History Commons^™

The Chiefs Of Chota And The Charles Town Merchants: A Vital Alliance That Ensured The Growth And Success Of South Carolina, 1692-1760, Nicola Symonds

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The contributions of three generations of Overhill Cherokee and the Thomas Pinckney family played a significant role in the growth of Charleston, South Carolina, leaving a lasting impact not only on the American nation but also on the survival of their community and the prosperity of South Carolina. These legacies are essential parts of the rich history of the United States. This dissertation provides a unique perspective on the relationship between these men, offering insights that previous historians have yet to uncover. By examining the social, economic, and political histories of the early settlers of Charles Town, as well as …

A Brief History Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints With Emphasis On The Charismatic Roots Of The Race-Based Priesthood Denial, Wayne A. Denton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation provides an overview of the history of race relations and the evolution of authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It traces the early charismatic leadership of Joseph Smith and his liberal racial views, which increased tension between the LDS church and broader American society. After Smith's death, Brigham Young instituted racist policies like slavery in Utah and a priesthood ban for black members to reduce tensions. In the Progressive Era, LDS scholars theologically entrenched the priesthood ban despite their progressive leanings. A push towards correlation and centralized control of doctrine in the twentieth …

The History Of Systemic Racism In The Texas Rangers, John E. Jordan Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

White people dominated North American society from the first settlement of North America through the twentieth century and their own cultural norms dictated their actions, both good and bad. The Texas Rangers and other police officers in Texas played a major role in the discrimination of people of color, particularly the Hispanic population. Systemic racism is found in the militarizing of the police and how they interacted with people of color.

The Political Evolution Of Howell Cobb On The Road To Secession In Antebellum Georgia History, Kathryn M. Haney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

“The Political Evolution of Howell Cobb on the Road to Secession in Antebellum Georgia History” examines how Howell Cobb, the Southern Democratic politician who fiercely advocated for the preservation of the Union, eventually capitulated to the secession of Georgia. The five-term congressman, Georgia Governor, and Secretary of the Treasury was a key figure in the political history of Antebellum Georgia on the eve of secession. Cobb sought compromise through legislative solutions to sectional issues, argued against a state’s constitutional right to secession without just cause, and advocated for the doctrine of popular sovereignty with regards to the institution of slavery. …

Bedford Springs Resort: A Political And Social Annex Of Antebellum America: 1840-1860, Sara Grace Davis-Leonard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Antebellum America has been described as a period of turbulence for the nation as the North and the South grew farther apart through sectionalism. While voters relied upon the increasing partisan press to inform them of debates in Washington and the often-deliberate decision to forgo the ultimate decision on slavery, in private politicians forged friendships through social events such as parties and dinners. When the Congressional session ended in early summer, politicians often accompanied by their families would travel north to Saratoga Springs or west to the much cooler climates of the mountain resorts: Bedford Springs, White Sulphur Springs, Warm …

The History And Impact Of Education In Virginia During The Civil War Era, Christopher L. Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The following dissertation is a study of the educational history of Virginia during the Civil War era, the resulting struggles that ensued, and how these challenges led to a new period of change and reform throughout the Commonwealth. Numerous issues such as academic quality control, enrollment factors, staff shortages, economic turmoil, the dangers that some school grounds faced, race relations, and the aftermath of reform that presented new educational norms to Virginia are explored. This manuscript examines circumstances in Virginia’s educational system during the decade before the war and then discuss the drastic changes that occurred when the war began …

Lying-In Transition: The Modernization And Professionalization Of Childbirth In Rural Alabama 1870-1910, Jennifer Megan Gmuca

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation will analyze the underlying reasons childbirth became professionalized, which was due to the growing demands by women for safer birthing conditions. The demand evolved out of the complex relationship among social status, race and ethnicity, and regional locations, all made possible by the modernization and professionalization of tocology that became available during the latter part of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth-century. The history of childbirth is a critical topic because, as previously mentioned, the maternal mortality rate in the United States in the twenty-first-century is still incredibly high for a developed nation. Women deserve safer birthing …

The Road To Armageddon: American Culture And Politics During The Late Cold War, 1970-1991, David Lee Denham Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Bible prophecy has long engaged the American mind. By the late Cold War, Biblical prophecy increasingly shaped the political beliefs of millions of Americans within the evangelical community. The group most impacted were dispensationalist Christians who interpreted the Atomic Age through the lens of end-time prophecies. Dating as far back as the seventeenth-century, American colonists living on the frontier of the British empire in North America embraced millennialism and, at times, interpreted current events through the lens of Bible prophecy while anticipating the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the Battle of Armageddon. Through the centuries, Bible prophecy became a …

