Political History Commons^™

The 1985 Move Bombing: A Study In Perspectives, Kaci Delisle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia police dropped a military grade bomb on 6221 Osage Avenue, a row house in a Black neighborhood in West Philadelphia. This home was occupied by a revolutionary group called MOVE. The bomb started a fire that the police and firefighters decided to “contain” rather than put out, resulting in the deaths of eleven people and the destruction of sixty-one homes. Only two MOVE members survived the fire. Using court records, documents from the investigation conducted by the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (PSIC), and other interviews regarding MOVE and the bombing, this paper reconstructs different perspectives …

Nixon, Richard Milhous, 1913-1994 (Sc 3667), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3667. Letter, 8 August 1960, of Vice President Richard M. Nixon to Gertrude (Mrs. James R.) Hines, Bowling Green, Kentucky. He thanks her for her work on the Committee on Resolutions at the 1960 Republican National Convention, praises the party’s platform, and declares his intention to campaign in all fifty states.

Centralizing The Purse: Why A More Centralized National Government Was Crucial For Managing America's Revolutionary War Debt, Ethan Berg

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Research on the American Revolutionary debt has particularly focused on the leadership of American financial figures: most notably Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris and U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. While scholars affirm their indispensable leadership, they also acknowledge institutional and political conditions that distinguish their tenures. This CE/T seeks to further analyze these conditions. It draws upon scholarly works while evaluating different aspects and time frames of Americas’ public debt, including the initial accumulation of debt, the tenure of Robert Morris, the formation of the U.S. Constitution, and the tenure of Alexander Hamilton. The CE/T also analyzes the papers of …

Forgotten Mistakes: Crossing The Rhine Gorge, 1945, Michael Duncan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In the years following World War II, official military records along with news reports and personal accounts of senior military leaders formed a narrative that emphasized American exceptionalism and focused on the success of the United States military. That original narrative became a foundation for foreign policy and military doctrine, and its characterization of the tactical and operational decisions made by American military leaders has remained almost entirely unchallenged. This thesis seeks to reverse that trend by carefully analyzing the tactical and operational aspects of one specific event, the crossing of the Rhine Gorge by the 89th Infantry Division.

The …

From D.C. To Kentucky: The History Of The United States Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Bowers

Documents

This Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience aims to highlight the importance of the historical object and accurately document the complete history of the former United States Senate Clerk’s Desk, placed in the chamber in 1859 and removed in 1951. The desk’s first and last occupants were Kentucky natives and civil servants, and its current resting place is in Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Museum. Through research that began in the nation’s capital, and a journey to follow the desk’s paper trail, the object’s massive historical legacy and close ties to the state of Kentucky may live on. Along with a traditional …

Cast Of Characters, Olivia Renee Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

A Desk's Tale, Olivia Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

A Visual Analysis Of The U.S. Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Renee Bowers

Documents

No abstract provided.

Factors Contributing To Continuing Democratic Victories In Some Southern House Districts, 1994–2008, Dillon Mccormick

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The American South went through a period of political transition in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This transition reached its climax after the 1994 elections, after which Democrats ceased to hold the majority of House seats in the South, never to regain that strength. However, Democrats continued to win a decent share of House seats in the South after 1994, with about 40% of Southern House seats being won by Democrats until the 2010 elections, after which Democrats shrunk to a much smaller minority.

This paper analyzes the factors that allowed some Democrats to continue to be elected …

A Political Perch: A Historical Analysis And Online Exhibit Of The U.S. Senate Clerk's Desk, Olivia Bowers

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience aims to highlight the importance of the historical object and accurately document the complete history of the former United States Senate Clerk’s Desk, placed in the newly built chamber in 1859 and removed in 1951. The desk’s first and last occupants were Kentucky natives and civil servants, and its current resting place is in Western Kentucky University’s Kentucky Museum. Through research that began in the nation’s capital, and a journey to follow the desk’s paper trail, the object’s massive historical legacy and close ties to the state of Kentucky may live on. Along with …

Ua12/2/27 Cherryton, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the inhabitants of Cherryton.

Bibliography, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

Biography, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

Exhibit Notebook, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

The Solid South: The Suffrage Campaign Revisited, Abby Lorraine Crenshaw

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This examination of the southern suffrage campaign focuses the movement through the eyes of three prominent southern women within the political movement: Kate Gordon, Sue Shelton White, and Josephine Pearson. The merged National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) planned and organized a focus on the South during the second half of the suffrage campaign, which presented new challenges. The Nineteenth Amendment passed through Congress in 1918 and consequently set the stage for a raging political battle between suffragists and anti-suffragists. The suffrage campaign prompted women to question how the political platform of suffrage should be addressed. Women argued over the …

Ua37/42 Faculty Personal Papers Nina Hammer, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Personal papers of Nina Hammer, Bowling Green Business University Registrar 1938-1963; WKU Registrar 1963-1969.

The Zimmerman Telegram, Alexander Patterson

The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication

No abstract provided.

Ua1c6/1 Demonstration / Protest Photos, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Images of student / faculty demonstrations and protests of various types.

