History Commons^™

The Anabaptist Contributions To The Idea Of Religious Liberty, Barbara Monette

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship between ideas and history is important in order to understand the past and the present. The idea of religious liberty and the realization of that ideal in sixteenth-century Europe by the Anabaptists in Switzerland and South Germany in the 1520s was considered to be revolutionary in a society characterized by the union of church and state. The main impetus of the idea of religious liberty for the Anabaptists was the application of the New Testament standard of the Christian church, which was an independent congregation of believers marked only by adult baptism.

The purpose of the present study …

The Origins And Development Of The Defense Forces Of Northern And Southern Rhodesia From 1890 To 1945, Eugene Peter Jarrett Pomeroy

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines Northern and Southern Rhodesia's history through the formation and development of their police and military units from the time Rhodesia was created in 1890 until the end of the Second World War. Southern Rhodesia, founded after a series of short and bloody frontier wars, was a self-governing British colony under a white minority and centered its peace-time security efforts around keeping an eye on potential uprisings from the African majority. White Northern Rhodesians viewed the African majority with similar suspicion although they were never able to exclude Africans from territorial defense. Northern Rhodesia was governed from London …

Establishing Us Military Government: Law And Order In Southern Bavaria 1945, Stephen Frederick Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

In May 1945, United States Military Government (MG) detachments arrived in assigned areas of Bavaria to launch the occupation. By the summer of 1945, the US occupiers became the ironical combination of stern victor and watchful master. Absolute control gave way to the "direction" of German authority. For this process to succeed, MG officials had to establish a stable, clearly defined and fundamentally strict environment in which German officials would begin to exercise token control. The early occupation was a highly unstable stage of chaos, fear and confusing objectives. MG detachments and the reconstituted German authorities performed complex tasks with …

Oregon's Marines: A Regional History Of The United States Marine Corps, Michael Coleman Howard

Dissertations and Theses

The history of the United States Marine Corps in Oregon, and of the many Oregonians who have served as Marines, is a unique story which has never been told. This thesis examines United States Marines from the state of Oregon and activities by Marines in the state. It covers the Oregon Marine experience from its start in 1841 through the Gulf War conflict of 1991 to the present. From 1838 to 1842, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, United States Navy, led a remarkable exploration and scientific expedition around the world. In 1841, Wilkes visited the Pacific Northwest, and accompanying him aboard his …

British Aristocratic Women And Their Role In Politics, 1760-1860, Nancy Ann Henderson

Dissertations and Theses

British aristocratic women exerted political influence and power during the century beginning with the accession of George III. They expressed their political power through the four roles of social patron, patronage distributor, political advisor, and political patron/electioneer. British aristocratic women were able, trained, and expected to play these roles. Politics could not have existed without these women. The source of their political influence was the close interconnection of politics and society. In this small, inter-connected society, women could and did influence politics. Political decisions, especially for the Whigs, were not made in the halls of government with which we are …

The Tumult Of Amboise And The Importance Of Historical Memory In Sixteenth-Century France, Trevor Charles Schmitz-Thursam

Dissertations and Theses

Humanist legal scholarship was the catalyst to historical revolution that took place in sixteenth-century France. French philologists succeeded in demonstrating the cultural distinctiveness of France from a heretofore assumed classical heritage shared with ancient Rome. As a result, scholars sought to retrace the historical origins of France in the non-Roman Gauls and Franks. Their intensive study of the laws, customs and institutions that developed in France, as distinct from ancient Rome, transformed the understanding of the national past. Following the introduction of the principles of historical anachronism and cultural relativism, the sixteenth century witnessed a transformation of traditional perceptions of …

Fort Clatsop National Memorial: A Study In Historic Preservation, Kelly June Cannon

Dissertations and Theses

Fort Clatsop National Memorial is a unit of the National Park Service in Clatsop County, Oregon. The memorial was established by an Act of Congress in 1958 to commemorate the culmination and 1805-1806 winter encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The memorial centers around a replicated fort structure. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the process of preserving historic sites under the National Park Service (NPS) by examining the history of Fort Clatsop National Memorial. Through this examination it is possible to understand the realities of the national preservation system and the ideals fostered by those involved …

China's Policies Toward The Soviet Union And The United States Before And In The Korean War, Ji Bao Yan

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis deals with China's policy making toward both the Soviet Union and the United States in late 1949 and early 1950 and how they made the decision to enter the conflict, by making use of recently declassified Chinese sources and available American sources.

The Impact Of The Donation Land Law Upon The Development Of Oregon, Elwin Edward Grout

Dissertations and Theses

The social and economic structure of Oregon was influenced by the Donation Land Law. The Congressional law conferred upon early settlers to Oregon 320 acres, 640 if married (and settled before December 1, 1850). Oregon attracted settlers who desired land and were uninterested in commercial agriculture. The Oregon settlers who took advantage of the law were in a position to create their own society and economy. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the social and economic structure created by the Donation Land pioneers and to identify their land disposition strategy. This thesis examined the fifty households that comprised …

Freedom As Self-Legislation: An Examination Of Rosseau And Kant, Roger L. Cross

Dissertations and Theses

Rousseau and Kant were philosophers of freedom. Both believed freedom was the essence of humanity, and both believed that "freedom is self-legislation." This thesis examines what they understood to be self-legislation. According to Rousseau natural freedom was lost with the establishment of society. Society is an "unnatural" order and the true basis of society is simply convention. Man is free only if he is subject to laws of his own making, or at least to those laws to which he has consented. The ideal state, according to Rousseau, is the republic based on laws that have been created and adopted …

The Family And Women In The Fifteenth Century: A Case Study Of The Pastons, Diana Thurman

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis questions the prevailing historical models of the medieval family, using the Paston family as a test case. It reviews the theories of three prominent historians of the medieval family: Lawrence Stone, Ralph Houlbrooke and Joel Rosenthal. Whether the Paston family and particularly the women fit the models of families as defined by the above mentioned historians is the underlying question. If the Paston family does not fit these models, what does that tell us about the current assumptions made concerning the fifteen th century family? The thesis illustrates that the family models of Stone do not always apply …

The Development Of Natural Law From Plato To The Renaissance, James M. Harrison

Dissertations and Theses

The development of natural law has had a profound influence on the course of European civilization. I have started my research with natural law as it was conceived by Socrates and Plato. I then followed the major developments and changes that occurred to this original design through to the height of the Renaissance in the Sixteenth century. I relied mostly on secondary sources for several reasons. First the translations of the original materials are all well established. This includes translations of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Ockham, Suarez, Luther, as well as others. Secondly, and more importantly, the emphasis of my research …