History Commons^™

Women, War, And Planes: Women Airforce Service Pilots' Experience Working Alongside The Army Air Force During World War Ii, Stephanie Michelle Cavin

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Women, War, and Planes discusses the Women Airforce Service Pilots’ (WASP) experience during World War II as a non-militarized program working alongside the Army Air Forces in the continental United States. The mostly white, twenty to thirty aged pilots recruited from a national pool of women flew many different types of planes from basic, lighter aircraft to heavy, four engine models. The Army Air Forces and WASP leaders promised pilots full militarized status. However, the WASPs never received military status or rank while in the program, and in turn, did not receive the same protections afforded to men of who …

Eavesdropping On The Past: An Oral History Exploration Of English And Spanish In Contact In Texas' Rio Grande Valley, 1904-1945, Aaron B. Cummings

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis investigates the interaction of English and Spanish L1 communities in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas from 1904 to 1945 (an era of mass English L1 migration from the Northern United States and Canada to this historically Spanish-speaking region) via analysis of oral interviews that record both language communities’ memories of the era’s social structures. Collectively, the interviews tell the story of the region’s sociocultural and sociolinguistic environment with a view to exploring how members of each community reacted to the presence of the other language during the first years of significant English/Spanish language contact in previously …

A Historical Analysis Of The Reasoning And Rationale Behind The Federal Prohibition Of Marijuana, Carlos Caro

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis argues that the federal government first created and then maintained the prohibition of marijuana as a reflection of and reaction to, social, political and economic events happening at large in the U.S. and abroad. This thesis primarily compares and contrasts the treatment of marijuana by the federal government and society at large during the 1930s through the early 1980s by building upon scholars’ previous links to race, ethnicity, class and morality to display a pattern of change that was convenient to the federal government’s continued efforts to prohibit marijuana. This thesis demonstrates that changes in attitude and perception …

Tejanos And The Texas Revolution: Their Reaction To The Centralist Threat, Michael Marino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to ascertain Tejanos’ reasons for rebelling against the Mexican government. Texas was first colonized by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. After the Mexican independence in 1821, Texas became a Mexican territory. Tejanos (Texas Mexicans) lived under Spanish rule and Mexican rule. México enacted a colonization program allowing Anglo immigrants to settle in Texas. Tejanos and Anglo colonists developed a mutual working relationship. This thesis will compare the Spanish and Mexican administrations and how they failed to support and protect Tejanos. This failure is one of the causes for their rebellion. Another cause is …

From Laredo To Matamoros: The Constitutionalist Battles Along The Rio Grande 1913-1914, Jesus Ramos

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis illustrates the deployment of the Constitutionalist Army after the Plan de Guadalupe. The battles fought to neutralize Huerta’s army from Laredo to Matamoros. The thesis includes American and Mexican sources, oral accounts, and archived documents.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to recount the Constitutionalist events based on journals, books, theses, dissertations, and newspapers in order to argue the effects of the Mexican Revolution. The concept of counter memory is exercised throughout historical fragments.

The study covers the years 1913 and 1914, the onset of the Constitutionalist movement up to Huerta’s exile. The thesis includes an introduction, …

Manuel Guerra And The Politics Of Starr County, Texas 1880-1920, Jesus Perez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study demonstrates the success of the Mexican American leadership of Starr County in maintaining their hold on power in defiance of Anglo American migrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. What aided Mexican American leadership in Starr County was that the major figure Manuel Guerra was highly educated, and his ancestors had settled the region as early 1767, which led many Mexican Americans both upper class and lower class to be loyal to him and those closely allied with him. The tactics used by Manuel Guerra and his allies were equal to the tactics used by political …

"Yes, We Are Latino Women But Very Proud To Have Serve[D] Our Country": Ethnic Mexican Women's Contributions To World War Ii, Laura L. Oviedo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This theses highlights ethnic Mexican women from Texas who contributed to World War II through the military, wartime employment industries, and home front unconventional efforts. By utilizing twenty-eight oral histories, collected from the VOCES Oral History Project Archive at the Benson Latin American Collection, ten Texas newspapers, and military documents, this research presents the wartime efforts of ethnic Mexican women. Each chapter traces the women’s economic, racial, and gendered struggles in their private and social spaces before the war to better appreciate their participation during the war. An examination of the experiences of ethnic Mexican women during World War II …

