History Commons^™

Remaking Of Race And Labor In British Guiana And Louisiana: 1830-1880, Amanda G. Lewis Ms.

History Theses

During the nineteenth century, the Gulf of Mexico fostered the movement of people, ideas, and news throughout the surrounding regions. Although each colony and state surrounding the basin had distinct cultures and traditions, they shared the legacy of slavery and emancipation. This study examines the transformation of labor that occurred for sugar planters in British Guiana and southern Louisiana during the age of emancipation. In this comparative project, I argue that in the 1830s planters from the British West Indies set the trajectory for solutions to the labor problem by curtailing the freedom of former slaves with Asian contract labor. …

Freedom In Education: The Movement To Educate The Freedmen In The Pee Dee Region During Reconstruction, Aliyyah Willis

Honors Theses

The current scholarship on the education of the freed slaves in the South during Reconstruction is not so much one of differing points of view, but of specialization within the broader topic. Most of this scholarship focuses on the Southern region as a whole, rather than limiting the scope to just one state or smaller geographic area. Instead of arguing for or against a particular point of view, today's historians are focusing on one part of the larger topic to analyze. Whether studying the people themselves and their motivations, the teachers who educated them, or the system of education that …

Baird, Nell Thompson (Bate), 1901-1988 - Collector (Sc 2489), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2489. Correspondence, wills, slave bills of sale, and genealogical data relating to the Bate family of Sumner County, Tennessee, and associated families. Includes a photostat of a letter of introduction for Eugenia P. (Bate) Bass written by Jefferson Davis, and a list of her assets held separately from her husband. Also includes a loyalty oath, 1865, sworn in Tennessee by H. Bate (click on "Additional Files" below for scan).

For The Benefit Of Others: Harriet Martineau: Feminist, Abolitionist And Travel Writer, Laura J. Labovitz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

One of the distinctive and remarkable traits of Harriet Martineau was her need to publish information that she believed would benefit society. Her publications - Illustrations of Political Economy (1832), Society in America (1837) and Retrospect of Western Travel (1838) - have the distinct characteristic of being published with the intent to inform and educate the British public. Scholars have focused on her later 1848 publication, Eastern Life: Present and Past, as her most important publication. Yet I will argue that it was her earlier works which set the stage for this later, better known book. Her travel to the …

Short Remarks On The Political And Social Writings Of Reverend Anthony Walke Of Princess Anne County, Virginia & A Concise & Impartial Account Of The Causes Of Their Origins & Progress, Roberta Vogt

All Theses

The following thesis examines multiple social and political topics in the largely unstudied writings of Reverend Anthony Walke (c. 1755-1814) of Princess Anne County, Virginia. His papers reside at the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as appearing in Virginia newspapers of the period. Walke's works comprise more than four hundred pages of primary source documents that relate to late eighteenth-century Virginia, and span the period of 1786 through 1805.
My research emphasizes his Revolutionary War pamphlet, Remarkable Occurrences during the unhappy American War, & a concise & impartial Account of the Causes of its Origin & Progress: …

Prentis Papers (Mss 32), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and transcription of one 1865 letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 32. Letters to James Prentis, 1836-1869; family letters to Lucy Prentis, Petersburg, Virginia, 1838-1842; family letters to Margaret Prentis, 1867-1909; 26 letters and essays of James Prentis written to friends and newspaper editors expressing his views as a Union supporter, 1861-1867; and miscellaneous items.

African Architectural Transference To The South Carolina Low Country, 1700-1880, Fritz Hamer

Fritz Hamer

There is growing historical and archaeological evidence that African style housing was an integral part of slave communities on plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Besides the "shotgun" house, other African house forms were built in North America before descendants of African slaves became acculturated to western construction techniques. The rarity of historical and archaeological evidence of these structures can be attributed to the culture bias of early white observers and the poor preservation of these impermanent structures in the archaeological record.