Thomas Jefferson: Slavery, Education, And The Public Mind, Brendan Lenahan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Thomas Jefferson’s autobiography reveals his continual struggle against slavery and his frustration at the resistance of the “public mind” in Virginia, predominantly composed of slave-owning aristocrats. Despite vocal condemnations of slavery, attempts to translate his anti-slavery stance into formal documents faced significant resistance from the society he aimed to change. Even within the House of Burgess, Jefferson's support for a bill allowing individual slave owners to free their slaves was met with contempt. His draft of the Declaration of Independence, condemning the King for slavery, was revised by delegates, impeded by both northern financiers of the slave trade and southern …

"The Last King Of America" By Andrew Roberts- A Review, Michael A. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

"The Last King of America" by Andrew Roberts is a meticulously researched and engaging account of King George III's reign over the American colonies. Roberts dispels myths surrounding George III and explores his efforts to maintain control over the colonies, the tensions that led to the Revolutionary War, and the eventual loss of American territories. This thought-provoking book delves into the more significant themes of monarchy, colonialism, and revolution while offering fresh insights into a pivotal historical moment. Roberts' narrative skill and thorough research make "The Last King of America" an essential read for history enthusiasts and general readers.

State Power And Control: Core Elements Of Fascism In Fdr's Regime, Edwin Vazquez

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), the hero of the Great Depression and WWII, employed fascist elements into American society. The term fascist is used as a mere epithet today, just as it was in the 1940s. Some argue it is a phenomenon of the political Right, others of the political Left. Notwithstanding, a definition, or a detailed description for the meaning of the term is hardly ever undertaken. The meaning of a term is essential if one hopes to find where it exists. Part of the task in this work is to attempt to define or describe the term fascism with …

Catholic Identity And Allegiance To The Patriot Cause In The American Revolution, David Gray

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Abstract

Always a minute and persecuted minority in British America, most Catholics by the time of the American Revolution flocked to the Patriot cause for independence, and greater liberty for themselves. This paper explores the historical basis for Protestant prejudice toward Catholics, and reveals that Protestant Patriots in America accepted Catholics in the ranks of the Continental Army and Navy in the common struggle to achieve American independence.

Reverend Gideon Blackburn, Alice Jacobson

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Gideon Blackburn (1772-1838) was a Presbyterian minister, missionary to the Cherokees, church planter, college president, and anti-slavery leader. His career in the ministry was not static, owing to his drive to evangelize as well as his pioneer restlessness to move further west into the frontier. Born in Virginia, Blackburn and his family moved into the area of east Tennessee while he was still a youth and where he converted at age 15. Following his theological education, in 1792 Blackburn moved to the Maryville, TN, area and served as an itinerant chaplain to Tennessee militia while pastoring two churches and planting …

Keepers Of The Peace Or Soldiers: An Analysis Of The 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing And The Rationale Behind Deploying Troops In A Peacekeeping Capacity, Brock Bellinger

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Despite President Reagan’s historic foreign policy success in ushering in the collapse of the Soviet Union and liberation of Eastern Europe, the loss of life during the Beirut Marine barracks bombing marks a substantial failure in Reagan’s foreign policy record. Reagan’s foreign policy failure in Beirut that resulted in the deaths of 241 Americans merits further examination amongst students of international relations as this peacekeeping mission illustrates the dangers of sending American troops into harm’s way without a clear and decisive goal and exit strategy. By evaluating the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing, the hindsight and judgment of history allows …

Taking Dominion To End Dominion: The Mennonite Influence On The End Of Russian Serfdom, H. Michael Shultz Jr.

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Serfdom in Russia was abolished in 1861, only 76 years after the first Mennonites were invited into Russia by Catherine II. By examining the lifestyle of the Mennonites who settled in the agriculturally productive “New Russia” (modern-day Ukraine), as well as the impact that the Mennonites had on the Imperial family, peasantry, and government, it is evident that the Mennonites played a recognizable role in bringing about the abolition of serfdom across the empire.