The Llano Grande Grant: The Transformation Of Land Ownership In The Rio Grande Valley, 1749-1910, Maria G. Vallejo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The history of the Llano Grande is an important part of Rio Grande Valley life. The thesis presented will analyze the legal ownership of a single land grant from 1749-1910. The modern land tenure in the Rio Grande Valley has its roots in the Spanish land grants. By studying a micro-history of a single land grant we can understand how the land ownership of the Llano Grande and the Rio Grande Valley changed throughout an entire century. The land ownership of the Llano Grande addresses how land was transferred Spanish to Mexican and to Anglo land owners. Also, the rise …

La Gente De Migración Y Acción: African Americans In Revolutionary Mexico 1880–1929, Alfredo Aguilar

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis argues that Mexico historically presented African Americans with options to pursue freedom through outlets of migration (civil) and counter-violence (violent resistance). In addition, the thesis exhibits Mexico’s historical anti-slavery stance which reflects why Mexico was a viable place of relocation and resistance. Furthermore, it argues Mexico and the United States had roles in African Americans’ relation to Mexico and these endeavors of resistance. By using primary sources such as newspapers and government reports, the extent of propaganda methods and use becomes discernible. The objective is to highlight the international assistance Mexico provided towards African Americans, the U.S. role …

San Juan And Its Role In The Transformation Of The Rio Grande Valley, Roseann Bacha-Garza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This thesis demonstrates that the City of San Juan serves as a microcosm of Rio Grande Valley history and became one of the most substantial municipalities in the region as a crossroad location for commercial agriculture, tourism and economic development. Outlined is the succession of Spanish land grantees, displaced Civil War families, Anglo entrepreneurs and Mexican Revolution refugees and their migration to San Juan at various stages of municipal development. Statistical data portrays how city officials, economic development personnel and community leaders positioned the city to benefit from federal funding and city planning opportunities. The progression of how San Juan …

U.S. Jazz In The 1950s, Amanda Canales

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

I have examined jazz music in the United States during the 1950s and argue that its popularity in various demographics illustrates that despite social and racial tensions jazz unified them. By explaining this we learn that Jazz’s popularity with different groups reflects not only jazz’s ever present flexibility but how societal values and issues are shown respectively. A brief background of the U.S during the 1950s, three key definitions for the nonconformist, conformist and purist as well as a brief history of jazz during the 1950s can be found in the introduction. Chapter II through IV deals with the specific …

Shifting Policies Of Educational Desegregation And Its Effects On The Resegregation Of The Aldine Independent School District, Tonya Elisette Juarez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study examines the desegregation process for the Aldine Independent School District located in Houston, Texas. Beginning with an analysis of the development of public education in Texas, this study observes the educational conditions for blacks and Mexican Americans prior to the end of de jure segregation. Thereafter, it assesses the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision that required desegregation of American public schools. I argue that the shifting policies that occurred after Brown requiring mandatory integration resulted in white flight in the school district. With the end of mandatory integration, Aldine I.S.D. reverted back to …

"Aliens Say What Humans Can't": Popular Culture And Totalitarianism In "The Twilight Zone", Lisa M. Howell

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study analyzes the political and social context of key episodes from 1959 to 1964 of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. His science fiction television series, nestled against the backdrop of the Cold War, showcased his viewpoints on controversial issues from the Holocaust, postwar gender issues, McCarthyism, nuclear war and totalitarianism. As he was often fond of saying, “Aliens Can Say What Humans Can’t.” Also integrated in this study is showing how The Twilight Zone served as both an agent of change as well as a reflection of the times. This in turn, encouraged the masses to question and modify …

African Slavery In Colonial Veracruz: The Factors That Aided Its Creation And Expansion, Veronica Nohemi Duran

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The focal point of this study is to prove that it was the simultaneous presence of five factors during the 16th and 17th centuries that allowed African enslavement in Veracruz to expand. I built upon previous works and authors to support my claim that it was the decline in native population, economic profits, religious apathy on the subject, social acceptance and government support that pushed for the systems creation and expansion. By discussing each of these factors in a chapter of their own, I concluded that in an almost cause and effect manner these factors are responsible for the expansion …

Walking Out: The Success Of The Edcouch-Elsa Student Walkout Of 1968 Through The Media, David Robles

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study demonstrates how the success of the Edcouch-Elsa walkout of 1968 was brought upon not only by its organization, non-violent tactics, land mark victory in federal court, and support from several of Mexican American organizations. What also aided the student movement in Edcouch-Elsa was the media attention and how it influence the Rio Grande Valley community not only to question the tactics being used towards Mexican American students in the local educational institutions, but also created public discourse over the issues of race, equality, and students’ rights. Using various academic books of the subject, newspaper clippings of the time …

