Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Debt, Death, And Deregulation: Neoliberalism, Human Rights, And American-Argentine Relations, 1976-1983, Billy Davis

Masters Theses

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina was governed by a military government that oversaw both a brutal campaign against communism and a process of neoliberalization. During this period, the United States provided substantial economic support to Argentina through its approval of loans that enabled Argentina’s economic transformation. Early on, the United States was largely apathetic and complacent in regard to Argentina’s Dirty War. During the administration of Jimmy Carter, the United States attempted to confront the Argentine military government about its human rights abuses. However, a substantial contingent within the Carter administration pushed back against this initiative and worked to protect …

What We Expected From National Socialism: Hermann Rauschning And Danzig's Lnterwar Radical Right (1918-1942), Nima Lane

Masters Theses

This project uses Dr. Hermann Rauschning as a case study to analyze the transformation of the German intellectual right, stretching from his early career in the Weimar Era to the post-1945 era. Rather than offer a purely narrative biography, this study uses the figure of Rauschning to examine the fate of the German right from the Kaisserreich to the aftermath of World War II. Rauschning, born in 1887, was both a political and intellectual figure. However, these aspects of Hermann Rauschning are not necessarily separate. Although some historians see Hermann Rauschning as unique, I argue that he is in fact …

Blurring The Spectrum: Exploring Queer Conservatism, Austin P. Mejdrich

Masters Theses

Running parallel to the groundbreaking and historic advancement of LGBTQ rights over the past decade has been the rise in the prominence and public discourse of queer conservative thinking. From the Log Cabin Republicans to far-right nationalistic politics, queer conservatives underscore both diverging ideologies within the modern American conservative tradition and the increase of far-right politics in Western societies. This study argues that queer conservatism, while traditionally less explored in the broader context of sexuality politics, is consequential to an understanding of the LGBTQ community and queer politics. Thus, an exploration of queer conservatism as a political ideology is explored, …

The Meaning Of A Woman's Work: Refugees, Statelessness, Nationality, And The Women's International League For Peace And Freedom, 1918-1931, Monica Burney

Masters Theses

This work analyzes how the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) sought to influence how the League of Nations approached questions of nationality and statelessness between 1918 and 1931. Especially important were the WILPF's efforts to aid women and children who remained in Turkey following the Armenian genocide, as well as the organization's efforts to address the statelessness crisis that arose following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. Their activism helped to pressure the League of Nations into creating the Commission of Enquiry on Deported Women and Children in Turkey and Asia Minor. Their efforts to end statelessness culminated in …

"A Babe In The Woods?": Billy Graham, Anticommunism, And Vietnam, Daniel Alexander Hays

Masters Theses

This thesis focuses on famous evangelist Billy Graham's role in the Vietnam War, both as a public supporter and private advisor. It argues that, contrary to his self-depiction, he was no "babe in the woods," no mere neophyte or bystander. Rather, America's most famous preacher was an active participant in promoting and even planning the war. Graham's evangelical theology, with his premillennialist beliefs, led to his intensely anticommunist worldview, where communism was the Antichrist. His public support buttressed the presidents prior to and during the Vietnam War and, sometimes, Graham even delved into policy recommendations for the war.

Graham's role …

A Long Strange Trip Through The Evolution Of Fan Production, Fan-Branding, And Historical Representation In The Grateful Dead Online Archive, Anna Richardson

Masters Theses

This study explores how a digital music archive tells the story and contributes to the public memory of cult bands. Utilizing the Grateful Dead Archive Online (GDAO) as the primary data source, the researcher obtained a population of 26,835 items and categorized them by the production method of fan or band, item type, era, and logo. Content analysis illustrated themes within the archive in relation to the fannish production and activity within the fandom of the Grateful Dead. The span of this specific fandom spreads across five decades and sheds light onto the ways in which the fandom surrounding cult …

The Power Of The Periphery: Aid, Mutuality And Cold War U.S-Ghana Relations, 1957-1966, Moses Allor Awinsong

Masters Theses

This project interrogates how economic self interest motivated periphery states such as Ghana to use foreign policy as a vehicle to attract improved development assistance from superpowers, in this case the United States. While the United States viewed its aid program in Ghana in stringently Cold War terms, Kwame Nkrumah and his advisors were less inclined to get deeply concerned about Cold War ideology. This project shows that Ghanaian agency was manifested in the Cold War through the new state's construction of a foreign policy image that made it a prominent African voice globally. It then examines how that image …