The African American Experience In Antebellum Cabell County, Virginia/West Virginia, 1810-1865, Cicero Fain

History Faculty Research

Located on the Ohio River in western Virginia, adjacent to southeastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky, antebellum Cabell County lay at the fulcrum of east and west, north and south, freedom and slavery. Possessed of a bountiful countryside—replete with wildlife, timber, pristine streams and creeks, and rich river-bottom soil along the navigable Ohio and Guyandotte rivers—it held great potential for settlers who sought to put down roots. Drawn by its promising location and cheap, arable land, migrants settled in the county in increasing numbers in the early 1800s, and many settlers took their slaves with them. Yet like most counties on …

"Gold Coast Slave Ship Bound For Cotton Fields...": Altamont And The American Civil War, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

A couple weeks ago, I put up a post about a flag flying at Manassas during the Sesquicentennial commemoration. It elicited a nice response from a friend of mine, Robby, who hails from the great state of North Carolina. Robby loves to play devil's advocate, so I'm always happy to wade further into a friendly conversation:

...When a historian is unable to understand the southern affinity for the men who fought the war, almost to a person you see the slavery straw man emerge. This action is akin to politicians playing the race card, an easy way out of a …

The African-American Emigration Movement In Georgia During Reconstruction, Falechiondro Karcheik Sims-Alvarado

History Dissertations

This dissertation is a narrative history about nearly 800 newly freed black Georgians who sought freedom beyond the borders of the Unites States by emigrating to Liberia during the years of 1866 and 1868. This work fulfills three overarching goals. First, I demonstrate that during the wake of Reconstruction, newly freed persons’ interest in returning to Africa did not die with the Civil War. Second, I identify and analyze the motivations of blacks seeking autonomy in Africa. Third, I tell the stories and challenges of those black Georgians who chose emigration as the means to civil and political freedom in …

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 …

Empathizing With The Slave; Empathizing With The Slave-Owner, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Living inside of the world of the past is often the most difficult thing an interpreter can help her audience to do. But, in spite of its difficulty, it is the most necessary. The adage that before you insult a man, you must walk a mile in his shoes is correct. [excerpt]

Crabb, Alfred Leland, 1884-1979 (Mss 367), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and bibliography (click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 367. Correspondence, book and article manuscripts, and research material of Alfred Leland Crabb, a native of Warren County, Kentucky and later professor at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. The topics of the manuscripts include historical fiction related to Nashville and Bowling Green, biographies of prominent Nashvillians, and articles on all levels of education. Much of the unpublished material is fiction but draws from Crabb's Plum Springs school days and his student experiences at Western Kentucky University.

Conflict And Division Within The Presbyterian Church, Katie Bava

The Confluence (2009-2020)

Like many Protestant denominations, the Presbyterian Church split over the "peculiar institution." In St. Charles, Missouri, this division became particularly acute when it came to control of property. Katherine Bava examines a case file from the St. Charles Circuit Court that involves this division, the Loyalty Oath, and the Board of Trustees of Lindenwood Female College.

The Ideology Of Equality: James Murray Mason And Antebellum Politics, Adam Zucconi

All Theses

Most studies of antebellum Virginia politician James Murray Mason examine his post-Senate career as Confederate ambassador to England. Those that do explore his tenure as a senator and, earlier, state politician, misinterpret his ideology and portray him as a proslavery demagogue. Perhaps most troubling, few delve into the political context of Virginia, and the forces and tensions present in the Commonwealth during this period. This study seeks to question this historiographical trend by asking a question basic to any understanding of Mason's career: What was the foundation of James M. Mason's political ideology, and how did he balance it as …

Coda: Henry Wise's Peculiar Property, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Slaves belonging to Henry A. Wise, Princess Anne County, Virginia.

Underwood Collection (Mss 58), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and selected full-text scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 58. Correspondence, diaries, papers, and genealogical materials of Joseph Rogers Underwood, U.S. Senator from Bowling Green, Kentucky, his wife Elizabeth Cox Underwood, his brother Warner Lewis Underwood, and his son, John Cox Underwood.

The Question Of Slavery, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Question Of Slavery, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

Jeffrey Rogers Hummel

No abstract provided.

Piracy, Slavery, And Assimilation: Women In Early Modern Captivity Literature, David C. Moberly

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines a hitherto neglected body of works featuring female characters enslaved in Islamicate lands. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many Englishmen and women were taken captive by pirates and enslaved in what is now the Middle East and North Africa. Several writers of the time created narratives and dramas about the experiences of such captives. Recent scholarship has brought to light many of these works and pointed out their importance in establishing what was still a young, unsure, and developing English identity in this early period. Most of this scholarship, however, has dealt with narratives of the …

Mcdonald, Dan Allyn, 1905-1974 - Collector (Mss 343), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 343. Correspondence, legal papers, financial records and sundry other documents related to Eugene Scott Brown and his father-in-law, Gilbert Marshall Mulligan, attorneys of Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky. Also includes stray Allen County court records, research notes related to the Civil War, and records about early telephone service in Allen County.

