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Cohen (William S.) Papers, 1955-2001, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

Finding Aids

William S. Cohen was born on August 28, 1940 in Bangor, Maine. His father Reuben, a baker, was a Russian-Jewish immigrant and his mother, Clara, is of Irish-Protestant extraction. Cohen graduated from Bangor High School in 1958, and from Bowdoin College with an A.B. cum laude in Latin in 1962. An accomplished athlete, he was named to the Maine all-state high school and college basketball teams, and, while at Bowdoin, he was inducted into the New England All-Star Hall of Fame. In 1965, he received his LL.B cum laude from Boston University Law School and, during that same year, he …

Separating God's Two Kingdoms: Regular Baptists In Maine, Nova Scotia, And New Brunswick, 1780 To 1815, Ronald S. Baines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The trans-national Regular Baptist tradition in the northeastern borderlands of Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick grew rapidly from 1780 to 1815. The spiritual imperatives of this Calvinistic group with its commitment to believer’s baptism of adults and closed communion churches made them distinctive, and a central argument here is that the worldly implications of “Two Kingdom” theology, founded on the strict separation of religious and civil realms, was central to Regular Baptists’ success in the region in this period. Three leading ministers whose actions as authors, itinerants, and as organizational leaders receive especially close attention: Maine-based ministers Daniel Merrill …

A "Real Social & Political Revolution": Nativism, Class Conflict, And Urban Reform In Portland, Maine (1840-1923), Thomas R. Macmillan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1923, Portland, Maine voters approved passed a ballot measure that jettisoned the nearly century-old Council-Mayor plan in favor of a Council-City Manager form of governance. This dramatic alteration was supported by the Portland Chamber of Commerce and the Ku Klux Klan; it allowed the centralization of political power in the hands of an appointed City Manager and a City Council dominated by business interests. Taking this campaign as its focus, the following study incorporates nativism, class conflict, and urban reform in Portland, Maine with a focus on the period of 1840-1923. It blends ethnic, political, and urban history to …

How Maine Viewed The War, 1914–1917 (1940 Reprint), Edwin Costrell

Maine History

Originally published in 1940, as the United States once more evaluated possible involvement in global conflict, How Maine Viewed the War, 1914– 1917 looks backward to Maine on the eve of World War I. Author Edwin Stanley Costrell (1913–2010), through a study of newspaper coverage of the years 1914 to 1917, provides a thought-provoking account of a Maine people wrestling with ambivalence over US involvement in the Great War; of a citizenry seeking to reconcile ethnic diversity with national unity; and of a nation divided over pacifism, militarism, isolationism, and internationalism and increasingly moving toward war with Germany. Costrell was …

Counter Currents: Arthur Lower, Lincoln Colcord, And Ideological Isolationism In Interwar Canada And The United States, James Spruce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a comparative study of the ideology of isolationism in interwar Canada and the United States. It proceeds with that comparison using an individual subject from each country as a case study. For Canada, the subject is the historian and social scientist Arthur R.M. Lower; for the United States, it is the journalist and fiction author Lincoln Ross Colcord. Both men are worthy of study as individual isolationists of note, but they are also appropriate for the comparison because of the similarity of their isolationist positions and due to their personal backgrounds. Through the 1930s, Colcord and Lower …

Party Development And Political Conflict In Maine 1820-1860 From Statehood To The Civil War, Lee D. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of politics in Maine during the state’s formative period, the years from statehood until 1860. The history focuses on party conflict and on the development of organized political parties, particularly the Democratic and Republican parties. It concentrates on the structures and processes that politicians built, including party newspapers, county conventions, state conventions, legislative caucuses, and ultimately state committees and the office of state committee chair – all to compete effectively for power. During this 40-year period, parties also develop powerful new messages, campaign strategies, and developed leaders with the skills to accomplish these tasks.

