Political History Commons^™

The Black Press And Late Imperial Russia, Benjamin Pierce

History Undergraduate Honors Theses

For centuries, western observers had looked to Russia and seen a place fundamentally different from their home countries. In their accounts, Russia was distinctly oppressive, a state characterized by tyranny, barbarism, and Mongolian influence. But these accounts were faulty. They were written by merchants, diplomats, and explorers, wealthy white men who had never experienced the kind of repression they witnessed in Russia. When Black Americans looked to Russia, however, they saw a place fundamentally similar to the United States. Both countries were large, multiethnic empires driven by territorial acquisition and fueled by forced labor. By tracing the coverage of Russia …

Taking Dominion To End Dominion: The Mennonite Influence On The End Of Russian Serfdom, H. Michael Shultz Jr.

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Serfdom in Russia was abolished in 1861, only 76 years after the first Mennonites were invited into Russia by Catherine II. By examining the lifestyle of the Mennonites who settled in the agriculturally productive “New Russia” (modern-day Ukraine), as well as the impact that the Mennonites had on the Imperial family, peasantry, and government, it is evident that the Mennonites played a recognizable role in bringing about the abolition of serfdom across the empire.

Black Deathways: An African Methodist History, 1829-1916, Christina M. Varney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study will focus on the transformations of death practices and the shifting roles of death workers from 1829-1916. The Postbellum portion of this study will focus on African Methodist communities in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee as practices and people moved West to the states of Montana, Colorado, and California. These practices experienced changes as a result of rising literacy rates, the establishment of Black churches, and from the movement of Black people within the South. More changes occurred with the creation of mutual aid societies and Black-owned funeral homes. Black funeral directors …

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.

The Two Conversions Of John Newton: Politics & Christianity In The British Abolitionist Movement, Megan Keller

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis interrogated the relationship between abolition and the evangelical revival in Britain through the life of John Newton. Newton, though not representative of every abolitionist, was a vital figure in the movement. His influence on Hannah More and William Wilberforce along with his contributions to the Parliamentary hearings made him a key aspect of its success. How he came to fulfill that role was a long and complex journey, both in terms of his religion and his understanding of slavery. He began his life under the spiritual direction of his pious, Dissenting mother, became an atheist by nineteen, and …

Gettysburg College Journal Of The Civil War Era 2017

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

A Few Comments About The Unfair Criticisms Of Abraham And Mary Lincoln Or Two Sides Of A Penny, Rebecca Clark

The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication

There are a tremendous number of books and articles printed about Abraham and Mary Lincoln. They comment, critique, and analyze every aspect of their lives before, during, and after the Lincoln Presidency. No triviality has been deemed too small or inconsequential to dwell upon and debate. In fact, the Lincolns, from the beginning of Abraham’s courtship of Mary Todd to after the fatal assassination, were treated unfairly and subjected to false attacks by the press, public, and family members for self-serving agendas, and nefarious purposes. Despite her family’s qualms over her choice of a husband, Mary saw in Abrahamqualities others …

Gettysburg College Journal Of The Civil War Era 2016

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

Assessing Reconstruction: Did The South Undergo Revolutionary Change?, Lauren H. Sobotka

Student Publications

With the end of the Civil War, came a number of unanswered questions Reconstruction would attempt to answer for the South. While the South underwent economic, political and social changes for a short period, old traditions continued to persist resulting in racist sentiment.

Art, Artifact, Archive: African American Experiences In The Nineteenth Century, Shannon Egan, Lauren H. Roedner, Diane Brennan, Maura B. Conley, Abigail B. Conner, Nicole A. Conte, Victoria Perez-Zetune, Savannah Rose, Kaylyn L. Sawyer, Caroline M. Wood, Zoe C. Yeoh

Schmucker Art Catalogs

Angelo Scarlato’s extraordinary and vast collection of art and artifacts related to the Civil War, and specifically to the Battle of Gettysburg, the United States Colored Troops, slavery and the African American struggle for emancipation, citizenship and freedom has proved to be an extraordinary resource for Gettysburg College students. The 2012-14 exhibition in Musselman Library’s Special Collections, curated by Lauren Roedner ’13, entitled Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts of the Civil War Era and its corresponding catalogue provided a powerful and comprehensive historical narrative of the period.

This fall, students in my course at Gettysburg College “Art and Public …

Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts Of The Civil War Era, Lauren H. Roedner, Angelo Scarlato, Scott Hancock, Jordan G. Cinderich, Tricia M. Runzel, Avery C. Lentz, Brian D. Johnson, Lincoln M. Fitch, Michele B. Seabrook

Other Exhibits & Events

Based on the exhibit Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts of the Civil War Era, this book provides the full experience of the exhibit, which was on display in Special Collections at Musselman Library November 2012- December 2013. It also includes several student essays based on specific artifacts that were part of the exhibit.

