Digital Commons Network^™

The Misunderstood Election Of 1876 And Colorado's Rocky Quest For Statehood, Maxwell D. Rotbart

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

On December 8, 1873, Representative Jerome B. Chaffee, the non-voting delegate of the Colorado Territory, submitted a proposal in the House of Representatives to make Colorado the 38th state in the Union. What should have been a routine matter — Colorado had the sizable population and economic stability necessary to achieve statehood — dragged on for more than three years. At stake was the outcome of the 1876 presidential election, in which Colorado’s electoral votes had the potential to — and ultimately did — decide which party would control the Executive Branch into the 1880s.

When historians consider the factors …

Orthodoxy, Culture And Language: Alaska In Russia’S Religious Diplomacy Of The 21st Century, Oleksandr Lukyanenko

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article is devoted to the analysis of the religious factor of the Russian foreign diplomacy in the light of Vladimir Putin’s high-profile visit to Alaska n August 15, 2025. The paper studies a special place of Alaska in the historical imagination of Russian political and church discourse. The status of this particular territory in Russian state worldview – the former “Russian America” – is indicative: it refers to the idea of an unfinished imperial legacy. The research doesn’t touch a main event that included a meeting with US President Donald Trump but an off-schedule meeting with Archbishop Alexei (Trader) …

Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis began as an inquiry into a simple question. How did people in the American colonies talk about the food that they ate? This question led to a fascinating look into the social dynamics of the people living in eighteenth century America. Their own personal writings demonstrate how they understood their place in society through the food that they ate. Moreover, they often wrote about the way that other people ate in ways that alienated or discriminated against different ethnic groups. A look into the secondary historiography revealed that other historians had noticed this trend. However, very few addressed …

The Edge Of The World: An Examination Of The Wild West In California, 1840-1880, Chloe J. Cushing

Master's Theses

“The Edge of the World” revolves around the history of the Wild West in California through the lens of Richard Maxwell Brown’s Western War of Incorporation theory. Rather than being a mythology sensationalized by Hollywood and literature, for the Golden State, the Wild West was a very real and tangible part of its early-American era, characterized by U.S. imperialism, high murder rates, anti-authoritarianism, and other rampant forms of chaos that affected the state for generations. By examining the conditions and effects of the late Mexican period, the Gold Rush, Confederate sympathizers, and the Southern Pacific Railroad, this thesis highlights the …

Alexander Asboth: Hungarian Separatist And Union Civil War General, Paul T. Brueske

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This thesis reveals the experiences of a Hungarian Separatist, Alexander Asboth, and how he applied those experiences in the American Civil War. It examines Asboth’s biography, his expansive view of the Union, and how he differed from many commanding officers in the Western theater. Moreover, this thesis illuminates Asboth’s military service, including his leadership of a diverse force at Barrancas, Florida, and adds to the understudied collaboration of foreign-born officers and Black soldiers in Gulf Coast Civil War history.

During the 1848 Hungarian separatist movement, Asboth served as an Army staff officer under the leader Lajos Kossuth. However, the separatists …

A Voice To Remember: Recovering The Rhetoric Of Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, Diana Lynne Nogay

English Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation will recover Mordecai Johnson's rhetoric to demonstrate how he addressed the political issues of his time, which were often related to race, and were frequently reduced or even forgotten. In this dissertation, titled “A Voice to Remember: Recovering the Rhetoric of Mordecai Wyatt Johnson,” I perform and analyze the rhetoric associated with him. Johnson was well known for being the president of Howard University; the goal of this project is to recover the rhetoric and identify the common themes. The two themes identified in Johnson’s rhetoric are religion and education. Personal traits and associations with religion are traced …

The Seed That Begot America: How Political Principles Of The Reformation Contributed To The American Founding, Gabriel Stisser

Senior Honors Theses

When teaching the American founding, the contemporary public-school curriculum tends to emphasize the influence of the thinkers from the antiquity and Enlightenment periods. However, the curriculum tends to neglect the impact that the Reformation had upon America's formation. Through a qualitative historical review, this study will analyze both primary and secondary sources to examine how Reformed ideals of the political covenant, limited government, and resistance to tyranny influenced the American founding. This analysis finds that the Reformed (sometimes called Calvinist) political ideals from the Reformation had a significant influence upon the formation of the New England colonies, the enlightenment figures …