I …

Petite Politique: The British, French, Iroquois, And Everyday Power In The Lake Ontario Borderlands, 1724-1760, Greg Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the exercise and limitation of power at the interpersonal and intercultural level in the contested borderlands region around Lake Ontario in the middle decades of the eighteenth century. Beginning in the 1720s, the region underwent an intensification of geopolitical competition among the British and French empires and the Iroquois Six Nations. During this time that Iroquois Confederacy granted competing trading posts to the British at Oswego and the French at Niagara in an effort to secure goods, balance neighboring rivals, and maintain their own sovereignty. Despite these cessions, the social and diplomatic interests of the Iroquois remained …

Republican Ascendancy: The Gubernatorial Career Of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain And Its Consequences, 1866-1881, Michael Bailey

Maine History

Joshua Chamberlain is a revered hero of the Civil War, an icon for both scholars and the broader public. His life after the Civil War, however, remains largely unexplored. This article uses Chamberlain’s addresses, legislative records, and other primary sources to explore his four-year career as governor of Maine. Reflecting an interesting national parallel, this article reveals Chamberlain’s rise, his policies, and the consequences of those policies. Having risen to political prominence with the Republican Party thanks to the popularity of the Civil War, Chamberlain and his party enacted a number of policies designed to promote industrialization and economic growth …

Department Of History Symposium Series, Featuring Dr. Edward Baptist, University Of Maine Department Of History

Cultural Affairs Distinguished Lecture Series

As the only Ph.D.-granting department int he Humanities in the entire state, the History Department at the University of Maine plays a crucial role training humanists who staff cultural organizations throughout the state, including all other UMS campuses, and many faculty and staff positions at UMaine. The October 16 Lecture will bring an expert to campus to speak about the Morrill Land Grant act and how it transformed US values for the modern era.This lecture is a keystone in CLAS and UMHC programming for the Homecoming Weekend, and it will be followed by a CLAS alumni and friends reception at …

Research Note: James G. Blaine’S Effort To Have John L. Stevens Appointed Minister To Hawai’I In 1869, Paul T. Burlin

Maine History

Paul T. Burlin is Professor of History at the University of New England. He is founding chair of the Department of History at the University where he also served as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Among his book publications is Imperial Maine and Hawai’i (Lexington 2006).

The American Dream, Equal Opportunity, And Obtaining The Vote, Benjamin Wyman

The Cohen Journal

The United States was founded on the principles of inalienable and natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Out of those ideals arose the ideas of an American Creed and American Dream, which have provided aspirations for millions of Americans to pursue their dreams, and, with hard work, the chance to improve their situation in life. The fundamental values of the new American Creed became “liberty, equality, individualism, populism, laissez-faire, and the rule of law under a constitution” (Jillson 2004, 4) while the idea of an American Dream which was first instilled upon the citizens of the …

Elijah Lovejoy’S Oration On The Fiftieth Anniversary Of American Independence: An Essay Discovered, William G. Chrystal

Maine History

On July 4, 1826, the American republic celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with great fanfare. In this research note, the author provides a transcript of an oration delivered in China, Maine on that day. The speaker was local schoolmaster Elijah P. Lovejoy, better known for his tragic death eleven years later. By then an abolitionist newspaper editor in Alton, Illinois, Lovejoy was killed in 1837 by a pro-slavery mob. Lovejoy’s 1826 oration, then, serves as both a compelling look at the celebration of America’s Jubilee in rural Maine and an early example of the ideological convictions which led Lovejoy to abolitionism. …

Partisan Gridlock In The Contiguous States: Credit Ratings, Economic Stability, And The Ramifications Of Political Competitiveness, Polarization, And Party Control In U.S. State Legislatures, 1992-2010, Logan Nee

Honors College

Today’s complex sociopolitical context features an increasing determent of fundamental bipartisan principles and negotiation at both the federal and state levels of government. A competitive political environment akin to post-Civil War times, amplified by growing partisan polarization and politicians’ quest for party allegiance and self-reward, pervasively discourages productive compromising efforts to work across the isle. We believe this hinders government’s sole and rather straightforward fiscal duty: to provide stable, healthy, and predictable economic conditions for its constituents. Credit ratings offer a window into the interaction of public policy, political uncertainty, and economic performance, which all lie at the nucleus of …

Contested Memory: John Badger Bachelder, The Maine Gettysburg Commission, And Hallowed Ground, Crompton Burton

Maine History

In the grim aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, John Badger Bachelder, a young artist from New Hampshire, arrived on the field with a master plan to become the preeminent historian of the battle. However, Bachelder quickly learned he could not monopolize the memorializing of those who gave all for the Union. For the next thirty-one years, his vision for remembrance would, by necessity, become a shared one with veterans who were emotionally invested in the preservation of the hallowed ground. The consequence of this collaboration was a uniquely American approach to commemoration in which individual states formed commissions to …

“We Respect The Flag But….”: Opposition To The Civil War In Down East Maine, Timothy F. Garrity

