Digital Commons Network^™

Settlement Of South Carolina’S Colonial Backcountry: From Conflict To Prosperity, Steven C. Pruitt

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

The Carolina Colony was the first foothold for the British in the lower south region of North America. Carolina developed in the tradition of Barbados, with its economy based on staple crops. These staple crops would become rice and indigo, both of which flourished in the areas near the coast. This lucrative agricultural development would assure that the seat of power in Carolina would remain near the sea for most of its early history. The coastal elites would face three major concerns: threat from the Native Americans in the west, treats from the Spanish in the south, and a fear …

From Despair To Hope: The Story Of Paducah's 1937 "Super-Flood" From The Personal Accounts Of Those Who Survived

Jackson Purchase Historical Society Journal Archive

FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE: The Story of Paducah's 1937 "Super-Flood" From The Personal Accounts of Those Who Survived

Richard B. Davis

Civil War Diary Of Private Hawley V. Needham, 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, June 10 To October 2, 1864

Jackson Purchase Historical Society Journal Archive

Civil War Diary of Private Hawley V. Needham, 134th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, June 10 to October 2, 1864

Dieter Ullrich

Scientific Agriculture And The Agricultural State: Farmers, Capitalism, And Government In The Late Nineteenth Century, Ariel Ron

History Faculty Publications

The history of American capitalism in the decades around the turn of the twentieth century usually focuses on labor and industry to the relative neglect of important changes in agriculture. Landmark federal policies from the Morrill Land Grant Act (1862) to the Smith-Lever Act (1914) indicate that these changes involved a tightening and self-reinforcing relationship between commercial farming and national governing power. To understand this trajectory, which contrasts markedly with the experience of business and labor, we have to consider a long-developing movement for “scientific agriculture” that allowed well-organized farmers to exert decisive influence on federal policy from about the …

Displaying Race At The Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition, Bryan Patrick Bennett

History Theses & Dissertations

World expositions of the nineteenth and early twentieth century often displayed the latest anthropological, ethnological, biological, and technological research on race and ethnicity, promoting the view that whites were superior to all other peoples. The Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition of 1907, held in Norfolk, Virginia to commemorate the three-hundred anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown settlement and its contribution to the building of the United States, offers an opportunity to examine American perspectives on whiteness, race, and society.

First, the Jamestown Exposition offered a glimpse into the historical memory of white America, especially the influential citizens that comprised the controlling …

David Lion Gardiner: A Yankee In Gold Rush California, 1849-1851, Molly Mcclain

History: Faculty Scholarship

The US-Mexico War (1846-48) transformed the San Diego region by drawing in new investors, among them David Lion Gardner (1816-92) who came from New York to seek his fortune during the Gold Rush. Uncomfortable with the reckless pursuit of profit that he witnessed in San Francisco, Gardiner set up a mercantile business in San Diego. His surviving letters to family members tell the story of his experience in California between 1849 and 1851. They also reveal the capitalist origins of modern San Diego.

Interview With Paul Kilgus, Ben Halpern

Oral History Interviews & Transcripts

No abstract provided.

Neither A Slave Nor A King: The Antislavery Project And The Origins Of The American Sectional Crisis, 1820-1848, Joseph T. Murphy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Neither a Slave nor a King” intervenes in the scholarly debate over the “antislavery origins” of the sectional crisis in antebellum America – how the rise of a northern antislavery movement escalated the sectional tensions that led to southern secession and the Civil War. There are two main strands of literature on the antislavery origins of the sectional crisis. The first, in which social and cultural historians are dominant, focuses on the rise of radical (or “immediate”) abolitionism in the 1830s, exploring its impact on North-South relations and antebellum reform generally. The other strand, written by political and legal historians, …

In The Land Of The Mountain Gods: Ethnotrauma And Exile Among The Apaches Of The American Southwest, M. Grace Hunt Watkinson