Wagon Tracks Volume 39, Issue 4 (Aug 2025)

Wagon Tracks

Contents

2 On the Cover: Symposium Logo, Survey Chain

4 Trail Writings: Chris Day

5 Joanne’s Jottings

7 In Memorium: Margaret Sears

8 In Memorium: Larry Justice

9 Nominees for Offices and Board of Directors

11 Upcoming Events

12-31 Thomas Mather's 1825 Diary Edited and Annotated by Steve Schmidt and Craig Crease

29 Chapter Reports

32 Calendar

Wagon Tracks Volume 39, Issue 2 (Feb 2025)

Wagon Tracks

Contents

2 On the Cover: Jicarillo Young Woman and Cowboy Edward S. Curtis

4 Trail Writings: Chris Day

5-7 Joanne’s Jottings

7 Letter to Editor: Mike Olsen

7-9 News along the Trail

10 Preservation Committee: Alexa Roberts

12-17 An 1859 Contract for Exporting Wool on the Santa Fe Trail By Mary Penner

18-21 White Men Now Living Amongst Us By Ronald D. Parks

22-24 Jicarillo Apache Resistance By Doug Hocking

7/24 SFTA and Chapter 2024 Highlights

25 Chapter Reports

25 Membership Form

28 Calendar

Slave Society Upon A Hill: A Historiography Of Slavery In Colonial Massachusetts, Katherine Mcgann

The Graduate Review

This paper explores the treatment of slavery in New England by different historians throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Slavery in the U.S. is most often associated with the American South, but slavery also existed and flourished in New England. The study of how slavery developed in New England is an integral part of American history, as it is significant to see how slavery could have existed in a place known for its liberal ideals and democratic heroism and how that affected the development of American society. It is also important to explore why the story of slavery in …

Stolen, Lost, And Replaced: Testimonios Regarding Chicana Responsibilities To The Spanish Language, Fawn-Amber Montoya, Ashley Martinez

International Journal on Responsibility

Using testimonio, the authors address how the Spanish language represents a component of Chicana identity. They illustrate how geography, history, and colonization impact Chicanas’ relationship with the Spanish language. Using testimonio allows the writers to explore the Spanish language in the United States through their personal experiences.

Resumen

Usando “testimonio”, las autoras abordan cómo el idioma español representa un componente de la identidad chicana. Ilustran cómo la geografía, la historia y la colonización afectan la relación de las chicanas con el idioma español. El uso de “testimonio” permite a las autoras explorar el idioma español en los Estados Unidos a …

End Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.

Uni’S First Woman Professor: Laura Ensign And The Struggle For Fair Pay, Rank, And Faculty Governance Under Gilchrist And Seerley, Thomas G. Connors

Faculty Book Gallery

At 29, Laura Ensign’s appointment to the faculty of Iowa’s new State Normal School should have been an unqualified triumph. Yet her hiring by the Board over the objections of James Gilchrist, the school’s principal, placed her under an administrator who detested her from the start. She lived, ate, and worked with her colleagues, pupils, and Gilchrist and his family in the same isolated building on a hill two miles from town. Near her wits’ end after eight years, Ensign tried one final maneuver, one so risky that it would have cost her job had it failed: She began secretly …

Eugene Talmadge’S Library Book Purge Of 1941, David B. Parker

Georgia Library Quarterly

In Summer 1941, Governor Eugene Talmadge ordered a purging of 23 books from Georgia’s public school libraries. The books covered several subjects: race relations, sex education, evolution, South-bashing, states’ rights, communism, and more. He was planning on running for a US Senate seat in 1942, and perhaps he did this to attract voter support—showing that he would protect the state’s traditional values from various modern threats. There was immediate opposition, with many people comparing Talmadge’s ban to German Nazism.