"Fine Dignity, Picturesque Beauty, And Serious Purpose": The Reorientation Of Suffrage Media In The Twentieth Century, Emily Scarbrough

Masters Theses

Throughout the first half century of the woman's suffrage movement, the women of the movement were depicted as dastardly, masculine women who usurped the family structure with their penchant for politics. In the twentieth century, a new generation of woman's suffragists took command of their appearance in the media. Instead of controversial figures, woman's suffragists were envisioned as normal, beautiful women and mothers. Through the use of mass media, woman suffragists restructured their campaign to convince the general public that society needed women to clean up politics. In doing so, suffragists sacrificed their goals of sexual equality in favor of …

Anglo-American Relations Between The 1953 Coup And The 1956 Suez Crisis, Aaron F. Psujek

Masters Theses

The Cold War and global politics brought upheaval to the Middle East in the 1950s. The conflict between the United States and Soviet Union shaped the history of the region at the same time it brought war to Korea. Britain's relationship with the U.S., especially in the Middle Eastern theater, was shaped by the Cold War. British intelligence, political, and press members and agents used the tensions to bring the United States in to help them in the various crises that swept the Middle East in the 1950s. This strategy served to bring the two countries closer together in the …

Separating The Whites From The Chaff: Whiteness, Blackness, Racial Exclusion In The Midwest Agrarian Mind, Philip Mohr

Masters Theses

This thesis approaches the construction of race through the vantage of one agrarian magazine, the Prairie Farmer. It analyzes the rhetoric of the people who wrote for this magazine to distinguish changing attitudes toward whiteness and blackness in the rural and agricultural Midwest from the end of the Civil War to the Great Migration. While whiteness was equated with what the Prairie Farmer saw as the active, progressive farmer, blackness was associated with stupidity, laziness, and threat to property. From this, the thesis argues we can build a base of knowledge from which to analyze the roots of racism …

Conflict Resolution In Africa: A Comparative Analysis Of The Demilitarization Process In Burundi And Rwanda (1993-2003), Victoria Chipoka

Masters Theses

The civil wars that have occurred in Africa have had destabilizing effects on the political and social structure of African countries. The massacres and genocide of 1993 and 1994 in Rwanda and Burundi shocked the whole world into experiencing the horror of the news that more than one million people had been slaughtered in cold blood. The causes of the conflict in Rwanda and Burundi are many and complex. In this paper, my major focus will be on the role the armed forces have played in the conflict and how demilitarization should be the alternative solution in bringing permanent peace …

The New Frontier: The Presidential Election Campaign Of Jfk, Bryan Wuthrich

Masters Theses

This thesis is an examination of the Kennedy election campaign. It is a narrative and also a brief examination of how this campaign was put together and how the Kennedy campaign staff was formed. The main perspective that it takes is from the vantage point of the Cold War which serves as driving force behind the main issues of the campaign. It is the primary argument of this thesis that the Kennedy campaign marked a period of transition whereby America began to formulate a coherent ideological position for itself as leader of the free world and come into its own …

The Future Relationships Between Mainland China And Taiwan, Tian Li

Masters Theses

This thesis is a study of the possible future developments of the Taiwan issue and the relationships between Mainland China and the island of Taiwan. After examining all the alternative scenarios, the author predicts that in the foreseeable future political and economic cooperation between Mainland China and the island of Taiwan will gradually increase, with avoidance of military confrontation, but complete reunification between Taiwan will not occur, nor will Taiwan become a legal state.

The author will examine evidence, including both domestic factors in the two parts of China and external factors, which may either reinforce the above prediction or …

"She Protects Her Girls": The Legend Of Mary Hawkins At Pemberton Hall, Margaret Allen-Kline

Masters Theses

The tradition of the legend of Mary Hawkins provides an example of how urban legends develop and circulate in a community. The legend is a part of a larger tradition of story telling and of urban legends such as "The Roommate's Death" which follow the same format. The legend is believed to be true, and many believe an actual event is the basis for the story. It is perpetuated by word of mouth, and like a ripple in a still body of water, it reaches beyond the campus and into the mainstream of the local community by means of the …

"Easy Or Hard" The Mentality Of Survival: The Gi In Europe In World War Two, Brian R. Bowen