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In the mid to late nineteenth century, two Indigenous groups of New Mexico territory, the Mescalero and the Chiricahua Apaches, faced violence, imprisonment, and exile. During a century of settler influx, territorial changeovers, vigilante violence, and Indian removal, these two cousin tribes withstood an experience beyond individual pain best described as ethnotrauma. Rooted in racial persecution and mass violence, this ethnotrauma possessed layers of traumatic reaction that not only revolved around their ethnicity, but around their relationship with their home lands as well. Disconnected from the ritual resources and sacred geographies that made up every day Apache living, both groups …

The Last Days Of Hermione Pelham And John Banister Of Newport, Rhode Island, Marian Desrosiers

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Hermione Pelham, descendant of Gov. Benedict Arnold, married well, raised two boys, and enjoyed the lifestyle of a wealthy woman with a grand house, orchards, and servants. It was a life made possible by her landed inheritance and the hard work of her colonial merchant husband. Wealth does not guarantee health, as both died at a relatively young age.

Pacifying Paradise: Violence And Vigilantism In San Luis Obispo, Joseph Hall-Patton

Master's Theses

San Luis Obispo, California was a violent place in the 1850s with numerous murders and lynchings in staggering proportions. This thesis studies the rise of violence in SLO, its causation, and effects. The vigilance committee of 1858 represents the culmination of the violence that came from sweeping changes in the region, stemming from its earliest conquest by the Spanish. The mounting violence built upon itself as extensive changes took place. These changes include the conquest of California, from the Spanish mission period, Mexican and Alvarado revolutions, Mexican-American War, and the Gold Rush. The history of the county is explored until …

Scapegoat Hysteria: A Comparison Of The Salem Witch Trials And The Red Scare, Andreanna Hughes

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Lewis And Clark Journey: Burning Bridges And Building Empires, Sean T. Ferguson (Class Of 2016)

History Undergraduate Publications

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the expedition of Lewis and Clark from 1804 to 1806 as they crossed the territory of Louisiana. Their journey has become one of the most important symbols of American history and its memory has been far reaching. More specifically, this paper aims to examine more closely the interactions that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had with the Native Americans. Thomas Jefferson had an extensive list of requests and instructions for the two explorers. While this paper will not analyze all of Jefferson’s requests, there are two that will be featured in this …

We Need A Little Christmas: The Shape And Significance Of Christmas In America, 1945-1950, Ellen D. Blackmon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

As soon as the weather turns cold, countless commercial, domestic, and cultural landscapes across the United States begin their collective metamorphosis into Christmas wonderlands. Christmas is such a force that, not surprisingly, it has received considerable scholarly attention. Numerous historians have traced the evolution of Christmas from a pre-Christian pagan winter festival to a staid Victorian domestic holiday, citing the latter period as the final stage of its development. Christmases since the Victorian Era, they argue, have not deviated significantly enough to warrant further analysis. Others have recognized the uniqueness of Christmas’s twentieth-century form but have not paid sufficient attention …

The Inuit Vs. The Steamboat: Human Exhibitionism And Popular Concerns About The Effects Of The Market Revolution In The Early Republic, Ryan Bachman

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In the early nineteenth century, a new form of human exhibitionism spread through eastern American cities. While public displays featuring live human beings had existed since the colonial era, these new shows specifically focused on Native Americans. This paper examines one such show, the Inuit Exhibition of 1820-1821, as a case study of this phenomena. Primarily through the use of contemporary newspaper accounts, this project argues that shows like the Inuit Exhibition occurred within a cultural context that legitimized the practice of human exhibitionism as a genuine, post-Enlightenment method of educating citizens about the natural world. Furthermore, so-called “Indian Exhibitions” …

Haymarket & Immigration: A Legacy Of Anarchist Fear, Kaysie Harrington

Honors Projects

The 1903 Alien Immigration Act, more commonly known as the Anti-Anarchist Act, was the first United States immigration policy to exclude persons based on political ideology. The following research explores the evolution of anti-anarchist sentiment in the US, following one of the nation’s first experiences with anarchist behavior: The Chicago Haymarket Affair of 1886, an incident in which a pipe bomb thrown in midst of a labor riot ultimately led to the arrest and highly publicized prosecution of eight anarchists. After the Haymarket Affair, both the United States government and the public defined anarchism as being the domain of alien …

