Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

United States History Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in United States History

Making The Gilded Age: Myth, Money, And Misery In A Market Society, Austbrook D. Hudson Jan 2017

Making The Gilded Age: Myth, Money, And Misery In A Market Society, Austbrook D. Hudson

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This project argues myths are central to society. For the Gilded Age, this was especially true. Myths helped to explain the world, individually and nationally. Stories structure life. Stories structure nations. They are consequential in times of change when the world is incomprehensible. At an individual level, the self-made ideal explained success and failure. It came with an implicit promise: every individual had an equal opportunity to succeed in the new economy, and the system was fair. Myths of the Western experience explained national identity. It revealed traits including rugged individualism, independence, and perseverance came from taming the frontier. These …


Cry Havoc: The Rise And Collapse Of America's Contractors In Iraq, Samuel Brown Jan 2017

Cry Havoc: The Rise And Collapse Of America's Contractors In Iraq, Samuel Brown

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This work aims at examining the development of Private Security Contracting, specifically Blackwater, and their role in destabilizing the United States’ mission in Iraq. In that examination, it looks at existing literature on the subject and the efforts that people involved in the Bush Administration made regarding the War on Terror that allowed these companies and Blackwater to develop. Choices made by Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and CPA leader Paul Bremer all added to the chaos and the shortage of manpower that would see these companies fill in the gaps in American planning. This work …