History Commons^™

The Spirit Of Hidalgo: The Mexican Revolution In Coahuila, 1910-1915, Suzanne B. Pasztor

History ETDs

This dissertation fills a gap in the scholarship of the Mexican Revolution by providing a detailed history of the northeastern state of Coahuila from the late Porfirian era to approximately 1915. It evaluates the general social, political, and economic developments that contributed to revolutionary activity within the state and that helped to shape the movements led by Francisco I. Madero and Venustiano Carranza. The social bases and characteristics of support for Madero, Carranza, and other revolutionary factions are also examined. Another major theme is the crucial role played by the extensive Coahuila-Texas border in the financing of the Mexican Revolution. …

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 …

A Summary Of The Contributions Of Four Key African American Female Figures Of The Civil Rights Movement, Michelle Margaret Viera

Masters Theses

This thesis will present historical data to summarize the contributions of four key African-American female figures of the civil rights era. The theme is devoted to the historical contributions of these women. Their achievements will be shown to have answered to human needs during the struggle for African American civil and human rights. These achievements were preceded by their personal perceptions as to what constituted tenable rights and needs, introspection, and their willingness to assume a leadership stance and leadership roles.

This written historical assessment will illustrate the chain of events, social and geographical particulars which triggered participation in the …

The Encirclement At Cherkassy-Korsun: An Assessment Of The Winners And Losers, Joseph Kent Lutes

Masters Theses

During the winter of 1944, two Russian armies encircled two German corps on the Dnieper River. The Germans managed to break out of the encirclement after an attempt to relieve them failed. The battle lasted only three weeks, but cost both sides greatly. Both sides carried out a successful airlift to keep their troops in action. The Germans carried out a brilliant campaign, while the Russians demonstrated that they still needed to perfect their encirclement doctrine and their propaganda.

Each side was hindered by its leaders. Hitler forced the Germans to hold ground, while Stalin forced his generals to fight …

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.

Immigrants In Richmond After The Civil War : 1865-1880, Rudolph H. Bunzl

Master's Theses

Richmond's foreign-born inhabitants in 1860 represented about twenty percent of the white population. The Irish and German communities were particularly influential. This thesis examines whether immigration resumed after the Civil War, where immigrants came from, and what role they played in the community. Research included examination of naturalization and census records, church records, newspapers of the period, records of German organizations, and the records of the Virginia legislature. The conclusions are: Immigration resumed on a very small scale. Government efforts to attract more immigrants were unsuccessful. The majority of newcomers were Germans; others came from Scotland, Italy, Ireland, England, and …

The City Of Tomorrow With The Spirit Of The Past: Bankrolling The Industrial Development Of Knoxville, Tennessee, 1875-1907, Kathleen A. Johnston

Masters Theses

This study investigates the relationship between banking and the industrial development of a small southern city in the late nineteenth century to determine how the pattern of loans and investments influenced the city's twentieth century industrial development. State and national banking records for Mechanics' Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1875 through 1907 formed the primary documentary evidence for this study. The bank's loan activities and investments in new industry were analyzed to ascertain bank's officers, shareholders and board members financial interests in the companies the bank funded. The study also focused on the ten men who legally controlled the majority …

Crazy Quilt Legacy: Uncovering Myths Of Women's Madness On The Plains, Nancy B. Johnson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

By the spoken and written word myths have been handed down from generation to generation perpetuating the notion that women failed to endure the hardships of the Plains settlement experience and were driven insane. This thesis, ''Crazy Quilt Legacy: Uncovering Myths of Women's Madness on the Plains," examines from a historical perspective this myth of insanity, and pieces together the realities surrounding women who seemed to fall victim to mental disorders during the settlement years on the Great Plains, particularly Nebraska.

Research for this work centers on primary sources in Nebraska, including papers and records from the Nebraska State Historical …

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 …

Liberalization Of Slave Law: Contracts For Freedom In Louisiana, Amanda Marie Bolz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Liberalization Of Slave Law: Contracts For Freedom In Louisiana, Amanda Bolz

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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 fifteenth century family?