Table of Contents:

Introduction Angelo Scarlato, Lauren Roedner ’13 & Scott Hancock

Slave Collars & Runaways: Punishment for Rebellious Slaves Jordan Cinderich ’14

Chancery Sale Poster & Auctioneer’s Coin: The Lucrative Business of Slavery Tricia Runzel ’13

Isaac J. Winters: An African American Soldier from Pennsylvania …

Lincoln And Liberty, Too, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

“The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” Abraham Lincoln said in 1864. And surely, from Lincoln of all people, that statement must come as a surprise, and for two reasons. In the first place, no one in American history might be said to have been a more shining example of liberty than Abraham Lincoln. Not only had he exercised liberty to its fullest extent, rising from poverty and obscurity to become the 16th president of the United States, but in the process he became the Great Emancipator of over three million slaves, and if anyone …

Slaves To Contradictions: 13 Myths That Sustained Slavery, Wilson Huhn

Akron Law Faculty Publications

People have a fundamental need to think of themselves as “good people.” To achieve this we tell each other stories – we create myths – about ourselves and our society. These myths may be true or they may be false. The more discordant a myth is with reality, the more difficult it is to convince people to embrace it. In such cases to sustain the illusion of truth it may be necessary to develop an entire mythology – an integrated web of mutually supporting stories. This paper explores the system of myths that sustained the institution of slavery in the …

Slaves To Contradictions: 13 Myths That Sustained Slavery, Wilson Huhn

Wilson R. Huhn

People have a fundamental need to think of themselves as “good people.” To achieve this we tell each other stories – we create myths – about ourselves and our society. These myths may be true or they may be false. The more discordant a myth is with reality, the more difficult it is to convince people to embrace it. In such cases to sustain the illusion of truth it may be necessary to develop an entire mythology – an integrated web of mutually supporting stories. This paper explores the system of myths that sustained the institution of slavery in the …

Contemporary Slavery And International Law, Jessica Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In this essay, the definition of contemporary slavery is derived from Kevin Bales in his book, Disposable People, which states that contemporary slavery is “The complete control of a person, for economic exploitation, by violence, or the threat of violence.” Contemporary slavery includes the slave labor of men, women, and children, forced prostitution, pornography involving both children and adults, the selling of human organs, serfdom, debt bondage, and the use of humans for armed conflict.

"Sublime In Its Magnitude": The Emancipation Proclamation, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Lincoln’s reelection in 1864 was a pivotal moment in the history of the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation had officially gone into effect on January 1, 1863, and the proposed Thirteenth Amendment had become a campaign issue. Lincoln and Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation, and the Thirteenth Amendment captures these historic times, profiling the individuals, events, and enactments that led to slavery’s abolition. Fifteen leading Lincoln scholars contribute to this collection, covering slavery from its roots in 1619 Jamestown, through the adoption of the Constitution, to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. [From the Publisher]

Lincoln On The Abolition Of Slavery, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

That man who thinks Lincoln calmly sat down and gathered his robes about him, waiting for the people to call him, has a very erroneous knowledge of Lincoln," wrote Abraham Lincoln's long-time law partner, William Henry Herndon. "He was always calculating, and always planning ahead. His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest." And in no other pursuit was Lincoln more ambitious than in politics. As a lawyer and Whig political organizer in Illinois, "Politics were his life and his ambition and his motive power." [excerpt]

Understanding Emancipation: Lincoln's Proclamation And The Overthrow Of Slavery, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The most common trope that governs understanding of Abraham Lincoln and emancipation is that of progress. The variations on that trope are legion, and they include notions of Lincoln's journey toward emancipation, his growth in understanding the justice of emancipation, and his path to the Emancipation Proclamation. "Lincoln was," as Horace Greeley put it, "a growing man"; growing from a stance of moral indifference and ignorance at the time of his election in 1860 toward deep conviction about African American freedom by the time of the Emancipation Proclamation less than two years later. That was a generous sentiment, since it …

The Lincoln Enigma: The Changing Faces Of An American Icon, Gabor Boritt

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

Nearly a century and a half after his death, Abraham Lincoln remains an intrinsic part of the American consciousness, yet his intentions as president and his personal character continue to stir debate.

Now, in The Lincoln Enigma, Gabor Boritt invites renowned Lincoln scholars, and rising new voices, to take a look at much-debated aspects of Lincoln's life, including his possible gay relationships, his plan to send blacks back to Africa, and his high-handed treatment of the Constitution. Boritt explores Lincoln's proposals that looked to a lily-white America. Jean Baker marvels at Lincoln's loves and marriage. David Herbert Donald highlights …

Worrying About The Civil War, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

There is no animosity in any of these historical or practical interpretations of the Civil War. It is clear that the North fought for purposes entirely good--for Union and the end of slavery--but Confederate soldiers also win respect for their bravery, their devotion, and their struggle against long odds. They seem to have been playing historical roles for which they are not to blame. The reenactors, the books in stores, and the battlefield tours generally avoid talking about the cause of the war, focusing instead on the common bravery and hardships of soldiers North and South.

Liquor License, Barnwell District, South Carolina, August 21, 1841., Barnwell District, South Carolina

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

In which the licensee, William Robertson Jr., swears to not "sell give exchange barter" liquor to any enslaved persons. Signed by C.A. Scott.

List Of Enslaved People, Including Their Ages, At Spring Garden Plantation, Florida, 1829., Spring Garden Plantation

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

This item is a list of over 80 enslaved people of African descent at Spring Garden, a plantation in present-day DeLeon Springs State Park, Florida. The list notes the first names of enslave persons and their ages. Annotations indicate occupations and work assignments, family units, and if individuals were sent to Charleston or sold locally. The meaning of some annotations are unclear or at least not explicit, such as small circles next to females' names. Annotations indicate this list was used as reference more than once. One pair of twins is noted as are several infants. Reference to the names …

Deed Of Sale For Seven People (As Slaves) Sold By William O'Neale To John Henry Eaton, Washington, D.C., April 10, 1823., William O'Neale, John Henry Eaton

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

This deed or receipt acknowledges the exchange of $800 for seven slaves: Betsy Baker, 55; Nelly, 36 and her son Jim, 12 and daughter Jane, 7; Henney, 40, and her son Washington, 5; and Polly Quander, 21.