Masters Theses

An oral history compiled from recollections of fourteen combat veterans, documented by over forty hours of tape-recorded interviews, the paper recreates GIs' mentality upon entering combat. The formation of the collective mentality is examined by exploring the attitudes, motivations, and historical circumstances determining thought and actions of these reluctant, yet dedicated soldiers. The collective mentality, defined as the way of thinking allowing the majority to best cope with their predicament, answers why men fought and how they persevered once in combat. Explaining sustained combat performance the paper proves how the collective mentality gave Gls the will and ability to withstand …

John Quincy Adams As Minister To Russia, 1809-1814: The Ideals And Realities Confronting His Mission, Mary Elizabeth Willwerth

Masters Theses

To John Quincy Adams, the early nineteenth century proved itself to be not only a struggle for American independence from Europe, but a struggle for the eighteenth century ideal of the recently formed American philosophy of government. This unique philosophy inspired by key figures of the American Enlightenment, such as Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, incorporated the vision of America leading the way of enlightened world governments.

Son of the proud American revolutionary, John Adams, John Quincy Adams continued to follow the basic axioms of his father's generation and implement their basic ideals within his own various careers …

The U.S. State Department Position At The Geneva Conference On Indochina In 1954, Eva Dragosits

Masters Theses

This paper intends to provide a coherent analysis of the United States position at the Geneva Conference on Indochina in 1954. The paper is based on U.S. State Department documents, edited in 1981 in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series.

At the Berlin Conference in January 1954, the French, against the will of the United States, placed Indochina on the agenda of the Geneva Conference, which was to start on May 8, 1954. The United States, concerned that the French might accept an unfavorable Communist settlement, regarded participation in the Conference as essential in light of their …

Causes Of Political Revolution, Alazar Gebil

Masters Theses

This essay is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in political science at the graduate school of Eastern Illinois University. The essay intended to elaborate the basic definitions, theories, ideologies and causes of political revolution.

This thesis relates historical facts and events of the American, Russian, Cuban and Iranian Revolutions to the causes, definitions, theories, and ideologies of general revolutions. The main theme is that governments' failures caused the continued social unrest such as demonstrations, strikes and upheavals. When an opposition group was well organized and represented by intellectuals equipped with political …

The United States And German Reunification: The Stalin Note Of 1952, Klaus P. Grillmaier

Masters Theses

This thesis discusses the American and West German reaction to the Soviet note of March 10, 1952. In this so-called Stalin Note the Soviet dictator proposed the reunification of Germany on terms of neutrality and acceptance of the Oder and Neisse rivers as the German-Polish border. By launching his proposal Stalin sought to prevent the integration of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) into the Western alliance system.

The paper starts out sketching the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers after World War II. It also analyzes the impact the Cold War had on Europe. …

The Trials Of Len Small, William R. Harshbarger

Masters Theses

Len Small, governor of Illinois from 1921 to 1929, was a politician associated with the Lorimer-Lundin-Thompson political machine which influenced Illinois politics from 1897 until the late 1920s. During that era, Small held offices in the county and in the state Senate. He served one appointed term as United States subtreasurer, two terms as state treasurer, and two terms as governor. Small ran six times for governor: 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936. He came to the governorship in 1920 following a bitter feud between his patron, William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson and Frank O. Lowden. As a result, …

Lincoln And Oregon, Todd Hageman

Masters Theses

The Civil War is one of the most significant events in American history. President Abraham Lincoln’s term in office was dominated by the War, therefore the study of Lincoln has likewise been dominated by War developments. The War’s battles were overwhelmingly concentrated in the eastern United States, and hence the American west has largely been ignored by Lincoln scholars. This study attempts to uncover Lincoln’s policy toward Oregon, including War developments and his domestic policy, to partially fill the “western gap” in Lincoln scholarship.

Oregon was admitted to the federal Union in 1859, and by Lincoln’s election in 1860 that …

Social Dependency And Chinese Political Economic Reform, Jiang Li

Masters Theses

This study of Chinese politics, economics, society and culture is intended to contribute to better understanding of the contemporary reforms in China. This task was not easy due to the facts that China has not been open to direct observation, and its policies were influenced by unpredicted changes.

This thesis is concerned with the reforms and changes that occurred during the years starting 1978 up to the present time. In 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Communist Party of the Chinese Central Committee in Beijing, marked the beginning of the reforms in China. The Chinese leaders made efforts …

The Republican Party And Civil Rights, 1877-1976, Gordon E. Sparks

Masters Theses

There have been many works written on both the Republican and the Democratic parties. Many works have also described the problem of civil rights and the historical difficulties blacks have had in an attempt to fit in politically. These works, however, have left out one major aspect of this process. Relationships of blacks to the political parties themsevles must be studied to understand one aspect of their continuous struggle for civil rights in America.