"...The Way Things Were Back Then": Why Making Excuses For Slavery Doesn't Work, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Presentism. Aside from historical revisionism, it is perhaps the 'epithet' with which the modern historian find themselves branded the most. I've been reading again a series of screeds by Bill Vallante, a Confederate reenactor and SCV member from Commack, NY (thanks to John Hennessy). I've read these pages before, but this time around was struck by the abject vitriol which oozes from the language employed. A line in one piece in particular stood out to me as quite angry:

"Add a heavy dose of presentism (judging or interpreting the past according to the standards of the present), mix thoroughly and …

Miller Family Papers (Sc 140), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 140. Papers of Tobias Miller and James B. Miller, Giles County, Virginia. Includes bill of sale for slave, 1843; five tax receipts, 1857-1869; railroad bill of lading for wheat shipment, 1859; certificate of appointment as surveyor of public road, 1860; statements for dry good and physician's services, 1862-1864, 1867; receipt for C.S.A. bonds, 1864; military notice of impressment and receipt for corn, 1864; and unsigned surety bond.

Why It's Interpretive: Bid 'Em In, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Browsing the provocative blog "Jubilo! The Emancipation Century" recently, I came upon a post featuring a curious YouTube video.

So why did Bid 'Em In speak so deeply to me? I think it's because it places you in the shoes of the 15 year old slave woman being auctioned. It's not an intellectual investigation of slavery. It's not an historical narrative written after the fact of a particular event. It's visceral. [excerpt]

Eddington, Rachel (Sc 134), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text scans of letter and typescripts for Manuscripts Small Collection 134. Letters (1857-1863) of a freed slave, Rachel Eddington of Clay Ashland, Liberia, written to Charlotte Belt, her former owner in Ohio County, Kentucky, Belt’s brother Henry Stevens, and her husband Sandy. She writes of her and her children’s illnesses and the lack of sufficient food, housing and employment in Liberia. Includes Barren County, Kentucky, slave bill of sale (1843) for Sandy; script for a radio drama (1936) based on Rachel’s letters; and correspondence (1936-1947) with the donor of the letters, who was a descendant of …

Mcclean, Roberta - Collector (Sc 133), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 133. Emancipation deeds for three slaves signed by Henry Fisk, Montgomery County, Kentucky; letters from W. M. Perkins, New Orleans, Louisiana, to his cousin Rebecca Fisk, Russellville, Kentucky, with family news; and a blank check of the Southern Bank of Kentucky, Russellville, which was robbed by Jesse James in 1868. Includes information on the subsequent fate of Fisk’s emancipated slaves.

“Truth Systematised" : The Changing Debate Over Slavery And Abolition, 1761-1916, Robert P. Forbes

Torrington Articles

No abstract provided.

The Secret Weapon Of Globalization: China's Activites In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kehbuma Langmia

Department of Strategic, Legal, and Management Communications Faculty Publications

The continent of Africa has become the place where advanced nations have resorted to scramble for its natural wealth. Since the era of slave trade and colonization, Africa has become the victim of exploitation from external forces.

The Mediterranean Apprenticeship Of British Slavery, By Gustav Ungerer. Madrid: Editorial Verbum, 2008 (Book Review), Imtiaz Habib

English Faculty Publications

The article reviews the book "The Mediterranean Apprenticeship of British Slavery," by Gustav Ungerer.

Corn And Culture: The Influence Of Zea Mays Across Cultural And Historical Boundaries, Ginny Marie Mueller

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Corn's status as a critical food crop, and its location within indigenous new world cosmographies, illustrate the important sociocultural role the plant has played for millennia. However, modern society has elevated Zea mays far above the status of mere plant, fashioning it into a commodity intimately connected to systems of control and capitalism. Consequently, corn has played an essential role in colonization, industrialization, and the advent of overproduction. The beliefs and literature of numerous new world cultures, along with the literatures of modern Western cultures, offer a striking analysis of corn's current position in western society. The far-reaching impacts that …