World War Two Glider Borne Forces: The Role Of British Doctrine In Effective Military Change, John W. Stegall

Masters Theses

The United States’ National Defense Strategy has shifted from fighting an asymmetrical, fourth generation adversary utilizing counterinsurgency and unconventional warfare to preparing for a peer/near peer conventional conflict focused on the Pacific and Central Europe. Modern maneuver commanders and operational planners can apply the economy of force, criticality of speed plus precision in kinetic engagements, value of highly trained, task organized small units, and technological incorporation knowledge gathered from analyzing the World War II glider operations executed by Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. Gliders were sailplanes that had a higher ratio of lift to drag than a motorized …

Compelling Libya: Operation El Dorado Canyon As Coercive Diplomacy And Counterterrorism, Ronald Tracy Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

On Tuesday morning, 11 September 2001, the United States was attacked by a small terrorist cell from a group called al-Qaeda. On that day, the United States was at war with terror. However, this was not the first time the United States dealt with terrorism. Thomas Jefferson sent a fleet of warships from the fledgling US Navy and a contingent of US Marines to deal with the Barbary Pirates operating on the "shores of Tripoli," the terrorists of the day. It is interesting that another president, Ronald Reagan, also sent a contingent of US Air Force and US Navy aircraft …

“Always Said To Be Of Indian Extraction”: Native/African American Freedom Suits In Virginia 1773-1853, Cress Ann Posten

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Freedom suits of enslaved people in Virginia who claimed liberty based upon matrilineal descent from a Native American woman provide a multi-dimensional lens into social, cultural, and legal aspects of colonial and antebellum considerations of race, kinship, and self-determination. Within records of depositions are detailed transcriptions of questions posed to neighbors, family members, acquaintances of enslavers, and slaveowners themselves. Answers reveal a nuanced and complicated set of opinions concerning who had a right to freedom. Local memory banks overflowed with detailed descriptions of the plaintiff and his or her native ancestress, including skin color, hair texture, and manners. Within isolated …

“Go, Then, To The Front As Temperate Men:” The U.S. Army, Temperance Advocacy, And Lessons Learned To 1873, Megan M.S. Nishikawa

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the long history of attempted liquor controls applied within the American army, from pre-revolution to the Civil War, culminating with a close look at the Union’s Army of the Potomac. This work details how the Union’s battle to control the effects of intoxicating liquors and sober up drunk troops from the commencement of hostilities in 1861 to 1865 reflected the historic efforts of the antebellum temperance movement, and describes how the experience of war prepared the next generation of temperance crusaders to rebuild a more profoundly religious, effective, and female driven temperance movement in the post-war decade.

The Cajun Traiteurs, Shelby Kathleen Robert

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Traiteurs are traditional folk medicine healers who are a part of the culture of the Cajuns of Louisiana. These people are believed to possess special healing powers given to them by God. They are a significant part of the lifestyle and traditional culture of the Cajuns. The Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians, a group of French colonists who were forcibly removed from Nova Scotia and dispersed all over North America by the British in 1755. Though the Acadians were able to partially reassemble themselves in Louisiana, they still faced great adversity within the state. This project examines the …

The Reasons For The Success Of Colonial Pennsylvania Farmers, Mark V. Durfee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the many reasons for the success of farmers in colonial Pennsylvania relative to farmers in the other British North American colonial regions. The timeline focuses on Swedish, Finnish, and Dutch farmers already in the Delaware Valley since 1636 and British and German immigrants to colonial Pennsylvania who arrived between 1682 and 1760. The first chapter examines the plans William Penn implemented before the arrival of his fellow Quaker brethren in 1682. The government designed and implemented by Penn, gave new colonists certain freedoms and legal guarantees. In the second chapter, the study examines Penn’s land distribution policy …

The Borgia Reexamined: A New Look At The Borgia Family And The Influence Of Adoptions Within The Family, Nicholas Ryan Mason

Masters Theses

The Borgia’s were a powerful family that garnered a great deal of their influence through the Catholic Church during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The height of the Borgia was between 1492 and 1503, when Rodrigo Borgia was elected Pope Alexander VI. Throughout history they have been known for the rumors of murder, incest, greed, and corruption that have surrounded the family ever since they first came to power. An examination of the family may not only lead to a different perspective of the family but may also lead to a deeper understanding of how one's enemies may …

Historical Understanding In The U.S. Constitution, Kristopher W. Chesterman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

How did the America’s Founding Fathers use historical knowledge to inform their actions and decisions that ultimately led to the creation of the Constitution? This dissertation begins to answer this question by providing context to the Framers’ education on both colonial and personal levels. Starting with exposure to historical content through learning Greek and Latin, this research explores the depth of historical knowledge possessed by the Founders and how they used that knowledge to explain their thoughts and ideas throughout the tumultuous years surrounding the American Revolutionary War. This aspect of the Constitution’s formation is overshadowed by the prominence of …

