Military History Commons^™

Vanguards Of Change In The “Georgia Of The North” Youth Activism In The New Jersey Civil Rights Movement, Emily Peterson

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On February 17, 1948, the small suburb of Somerville, New Jersey began preparations for its annual “Brotherhood Week” meeting, part of an annual national initiative to address racial and religious prejudice. That day, the planning committee for the event received the following letter from a local high school student who served on the Brotherhood Week Youth Planning committee: “Every February…Brotherhood Week rolls around...But what about the other 364 days of the year? What happens to our fine ideas of cooperation, understanding, and goodwill then? Nothing ever comes of these meetings. We, the youth of Somerville, feel there should be a …

An Investigation On Food Restriction In The Medieval British Church, Cope Makechnie-Hardy

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

When Seaxburh, Queen of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent, retired to her sister’s newly established religious house at Ely in 665 she was a physically broken woman, with “wan cheeks from fasting” and a body frail from years of food restriction.1 Already throughout her life Seaxburh had used her body as an integral part of her devotion to Christ, and after arriving at Ely “signed her stomach with the mark of Christ so that she might not burden it with food.”2 Nearly six hundred years later, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary would engage in a similar practice, referred to by historians …

Breaking Apartheid With Interractial Friendships, Izzy Maire

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In August 1956, thousands of South African women marched in front of the Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa. In their arms they carried petitions that demanded the abolishment of apartheid era pass laws, which required non-white South Africans to carry passbooks. The photo above depicted four women that lead this united legion of women. The white woman in this picture, Helen Joseph, commented on the racial identity of these leaders. She wrote, “Four women had been chosen as leaders for the day, Lillian Ngoyi, the African, Rahima Moosa, the Indian, Sophie Williams, the Coloured and I, the white.”1 As …

The Civil War And The Apocalypse Insights From The Millennial Sta, Megan Mcconnell

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

An editorial published in the Millennial Star on May 11, 1861, almost exactly one month after the start of the American Civil War, declared that the war that had broken out on the American continent was part of the “signs of the times” and that it “should be an incentive to diligence and faithfulness” to the European members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The war would be a calamity to a degree that had never before been seen on the Earth and one which the “nations of Europe cannot escape from.”1 The editor pronounced that the …

Blood In The Snow The Mormon-Timpanogos Conflict At Battle Creek, Nathan Hale

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

On March 5th, 1849, a group of 36 Mormon men surrounded the Native American camp of a small band of Timpanogos at Battle Creek, which is present-day Pleasant Grove, Utah. The Mormon militia suspected this band of cattle rustling, and a conflict ensued that resulted in the shooting and killing of four Timpanogos men. During the battle, the women and children of the native camp took cover and endured exposure to the cold elements and frigid water of Battle Creek. Six days later, these same women and children arrived in Salt Lake City. Among the group of Native American survivors …

Remembering The Lady Representations Of Abigail Adams In The Women’S Rights Movement, Allison Haack

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

In November 1975, Redbook, a women’s magazine, included a “call to action” issued to women of the United States. This call was set forth both in response to the bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence as well the UN National Women’s Year. In it, over fifty organizations came together to lay out an eleven-step plan to achieve greater political equality between the sexes—namely, the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. To introduce this call to action, Bess Myers, the author, shared several anecdotes about Abigail Adams, including Adams’ charge that her husband “remember the ladies” when he went off …

“To Inherit God Himself?” The Metaphysical Transformation Of Man As Theorized In Cotton Mather’S Biblia Americana, Michael Green

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The tumult of the Enlightenment was enormous, not least in its impact on theologians of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Biblical exegesis (explanation of a scriptural text based on its own historical and cultural circumstances) of the Reformation that idealized interpretations grounded in unerring prophetic figures were suddenly and forcefully subjected to the tide of historical literalism propagated by major intellectual figures such as Hugo Grotius and Baruch Spinoza. They and their cohort believed that the Bible should be treated as a historical source and its merits scrutinized based on its literal accuracy

The Incomplete Conquest Of Spanish Guinea 1471-1910, Pual Guajardo

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Mary Henrietta Kingsley, the famous early female explorer of Africa, once remarked that an appointment to the Equatoguinean island of Fernando Po was “equivalent to execution, only more uncomfortable.”1 Similarly, historian Randall Fegley remarked that Port Clarence, which became the capital of Equatorial Guinea, was known as “death’s waiting room.”2 When we think of the Spanish Empire, we usually envision the empire that decimated the Aztecs and the Incas, not a regime that failed to conquer and colonize an island one-fifth the size of Hawaii. Yet, for more than 400 years, the small indigenous community of Fernando Po quietly defied …

Whistleblowers: A Maya Narration On The Participation Of The Dead In The Cycle Of Life And Death, Emma Belnap

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

There is a common saying in modern American culture inspired by opera and the drudgery with which people view it. As the maxim goes, “It is not over until the fat lady sings.” If the Maya were to have their own variation on that saying, it may perhaps go, “Life is not over until the whistle is in the grave.” At burial sites on Jaina Island, an island near Campeche, Mexico rich with Maya history, hundreds of sculpted whistles have been found in graves, depicting various gods, animals, and humans.1 These objects give invaluable insight into the beliefs and practices …

