factories, necessitated a stronger symbol of true American cultural identity. These wealthy folks needed to be assured that they were the true Americans, while also asserting that the luxuries available to them did not diminish their rugged vitality. Louis W. Hill, the son of "Empire Builder" James J. Hill, tapped into this need when he created the Glacier Park Hotel Company, a subsidiary of the …

Art Acknowledged And Disregarded: Art And Its National Context At St. Cloud State University, Krista L. Lewis

Culminating Projects in History

Existing histories of St. Cloud State University pay little attention to art and its place at the school. Given that the university is currently home to an accredited art program, and a rather large collection of art, recognition of the contribution art has made to the school is overdue.

Delving into records, one finds that art played a role in the curriculum and mission of the institution from its very beginning as a normal school. Though not always strong or valued, it grew with the school nonetheless. Examining this role as it relates to developments with art regionally and nationally …

Norwegian Immigrants And Adaptation: The Evolution Of Concordia Lutheran Church In Edmore, North Dakota, Jacqueline A. Johnson

Culminating Projects in History

Edmore, North Dakota is located in Ramsey County, in the northeastern part of the state and was founded in 1901. The Edmore area was settled primarily by Norwegian immigrants and first generation Norwegian-Americans that started coming to the area in 1896. There were several reasons why people immigrated to the United States. Most Norwegian immigrants wanted to farm, and there was little opportunity to own enough land in Norway to make a decent living. Norwegian immigrants followed a pattern of chain migration. They first settled in Wisconsin and, when land was no longer available, the immigrants or their children moved …

Hirohito's Role In Japanese Military Decision Making, Brian Junkermeier

Culminating Projects in History

No abstract provided.

A Psychological Analysis Of Stalin, Brian Junkermeier

Culminating Projects in History

No abstract provided.

Crystal, Minnesota And The American Suburb, Matthew Ottinger

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis covers the development of the American suburb with special attention paid to Crystal, Minnesota as a case study. With sporadic primary sources, a simple chronological telling of Crystal's history was a difficult task to undertake. That being the case, a study of how the average American suburb changed from a community on the fringe of a metropolitan area to a city of its own are discussed within this thesis.

The topics that continually presented themselves during research ranged from how people have changed the land to how one defines community. Suburban growth in the form of sprawl, development, …

Minnesota And The Age Of Railroads, Jay Timmerman

Culminating Projects in History

In this thesis project I have attempted to explore the subject of railroad dominance in Minnesota between 1880 and 1920, and how it compared with the national experience. In the decades prior to this period, particularly from 1880 to 1900, railroad development and construction proceeded at a brisk pace, interrupted mostly by economic downturns. By the time of the First World War, railroad construction and development slowed considerably. The conditions that existed from 1910 onwards were significantly different than the conditions of earlier times. The economy and the nation had industrialized, and railroads were no longer welcomed into each community …

Real Potemkin Villages : Pokazukha And Propaganda In The Soviet-Cuban Connection, Michael Thomas Westrate

Culminating Projects in History

In the middle of the twentieth century, a series of events brought the world’s largest country into an intimate connection with one of the world’s smaller nations. A globe apart, the Soviet superpower and powerless Cuba connected themselves in a common goal—protecting a burgeoning Marxist revolution from what the leaders in both countries saw as preordained interference by the U.S. When the two solidified their connections in the late 1950s, no one could have predicted that their relationship would bring the world to the brink of nuclear war, or that the Revolution in Cuba would far outlast communist rule in …

Stalin, Jews, And The Nationalities Question, Kazimir B. Gazdzik

Culminating Projects in History

The intellectual foundation of Soviet society, written by Marx and Engels, did not articulate how a society was to move from a non-socialist society to a socialist one, when there are many ethnic groups represented in the country. As a result, early Soviet leaders needed to answer the question of how to deal with the various ethnic groups in the country, especially after the oppressive rule of the Tsars. Two interpretations of what was to be done, in regards to the nationalities question, were presented by Lenin and later Stalin. Lenin offered a broad, representative or national view while Stalin …

A Western Brand For Religion: The Baptist Anti-Mission Movement In The First American West, 1790-1840, David Mead

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis examines the commonly portrayed myth that settlers of the American West lived in a non-religious society. The battle over missions between Baptist churches of the West and East highlights the deeply religious society that took root in the west and counters many modern historians oversight of this important part of American westward expansion.

"Under Every Tree:" The Relationship Between Agriculture And Sawmilling In Central Minnesota, Kyle L. Kohl

Culminating Projects in History

Small-scale sawmilling in the deciduous forest region of Minnesota is firmly rooted in an agriculture past resulting in many small-scale farmers transitioning to the . milling enterprise. Throughout the twentieth century some farmers have turned to small-scale sawmilling' as a way of preserving their distinct way of life and remain on the farm. This development can be seen through four stages: the coming together of the agriculture and forest products industries; the supplemental income generated though the adaptation of a sawmill; the increasing importance of the mill; and the specialization and preservation of sawmilling in Minnesota. Throughout this process those …

Adapting With The Times: The Railroad Depot In South Dakota, 1873 To 2006, Jason B. Haug

Culminating Projects in History

This study traces tire architectural .and social evolution of passenger depots in South Dakota from 1873 to 2006. This evolution is broken down into four stages: development and expansion; prominence and significance; abandonment and deterioration; preservation and rehabilitation.