Maine History

Although Maine is commonly remembered as one of the states most supportive of the Union during the Civil War, many of its citizens were implacably opposed to the conflict, and they voiced their opposition loudly and persistently from the war’s beginning until its end. Others weighed in on the topic more quietly but just as forcefully when they refused to enlist and evaded conscription by any effective means. While many studies have explored the history of Copperheadism and associated the political movement with populations that were urban, immigrant, and Catholic, there has been almost no prior investigation of Down East …

The Transformative Power Of Work: The Early Life Of Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Jeannette W. Cockroft

Maine History

Contrary to the conventional narrative of Margaret Chase Smith’s life, her public career did not begin with her 1930 marriage to politician Clyde H. Smith. By the time of that marriage, she was already an experienced political leader and an accomplished professional. Her transformation from an uneducated, working-class girl to an ambitious, upwardly mobile, middle-class woman was the result of her employment at the local newspaper, the Somerset County Independent-Reporter, and her subsequent involvement in the Business and Professional Women’s Club. The author received her Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University and is an associate professor of history …

Ambassador To Norway, Historian Of Bethel: The Career Of Margaret Joy Tibbetts, Andy Deroche

Maine History

Margaret Tibbetts grew up in Bethel, graduated from Gould Academy, and later earned a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr. As a career Foreign Service officer, she served in Europe and Africa in a variety of positions until being named U.S. ambassador to Norway in 1964. Her work as one of the first female ambassadors set the stage for future women to play even bigger roles in U.S. foreign relations. The author grew up in Hanover, Maine, and attended Rumford High School. Majoring in history, he earned a B.A. from Princeton University, an M.A. from the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. …

“Maine And Her Soil, Or Blood!”: Political Rhetoric And Spatial Identity During The Aroostook War In Maine, Michael T. Perry

Maine History

The Aroostook War was a two-month standoff during the winter of 1839 between Maine and New Brunswick. Overlapping boundary claims had created a disputed territory rich in timber but lacking organization. Troops were mobilized, but war was averted when national leaders in Washington and London recoiled at the prospect of a third war between the two nations. The “war” has been dismissed by contemporary observers and historians alike because of the lack of shots fired. What has largely been overlooked, however, is the large body of political rhetoric churned out by Maine’s Democrats and Whigs during the dispute. In examining …

William King, First Governor Of Maine: His Known Portraits And Their Stories, Deanna Bonner-Ganter

Maine History

This article studies the known studio portraits of William King (1768-1852), first governor of Maine, finding that the leader’s personal life and professional travels led to sittings with such noted master painters as Gilbert Stuart, Edward Greene Malbone, and Chester Harding. These living portraits reflect period styles, while later likenesses require a broad understanding of formal state portraiture and its historical elements. One portrait, having resurfaced recently, was found to have hung in the Hall of Flags in the State Capitol for almost thirty years; others required considerable research to determine their provenance. The Honorable James G. Blaine played an …

Approaches In Environmental History: The Case In New England And Quebec, Richard W. Judd

History Faculty Scholarship

This article explores differences and similarities in approaches to environmental history in Canada and the United States. It begins by assessing the historiographical and political traditions that influenced the growth of environmental history in America in the 1970s, and then compares these traditions to similar trends in Canada, asking the question: are the basic premises of environmental history, as they developed in the U.S., appropriate to the Canadian national experience? The article then assesses similar ways of exploring reciprocal relations between society and nature in a single cross-border area: a bioregion consisting of Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces to the …

Governors Of Maine With Oxford County Ties, Stanley R. Howe

Maine History

Seven of Maine's seventy-two governors or acting governors were either born in what is today Oxford County or served from that county which was incorporated on March 4, 1805, two hundred years ago this year. Five of these seven left a legacy as chief executives of the state. Hannibal Hamlin, who served briefly as governor, made important contributions by holding other offices, and Sebastian Streeter Marble ably filled out his predecessor’s term, but is nearly forgotten today: Below they are described in the order of their service. Dr. Howe received his Ph.D. from the University of Maine in 1977. He …

Settling Oxford County: Maine’S Revolutionary War Bounty Myth, Jean F. Hankins

Maine History

It is a common assumption that many New England frontier towns were founded by veterans of the Revolutionary War who had been given land for their service to the country. Author Jean Hankins's careful research in deeds, records, and legislative acts shows that this was not the case in representative Oxford County towns. Although there were a variety of bounties given for land in these towns, few had anything to do with the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War bounty myth persists, the author specidates, because it is an appealing way to begin the history of these towns, and because, since …