Marking Their Sacrifice: Headstones And History For Usct Veterans In Jacksonville, Florida, Christian Merkley

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

This research project investigated the unmarked graves of United States Colored Troops (USCT) veterans buried in Jacksonville, Florida. Despite their critical role in securing Union victory and advancing Black freedom during the Civil War, these soldiers were often denied pensions and formal recognition, including headstones. In collaboration with the University of North Florida and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the project involved archival research, military record verification, and cemetery documentation to confirm the service and burial sites of sixteen USCT veterans. Using resources such as Fold3, Works Progress Administration (WPA) grave registries, and institutional archives, the project resulted in the …

The Grizzly, October 23, 2025, Renee Washart, Julia Picklo, Nathaniel Nerone, Erin Ewing, Caitlin Cunnane, Kate Adams

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Opportunities in Motion • Spooky Spectacles and Enchanting Art • In the Blood: A Visceral Scarlet Letter Stage Adaptation • The MAA Fortnightly Question • Greetings From Ireland • The Best and Worst of C-Store (In My Humble Opinion) • An Injured Athlete's Experience: Emma Reinert • Bears' Players of the Week • Field Hockey Fights to Keep Season Alive

America’S Best Idea: The Separation Of Church And State, A Review, Michael A. Smith

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

This article critically assesses Randall Balmer’s America’s Best Idea, a historical and legal examination of the Jeffersonian principle of church-state separation. Drawing on Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists and Roger Williams’ earlier theological insights, Balmer frames the metaphorical “wall” as both a constitutional safeguard and cultural cornerstone. The review analyzes the book’s treatment of evolving Supreme Court jurisprudence, particularly the shift from strict separationism to accommodationism in recent decisions. It contextualizes this legal transformation within the broader rise of Christian Nationalism, examining the ideological and institutional pressures reshaping civic discourse. While affirming Balmer’s historical rigor and rhetorical …

The Architects Of Consensus: Propaganda, Patriotism, And The Owi’S Battle For The American Mind, Ryan G. Fix

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

During World War II, the Office of War Information (OWI) became the United States' most sophisticated domestic propaganda agency, charged with forging national unity in the face of global conflict. This paper explores how the OWI fused federal authority with private-sector cooperation to influence public sentiment through film, advertising, journalism, and rumor control. Rather than resorting to direct censorship, the agency relied on voluntary collaboration, emotional appeal, and strategic framing to shape a coherent narrative that blurred the line between democratic persuasion and ideological management. Drawing on an extensive range of primary sources, including internal memos, field reports, and public …

The Grizzly, October 9, 2025, Renee Washart, Adam Denn, Sidney D. Belleroche, Nathaniel Nerone, Erin Ewing, Jesse Cherone

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Ursinus Hall of Fame Construction • A Compiled List of Student Benefits, Discounts and More • Meet the Grizzly Team • President Hannigan Talks Affordability, DEI • Ursinus Student Starts Day Trading Club • For What it's Worth: My Experience Protesting on Campus • Men's Soccer Gears Up for Conference Play • Players of the Week • Football Falls Short in Conference Battle

What Can Bird Poop Teach Us About The History Of U.S. Imperialism?: Guano Islands And Manifest Destiny Beyond Continental Borders, Eliot Fackler

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

In high school and college history courses, Manifest Destiny is often taught as a period when the United States expanded across the North American continent in the decades before the Civil War. This article outlines an inquiry-driven lesson examining the Antebellum guano rush and its devastating consequences to show that Manifest Destiny was also characterized by extracontinental imperial ambitions. It highlights the lasting impacts of the 1856 Guano Islands Act and links the guano rush to subsequent empire-building efforts, U.S. militarism, and ecological destruction. The article provides relevant background history, descriptions of possible class activities and assessments, and options for …

The Grizzly, October 2, 2025, Renee Washart, Sidney D. Belleroche, Adam Denn, Ash Twomey, Claudia Tracy, Sophia Kumar, Erin Ewing, Emily A. Veasey

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Protests at Campus Charlie Kirk Memorial Screenings • Recovery Month Continues Past September at Ursinus • UC Theater Performs Harvey • President Hannigan Talks Financials, Retention, and More • More Than a Mic: WVOU's New Era Begins • Where's the Fun in Fashion? • Ursinus Goes "All-In" • Volleyball Looks to Repeat History

An Imperfect Explication Of An Ambiguous Constitution: The Federalist Papers, Ian J. Penner

History Senior Capstone

With the rise of originalism as a viable legal philosophy, American legal scholars have seen an increased appeal to writings contemporary to 1787 -- first among these sources being the Federalist Papers. However, it may be time for a critical study of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay's essays in order to prevent over-citation of the papers. By understanding the context of the papers, who wrote them, and what the intention of Publius were, legal scholars and historians can both learn the proper place of the Federalist papers as valid, yet conditioned source of Constitutional meaning.