The first stage, development and expansion, reviews the development of railroads as a primary transportation system and the expansion of that system across the United States and particularly South Dakota. Deficiencies in earlier transportation methods, including stagecoach, horseback, canals, and steamboat, contributed to the emergence and rapid growth of railroads. As railroads ·expanded, they became critical factors in settlement, community development and …

Barden Park: A Case Study In Preservation, Richard E. Kelly

Culminating Projects in History

The impact of the presence of a city park in a neighborhood is profound in several ways. A case in point is Barden Park in the South Side/Barden Park Neighborhood of St. Cloud, Minnesota. This paper will discuss the development of the park throughout history; the development of parks as an essential part of the American city such as Central Park in New York City, Central-Loring Park in Minneapolis, and Central-Barden Park in St. Cloud.

Barden Park, originally named Central Park in 1855, is a prime example of the origination of public parks, first in the United States and later …

The Development Of An Artist's Paradise: Minnesota Landscapes: 1840-1940, William J. Wittenbreer

Culminating Projects in History

An Artist's Paradise: Minnesota Landscapes 1840-1940 was an exhibit that opened on January 25 and ran through June 22, 2003 at the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul, Minnesota. The exhibition featured oil paintings and works on paper of the Minnesota landscape by Minnesota artists. This thesis is a recap of the process of putting together the exhibition, the educational activities held during the exhibition, as well as the intellectual basis for the exhibition from the perspective of the co-curator.

The first chapter is a narrative that describes the co-curator's role in the location, selection and negotiations to …

Newspapers And The Spanish American War: Effects On A Midwestern Community, Steven C. Penick

Culminating Projects in History

The Spanish American War had a profound influence on United States' foreign policy throughout the twentieth century. Stearns County. a Midwestern German community in central Minnesota, expressed their reaction to this national occurrence through their local newspapers. Like other communities distant from major media centers, Steams County newspapers responded slowly to the growing prewar issues in 1898, determining their relevance for the local population The Democratic St Cloud Times, the German Catholic Der Nordstern, and the Republican St. Cloud Journal-Press were the most influential newspapers in the region. Each St. Cloud newspaper took a differerent position on the war and …

The 13th Minnesota Volunteer Regiment And The Spanish-American And Philippine-American Wars, 1898-1899, Kyle Ward

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis describes and analyzes the role of the 13th Minnesota Volunteer Regiment in both the Spanish-American and Philippine-American War's, 1898-1899. I have done this by looking at the recent literature on this topic ruong with researching the letters, diaries, government documents, books, and newspapers that were written by the people of that time.

With the onset of war in 1898, many Minnesotans, along with much of the United States, found themselves preparing for a war against Spain. This war was sold to the American people as an opportunity for them to bring their style of democracy to colonialized people …

St. Cloud's Munsinger And Clemens Gardens: A Public Legacy, Ann Marie Johnson

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis describes the history and evolution of the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens, municipal gardens located in southeast St. Cloud along the east bank of the Mississippi River. During the early 1930's Munsinger Garden was established under the direction of the city's first park superintendent, Joseph Munsinger. Approximately half a century later, the Clemens Gardens were developed as a result of the inspiration of St. Cloud's present nursery supervisor, David Morreim, and the patronage of William Clemens, a local entrepreneur. Since their inception, the Munsinger and Clemens Gardens, two seemingly disparate gardens that are linked by site, design, and spirit, …

The Gold In The Hill, Jeffrey Clark Wood

Culminating Projects in History

The Gold in the Hill is a historical fiction novel for juveniles, written to entertain, inform, and change attitudes.

The setting is Minnesota in the wake of the Dakota Conflict. The principal characters are David Hughes, a mixed-blood boy, and Good Singer, a Dakota boy. Through the eyes of these two 14-year-olds, young readers should understand the clash of cultures that killed more than 500 whites and caused the death or exile of nearly every Dakota.

David and Good Singer meet in the Dakota refugee camp below Fort Snelling in the fall of 1862. They develop a relationship based on …

"Been A Long Time A 'Brewing": A History Of The Minneapolis Brewing Company, 1890 - 1975, Michael R. Worcester

Culminating Projects in History

History of the Minneapolis Brewing Company (aka, Grain Belt Breweries) outlining the company's role in the broader story of business history and of the brewing history in general.

The Siege Of Herat: 1837-1838, John Carl Nelson

Culminating Projects in History

A condition of economic exhaustion and political anarchy prevailed in Iran by 1800. The great empires of the 1600' s had collapsed and in the wars that followed the prosperity of the area was destroyed. The city of Herat was a microcosm of the general conditions. After 1797 the Kajar dynasty tried to restore the Persian empire to its fonner limits but their efforts met with only limited success and Herat remained their goal in the east. Afghanistan was torn apart by tribal tensions in 1818 and Herat became more vulnerable. The Russian empire achieved a position of dominance in …