History Commons^™

From The First To The Last: The 70th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment In The Civil War, 1861-1865, Michael A. Knous Jr.

History Theses

The history of the 70th Ohio is diverse. It is not just a narrative of battles but also of survival, endurance, and an almost unbelievable war record. By the end of the war the 70th Ohio was in the upper echelon of Union Western Theatre Civil War regiments. At the Battle of Shiloh, they helped protect the western flank of the Army of the Tennessee and had perhaps their finest hour of the war. At the Battle of Atlanta, they held their position in the center of the Fifteenth Corps line while Confederates nearly surrounded them. Without their steadfast resolve …

An Examination Of The Visual And Textual Influences On The Anthology Of American Folk Music, Ben Collier

History Theses

The Anthology of American Folk Music is a collection of eight-four selections of southern vernacular recordings made for commercial record labels in the 1920s and 1930s and assembled into a unified collage by Harry Smith. Smith was an experimental filmmaker, painter, and self-taught anthropologist with a deep interest in renaissance hermeticism and mysticism who worked with Moe Asch in 1952 to release the six-record set and accompanying handbook on Folkways Records. The release was heralded by musicians and critics as an essential piece of influence on the folk music revival. Despite this, the Anthology sold poorly and quickly faced legal …

The Art And Mystery Of Pragmatic History, David Hardin

History Theses

This thesis considers how we make meaning in our individual lives and in practice as historians. From an initializing question —Why do people believe things that have either been proven false or shown improbable?— born out of historical discourse in the liminal space between mythology and history, this thesis embarks on a inquiry into meaning that is both deeply philosophical and practical. The work develops a historical method that falls within the tradition of Pragmatism, and then turns this method toward two case studies (Pedro Huízar and Señora Candelaria) from San Antonio, Texas. The aim is to explore two myths …

Social Sanguinity: Communal Ties And The Pursuit Of Political Power In Saga Age Iceland, Sam Fearnside

History Theses

Prior to the Norwegian annexation, Icelandic society lacked a government with an executive branch. As a result their legal system evolved in a highly privatized fashion in which individuals and their families were expected to self-advocate in order to assert and defend their rights and interests. Icelandic law also privatized the prosecution of criminals and enforcement of legal verdicts. Such a legal system required individual Icelanders to forge and maintain an array of social connections in order to protect themselves from both legal actions brought against them and the violent feuds that resulted due to the system’s short comings.

This …

Leeland Jones And Claude Clapp: Case Studies Of Civil Rights In Western New York, Kaelynn Beckman

History Theses

The Civil Rights Movement, which occurred primarily in the 1950s and 1960s, aimed to acquire justice, equality, and an end to racism and discrimination against Black Americans. In an attempt to do so, Black activists staged protests, walkouts, and boycotts and turned to institutions of education and politics to usher in change. However, the historiography on the Civil Rights Movement focuses on the more prominent events and individuals of the time, for example, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The missing components of the historiography include the …

The Moral Hygiene Movement In The United States, 1840s—1920s, Marissa Seib

History Theses

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the mental health care system in the United States underwent a series of reforms in an effort to better care for some of the country’s frailest citizens. This period, called the moral hygiene era of mental health care, emerged from a further understanding of psychiatry and psychology which led to structural changes in the mental health care system.

This thesis examines the beginnings of the Kirkbride system, which sought to reform the whole of American mental health care through landscaping and architecture as well as the specific treatment plan for each individual. Using case …

Project Jobs: Reagan, The Ins, And Undocumented Workers In 1982, Meghan Scott-Chaber

History Theses

Using digitized archival material, newspaper articles, and court documents, this thesis examines a 1982 federal deportation campaign in the United States called “Project Jobs,” which resulted in the apprehension of an estimated 5,400 undocumented workers, and the ultimate deportation of 4,000 of them. The operation targeted nine major U.S. cities with the goal of freeing up jobs for unemployed U.S. citizens during a recession. While Operation Wetback targeted undocumented workers in the agricultural sector, Project Jobs targeted high-paying urban jobs that were intended to be desirable for U.S. citizens. Although the operation received substantial publicity at the time, it has …