Christological Apologetics: How Late Antique Christians Contextualized Christology In Inter-Faith Dialogue With Muslims, Andrew P. Hillaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The earliest Christian-Muslim dialogue offers a unique glimpse into how Christians viewed the religion of their neighbors. Much of contemporary American scholarship misplaces focus geographically and linguistically in the West, chronologically late, and theologically narrow. These biases neglect those who had the earliest interaction with Islam, allowing for misunderstanding of how Christians originally understood Islam. This study examines the apologetic arguments of representatives under Islamic rule, in the late 7th to early 9th centuries, and both inside and outside theological orthodoxy, to understand how they used Christology to distinguish Christianity from Islam, whether as a heretical group or a distinct …

With Sand In Their Pockets: Lessons Of The American Expeditionary Force’S Mobilization For The First World War, Kasey James Comstock

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

When the Eleventh hour rang on November 11th, 1918, the United States Expeditionary Force, now the United States Army was no longer a mere constabulary organization. In fact, it had grown from just over 200,000 total soldiers to a staggering 4.2-million-man army. However, the growth of the army was not easy, through political and organizational in-fighting the army grew painfully. The inability of the United States government, especially its commander-in-chief, to implement reform measures ensured, and ultimately sealed the fate of thousands of American dead Doughboys in France. Additionally, the Army War College, General Staff, and War Department deliberately curtailed …

The Impact Of World War Ii On Hawaii, Darrel Raymond Van Hoose

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation will discuss World War II and the declaration of martial law in Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor set in motion a series of events that violated the civil rights of thousands of individuals living in Hawaii. The Supreme Court declared that the military violated the rights of citizens and that the declaration of war did not stop citizens from being protected under the Constitution. Through examining the decisions of government officials in Washington D.C., the military command in Hawaii, the archival documents, and testimonies of both government workers and civilians provided evidence that the United States government …

The Importance Of The Shenandoah Valley During The Civil War, Todd Alan Conn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research and writing is to examine the military history which transpired in the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. There is a general motivation to discover more about the people who made the decisions that impacted the Valley. Two research questions will be considered. First, why did the Union and Confederate leadership conduct operations in the Shenandoah Valley as they did in the Civil War? Second, how did the conduct of operations in the Shenandoah Valley change during the war for both the North and the South? Readers will encounter what happened in the Shenandoah …

Building The Hill City: Internal Improvements And Political Economy In Lynchburg, Virginia, 1791-1829, Mark Ryan Feld

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research explores the economic and political considerations of internal improvements in antebellum southwest Virginia. Special emphasis is paid to local petitions submitted to the Virginia General Assembly between 1791 and 1829, as well as local newspaper editorials printed or reprinted in Lynchburg, Virginia during the same period. Questions of intentionality, self-interest, and sectionalism are raised in elucidating what role localities along the ‘old frontier’ played in connecting the underdeveloped western region of the state to the developed eastern region during the early 19th century. Border towns first settled in the colonial backcountry—specifically Lynchburg, Virginia—served as ‘first movers’ in implementing …

The Relationship Between Christianity And Slavery: An Examination Of The Defense Of Slavery Within Christian Thought, Practices And Methodologies From 1619-1865, Decorie Lee Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Slavery in the Unitred States was supported by individual Christians who skillfully mastered how to manipulate the Bible as justification for enslaving Africans and their descendates. Therefore, the examination of the relationship between Christianity and slavery within the United States and the greater western civilizations-explores the impact of Christian institutions on African Americans-investages the influence of Christianis relationship with slavery on all the descendants of enslaved African culture as the plural societies within this relationship’s functions. So far, two perspectives have emerged in the study of the existence of such an connectiuon. The first, which may be termed as “Proslavery …

Thinking On A Higher Plane: The Evolution Of A Strategic Mindset In The Navies Of America And Great Britain At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, Bryan Keith Robbins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines how the American and British schools of naval thought matured in the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. Specifically, this is an ideological and institutional comparison of the two navies through the development of higher education for senior officers focused on strategic thinking. These programs helped define the role of naval forces as an element of power projection and influenced the ideology within each navy from a perspective emphasizing command of the sea in support of national interests and objectives. Principal elements discussed are the impact forums like the U. S. Naval Institute and the …