Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Body Of Lies, Ananda Boardman

Honors Theses

The idea that the government rarely tells the whole truth, and usually only communicates with the general public through propaganda, is not a new one. However, the idea that they now do so using specific terms that call into question the truthfulness of anything and everything is a more modem idea. "Framing" is one of the terms used to describe this new type of propaganda, and it is active in all aspects of communication, from the mainstream media to the White House, and everywhere in between. People use frames when they tell stories to each other, newspapers use frames when …

Ticket Splitting In Arkansas Elections, Chase Carmichael

Honors Theses

The Republican Party is sweeping the South, or is it? Throughout the Old South Republicans have been making gains in an area that has traditionally been a bastion of Democratic strength in American politics. While Arkansas may appear to be following this trend, in reality GOP gains in the Natural State may be only superficial. Despite strong showings by Republican candidates for higher offices in Arkansas, a GOP contender has yet to win a statewide office past the Lieutenant Governor's race.

This research paper examines "ticket splitting" in Arkansas elections. Ticket splitting is the practice of voting for candidates of …

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.

"I Have Lived Long And Variously In The World": The Politics And Rhetoric Of Edmund Burke, Amy M. Sandidge

Honors Theses

In the words of Woodrow Wilson, the works of Edmund Burke are "stamped in the colors of his extraordinary imagination. The movement takes your breath and quickens your pulses. The glow and power of the matter rejuvenates your faculties." One cannot help but react viscerally to Burke; the brilliant, blustering Irishman demands attention and response. Some regard him as "the first and most important exponent" of the "theoretical reaction against. .. the tenets of liberalism ... [which] came to be called conservatism." Coleridge called him "a great man;" Victorian liberals even considered him a fellow utilitarian and "the greatest thinker …

The Paths To Democracy In The Czech Republic, Allison Allred

Honors Theses

All of Europe strains for unity, yet Czechoslovakia willingly and peacefully divided itself into two nations on January 1, 1993. Czech Republic and Slovakia share many common interests and a powerful kinship that promotes alliance even under separate flags. The following quote demonstrates the unique history of Czechoslovakia from the perspective of an 80 year-old Czech citizen:

"Look, I was born in Austro-Hungary. I grew up in Czechoslovakia, suffered from Germans, spent 50 years in a colony of Russia--without ever leaving Prague! Now, we're Czechs again, like we've been for a thousand years. What's so bad about that?"

In sociological, …

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 U.S. Policy In Vietnam, As It Relates To The Geneva And S.E.A.T.O. Agreements, Bobby Shepherd

Honors Theses

Few chapters in American history have been filled with more importance and had more impact upon this nation politically, socially and morally than has the era of active involvement in the land war in Vietnam, during the mid 1960's. The war has taken almost 50,000 American lives, has contributed directly to the political end of one American President and had plunged the United States into an ordeal of examination and internal turmoil rarely seen in U.S. history.

As great as the impact of this war has been, it is remarkable that little is recalled by American citizens or acknowledged by …

A Study Of Little Rock School District 1966-1968 Elections And Their Effect On Public School Policy, Ray Earl Garner

OBU Graduate Theses

For many years, the school elections in Little Rock have followed a traditional pattern of meager voter turnout . School elections, prior to the 1967 election, were mentioned briefly in newspaper articles. The platforms were of the same general nature year after year. They included taxes, school expansion, better facilities, and higher teacher salaries. Candidates seldom, if ever, campaigned publicly and actively. Posters were usually placed throughout the city. A few days prior to the election, newspaper ads with the candidates' pictures would appear in the Arkansas Democrat and the Arkansas Gazette. The 1967 school election was significant, because that …

The Truman Election: Was 1968 A Repeat?, Cloene Biggs

Honors Theses

As election day in 1948 drew nearer, political pollsters, pros and amateurs united in predicting victory for Thomas E. Dewey. Only underdog candidate President Truman and, as it turned out, the American electorate disagreed with this consensus.

At the end of 1947 Truman was considered certain for renomination by his party, and the Gallup Poll showed that he would easily defeat either of the two leading Republicans--Governor Dewey and Senator Taft. A get-tough policy with Russia had pushed up his popularity--the Marshall Plan, his advocacy of government action to curb high prices, his confrontation with labor leader John L. Lewis …

An Analysis Of The Governorship Of Huey Long, N. G. Dalrymple

OBU Graduate Theses

Huey Pierce Long was one of the most flamboyant . and controversial political leaders of the early twentieth century. Elected Governor of Louisiana in 1928 on the platform "Every Man a King," Long soon became nationally known for his erratic and picturesque behavior as "the Kingfish."

The New York Times heralded the election of Huey Long as Governor of the Pelican State as the appearance of "a worthy competitor in the field of light political farce." Later, many persons realized. that the statement was not entirely accurate. What Louisiana received in Huey Long was highly political, but it was far …

The Truman Victory Of 1948, David Edwin Wallace

OBU Graduate Theses

The results of the Presidential election of 1948 produced one of the most stunning upsets in the history of elections in the United States. The odds against Harry S. Truman's winning re- election were considerable. As President, he was following one of the outstanding politicians in American history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt .

In April of 1948, disaffected New Dealers and many city political bosses, feeling that Truman could not win the election, attempted to convince first General Dwight D. Eisenhower and then Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to run for President on the Democratic ticket. Up until the time …