Thomas Brackett Reed, Civil Rights, And The Fight For Fair Elections, Wendy Hazard

Maine History

Few causes in American history have proved more enduring than the effort to ensure all citizens the right to vote. From the enfranchising of African-Americans after the Civil War to the granting of women’s suffrage and the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the country has struggled to live up to its image as the guardian of the ideal that every citizen has a guaranteed right to vote. The prolonged presidential election of 2000 and the vote-counting debacle in Florida once again focused national attention on the issue of enfranchisement. Democrats argued that the Florida election, whether by …

Trade And Border Security As Political Issues In Canada, Howard Cody

Maine Policy Review

On February 5, 2003 the Maine International Trade Center and University of Maine Canadian American Center co-sponsored a day-long forum on the challenges and opportunities of free trade between Canada and the United States. In this article, edited from his presentation at this forum, Howard Cody begins with passage of the Free Trade Agreement and brings readers up to the present day, where trade and border security concerns have become inextricably combined. Cody argues that Canadians will not persuade Americans to distinguish between the two concerns and, consequently, that Canadians will eventually accept some sacrifice in national sovereignty in order …

Margaret Chase Smith Essay: High School Student Essay Winners, Emily Parker, Rachel Culley, Miles Kirby

Maine Policy Review

Maine has benefited from the public service of many well-respected and influential national leaders over the last two centuries. One of them, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, offered her reflections on leadership at a time when the United States faced a struggle for civil rights at home and the tensions of the Cold War abroad. With the country currently confronting challenges such as the threat of terrorism, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and the taint of corporate scandals, the Margaret Chase Smith Library annual essay contest invited Maine high school seniors to reflect on the qualities leaders will need to …

The Perils Of Voice And The Desire For Stealth Democracy, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Elizabeth Theiss-Morse takes issue with each of the alleged beneficial effects of increased participation and deliberation in politics. She presents evidence from her own research with colleague John Hibbing that suggests a more participatory democracy does not necessarily result in better decisions, a better political system or better people. Rather, most Americans would prefer not to have to participate in politics at all. Theiss-Morse explains where this view comes from and, in the end, argues for a civic …

The Project Of Democracy, Alexander Keyssar

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Alexander Keyssar chronicles the advances and contractions of democratic political rights in American history. While on balance, this is a story of progress, it is not, Keyssar argues, unilinear, nor one that is completed. Although arguably late for the world’s “greatest democracy,” by the 1970s the United States had achieved universal suffrage. Today, however, the tug between democratic and anti-democratic forces continues. The contest is no longer over voting rights but over the procedures and rules governing elections …

William Burney And John Jenkins: A Tale Of Maine’S Two African-American Mayors, Elwood Watson

Maine History

William Burney and John Jenkins were, respectively, mayors of Augusta and Lewiston. While this in itself is not unusual, the fact that they were African-American city leaders in a state where African-Americans make up less than one percent of the population is quite distinctive. Burney was elected mayor of Augusta in 1988, and Jenkins mayor of Lewiston in 1993. The article discusses their childhood and teenage years, their coming of age in college, and their early careers in the private sector. It suggests that these formative experiences, particularly their religious upbringing and their relation to white peers, was important in …

Principle And Expediency: The Ku Klux Klan And Ralph Owen Brewster In 1924, John Syrett

Maine History

During the early 1920s the Ku Klux Klan gained considerable support throughout the United States and in Maine. In 1924 Ralph Owen Brewster, later a senator, secured the Republican nomination for governor with the Klan’s support. The dominant issue in the election was whether the state should continue to fund parochial schools. Brewster urged that this aid be ended, and the Klan enthusiastically endorsed his candidacy. Brewster narrowly won the primary and then easily won the September election. In this article John Syrett explores the relation between Brewster and the Klan. Mr. Syrett is a Professor of History and former …

Harold Marsh Sewall And The Truculent Pursuit Of Empire: Samoa, 1887-1890, Paul T. Burlin

Maine History

The conflict between Thomas F. Bayard, Grover Cleveland's first Secretary of State, and his subordinate, Harold Marsh Sewall of Bath, Maine, who was U.S. consul general to Samoa, was not a disagreement about the goals of American policy. Their disagreement related more to tactical considerations. And at that level, generational differences probably drove them apart. Specifically, the meaning of the Civil War for the younger generation of which Sewall was a part may well have contributed to his “truculent" pursuit of empire, a posture that totally unnerved the older Bayard. Paul T. Burlin is Associate Professor of History and Chair …