History Commons^™

“Botany Bay”: The State Of Society At Union College During The Early Nineteenth Century, Andrew Cassarino

Honors Theses

The history of Union College spans nearly the entire history of the United States. Founded in 1795, the school emerged as one of the nation’s premier educational institutions in the early nineteenth century. The changes occurring on the national stage often entered public life on Union’s campus, and President Eliphalet Nott and students actively participated in the civil discourse of the period. The most prevalent issues on campus included the authority of government, temperance, and the question of enslavement. Historians often like to find commonality among individuals with regards to their views on the most pressing topics of the time, …

The Duality Of Freedom: The Colony Of Rhode Island’S Slave Trade Complex, Thomas Shields

Honors Theses

In the eighteenth century British colonies there existed a duality of freedom, in which salutary neglect facilitated economic opportunism in the form of the slave trade. This paper examines how the colony of Rhode Island was a microcosm of this freedom duality in the merchant capitalist world. The colony became the epicenter of the slave trade in British North America, while also the home to a fervent abolition movement headed by the Quakers. This thesis contends that broad economic and individual freedoms in the colony created the environment where the slave trade prospered, the exact opposite of freedom.

After the …

Contemporary Slavery: A Historical Perspective, Keilah Creedon

Honors Theses

While awareness is spreading about the 29 million people around the world who are currently enslaved, there is often a lack of understanding about what slavery is like today versus our common conception of slavery under the transatlantic slave trade. After exploring the connection between the abolition of slavery in the past and the introduction of coercive labor practices under colonial rule, I explain how slavery never truly ended and elaborate on the most common forms of contemporary slavery found today. This includes a case study focused on coercive labor in cocoa production. Using a solution oriented approach, I address …

Spartacus The Liberator: Modern Reception Of An Ancient Narrative, Charlotte Lehman

Honors Theses

Spartacus, the Thracian gladiator who led the rebels of the Third Servile War, is one of the most widely known figures of Ancient Rome. Despite the lack of ancient sources describing him, Spartacus has become popular in modern society. After being held as a slave in a gladiator training school, Spartacus inspired a revolt in which almost 100,000 slaves stood before several Roman legions and won. Before being subdued by the praetor Marcus Licinius Crassus, the escaped slaves won many battles against the powerful Roman army. Spartacus’ story has been adapted in novels, films, and even ballets. This thesis examines …

Slavery In The Constitution: The Ironic Shifts In Tension Over Three Pivotal Clauses, Joseph Privitera

Honors Theses

As scholarship has attempted to demonstrate in recent times, early United States history has unfortunately been stained with slavery. The founding document of the nation, the Constitution, is no exception. The three provisions which affected the institution most directly are the three-fifths, slave trade, and fugitive slave clauses. Of these sections, the latter proved to be by far the most controversial in the long-run. Although the other two received lengthy debates and caused great concern in 1787 during the General Convention and over the next few years as the states discussed ratification, they caused limited levels of strain on the …

Rediscovering Prigg V. Pennsylvania, Andrew J. Trochanowski

Honors Theses

The concept of federalism serves as the foundation for the American political system. The framers laid a foundation for balancing state and national tensions; and during the antebellum era American political actors wrestled with the proper application of these concepts. This paper traces the evolution of federalist principles beginning at the founding and culminating with the commonly misperceived Supreme Court case Prigg v. Pennsylvania by analyzing transformative historical moments and political regimes. Prigg v. Pennsylvania currently exists within contemporary political and constitutional scholarly literature as a slavery case decided upon moralistic bias and the Court’s commitment to the institution of …