History 104- History Of Modern Us, Stephen F. Haller Phd

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Abolitionism And The Struggle Against Slavery In Livingston County, Justin Behrend Ph.D.

History

This article examines the abolitionist movement in Livingston County, New York, through the records of the Livingston County Anti-Slavery Society. It shows how this region in Western New York transformed from one where slavery was tolerated to one where people fought against slavery during the Civil War. Activists between 1837 and 1839 organized meetings to spread abolitionism and to push the United States to abolish slavery.

Overland With Ernst Heinen: A Newly Discovered 1864 Bridger Trail Diary, Caroline L. Gilson

Library Faculty Publications

In 1864, Joseph Ernst Johann Heinen, age 27, travelled from Illinois to California for a work opportunity. His route and travel experiences were recorded in a diary, which has been transcribed, with footnotes. Research and work was conducted by Gilson, along with DePauw University students. This article includes the full transcription of the 1864 diary, a biography of Ernst Heinen and notes on sources consulted.

The Varied Response Of Cherokees To Land Allotment, Jacob Cummings

The Ozark Historical Review

This paper analyzes Cherokee opposition to allotment, a United States policy, expressed in the 1887 Dawes Act and other U.S. legislation and executive orders, that coerced tribal nations to break their communally held lands into private holdings, or allotments. This paper argues that the shifting beliefs, political views, and grassroots movements surrounding allotment, and its closely related issues, were both based in and influenced by personal and political interests, as well as from traditional, collective Cherokee values and spirituality.

Into The Canebrakes: Arkansas And Naacp's Campaign For A Federal Anti-Lynching Law, Marie Claire Durr

The Ozark Historical Review

Race relations worsened and violence driven by racism increased following World War I. As a result, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or the NAACP, began to scout out cases they could employ in the fight to enshrine federal protections against racial terrorism that were exemplified in Arkansas' 1919 Elaine Massacre and the 1921 lynching of Henry Lowery.

Introduction To Roots Of Justice: A History Of Race And Racism In Nebraska, M. Dewayne Mays, Paul Olson

Truth and Reconciliation History Project

Nebraska has made racism a way of life through most of its history. It is still the way of life for many. In 2020, a Nebraska columnist wrote the following about Nebraska: “[T]he issues stemming from racism can seem like foreign concepts, confined to the larger cities (or the American South) and relics of a distant past.”2 The column goes on to show that these issues were not confined to large cities or to the South; they rested on our back door in Nebraska. Yet, one often heard back as far as one could remember that Nebraska is not and …

Roots Of Justice: A History Of Race And Racism In Nebraska, Kevin Abourezk, M. Dewayne Mays, Paul Olson, Gabriel Bruguier, Preston Love Jr., Adam Fletcher Sasse, Heather Fryer, J.S. Onésimo (Ness) Sándoval, Sharon Ishii-Jordan, Emira Ibrahimpašić, Julia Reilly

Zea E-Books Collection

There is much to understand about the history of Nebraska and how the past shapes the present. This book attempts to bring into clearer focus the triumphs and trials of five broad groups whose lives have often been overlooked when the state’s history is told. The authors know some of this history of racism firsthand: Most of them have lived as people of color in Nebraska. They’ve experienced “the good, the bad and the ugly” that makes up our state story. We encourage educators, scholars and family historians to continue to dig, to document and to tell these stories. And …

Legends, Lies, & Rewritten Lives: After The Little Bighorn: Forgotten Struggles Of Those Who Walked Away, Thomas B. Davidson

DU Textbooks

This Narrative is about an event that occurred on June 25, 1876, on the banks of the Little Bighorn River in what is now the state of Montana. Seen from a 21st century perch, it tells a story of a contest between the armed representatives of two different civilizations, each of which fought in the manner of its society. The narrative will attempt to balance the truth of what happened while also relating an engaging story, but without drifting into sensationalism. The narrative will go beyond a focus on the meeting of the soldiers from either group to explore the …