A History Of Labor Degradation On The Border, Hidalgo County, Texas, 1920-1970s, Edward David Avila

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Between 1920 and 1970 laborers in Hidalgo County were degraded and ranked among the lowest paid workers in the nation. Colonizers including land developers seeking to exploit the commercial agriculture potential of the Rio Grande Valley divided the working poor along race, gender, and class lines. Such labor strategy allowed Anglo Americans and in some cases elite Mexicans to subjugate working class Mexicans and Mexican Americans to substandard wages and miserable working conditions. This thesis argues the origin of the degradation of the working poor by analyzing wages, work conditions, race relations, and gendered dimensions of labor in the region. …

The Image Of The American Revolutionary Soldier And The Problem Of Historical Memory, Stephanie N. Powelson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Pubic memories of the American Revolution have played a central role in the creation of an American national identity. As a result of the importance of these military memories in creating a sense of social cohesion, images of the men who fought in the Revolution have often been systematically created and propagated, thus leading to myths and stereotypes in popular culture. Master of Arts (MA), August 2012, 111 pp., 2 tables, 4 figures, 76 references, 8 titles. This thesis analyzes the images of the soldiers of the American Revolution in public memory and in professional historiography. There is a perplexing …

First Mover: Otto Struve And The Use Of Scientific Capital In Astrophysics, 1921–1950, Erik Paul Norquest

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Otto Struve (1897-1963) came to the United States in 1921 and became one of the dominant personalities in the field of astrophysics. Struve’s career made him, in the words of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, a “first mover” in a scientific field that was firmly engaged in the process of what Thomas Kuhn called “normal science.” Struve pulled astrophysics further away from its empirical roots in categorization and made it more like physics in its unification of theory and observation. The primary way that he accomplished this was through his administration of Yerkes and McDonald observatories, where he brought in theorists to …

Twelve: Race And Gender Representations In Hidalgo County Petit Jury Selections, 1950–1960, Rene Rios

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this thesis is to address the composition of Hidalgo County petit (small) juries from 1950-1960 on the basis of race and gender in which I will argue that the racial composition of the County’s petit juries was predominantly Anglo. Following the inclusion of women into juror selection pools after 1954, I assert that Anglo females were selected at higher rates than Mexican American males and females during the same time period which continued the political and civic marginalization of the county’s Mexican American population. This work addresses the social and political environment of Hidalgo County. Along with …

The Impact Of Caesar Augustus On Roman Trade, William Edwin Wilson

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This paper studies Gaius Julius Octavian Caesar (Augustus) who combined the military/political expertise of a Roman Patrician with the practical business sense of the upper middle class (Equites) and as a consequence, his administration revived Rome’s economic fortunes and launched a new period of economic prosperity for the Empire. It also explores the specific actions of Augustus and those near to him that led directly to the revival of Rome’s economic fortunes and the remodeling of Rome and its many celebrated monuments and essential buildings. It concludes with a final summation of the man and his contributions to Rome’s success …

Chief Lawyer Of The Nez Perce: Reassessing The Career Of A Cultural Broker, Daniel R. Gibbs

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Chief Lawyer of the Nez Perce has been misunderstood for over 150 years. The purpose of this thesis is to dispel the myth of the good/bad dichotomy about a two-dimensional Chief Lawyer. A man lacking any deeper motives than to gain favor with the Whites and get what he could for himself before the offer at hand was removed from the negotiating table. By reexamining the literature with new eyes one might apply a different paradigm exposing another dimension to Lawyer’s character, one that has long been overlooked. This study will use the concept of the “working misunderstanding” as its …

Texas Rangers To Border Patrol The Shift In Border Security In The 1920'S: The Legacy Of Undemocratic And Often Violent Origins, Rodolfo Arriaga

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study will explore the history of the United States Border Patrol (USBP) along the U.S./Mexico Border of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Texas, its position as defender of the border between Anglo Saxon Americans and ethnic Mexicans, and the repression of that history by the legitimizing actors within Texas and the United States. The shift of border security from the Texas Rangers to the USBP in 1924 resulted in ethnic Mexicans in Texas viewing the USBP not only in a negative manner but with an ethnic cultural phobia. That the result of former Texas Rangers being employed by the …

The Reevaluation Of Dwight Eisenhower And Bernard Law Montgomery, David Allen Warden

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery were the two generals that coordinated and implemented the military strategy to invade North Africa to Europe. The two generals combined the militaries of Great Britain and the United States to defeat the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. By May 1945, the Allied forces had succeeded in finishing the war in Europe. Historians soon began to look at the two men and evaluated their ability to work together. This thesis provides a study of the reasons why the two generals were different. The study also evaluates how the two generals were able to work …