Landed: The Pursuit Of An Army Flight School For The City Of Wichita Falls, Texas, 1917-1919, Lee Howell

History Theses

This thesis examines the acquisition of a flight training facility by the city of Wichita Falls, Texas during the early years of the twentieth century. During a period when progressive reform was addressing societal problems, members of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce were diligently working to develop their community. At the time, aviation remained a relatively new technology. Chamber members, Joseph Kemp and Frank Kell, took the lead in the city's attempt to establish aviation as a developmental industry in its local commerce. The legacy left by both men is that of pioneer builders, whose focus for their city …

Insane Asylums In Britain During The Nineteenth Century, Jeanna Mankins

History Theses

This thesis analyzes insane asylums, in Britain, during the nineteenth century and argues that government, society, and gender had a profound impact on insane asylums and determined the quality of care that female and male patients received as a consequence.

An Intimate Relationship: Medical Theory, The Environment, And Hospitals, Devin Williams

History Theses

Prior to the full acceptance of bacteriology in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, medicine relied heavily upon the natural environment and cultivating flora from various regions around the world to implement in therapeutics. As a result of various medical theories and practices during the long nineteenth century the hospital became the physical embodiment of such practices and became modified as these medical theories advanced toward an acceptance of bacteriology. Initially serving as a marker for the boundary between the built and natural environments, hospitals also relied heavily upon the natural environment in the treatment of patients and became …

Budding Nationalism In The Black Garden; Nagorno Karabakh And The Role Of Conflict In Developing Azerbaijani National Identity, Kris Bohnenstiehl

History Theses

Azerbaijan's war with Armenia in late 2020, was dubbed the "Patriotic War" by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his supporters. Emphasizing the nature of conflict with Armenia as the greatest possible expression of Azerbaijani nationalism, the Aliyev cabinet has utilized the conflict to generate popular support for the authoritarian government. This paper delves into the history of Azerbaijan to flesh out the roots of the conflict and better understand how Azerbaijanis understand their own national identity.

Her World Changed: Anna Louise Strong And The 1916 Everett Massacre, Charlotte Nabors

History Theses

The 1970s saw a resurgence in the scholarship on Anna Louise Strong’s life, especially in feminist circles. In general, historians pre-1970 doubted the authenticity of Strong’s political radicalism and criticized the inconsistency in her participation. Neis’ scholarship represents the largely uncritical second-wave feminist interest in Strong’s life following her death in 1970. The scholarship on Strong’s life falls into three categories: the old guard, the feminist renaissance, and twenty-first-century perspectives. Since 2000, a more nuanced interpretation of Strong’s life incorporated elements of the old guard and feminist discussions. Anna Louise Strong’s introduction to activism began in her childhood as the …

A Place In This World: Minority Nation-Building In Interwar Czechoslovakia, Shelby Wise

History Theses

An in-depth analysis of Slovak, German, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Jewish minority struggles with the Czech majority within the First Czechoslovak Republic. Each minority faced their own unique set of issues with both the new government and each other due to long-standing historical grievances. These issues hindered the overall development of the new nation-state and helped usher in the Munich Crisis on the eve of WWII, which effectively ended the short life of the First Republic.

The Significance Of Abolitionism And The Underground Railroad, In The Buffalo Area, 1840-1860, Timothy J. Nixon

History Theses

The movement to end slavery is commonly known as the abolitionist movement. As a city located next to the Canadian border, Buffalo was a major route on the Underground Railroad. Sadly, when researching abolitionism and the Underground Railroad, national research seems to gloss over Buffalo. If Buffalo makes an appearance in national history books on this topic it is usually only a mention of being an Underground Railroad route into Canada. If historians mention Upstate New York, they usually focus on Frederick Douglass’s home of Rochester. Using the accounts of abolitionists, fugitive slaves, newspapers, community activists, and guest speakers, it …

Camp Wolters: A History Of The Us Army's Relationship With Mineral Wells, Texas, Stacy E. Croushorn

History Theses

This thesis documents the Army's contributions to the town of Mineral Wells, Texas by locating the army camp of Camp Wolters there during WWII.