The thesis illustrates that the family models of Stone do not always apply to …

Women And Subsistence Agriculture In The Arkansas Ozarks 1900, Tasha Rauscher

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

Spies Like Us? : An Analysis Of Six 1980s Spy Films And The Images They Presented About The Cold War, Jason Bologna

Honors Theses

"Let us not be deceived--we are today in the midst of a cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home. Let us never forget this: Our unrest is the heart of their success. The peace of the world is the hope and goal of our political system; it is the despair and defeat of those who stand against us" (Platt 48) . This passage was part of a speech delivered by Bernard M. Baruch before the South Carolina state legislature on April 16, 1947. The speech is significant because in using the term 'cold war,' Baruch …

The Need And Justifcation For All-Black Male Academies In Urban Areas, Nimrod Malik Shabazz

McCabe Thesis Collection

During the 1980's, the concept of an all-Black male academy was strongly pushed as a panacea for the seemingly systematic, scholastic downfall of Black males in secondary institutions. Though said academies have received strong community support, opposition against them has also been equally staunch. All-Black male academies have also fallen under question because of their supposed discrimination against females and the belief that their existence would return the system of education in the United States to segregation.

The purpose of this study is to analyze historical factors which have affected Black male academic achievement on the secondary level in urban …

An Historical Look At The Negro Baseball Leagues: The Legend Of The Black Knights, Terry Pierce

McCabe Thesis Collection

This study hopes to fill in some of the gaps in the history of the Negro Leagues. More importantly though, this research is successful only if the readers can come away with a true sense of what the ballplayers of the era felt and why they played while enduring racism and humiliation.

This study was conducted to pull together the previously written facts and history of the Negro Leagues with obscure oral history and data found through interviews, videotapes, articles, and books from and about those who played and lived during the era.

Integration Within Desegrated School Systems: Guthrie High School, A Case Study, Eric A. Moore

McCabe Thesis Collection

Integration within desegregated school systems is a topic that, according to several authors and professors, can be "counted on with two hands." This is an exaggeration; however, recent literature in this area is lacking. There have been several federally funded case studies, but all of the case studies have apparently been confined to urban settings. This thesis is unique in that it focuses upon the Guthrie, Oklahoma, 6 public high school system. Unlike many larger urban areas, this high school does not experience major problems such as busing, "white flight," the inability to find teachers with the resolve to teach …

The Role Of Free Blacks In Civil War New Orleans, Norman Eugene Anseman Iii

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The History Of The South Side Railroad, 1846-1870, James M. Bisbee

Master's Theses

The South Side Rail Road, chartered in 1846, was the fourth railroad to serve the city of Petersburg, Virginia, and, upon its completion in 1854, was the only direct rail link the city had through the Virginia Piedmont to Lynchburg and points west. The railroad was a major conveyor of trade through the Southside region of Virginia and served as an engine of economic development for the area. During the Civil War the road was a vital means of transportation of men and materiel for the Confederate government. After the war, General William Mahone, a railroad professional and war hero, …

Henry Taylor Wickham And The Virginia Senate, 1888-1907, Steven A. Colvin

Master's Theses

The decade of the 1890s was a complex period in the political history of Virginia. Virginia had experienced prosperity because of the development of railroads after the Civil War. Because of this contribution to statewide growth, the railroads had developed monopolistic characteristics which prompted an ambivalent response from most Virginians. It was said that during the 1890s Virginia's railroads controlled the state legislature through the medium of the Democratic Party. During this period before the creation of laws dealing with political conflicts of interests, Henry Taylor Wickham represented the counties of Caroline and Hanover in the Virginia Senate. In 1937, …

Pioneer Harmonies: Mormon Women And Music In Utah, 1847-1900, Jennifer L. Fife

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

By drawing on local newspapers and the diaries, journals, and autobiographies of nearly fifty pioneers, this thesis examined the varied musical experiences of Utah's Latter-day Saint women during the years 1847-1900, and sought to determine whether they followed national gender trends in music during this era. Women in nineteenth-century Utah participated in a wide variety of musical activities, including using music in their homes, taking lessons, and teaching. Women also composed and wrote song lyrics. Many women performed in community musical events, such as concerts and operas. Despite their accomplishments, women did face conflict over the demands of family responsibility …

The Tail Wags The Dog: State Versus Federal Control In The Public Domain Debate, 1929-1934, Kevin D. Hatfield

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examines the evolution of public land law during the early 1930s. It focuses specifically on the development of a federal grazing policy on the remaining public domain located in the eleven western states. This period of intense intellectual conflict, concerning the relationship between private enterprise and the federal government, was a pivotal moment in the history of land law.

To explain the profound shift from the entrenched states' rights attitudes of the 1920s to the acceptance of federal control inaugurated by the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934, this thesis explores the emergence of a powerful profederal contingent from …