American Politics Commons^™

Overlooked Diplomacy: A Look Into Missed Diplomatic Efforts In The Pacific Theater Of World War Ii, Maxwell Melanson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines possible diplomatic solutions that may have ceased United States-Japanese conflict throughout the late 1930s and 40s. The first chapter analyzes the declaration of the policy of unconditional surrender, and what this policy entailed. Despite Roosevelt claiming that the idea just came to him, it was a carefully developed policy, and was chosen to be enacted for a multitude of reasons. After the Casablanca conference in January 1943, unconditional surrender became a unifying policy and a politically smart policy in Roosevelt's favor. The second chapter then analyzes the tensions rising between Japan and the United States through the …

From The End Of Politics To Legitimate Opposition: Political Perceptions Of The 37th Congress Of The United States In The North 1860-1862, Lauren Dubas

Honors Theses

This paper intends to explore the political landscape of the Union during the first two years of the Civil War, specifically how the people in the North perceived what remained of the Congress from 1860-1862. I will be using a combination of primary and secondary sources to cover the 37^th Congress of the United States, whose members were elected in 1860 and legislated until the next Congressional election in 1862. My research shows several significant stages in the political landscape during this period and uses these stages of partisan politics as the foundation for understanding how the federal government, …

Y'All Like Ike: Tennessee, The Solid South, And The 1952 Presidential Election, Cameron N. Regnery

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the changing nature of politics in the American South, specifically through the 1952 presidential election in the state of Tennessee. For much of the South’s history, the region was dominated by the Democratic party, earning it the nickname the “Solid South”. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, the South became an aggressively one-party region in which the Republican party found little electoral success and the Democratic party reigned supreme. This partisanship began showing signs of fracturing in 1948 when southern Democrats began to leave the party over racial issues. The presidency of Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) further …

“Realizing Democracy”: A Study Of The Regional And National Social, Political, And Economic Factors Driving Suffrage Development In The Age Of The Common Man, 1820-1850, Matthew Prosper

Honors Theses

The Age of the Common Man was a period of American political history lasting from 1820 to 1850 characterized by the implementation of universal white manhood suffrage by every state through removing property and tax qualifications from state constitutional suffrage laws, as well as the “common man” entering the center of much political discourse. These conventions were demanded by the political, social, economic, and in some cases physical climates and conditions of each state. To look at these factors, this thesis divides the nation into three regions, two of which are examined: the Northeast, the Northwest, and the South (the …

The Duality Of Freedom: The Colony Of Rhode Island’S Slave Trade Complex, Thomas Shields

Honors Theses

In the eighteenth century British colonies there existed a duality of freedom, in which salutary neglect facilitated economic opportunism in the form of the slave trade. This paper examines how the colony of Rhode Island was a microcosm of this freedom duality in the merchant capitalist world. The colony became the epicenter of the slave trade in British North America, while also the home to a fervent abolition movement headed by the Quakers. This thesis contends that broad economic and individual freedoms in the colony created the environment where the slave trade prospered, the exact opposite of freedom.

After the …

Structural Limitations To The Success Of Third Parties In The American Political System: A Study Of The Life Cycle Of The Republican Party, Louis Fierro

Honors Theses

American Politics has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties for much of its history. Third parties, those bodies representing a challenge to the political system from outside the Democratic and Republican structures, have been largely unsuccessful in challenging for power. The sole exception to this rule was the Republican’s ascension to a main party following the collapse of the Whig Party in 1860, no other third party has been able to replicate this maneuver due largely to structural characteristics associated with American politics and the winner-take-all voting system it employs in most elections. Despite not directly posing a …

The Origins Of Wave Elections: Narrative Control Polarization And Turnout In New Hampshire Electoral Politics 2006-2012, Zachary Jonas

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the origin of wave elections in New Hampshire in 2006, 2010 and 2012. It finds that recent demographic shifts in the state laid the groundwork for these dramatic electoral results. This paper also examines the nationalization and polarization that have redefined New Hampshire’s political landscape and contributed to massive partisan shifts in state government. The combination of demographic changes and a polarized political culture have created an electoral environment for both Republicans and Democrats that favors turnout, increasing the importance of agenda setting and narrative control in order to produce high turnout among core constituencies. Chapter 1 …

The Factors That Contribute To The Rise Of Conservative Political Movements Throughout American History, Kelsey Macelroy

Honors Theses

There have been numerous political movements based on conservative ideology throughout the course of American history. However, the question still remains as to why these conservative movements occur and what plays a role their uprising. My thesis hypothesized that there are three factors that contribute to the surfacing of conservative political movement in American history‐ a deviation from republican principles such as constitutionalism and virtue, a perceived threat to individual liberties by infringement through policies involving taxation and economic regulation and the aggrandizement of power by the federal government beyond inherent constitutional limits. These three factors were examined through the …

William Jennings Bryan: "Among Friends" In Arkansas, C. J. Hall

Honors Theses

Campaign style has changed dramatically since the turn of the century when William Jennings Bryan captured the political limelight. Bryan, a three time Democratic nominee for President, developed a new campaign tactic during the 1896 Presidential election; he continued to employ the new style for the remainder of his life. In 1896 Bryan's political organization could not compete with the well-financed Republican system, so the "Great Commoner" took his cause to the people. Presidential candidates were not supposed to actively campaign for the office, but Bryan broke the norm. After the 1896 election, Bryan continued to travel around the country …

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 …