"Do Not Fashion The Other": Representing Contemporary Haudenosaunee Literature 2016, Michael Patrick Brewster

Master's Theses

Historically, the issue of representation in postcolonial studies is one of some contention. While scholarship might recognize the necessity for highlighting the plights and struggles attendant to postcolonial societies, the primary literature being studied is most often written by natives of those societies themselves. This gap is especially evident with Indigenous cultures, because there are relatively few Indigenous scholars working in the academy. We are at the point now when we have a multiplicity (but not a plurality) of Indigenous voices writing literature (poetry, memoir, fiction, film, etc.) and academic criticism. However, there is value in non-Natives reading and writing …

Relive The Roycroft: Bringing History To Life At A National Landmark, Amizetta J. Haj

Museum Studies Projects

This project defines and validates the concept of the Roycroft Campus as a living museum and explores how the implementation of a “living” component to its educational programming would strengthen visitor engagement. It also focuses on the various ways in which to fortify the utility and visibility of a museum within a community, demonstrating how the Roycroft Campus can become a center for community engagement and cultural development. Through this research, I present the Roycroft Campus’ potential as a living museum and have created an educational based event which will bring to life the year 1915 on the historic Campus …

Walking In American History: How Long Distance Foot Travel Shaped Views Of Nature And Society In Early Modern America, Brian Christopher Hurley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The industrialization of transportation, first with railroads, and then with automobiles, took Americans away from foot transport, changing how Americans interacted with one another and viewed their surroundings. The dissertation traces the walking trips of five central figures in this era of mechanized transport, the personal impact of their experiences while walking through a land they were accustomed to skimming across, and the ways in which these personal revelations led to changes in the national consciousness. Walking upright was central to the development of homo sapiens as a species, and shaped the way they interacted with their environment. Certain aspects …

Holy Children Are Happy Children: Jonathan Edwards And Puritan Childhood, Russell Allen

Masters Theses

The eighteenth century is often considered the most important era in the history of childhood. Old Puritan conceptions of original sin and physical punishment gave way to Enlightenment concepts of childhood innocence and rationality. Jonathan Edwards was a central figure who stood in the midst of this intellectual change. Situated quite literally in the middle of the transitioning eighteenth century, Edwards’ attempted to bridge the gap between Puritan conceptions of childhood and new ideas made popular by John Locke. Sometimes the bridge held firmly, and other times it cracked widely. Edwards’ theological and philosophical understanding of childhood was at the …

Machines In The Valley: Community, Urban Change, And Environmental Politics In Silicon Valley, 1945–1990, Jason A. Heppler

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using Silicon Valley as a case study, this dissertation examines how activists influenced by the environmental movement reconfigured urban culture in the American West. *Machines in the Valley* argues that the spatial influences of the region's urban development gave rise to modern environmentalism that arose to criticize growth, but along the way failed to ultimately shape growth policies. While high technology sought to introduce a new urban form predicated on "clean and green" industries and an environmental urbanism, the premise of "clean" industry proved elusive.

High technology industrialization emerged as a key component of economic and urban development in postwar …

Father And Servant, Son And Slave: Judaism And Labor In Georgia, 1732–1809, Kylie L. Mccormick

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 1732 a philanthropic trusteeship was granted the charter to Georgia with the lofty goals of bringing aid to the impoverished in the British Empire and the persecuted Protestants of Europe. Within these goals was an emphasis on using the labor of indentured white servants, an unofficial ban on slavery, and a reluctance to allow Jewish colonists. To understand how both slavery and Judaism took hold in Georgia, this two part study explores the changing labor institutions through the lives of Benjamin Sheftall and his youngest son Levi—the two men who maintained the first Vital Records for Savanah’s Jewry. Benjamin’s …

