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Captain Nathaniel Wyche Hunter And The Florida Indian Campaigns, 1837-1841, Reynold M. Wik

Florida Historical Quarterly

In January, 1837, Captain Nathaniel Wyche Hunter arrived at Fort Huleman, Florida, to engage in the military campaigns against the Seminole Indians. His letters and diaries during the next four years provide a vivid account of military life in the Peninsula State. Although his observations do not alter the history of the Seminole wars, they do reflect the thoughts of a perceptive officer facing the frustrations common to this theater of frontier warfare. They also present a soldier’s view of the United States government’s action in removing the Florida Indians to lands beyond the Mississippi river.

The 1789 Saint Augustine Celebration, Helen Hornbeck Tanner

Florida Historical Quarterly

One of the most elaborate celebrations of Saint Augustine’s colonial history occurred in December, 1789, when the civilian and military populations joined in honoring Charles IV’S ascension to the Spanish throne. Parades, theatricals, religious services and soirees with dancing till dawn were features of the three day festival beginning the afternoon of December 2.

Zespedes And The Southern Conspiracies, Helen Hornbeck Tanner

Florida Historical Quarterly

The peace treaty by which the American colonists gained their independence in 1783 created a situation along their southern border almost designed, it seemed, to provoke hostility. By the treaty, the provinces of East and West Florida, which had belonged to Britain for the previous twenty years and had remained loyal to the Crown, were returned to Spain. Thus Europe’s oldest colonial power regained a foothold on the southeastern seaboard of North America, but now was threatened by an ambitious young republic - the first independent nation in the western hemisphere. Furthermore, a portion of the border remained in dispute …

Panton, Leslie, And Company, Indian Traders Of Pensacola And St. Augustine, J. A. Brown

Florida Historical Quarterly

The North American peace settlement of 1783 confirmed the Spanish in their reconquest of Pensacola and returned His Catholic Majesty’s banner to the bastions of the Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine; however, it did not end - but rather intensified - the struggle for the allegiance and trade of the 45,000 Indians on the Florida frontier. A new and dynamic United States, surging to the Mississippi, and from its Bahamas outpost a covetous England, intrigued with the savages to turn the Spanish out, and failing that, to divert to their own nationals and treasuries a part at least …

The Cession Of Florida And John Quincy Adams, Secretary Of State, Lester Harris

Florida Historical Quarterly

The cession of the Floridas stands out as one of the greatest victories in the history of American diplomacy. Ownership of Florida insured to the United States a continuous seaboard on the Atlantic Ocean. It led to the recognition by the United States of the South American colonies, then in revolt against Spain. The treaty with Spain gave the United States its first recognized claim to the western lands bordering on the Pacific Ocean. 2 It became the basis for the acquisition of Oregon and Washington, and parts of present day Montana and Idaho. Cession led directly to the Monroe …

Indian Presents: To Give Or Not To Give: Governor Whites's Quandary, Richard K. Murdoch

Florida Historical Quarterly

At the close of the Eighteenth Century the use of presents to obtain loyalty, friendship, neutrality or allegiance was an old story to the nations of Western Europe, dating back to the days of the Greeks and Romans. Later presents were employed for the same purpose in the feudal period and in the campaigns of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. In the early years of the modern era the Portugese used presents to obtain peaceful entry into African ports as prelude to the slave trade. And finally presents were employed in the Americas by all the colonizing powers as …

Pacification Gone Awry: The U.S Failure To Underpin Hearts And Minds In South Vietnam, 1966–1968, Simon Mai

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: Throughout the escalation of American involvement in Vietnam from 1964 – 1968, one key strategy focused on pacification – the winning of the allegiance of South Vietnamese civilians to the Saigon-based Government of Vietnam (GVN). This paper will argue that American/GVN implementation of pacification programs at the provincial and village level revealed three fundamental factors that proved fatal and counterproductive. These factors were the political and social entrenchment of the Viet Cong or National Liberation Front (NLF), the provincial cronyism and corruption of GVN, and the indiscriminate application of American firepower in support of General William Westmoreland’s strategy of …

The Revival Of Termination: Fragmenting John Collier’S Bureau Of Indian Affairs, Jacob Taylor

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: The Indian New Deal has been studied through two opposing lenses. Some historians attempt to paint John Collier, Bureau Commissioner under President Roosevelt, as a visionary who attempted to save Native American sovereignty while others denounce his legislation and time in office as ill-fated and corrupt. These two opposing views fail to illustrate the broader context of Collier’s BIA and do not provide an explanation for the ultimate failure of the Indian New Deal. Furthermore, they offer a largely monocausal explanation for the failure of the Indian New Deal. I argue that the BIA had been faltering for a …