"Hungry In Three Languages": (Un)Conscious Youth Efforts At Crossing Ethnonational Divisions In Post-Dayton Bosnia And Herzegovina, Matt Roge

History Theses

After the Dayton Accords ended the war in Bosnia in 1995, painful ethnic divisions remained-and remain-across the country. Separation of the populace along ethnic lines was deemed by Dayton's architects to be the most effective way to keep the peace, and the traumatic memory of violence and ethnic cleansing legitimized such separation to many citizens at the time. Twenty five years later however, the "divisions" in Bosnian society that contributed to the outbreak of war in 1992 have only been further legitimized by the Dayton constitution, resulting in social stagnation and an inability to reconcile with the past. Bosnia remains …

A Select Examination Of The Historiography Of The Causes Of The War Of 1812, Shiva Czuba

History Theses

This thesis examines a selection of literature concerning the causes of the War of 1812. While named America’s “forgotten” war, many historians have attempted to examine the political landscape that led to the newly formed United States to declare war on England in 1812. While maritime concerns have primarily been seen as the cause, this thesis will examine how that historiography has changed throughout the past two hundred years.

Chapter one, entitled “Early Interpretations: Maritime Grievances” examines the works of Alexander James Dallas, Henry Marie Brackenridge, Richard Hildreth, Gilbert Auchinleck, and Henry Adams. Chapter two, entitled “Changing Interpretations” looks at …

Lyndon Johnson, The Great Society, And The Assumption Of The Presidency In The Pages Of The Nation 1964-1970, Aidan Crosby

History Theses

Using The Nation's archive, this essay examines the popular conception of The Great Society---specifically as connected to Lyndon Johnson's personality. By placing the dialogue between Johnson's and The Nation's framing of The Great Society into the context of both television's newfound importance to political media and the evolving role of Presidential public relations, it argues that Johnson, despite being unsuccessful in his attempts, played a pivotal role in establishing the role and duties of the modern presidency.

Distinctly American: The Roots Of Secessionism And Nullification In The United States, Patrick F. Ryan

History Theses

A retrospective study of the role that secessionism played throughout American history, beginning in the late 18th century. The purpose of this work is to show how John C. Calhoun's (and other Southerners') ideas and rhetoric were not novel. This paper investigates the early whispers of nullification and secessionism in the United States; the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, Essex Junto, Hartford Convention, indecision by the founders, and how they shaped later American politicians in the mid-19th century.

Failoure On All Fronts: The United States Army In The First Year Of The War Of 1812, Gary H. Nobbs Jr.

History Theses

The United States declared war on the United Kingdom in the hopes of defending the nation's national honor. However, the United States Army was unprepared to go wage war. The army's supply system, militia system, and field commanders failed and led to a disastrous first year of conflict.

Fish Worth Fighting For: The Struggle For Control Of The Newfoundland Fisheries (1500-1800), Laura Perry Cohen

History Theses

The Atlantic cod that swam in the Grand Banks and along the coasts of Newfoundland played a significant role in the British Empire. The Newfoundland fisheries that developed following European exploration of the region in the early sixteenth century remained disputed areas for centuries. To Britain and France, the fisheries represented potential wealth and power, and soon, both countries were clamoring for rights to the island of Newfoundland and the waters surrounding it. During the eighteenth century, Britain and France engaged in several major wars against one another. Each war ended with peace treaties that included articles addressing the Newfoundland …

The Challenge Of E. Pluribus Unum: Waterfront Workers During The Civil War In Buffalo, New York, Anthony E. Gil

History Theses

This work is pioneering in that it opens discussion and historical inquiry into events of civil unrest in the U.S., both during the Civil War and in 1860s Buffalo, New York. It is the position of this study that events of early civil unrest are boiling points in the development of our great melting pot. Indeed, the more historians explore and understand these moments in American history, the easier it is to see profound epochs relative to America's growing pains. And, although there are many epochs that tell the story of those growing pains, "The Challenge of E. Pluribus Unum: …

Translating Faith And Philosophy: The Engagement Of The Jesuit Strategy Of Accommodation In Chinese Syncretic And Anti-Heterodox Traditions And The Reception Of Chinese Ideas In Europe, Finn Kearney

