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Full-Text Articles in History

Through The Eyes Of The Enemy: Why Henry Clay Lost The Presidential Election Of 1844 Through The Lens Of The Daily Argus Of Portland, Maine, Laura Ellyn Smith Jan 2016

Through The Eyes Of The Enemy: Why Henry Clay Lost The Presidential Election Of 1844 Through The Lens Of The Daily Argus Of Portland, Maine, Laura Ellyn Smith

Maine History

The presidential election of 1844 was a critical turning point in the antebellum era. At stake was the controversial issue of Texas annexation, supported by the pro-expansionist Democrat James K. Polk and questioned by Whig Henry Clay. While historians generally accept the significance of the Texas issue, there is a lack of consensus over the importance of the anti-slavery Liberty Party in determining Clay’s narrow loss. Additionally, there is an absence of detailed research on Maine as a Democratic state within traditionally Whig New England. The Daily Argus, as a Democratic newspaper that represented Portland—the most populous part of Maine—provides …


Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich Jan 2015

Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich

Maine History

A fundamental part of the experience of immigrants to the United States has been the tension between incorporating into a new country while maintaining one’s cultural roots. In this article, the author describes the experience of Jewish Americans in Maine, where climate, culture, and remoteness from larger Jewish populations contributed to a unique process of Americanization compared with Jewish populations in more urban areas of the country. After successfully “making it” over the course of two centuries, Jewish Mainers face a new set of challenges and opportunities. The author is the director of the Jewish studies program at Colby College …


A City Divided: Lewiston’S Acceptance And Resistance To The Somali Refugees In Lewiston, Maine From 2000 To 2011, Anna Chase Hogeland Jan 2015

A City Divided: Lewiston’S Acceptance And Resistance To The Somali Refugees In Lewiston, Maine From 2000 To 2011, Anna Chase Hogeland

Maine History

This article depicts the nature of the resettlement, acculturation, and reception of the Somali refugees in the city of Lewiston, Maine from their arrival in 2000 until 2011. As refugees from their war-torn country, Somalis faced a mixed welcome in their new home. Racial and religious tensions rose as the black, Muslim Somalis moved into the predominately white and Christian Lewiston community. In opposition to the cold reception, as this article argues, the vast majority of the Lewiston community greeted the Somalis with tolerance, adaptability, and embracement. This article chronicles the historical contexts of Lewiston and Somalis before and during …


“Hard Work To Make Ends Meet”: Voices Of Maine’S Working-Class Women In The Late Nineteenth Century, Carol Toner Aug 2004

“Hard Work To Make Ends Meet”: Voices Of Maine’S Working-Class Women In The Late Nineteenth Century, Carol Toner

Maine History

In 1887 the Maine legislature responded to pressures from the Knights of Labor and an increasingly agitated industrial labor force by instituting the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics. The bureau’s job was to examine the state's workplaces and provide information to guide the legislature in making labor law. Reflecting the ideals of the popular Knights of Labor, the bureau initially focused its investigations on female as well as male workers. When the bureau requested that workers fill out questionnaires about their work, hundreds of women responded, leaving a rare first-hand account of women’s attitudes toward their working and living …