The Blood Logs: Factors In The U.S. Decision To Classify The Japanese Biological And Chemical Warfare Program, Linda R. Zhang

Phi Alpha Theta Pacific Northwest Regional Conference

Abstract: The Japanese Imperial Army maintained chemical and biological testing facilities during the Asian Pacific War where unwilling civilians and prisoners of war were subjected to human experiments regarding frostbite, germ warfare, syphilis, weapons testing, and human anatomy. As American forces began occupying Japan and restructuring the country, the Allied Powers established an international tribunal to prosecute Japanese leaders deemed responsible for the war. During this time period, American policymakers would classify the Japanese bio warfare program, essentially protecting Japanese participants in the warfare program from facing trial. My research analyzes why American policymakers would classify Japan’s Biochemical Warfare Program …

The White Flag, Florida Historical Society

Florida Historical Quarterly

In the long history of the American Indians no name is more widely known than Osceola. At the time of his death especially, he was talked of throughout the entire country. Towns in a score of states were named for him, and there are three counties which bear his name - in Iowa, Michigan, and Florida. This was largely because of a small piece of white cloth: the violation of a flag of truce under the orders of General Jesup, then in command of the Army in Florida. Standing under the white flag, Osceola was seized, imprisoned, and died soon …

Notes On Modern Seminole Traditions Of Osceola, William C. Sturtevant

Florida Historical Quarterly

Romantic interest among whites in the figure of Osceola began even before his death, and has continued ever since. His abilities as a warrior, his dramatic flair, and the well publicized circumstances of his capture and of his death in captivity soon thereafter, account for this interest. Many who know nothing else about the Seminole know Osceola’s name and some of the white folklore about him. He is almost certain to crop up in casual questioning of the Seminole today by tourists and others. On one occasion, I was present when a customer asked a leading Seminole enterpreneur in his …

Cuban Bloodhounds And The Seminoles, James W. Covington

Florida Historical Quarterly

Throughout history man has made use of animals in his warfare. During the Middle Ages the “Man on horseback” gained many victories against those on foot who opposed him and it was not until the effective use of the long bow and gun powder that the foot soldier could hold his own in combat. The first animal that European man domesticated was the dog. Even as late as World War II canines of several breeds were used by both sides to guard against surprise attack and to track down fleeing foes and prisoners.

The Marine Forces Of William Augustus Bowles And His State Of Muskogee, Lyle N. Mcalister

Florida Historical Quarterly

Among the host of adventurers, dreamers, filibusters and trouble-makers who have added drama to the pages of Florida history, William Augustus Bowles yields to none. Among his enemies, and these were in the majority, he was referred to by epithets ranging from the relatively mild “that fellow Bowles” to the more emphatic “vagabond,” “desperado,” “Black Guard,” “Captain Liar,” and “desperate vile adventurer.” Among his friends and admirers he was known variously as “Beloved Warrior,” “Captain,” “General,” and “Director General.” In the pursuit of his designs Bowles dreamed great dreams, performed remarkable feats of derring-do, executed spectacular escapes, and by a …

Barcia’S History Of Florida, Albert C. Manucy

Florida Historical Quarterly

This volume is a translation of the noted Ensayo Cronologico, or Chronological Essay on the General History of Florida, Containing the Discoveries and principal events which came to pass in this Vast Kingdom, touching the Spanish, French, Swedish, Danish, English, and other Nations, as between themselves and with the Indians whose Customs, Characteristics, Idolatry, Government, Warfare, and Stratagems are described; and the Voyages of some Captains and Pilots through the Northern Sea in search of a passage to the Orient, or the Union of that land with Asia. As this inclusive title indicates, the book is a detailed history of …

Relations With The Indians In West Florida, 1770-1781, George C. Osborn

Florida Historical Quarterly

As governor of the English Province of West Florida, Peter Chester had many vexing problems to tax his executive abilities and his diplomatic skill. None was more difficult nor more intriguing than that of dealing with the Indians. Even before his arrival in the colony the Indians must have begun to realize that, regardless of which European imperialistic rival eventually won out in the struggle for supremacy in southeastern North America, they were the losers. Friendship proffered by the Spanish, and by the English after 1763 when the Treaty of Paris gave Florida to them and still later by the …

The Railroad Background Of The Florida Senatorial Election Of 1851, Arthur W. Thompson