It is time that an overview be done on how the political parties have dealt with the civil rights problem throughout their histories. The Republican party …

The Free Negro In Illinois Prior To The Civil War, 1818-1860, Steven J. Savery

Masters Theses

Free Negroes embodied one of the great dilemmas in the ante-bellum history of the state of Illinois. Nominally a free state, Illinois endeavored mightily to suppress, exclude, and dispose of a class of people who were the ultimate result of the anti-slavery movement. While a majority of Illinoisans deemed the peculiar institution undesirable, they had no intention of accepting free Negroes as equal citizens. Free blacks were often regarded as dangerous and a menace to the well-being of the entire society. Yet, Illinois reconciled its apparently contradictory views on slavery and the free Negro to a remarkable degree.

The reconciliation …

The American Reaction To Germany's Annexation Of Austria, Mark A. Tarner

Masters Theses

Germany's annexation of Austria in March 1938 was the cumulation of almost twenty years of Austrian dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Saint Germain, the lack of consistent political and economic support by the western democracies and the international instability of the 1930s. All these factors worked in favor of pro-Anschluss Germans and Austrians and to the handicap of the allies. Once Adolf Hitler came to power, he drastically changed German policy toward Austria. Anschluss had special significance for Hitler and his decision to abandon an evolutionary revision of Austria's political status to one of radical expansionism and annexation proved fatal …

The Diplomacy Of William Jennings Bryan, Patricia Sue Chism

Masters Theses

William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) was Secretary of State for the first two years of the administration of Woodrow Wilson, from 1913 to 1915. During that time he sought to implement his views of diplomacy which were based upon his political and religious beliefs. His emergence on the national political scene in 1896 had been based upon his commitment to the welfare of common man which was inherent in his espousal of Populist principles. As Secretary of State he promoted policies, especially in Latin America, designed to advance the democratic form of government, which he believed best served the interests of …

Egypt: The Shifting Cornerstone To The East-West Balance Of Power In 1956, David C. Dalgaard

Masters Theses

The seizure and subsequent war over the Suez Canal in 1956 is the major theme of this work. The effects on the international situation and world events are analyzed. The major participants, Great Britain under Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden, France under Premier Guy Mollet, Israel under Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and Egypt under President Gamal Nasser, are developed from their personal aspirations and goals surrounding their actions.

These actions led to the chain of events which disrupted the bipolar balance of world power. The United States' containment policy was breeched. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles did not adequately …

The Fragmentation Of The Ulster Unionist Party, Declan Lawson George Hall

Masters Theses

In 1973, the Ulster Unionist Party fragmented after fifty years as the dominant party within Northern Ireland. However, this fragmentation did not simply occur in reaction to the events of the 1960's and early 1970's. It was a long ongoing process that can be traced back to the 1940's and 1950's.

This study is concerned with the splintering of the Ulster Unionist Party and the reasons that lay behind the division. The first contention in this thesis is that the Ulster Unionist Party was never the single united political party that it was often supposed to have been. It was …

Social Democracy In North America: A Canadian Example, Rodney Lavern Johnson

Masters Theses

This thesis attempts to discuss a unique political phenomenon in North America - successful Canadian socialism. The first part discusses a workable definition of ideology and a theoretical approach to the explanation of legitimate ideological diversity. The second part of the paper explains the socio-economic and political milieu of Western Canadian society in the early twentieth century and the evolution of a consequent Anglophone socialist movement in response to this environment. The third part discusses concurrent Francophone political phenomena.

Ideology is defined as an amalgamation of commonly agreed upon principles designed to promote a particular communal or national interest. Gad …

British Reaction To German Foreign Policy, January 1933 To June 1936, Nigel J. Cox

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the foreign policy inter-action between Britain and Germany from January, 1933 to June, 1936, and to analyse British action, reaction and aims in foreign policy during that time.

In Chapter I, I deal with three broad ideas by way of introduction. First, there is an analysis of those groups which are acting and reacting in the sphere of foreign policy. There are four groups enumerated: the governmental or official group; the parliamentary group; the press; and, finally, public opinion. The make-up of these groups, the sources for discovering their reactions, and the …