History Theses

This paper attempts to expand on the scholarship surrounding the Jesuit strategy of cultural accommodation in China by Father Matteo Ricci by examining the influence of Chinese intellectual traditions on its inception and development. It incorporates the works of Zhu Xi, Matteo Ricci, and Philippe Couplet among others to establish a connection between the native Chinese traditions of syncretism and anti-heterodox scholarship, the process of cultural exchange between the Jesuits and the Chinese literati, and the translation and transmission of Chinese ideas to Europe in the late 16th and 17th centuries. This paper also uses this common thread to explain …

El Camino Real, From Old Trails To Modern Highways 1890-1945, Timothy Ross Reed

History Theses

An examination of El Camino Real's development and importance in twentieth century Texas.

A Brief History Of The Irish And Social Mobility In Buffalo, New York From The 1830s To The 1860s, Evan B. Kennedy

History Theses

The focus of this thesis is to contribute and expand upon the historiography of Irish American history in Buffalo, New York. Throughout the 1830s and into the 1860s, the Irish in Buffalo were able to become socially mobile and establish themselves as a powerful group for change in the city. It is important to acknowledge that the process to become socially mobile was not easy for the Irish migrants and their later descendants. There were countless hardships and struggles the Irish faced prior to their journey to the United States and after their arrival and settlement in Buffalo. The time …

What Germany Taught The U.S. Army: Occupational Lessons In Postwar Germany, 1945-1946, Jessica Lynn Buisman

History Theses

The study of the U.S.-occupation of Germany after the Second World War is not complete without understanding its role in changing the culture of the U.S. Army. Statesmen at the wartime conferences determined what policies the Army should implement in Germany, but these proved to be too impossible for the U.S. Army to carry out. The military directive, JCS 1067, emphasized denazification, democratization, and reeducation. U.S. policymakers in Washington envisioned U.S. troops executing these policies without hesitation. This expectation proved faulty as the occupation entered its first year. Denazification, democratization, and reeducation each failed due to a lack of communication, …

African American Women's Resistance In The Aftermath Of Lynching, Lacey A. Brown-Bernal

History Theses

This thesis focuses on resistance strategies used by African American women in the aftermath of lynching in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It examines the ways in which those strategies were shared, modified, and deployed by black women activists throughout the Jim Crow Era and traces the connection to contemporary movements for social justice. The starting point for this study of generational change within African American women’s resistance to violence is the transatlantic anti-lynching campaign of Ida B. Wells and an examination of newspaper articles that detailed her actions while abroad with an eye to considering how her …

Missed Moments: Kodak’S Failure To Define The Consumer Market For Digital Photography, Paul T. Moon Jr

History Theses

The focus of this thesis is to provide an expanded interpretation of the decline of the Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak is a company synonymous with cameras, pictures, and photography. The American photographic giant created a vast empire that was able to dominate the industry for the better part of the Twentieth Century. Yet, it missed the opportunity to develop its digital camera technology. This makes Kodak an interesting study in business decision making in the face of advancing disruptive technology.

In a historical context, there is a lack of work that deeply inspects the fall of the Kodak company in …

Thriving Against All Odds: How The Writing Of Catherine Of Siena Shaped Christianity In Europe In The 14th Century, Emily Harden

History Theses

This paper examines how Catherine of Siena's partnership with Raymond of Capua and her letters allowed her to access spaces that she wouldn't have otherwise been able to access due to her gender. By looking closely at her letters and secondary scholars works, I was able to determine that her determination to focus peoples' attention on God's Will, she was able to enter into big political and religious discussions to which other women were not privy.

"The Cornerstone And Abode Of Our National Progress": New York City's Skyscrapers As An American Story Of Innovation And Teamwork, Meghan Hamel

History Theses

This paper examines the early history of skyscrapers using New York City as its case study. Skyscrapers become possible because of the Industrial Revolution which provided the steel needed for its tall structure and the demand for office space. The early skyscrapers were both praised and criticized by the public. Concerns over the health, economic, and aesthetic consequences led to the passing of the 1916 Zone Ordinance. Following the ordinance, New York City saw a boom of skyscrapers and the creation of a uniquely American architectural style. Before all skyscraper construction completely halted, the Empire State Building was completed. It …