Glimpses Of Marshall In The Military, Kevin C. Walsh

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Archaeological Potential Of The Rio Grande Valley: A Look At Brazos Island With A Historical Focus On The Civil War, Robin L. Galloso

Theses and Dissertations

The history of the Rio Grande Valley and the role it played in the Civil War is a developing field for both history and archaeology. This work helps to fill the existing gap that is present in academia and shows the archaeological and historical potential of this unique coastal area. The Brazos Island was heavily used during the Civil War by both the Confederacy and the Union. This thesis shows the rich history of Brazos Island and its archaeological potential through a multi-interdisciplinary lens, although rooted in the field of history. It covers a brief overview of the road to …

William Faulkner's Southern Landscape, Rachel V. Ford

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

The American South is a region full of rich and complicated history, undergoing slavery, war, poverty, ecological devastation, and racial violence. One of the most famous and distinctly southern writers of the twentieth century is William Faulkner, whose works challenge the idealistic Lost Cause mentality of white supremacy and highlight major issues within southern society. Faulkner’s writings are set in Mississippi, grounded with a distinct sense of place. The southern landscape provides more than simply a backdrop to the stories, but plays an active role in plot and character development. This thesis examines three of Faulkner’s novels, discussing their historical …

2016-04-29 Beautyville: Murder In My Family (Part 13), Lydia Justice Edwards, Eastern Kentucky Voice

Robert S. Frasure Murder Trials

Part 13 of "Beautyville: Murder in my Family" by Lydia Justice Edwards published in the Eastern Kentucky Voice on April 29, 2016.

Since Time Immemorial: The Decline Of Columbia River Basin Salmon, Samuel J. Levin

Young Historians Conference

Since Time Immemorial: The Decline of Columbia River Basin Salmon studies the near extinction of what has been historically the world’s largest salmon population. By examining the issue systemically, my paper reveals that the environmental misjudgments that have brought the salmon so near extinction are not isolated, but rather are the product of cultural trends. A study of these misjudgments reveals a culture within the Columbia Basin that has, since the mid-19^th century, sought expansion for expansion’s sake and valued short-term wealth over long-term sustainability. My paper illustrates how his philosophy has guided and continues to guide Columbia Basin …

Crisis In Education -- The Effect Of The Cold War On The American Education System, Spencer C.J. Gregg

Young Historians Conference

The Cold War era had a dramatic impact on the American educational system. Striving to demonstrate superiority over Soviet counterparts, new curriculum were developed to prepare the American youth intellectually, emotionally, and technologically to position the U.S. as a world power. With the American public polarized whether schools were a venue for the dissemination of national ideologies or institutions for the development of critical thinking; world events including nuclear warfare, space exploration, and military preparedness served as catalysts for the development of future citizens that would effectively contribute to the intellectual and technological growth of the nation.

Abraham Lincoln And The Dakota War In Academic And Popular Literature, Larry D. Mansch

Madison Historical Review

While the Civil War all but consumed Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, at least one other military matter caught his attention. The 1862 Dakota War in Minnesota resulted in the deaths of 358 white settlers, 106 United States soldiers, and 29 Dakota warriors. When the fighting ended hundreds of Indians were placed in prisoner camps, and after sham trials nearly 400 warriors were sentenced to death. Military leaders, politicians, and an enraged citizenry demanded that Lincoln order swift executions. Seeking to balance a sense of justice against the public’s insistence for revenge, Lincoln examined the trial records of each of the defendants, …

Anderson, Oliver Hazard Perry, 1813-1845 (Sc 2996), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2996. Letter, 25 July 1841, of Oliver Hazard Perry Anderson to his sister Penelope Wingate, Frankfort, Kentucky, describing his arrival at Marseilles, France, his travel to Paris, and the sights there. A second letter, 18 September 1844, written from Frankfort, Kentucky to Penelope’s son Reuben Wingate in Louisville, Kentucky, describes a banquet in honor of ex-Governor Robert P. Letcher. Reuben’s sister Sarah adds a page asking Reuben for sundries, including marrow to treat her thinning hair, and refers to the birth of another grandchild to their father.