Jones, Thomas Laurens, 1819-1887 (Sc 3080), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 3080. Papers of Thomas L. Jones of Campbell County, Kentucky, a state representative and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Letters to him praise two of his speeches concerning the U.S. Centennial and the 1876 amnesty bill restoring citizenship to ex-Confederates. Fellow Democratic Party members write with invitations to various functions, to encourage him in seeking the gubernatorial nomination, and to discuss political matters. Friend Thomas B. Chaplin relates his fortunes in South Carolina during and after the Civil War (Click on "Additional Files" below). Includes a few letters and telegrams to wife …

Lincoln The Profiler: Combining A Poet’S Voice And A Rhetorician’S Argument To Unite A Nation And Strive For Progress, Maelee Fleming

The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication

“Lincoln acquired his power by exacting obedience from words, and this discipline he acquired in only two ways known to man – by reading and writing,” asserts Jacques Barzun in his Lincoln: the Literary Genius.1 While from humble farming beginnings, President Abraham Lincoln cultivated his writing abilities into a tool for satisfying his ambitions, which far exceeded those of his forefathers, and those ambitions would eventually lead him to the White House. Complimentary to his success was Lincoln’s ability to write in a way that catered to the auditory, as well as the logical, senses, thus producing works that left …

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 …

Bethlehem Chapel: How A Place Can Be Reinterpreted By Government, Maya Lemaster

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

An important source of legitimacy for all types of government is the creation of or building up of a sense of nationhood for the citizens of the state. This can be achieved in many ways, including through the use of physical nationalist symbols. In my paper, I address this topic by exploring how the Communist government of Czechoslovakia reinterpreted and changed the traditional meaning of the historical Bethlehem Chapel in Prague in order to fit their own ideology. I found that the Communist government emphasized the communal aspects of the Hussite movement and ignored religious associations. My research is primarily …

Case Study From Inside A Presidential Campaign In The 100th New Hampshire Primary: Analyzing The Hillary For New Hampshire Field Organization, Christopher Mckenna

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

On the 100^th anniversary of the New Hampshire primary, this case study analyzes a high profile political campaign in order to add to the discussion on the extent to which campaigns matter. The New Hampshire Primary is disproportionately important in the nomination process as the nation’s first primary; therefore, it is vital candidates perform well in the Granite State. I use my experience as a fellow on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign in the Democratic Primary to critically analyze the campaign organization in New Hampshire. This case study will attempt to answer how Secretary Clinton’s field organization …

The Student Researcher 2016 (Title Page, Preface, Table Of Contents), Selena Sanderfer Faculty Advisor

The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication

No abstract provided.

Johnson, Richard Mentor, 1781-1850 (Sc 2873), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2873. Letter, 15 January 1811, of Richard Mentor Johnson to General James Wilkinson, Washington, D.C. He discusses a congressional investigation into Wilkinson’s conduct and wishes for his acquittal, speculates about the tobacco trade and the fate of Florida on the eve of the War of 1812, asks for news of St. Louis, where a nephew lives, and complains about his health, particularly his asthma.

Vanguard Of The Right: The Department Of Education Battle, 1978-1979, Logan Michael Scisco

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Satisfying a campaign pledge to the National Education Association (NEA), President Jimmy Carter pushed for a federal Department of Education in 1978 and 1979. In the ensuing legislative battle, Carter confronted opposition from states’ rights, social, and religious conservatives that were beginning to form the nucleus of the New Right in the Republican Party. Using divisive racial and religious issues, these conservatives tried, and failed, to thwart the Department of Education project. Congressional testimony, the Carter administration’s internal documents, and newspaper editorials illustrate that the Department of Education battle foreshadowed the Reagan Revolution of 1980.

Rhetoric, Rights, And Pragmatism In The Germanies: Enlightenment Reform In Eighteenth-Century Prussia And Bavaria, Benjamin T. Harris

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This project highlights the nature of Enlightenment reform in 18^th-century Germany, particularly in the Kingdom of Prussia and the Electorate of Bavaria under Frederick II and Maximilian III Joseph. Both of these rulers launch similar reforms under the guise of enlightened absolutism and enlightenment rhetoric with very different results, each catering to the specific needs of their respective principalities. Reform is offered along the lines of compulsory education, codification, humanitarian legal reform, and religious toleration, all in the spirit of the Enlightenment. However, when the extent and details of these reforms are examined, it can be demonstrated that …

Coombs Family Collection (Mss 349), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 349. Correspondence, photographs, business records and miscellaneous papers of the Coombs, Robertson and related families of Warren and Simpson counties in Kentucky and of Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. Includes correspondence, personal papers and research of Elizabeth Robertson Coombs, librarian at the Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University. Several documents from this collection have been scanned are available for viewing by clicking on the "Additional Files" below.

Barry, William Taylor, 1784-1835 (Sc 2584), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2584. Typescript copies of correspondence of William Taylor Barry, Lexington, Kentucky, with colleagues, family, and political leaders. Includes a photocopied article with excerpts from Barry’s correspondence.

Warren County, Kentucky Court Records - Civil War Indictments (Mss 412), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 412. Criminal and Equity Court, and Circuit Court records of Warren County, Kentucky relating to the prosecution of Confederate soldiers and sympathizers for conspiracy, treason, theft and property destruction in Bowling Green, Kentucky during the Civil War.