United States History Commons^™

Embodied Archives, Emerging Futures, Xuân-Lam Nguyen

Masters Theses

Fifty years after the end of the U.S.–Vietnam War, this thesis reflects on the entangled relationship between the two nations, inspiring hope while challenging dominant representations of trauma and tragedy. Drawing from autobiography, family history, folk art traditions, colonial photographs, hierarchies within art history, archives of student activism, and key geopolitical events, the work explores the complex intersections of queer identity and glitchy historical narratives. Combining research-based inquiry with time- and labor-intensive processes, it reimagines historical materials to construct alternate possibilities for the future.

The Silk Butterfly Effect: Japan And The United States 1853-1941, Melodee Birlew

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the rise and fall of the silk industry in both the United States and Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. While silk had been a valuable commodity for millennia for royalty, aristocrats, and the extremely wealthy, the opening of Japan's ports in 1853 soon made silk more accessible to lower classes around the world.

Consequently, Japan's newfound wealth catapulted her status among other rich and powerful nations. Japan's military might, financed in large part by the silk trade and displayed by her victory over Russia in 1905, earned her even more prestige on the …

The Rainbow War: Ballot Measure 9 And The Fight Over Gay Rights In Oregon, Patrick Douglas Lasalle

Dissertations and Theses

On November 3, 1992, Oregonians were asked to vote on Ballot Measure 9, an amendment to Oregon's constitution that would prohibit anti-discrimination protections for homosexuals, prohibit the use of public funds and facilities to "promote" homosexuality, and require schools to actively discourage homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse." In this narrative history, I will explore Measure 9 and the ways in which it divided the state, beginning with its introduction in May 1991. I examine the history and reasoning of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, the Christian Right organization behind the measure, as well as the gay and lesbian community’s …

Considering The Ethics Of Conserving American Art: White Nationalism And The Evolving Meanings Of Nineteenth-Century Genre And Landscape Painting, Evan M. Crocker

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the stylistic and conceptual qualities of American genre and landscape painting from the antebellum period and how these qualities acted in service to establishing white nationalism before the Civil War. The intricate and calculated system of typing in genre painting presented carefully crafted idealizations of quintessential Americans, defined by their whiteness and maleness. Landscape painters of the early- to mid-nineteenth century endowed their compositions with a sense of wondrous opportunity which justified and upheld westward expansion under Manifest Destiny. At the intersection of genre and landscape practices sits plantation paintings—specifically house portraits—in which the plantation serves as …

Disability: A Dirty Word? How Language Historically Perpetuates Exclusion And Systemic Oppression, Kelly E. Imm

Graduate Masters Theses

In 1990, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) marked a pivotal moment in the American disability rights movement, which began in the 1960s and sought to secure civil rights for people with disabilities. Despite this monumental achievement, this thesis considers how the language used throughout American history and culture to describe people with disabilities, even within the confines of progressive legislation like the ADA, remains deeply rooted in ableist and oppressive historical attitudes. At the heart of this issue, this thesis demonstrates how the medicalization of disability, which has dominated American culture for centuries, continues to frame …

“To Prepare The Mind For Wonder”: Popular Science And Mass Media In The 1920s, Alexander Olson

Journal of 20th Century Media History

This article examines the creation and development of the Science Service, a 1920s initiative aimed at popularizing science through mass media. Founded by biologist William Ritter and newspaper magnate Edward Scripps, the wire service sought to disseminate accurate scientific information to the American public via newspapers, radio, and other popular media. While Scripps favored a commercially viable, accessible style that used entertainment to hook readers, Ritter envisioned science journalism as a tool for democratic education and intellectual empowerment. These conflicting philosophies created lasting tensions within the organization around how to address challenges such as sensationalism, editorial independence, and public skepticism. …

Coming Of Age In A Time Of Darkness: Young Southern White Women During The American Civil War, Kylie Wroot