Armor During Wwii: The Defeat Of The Superior Panther, Phillip D. Clark

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

It is the popular opinion among the masses that the Soviet Union's T-34/76 battle tank was the superior weapons platform during World War II when compared to the United States M-4 Sherman and Germany's Mk V Panther tanks. Through a combination of research and personal military knowledge and experience, I will demonstrate that the German Panther was indeed the superior battle tank in mobility, firepower, armor, and could, on a individual level (one on one), defeat not only the Soviet Union's T-34 tank, but all allied armor employed against it. I will further demonstrate that the economic stress placed on …

A Concise Chronology Of The Rio Grande Delta From The Paleo-Indian Period To Early Spanish Exploration And Colonization, Kristina Solis

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Rio Grande Delta's archaeological record is mostly unknown. This paper attempts to assemble scattered resources into a concise and understandable chronology of the Delta’s prehistoric cultures. The prehistoric environment is discussed to clear up the misconception that modern day and prehistoric environments were identical. Archaeological contributions are covered to illustrate the difficulties and successes that 20th century archaeologists experienced. Chapter III discusses a few major sites from the region to give an example of what archaeologists have discovered, and what kinds of cultural remnants have been found. A concise chronology covering the Paleo-Indian period through the Late Prehistoric follows. …

Slavery And The Constitution: A Study As To How Constitutional Principles Were Used As The Primary Instrument In The Legal Protection And Propagation Of Slavery, Jose Juan Guajardo

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

It has been the argument of many scholars and historians that the institution of slavery was, when it existed, unconstitutional. Other historians have acknowledged that the Constitution did empower the institution itself, and a few have even suggested that it was generic or benign since it failed to mention the word "slavery" at all. This thesis argues that slavery would not have survived as long as it did had the Articles of Confederation remained in force beyond 1787. The movement to create a new governmental document in 1787 was also a movement to imbed slavery at the core of the …

Conflict Between The National Park Service And The Bureau Of Indian Affairs In The Glacier Region Of Montana, 1896–1934, Renee A. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

On a physical and cultural frontier, competing agendas within Department of the Interior bureaus, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the National Park Service (NPS), developed into a battle over the use of federal lands and resources, both human and physical, at Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The NPS intended to protect the natural environment of the region while also, for economic reasons, encouraged the public to visit and enjoy the region. The BIA's acculturation of the Blackfeet Indians and their development into an agrarian society continued as their sole purpose. Primary source materials of the …

“Let Every One Of Us Take His Gun And Put Himself In The Ranks”: The Louisiana Native Guard's Defiance Of Antebellum Ideas Of Gender And Race, 1861–1863, Jeremy B. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The Louisiana Native Guards are an appropriate topic for the study of the relationship between gender and race in Civil War era America. After Louisiana seceded in 1861, free men of color from New Orleans began an odyssey that led them to fight on both sides of the conflict. They eventually became the first black regiment mustered into the United States military and the only one to have black officers.

This study will attempt to demonstrate how the men of the Louisiana Native Guard helped redefine the nineteenth century ideas of manliness. Through their soldiering these men demonstrated qualities associated …

From Death Valley To The Río Grande Valley: World War Ii And Korean War Prisoners Of War, Juan David Coronado

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to fill the void in scholarly literature on Mexican American Prisoners of War (POWs) from World War II and Korea from the Río Grande Valley in South Texas. This thesis focuses on POWs' experiences while in captivity and their experiences readjusting back home. Former Mexican American POWs have not received the recognition they deserved. Mexican American POWs survived their captivity as they had the will and drive to exit alive. Their humble upbringing in the Río Grande Valley instilled in them a sense of toughness. They showed that toughness and will to survive in …

Federico González Garza: A Vanished Hero Of The Mexican Revolution, Mario A. Ferron

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study is to reveal Federico Gonzalez Garza as a foremost figure of the Mexican Revolution. Chapter I examines the circumstances that gave form to Federico's ideology. Chapters II and III, analyze Federico's transcendental role during the 1910's presidential elections, and his involvement during the consequent revolution. Chapters IV and V analyze the challenges Federico encountered to transform a revolution into a government. Chapter VI reviews Federico's contribution to the insurgency against Victoriano Huerta and Venustiano Carranza. Chapter VII gives closure to this study, summarizing Federico's political and diplomatic achievements, and claiming recognition for his transcendental contribution …