Law Commons^™

What Happens In Vagueness Stays In Vagueness: The United States Constitution's Ideas On Race, Austin Clements

History Class Publications

The United States’ Constitution, while it may not explicitly discuss race in detail, has echoes of race throughout both its language and its history. Even during the origination of the Constitution, the inclusion of slavery was a hotly contested subject among the authors of the Constitution. The United States’ Constitution only uses the words “race” and “color” once and that is in the Fifteenth Amendment, which essentially gave black Americans the right to vote. While the US Constitution may not explicitly talk about race much, I argue that race is a present theme throughout the Constitution as well as behind …

Eugenics, Margaret Ann Donnell

History Class Publications

Naturally, and quite understandably, people avoid discussing the dark periods of human history, specifically the inconceivable acts of dehumanization imposed on their fellow man.

Individuals struggle to understand, sometimes simply because they cannot fathom, how a person—and in some cases, an institution—can manipulate and devalue another human being or groups of people. Often, the standards by which those with the “authority” to determine the lack of worth of the individual or population are arbitrary and subjective.

All of this is relevant in a conversation over the eugenics movement of the United States, occurring in the early to mid-twentieth century.

When …

Clark County Civil Court Records, Archivists

Guides and Finding Aids

Clark County was established in 1818, and therefore became one of the five counties in existence at the time the area became known as Arkansas Territory in 1819. Court was held in various places in those early days, such as the home of pioneer settler Jacob Barkman, west of the Caddo River, near what is now Caddo Valley. Later, a county seat was established at Greenville, which was located to the southwest along the Military Road (also known as the Southwest Trail). In 1842 Arkadelphia (previously known as Blakelytown) became the permanent location of the county seat.

These numbered files …

Retired U.S. Ambassador David Greenlee Presents Birkett Williams Lecture At Ouachita, Rachel Gaddis, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University recently hosted retired U.S. Ambassador David Greenlee as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. During his stay April 4-6 Greenlee led discussions in both honors and faculty colloquiums, spoke in several classes and presented the Birkett Williams Lecture.

The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows, a program which brings prominent and diverse professionals to college campuses, coordinated Greenlee’s visit. Greenlee served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia (2003-06) and Paraguay (2000-03) and spent a total of 32 years in foreign service.

Sex Trafficking: A Cumulative Study, Annie Mcmurray

Honors Theses

Slavery is considered to be a mark in the United States’ history, a point of the past. Well, slavery never truly ended, it just changed faces. The notion of slavery is “that one person’s life, liberty, and fortune can be under the absolute control of another, and be sold, bought, or used at the will of the owner.”1 This notion can be used to describe the problem of sex trafficking. Conferences such as Passion and North Star, a conference that is hosted by International Justice Mission (IJM), have moved sex trafficking from the dark to the spotlight. Organizations such as …

The Life And Legacy Of Judge Richard S. Arnold, John Jacob Lively

Honors Theses

The world of politics entails a large variety of men and women from diverse backgrounds. Politicians range from mayors of local cities and state representatives to Congressmen and presidents. One other group that I consider to be included under the realm of politicians are those that serve in the judicial branch of the United State government. While Judges may not be labeled Republican or Democratic, the political backgrounds of appointees are some of the driving forces to decide who serves on the bench. Studying the judiciary leads to coming across some historical figures that shaped history through the opinions that …

Protecting The Past: A Comparative Study Of The Antiquities Laws In The Mid-South, Douglas L. Reed, Trey Berry

Articles

Governmental efforts to protect antiquities can be found in the early twentieth century; however, the most significant policy efforts began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This manuscript focuses on the properties/items protected under current statutes in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas and provides background on major federal policies. Moreover, it addresses the penalties imposed for violating these regulations. The efforts made to enforce these rules are also addressed along with suggestions for improving implementation of antiquities policies in all three states.

A Tale Of Two Governors: The 1996 Gubernatorial Succession Crisis, Melissa Miller

Honors Theses

The state of Arkansas is no stranger to succession crises. As early as the Reconstruction era, struggles for power emerged, and controversies surrounding the appropriate use of power among acting governors have kept the issue unsettled. One such instance, the Arkansas gubernatorial succession crisis of 1996 became yet another episode in this saga. While never fully examined, the succession crisis did influence modern politics in the state. There are two sides to every story: "Well, I wanted to let you know I've decided not to resign," Jim Guy Tucker said to Mike Huckabee only five minutes before the inauguration of …

The Paradox Of Presidential Popularity, With An Emphasis On Rhetoric, Amanda Wiley

Honors Theses

This study considers how President Bill Clinton maintained consistently high levels of public support in the face of the incessant scandals that plagued his presidency. It is my assessment that it is the nature of the presidency, Clinton's political skill, the economic environment during his terms, Clinton's rhetoric, and his personality that made his survival possible. I will place special emphasis on the areas of Clinton's personality and rhetoric as the key components for this explanation, both because I feel these characteristics are most relevant to my study and the most unexplored.

The Legitimacy Of The Modern Militia, Jonathan Huber

Honors Theses

On May 16, 2001, barring any last minute court appeals, Timothy c Veigh will be executed for his role in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He along with thousands of other Americans who have joined private armies, known as militia, to fight the American government share a common belief that the American government is corrupt at its core and actions such as this one are at the very least patriotic. To most Americans, however, acts such as the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building are not only terroristic, but demonstrate the need …

Voting Rights, Reapportionment, And Majority-Minority Districts, Christy Tosh

Honors Theses

The challenge is to navigate the untrodden area of reapportionment, in particular majority-minority districts. The Supreme Court has ruled in various reapportionment cases, yet these cases continue to plague the dockets of the United States Supreme Court. The focus of research is to evaluate the new phenomenon of majority-minority districts as it has progressed through constitutional amendments, civil and voting rights acts, and Supreme Court cases, all of which culminate in the 1992 elections. The 1990 Census and reapportionment were the birth of majority-minority districts. In creating these districts, one must look at the most effective percentage breakdowns in each …

The Governorship Of Bob Riley, Brian Stanford Miller

Honors Theses

Without a backward glance Bob Riley, his wife, Claudia, and their daughter, Megan negotiated the Capitol stairway to the bottom floor, while above them in the House chamber legislators waited for the arrival of the 39th governor of Arkansas. At the bottom of the steps Vaughn Webb, an aide in the Secretary of State's office, presented Riley with an Arkansas state flag that had flown that morning of January 14, 1975, while several admirers applauded from the second floor railing above. Riley then left for Arkadelphia, where he would resume his role as head of the Political Science department at …