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

The American Civil War is one of the most researched eras in history, but that does not mean that research will ever be complete. Historians are always discovering aspects of the war that had been largely ignored. One emerging topic has been the lives of young women and their experiences during the conflict. James MacPherson has analyzed several aspects of the war, including why its history is still relevant today. Amy Murrell Taylor and James Marten have both researched family life and children’s experiences during the war. Other historians like Drew Gilpin Faust, Giselle Roberts, and Victoria Ott have focused …

Selected Artificial Intelligence Provisions In U.S. Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The 2025 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple provisions relating to artificial intelligence (AI). These congressionally mandated provisions direct various sections of the Department of Defense (DOD) and individual U.S. armed service branches to execute congressional intent for AI policymaking. Examples of such intent include identifying and planning DOD's AI workforce, demonstrating AI biotechnology applications for national security, improving the human usability of AI systems, and establishing an AI security center. This presentation will note that reports on these initiatives must be prepared for relevant congressional oversight committees, and, in many cases, are in many cases, publicly released …

Oral History Interview With Fairolyn Livingston, Fairolyn Livingston, Wenxian Zhang

Oral Histories

Fairolyn H. Livingston ’83 is known as the “institutional memory of Winter Park’s west side,” where she was born and raised by what she lovingly refers to as a village. She earned her bachelor’s degree in humanities from Rollins’ Hamilton Holt School, is a retired human service specialist with the State of Florida, and has been associated with the Heritage Center since it opened in 2007, becoming its chief historian in 2014. In 1997, Livingston received the Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith Research Grant—awarded annually by Rollins’ Olin Library in partnership with the Winter Park Public Library—to support research …

“That's Our Junior College”: Black Leadership And The Expansion And Integration Of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College, Kristy Wittman Howell

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (MGCJC), was a single-campus institution until the early 1960s, when it began plans to create two new White-enrolling, segregated campuses: the Jefferson Davis Campus in Harrison County, and the Jackson County Campus to its east. Plans for a third, Black-enrolling, segregated campus were abandoned, and when the two new campuses opened, the first students to register for classes were Black. Through the leadership of Black residents active in labor and civil rights organizations, the Black community of George, Harrison, Jackson, and Stone Counties successfully demanded expanded, integrated educational access in the deep south, some five …

Balance, Liberty, And Law: Montesquieu’S Legacy In U.S. Constitutional Thought, Christian Yockey

History Student Research

In 1787, a Constitutional Convention was convened to revise the weak Articles of Confederation. However, the delegates at this convention ended up creating an entirely new system of government—that is one with a much more powerful structure of federal power. This paper examines the influence of the French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu on this process and the creation of early U.S. political culture. While previous academic scholarship has acknowledged Montesquieu’s influence on this process of writing the Constitution, this paper seeks to explore further the specific ways his influence shows itself in the U.S. Constitution and the creation of U.S. …

The Dynamics Of Us-Bangladesh Relations: Before, During And After The 1971 War Of Liberation, 1947-1975., Mdaminul Islam

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis traces the dynamics relations between Bangladesh and the United States before, during and after the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The thesis argues that during the Cold War era the US wanted to build good relations with Pakistan to curb communism in the Middle East and the South Asia. As a result, during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, the Nixon administration did not support Bangladesh’s independence, even though US diplomats and other officials reported the ongoing genocide. Despite this fraught history and Bangladesh’s pro-Indian, pro-Soviet leanings, relations formed between independent Bangladesh and the United States …

From Essential To Expendable – Montagnards, Kurds, And U.S. Army Special Forces In Vietnam And Northern Iraq, Jake Brooks

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the Vietnam and Iraqi conflicts, the U.S. Army Special Forces teamed up with indigenous ethnic monitories to bring the fight to all corners of the battle space, and to take advantage of their immense local knowledge and strategic locations. The Montagnards of Central Indochina and the Kurds in Northern Iraq allied with the Special Forces for a number of reasons: protection from their ruling governments, recognition for their movements for autonomy, increased access to better medicine and equipment, and the opportunity to strike back at their historical enemies. The Montagnards and Kurds taught the Green Berets how to better …