Editor's Note, Cope Makechnie-Hardy

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The medieval historian William of Malmesbury wrote that the legendary King Arthur was “worthily deserving to be celebrated, not by idle fictions, but by authentic history.”1

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Review Of: "Bloody Orkney? A Comparison Of The Perceptions Held By Sailors And The Reality Of Leisure And Recreational Opportunities At Scapa Flow During The First World War”, Mary-Beth Otten

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This review examines Ian Watson’s article, "Bloody Orkney? A comparison of the perceptions held by sailors and the reality of leisure and recreational opportunities at Scapa Flow during the First World War," published in The Mariner’s Mirror. Watson investigates the contrasting views of sailors stationed at Scapa Flow, a newly established naval base in the Orkney Islands, which, despite its strategic importance, was often seen as dull due to a lack of typical amenities. Through a rich array of primary sources, including letters and audio recordings, alongside secondary research, Watson describes how the Navy developed recreational activities to boost …

William T. Sherman And The Union's 'Hard War' Approach In 1864-1865, Lori L. Infanzon

GLI MA in American History Student Works

This research is a historiography of the extent to which Sherman's actions in 1864-1865 represented a significant shift to a 'hard war' approach utilized by the Union army. Upon review of contemporary accounts, scholarship from the World Wars period, and scholarship from the 1960s to the present, this paper concludes that the scope and scale of Sherman's actions in 1864-1865 represented a significant escalation in the usage of hard war tactics designed to secure Lincoln's election 1864, accelerate the ending of the war, and dramatically revolutionize Southern society.

Res Historica, Volume 4, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The 2025 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Samuel Sanders, and Julia Ackerman. The cover art for this volume is an open access image.

Defying Conscription: The Social, Political, And Military Consequences Of Draft Evasion In The Union And Confederacy, Orlando R. Pagan

GLI MA in American History Student Works

This research paper examines draft evasion during the American Civil War as a reflection of deep social, economic, and political divides within the Union and Confederacy. It argues that draft resistance stemmed not from individual cowardice but structural inequalities and resentment among the poor and working class. Wealthy citizens could evade service through legal mechanisms like commutation fees, fueling the perception of the war as a “rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight.”

Drawing on primary and secondary sources from scholars like David Williams and Stephanie McCurry, the paper analyzes events such as the New York City Draft Riots …

Connecticut And The Civil War, Donald Patrick Scanlon

GLI MA in American History Student Works

Despite being one of the smallest states in the Union, Connecticut played a vital political, economic and military role in the outcome of The Civil War. When the Civil War is studied and the contributions of states are considered, the focus tends to be on the number of soldiers each state procured for the Union. While the number of combatants is critical to the outcome of war, there are additional issues to factor in, as war is not simply won by the side with the biggest army. Connecticut’s political, economic and military support were equal to that of other Union …

The Death Of General John Reynolds And The Crisis Of Union Command, July 1, 1863, Reid E. Kirby

GLI MA in American History Student Works

This paper evaluates the extent to which the death of Union Major General John Reynolds on the morning of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg influenced subsequent events throughout that day. It explores several key questions, including how Reynolds' death affected the chain of command within the Army of the Potomac, how it impacted the course of the battle on that first day, and how the Union I and XI Corps were reorganized due to the sudden loss of such a high-ranking officer. Additionally, this paper highlights the experiences of the soldiers formerly under Reynolds' command during this …

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 1860-1862 The Effects Of Military Occupation On Unionist And Secessionist Convictions, Riley P. Bogema

GLI MA in American History Student Works

Local histories of Civil War occupation provide a human face to the larger history of the American Civil War. The interactions between citizens and outside occupiers furnishes greater clarity and revelations on the human cost of conflict. It also presents greater evidence, either supportive or not, on broader arguments expressed in scholarly works on the Civil War. This work examines how prior attitudes towards the Unionism and secessionism were provoked during the process of military occupation. It argues that in the town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the citizens’ allegiances and relationships were challenged by the occupation of both Union and Confederate …

Reporting On The Dark Continent: The Albert Chance Collection As An American Representation Of Africa, Devon Szczepkowicz

Student Publications

For Americans in the throes of World War II, the international world was a complex and uncertain place. The news media, which offered reports from the war fronts, helped to ground Americans in this world. Another source which supplemented these reports, and which has been overlooked in the historiography, was the letters of soldiers stationed abroad. In writing on their surroundings, soldiers acted as journalists, supplying their audiences with intimate insights into foreign locations. Albert Chance (1903-1990), stationed in North Africa and in Italy, was one such soldier. His letters from North Africa provide a glimpse into the ways in …

Book Review: Eyewitness To Wehrmacht Atrocities On The Eastern Front: A German Soldier’S Memoir Of War And Captivity, Timothy Heck

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.