Sundown In Indiana: A Midwest Story Of Racism, Exclusion, And Memory, Kelsey A. Snyder

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Sundown towns were a prominent aspect of the northern life from the early 1900s till in some places till the 1970s but they have been lost to history. These towns have been silenced and erased not just from the history books but from public memory. Indiana is my home state and the three towns that will be discussed have all had an impact on my personal development especially in understanding race. Decatur and Huntington places I have called home, both have been classified as sundown towns. The third, Marion was the location of the one the last known lynchings in …

Highways To Hell: How The Intersections Of Cinema, Rock Music And The Resurgence Of Evangelicalism Influenced The 1985 Senate Hearing On Rock Music, David J. Fewell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Senate hearing on the “Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records, held on September 19, 1985, was as much a popular culture event as a public airing of concerns about explicit content in music. Much has been written about the significance of the Parents’ Music Resource Center (PMRC), the Senate hearing and the issues it engaged in, and how it colored conversations about censorship of the arts, the effectiveness of rating systems to police popular media and the effects of media on children’s behavior and development. The thesis will explore aspects of formative trends that influenced the PMRC’s …

Lindenlink Says Farewell To Its Editors, Truman Griessel

Lindenlink (2012- )

No abstract provided.

Moses Fleetwood Walker's Views On Race, Edward Hoffman

Honors Capstones

This paper details the life of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first Black Major League baseball player as well as a scholar, and explores his views on race. Despite the fact that he published a manifesto outlining his opinions on racial separation in 1908, very little has been written about Walker’s views on race, and there is no prior research on how Walker’s racial ideologies compare to other contemporary African American intellectuals. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources, I have concluded that Walker offers a unique perspective on race: He advocated for the complete, immediate, and mandatory separation of Black …

Differing Judicial Perspectives: A Look Into The Evolution And Constitutionality Of The United States' Administrative State, Buchanan Albert Cook

Honors Theses

Over time the United States’ administrative state has evolved into something that is quite unrecognizable from its inception in the early years of the nation. This essay will provide an account of the founding of the United States Constitution while recognizing the intent and design of the framers of the Constitution. In juxtapositioning this account with the current state of administrative agencies, questions over the constitutionality of such agencies will be posed. To answer these questions, an overview of the history of administrative agencies in the United States will be given alongside accompanying and significant Supreme Court Cases. This overview …

Establishment Of Six Flags Over The Deconstruction Of Sandtown, John Ely

Master's Theses

Development, both private and public, has played a crucial role in the knowledge that historians can take from the land, but the desire to build quickly ultimately destroyed many sites before they were properly studied. The Chattahoochee River, along with almost all the other rivers and streams in the Southeast, supported not only survival but civilization. Unfortunately, almost the entire catalog of scholarly sources regarding these places was written by men of European descent, and these writers rarely discuss the details regarding the fate of the sites that were destroyed in the name of industry. Sandtown was an almost mythic …

Atoms For Agency: How Argentina’S Pursuit Of Nuclear Power Plants Represents International Legitimacy And Autonomy, 1951-1978., Jacob R. Gressin

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Since 1949 Argentina has developed nuclear power plants (NPPs), overcoming political instability and financial barriers, to eventually succeed in the activation of Latin America’s first nuclear power plant, Atucha-1, in 1974. However, given the ample means of electrical production though fossil fuels and hydroelectric power, NPPs in Argentina present a paradoxical means of electrical production. This paper analyzes the history of Argentina’s nuclear power program, from 1951-1978, in order to offer a more holistic understanding of why NPPs were developed. I argue that nuclear power in Argentina was motivated not by a desire for electrical generation or to manufacture …