Florida Historical Quarterly

The national schism concerning the state of the Union following the Mexican War affected the character and intensity of political debate on the Florida scene no less than it did that of other areas throughout the nation. In Congress, Jefferson Davis and other eminent defenders of the Southern position gained the ardent support of Florida’s Democratic senior Senator, David L. Yulee. In his advocacy of the principle of the concurrent majority, as applied to the bicameral nature of the national legislature, Yulee was dealt a devastating blow by Webster and Clay. By late July of 1850, the proponents of the …

St. Augustine During The Civil War, Omega G. East

Florida Historical Quarterly

Three days before Florida seceded from the Union about 125 state artillerymen marched resolutely on Fort Marion’s Federal garrison as ordered by Governor M. S. Perry. The action which resulted cannot be recorded as one of the major engagements of the war, if we are to believe Private J. Gardner (a member of the expedition), who reminisced: “We took possession of the fort, and captured the entire garrison, consisting of one lonely sergeant, well advanced in years, who surrendered very graciously.“

The Tide Is Coming In: Fort Pulaski's Historical Relationship With Water, Sadie Ingram

Honors College Theses

Savannah, Georgia is the fourth busiest port in the United States, processing approximately 4.35 million standard shipping containers every year. The port’s protector Fort Pulaski towers among the coastal marshlands and estuaries of the Savannah River. Located on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the Savannah River, this strategic location allowed the fort to protect Savannah’s vital harbor. Built as part of the United States’ Third System plan to build fortifications along the eastern seaboard, construction of Fort Pulaski began in 1827 and finished twenty years later.

Water has played a pivotal role in the history of Fort Pulaski and …

"I Am A Arkansas Man:" An Analysis Of African-American Masculinity In Antebellum Arkansas, Tye Boudra-Bland

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

This thesis examines the experiences of African-American men in the years leading up to and through the American Civil War in order to understand how they constructed their own sense of manhood. Contemporary slave narratives and abolitionists’ expositions routinely tailored their definitions of manhood to white notions of gender in order to garner white support. Prominent abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass tailored their language of resistance against slavers to cast them as honorable martyrs as opposed to vengeful slaves so as to undermine racist caricatures of brute violence. But black southern men struggled against the confines of their bondage and …

Reactions And Responses To The American Chestnut Blight In The Twentieth Century, Sarah Heavren

Undergraduate Craft of Research Prize Papers

Chapter from The Perfect Tree: The American Chestnut Tree in American Culture, Economics, and Science in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

The tale of the American chestnut tree offers incredible insight on Americans’ changing relationship with their environment and the complications added by economic motivations and scientific advancements. The American chestnut tree was known for its favorable timber and delectable nuts, which allowed the tree to assume a level of economic and cultural significance in twentieth century America. The timber was versatile and durable, and picking chestnuts and roasting them during the holidays were common seasonal traditions. However, the arrival …

"The Glare And Glitter Of That Fashionable Resort": Newport, Rhode Island As Ward Mcallister Found It, Emily Elizabeth Parrow

Masters Theses

As late nineteenth century New York City’s premier social arbiter, Ward McAllister was one of the most controversial and well-known figures of the Gilded Age. In the turbulent years following the Civil War, he helped codify an otherwise elusive definition of American high society in an era marked by conspicuous spending and an ever-growing gap between the rich and poor. His influence also extended beyond New York, paralleling and contributing to the physical and social transformation of Newport, Rhode Island. Once a thriving port city and participant in the Triangle Trade, Newport experienced a fifty-year period of stagnation following the …

Aerial Terror: The Shift In American Daylight Bombing Over Europe During World War Ii, Joseph Sullivan

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

In the final two years of the Second World War, the United States abandoned daylight precision bombing for terror bombing. During the interwar years, the United States cited international norms and laws to speak out against unjust air attacks by Germany and Japan. Even during the United States’ period of neutrality, President Franklin Roosevelt criticized Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for their tactics. But, as the war dragged on, the ferocity and persistence of the Nazis forced the United States to change their approach to strategic bombing. With fewer military industrial targets remaining and Allied casualties rising, the US …

Spymaster Of Setauket: The Impact Of Benjamin Tallmadge And The Culper Spy Ring On The American Revolution, Kyle Burgess

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Despite the staunch support that British occupiers enjoyed in New York and Long Island amongst Anglicans, there still remained plenty of citizens whose disdain for their new overseers provided Tallmadge with a large pool to recruit agents. In Patriot super spy Benjamin Tallmadge’s home of Suffolk County, Presbyterians endured an oppressive occupation at the hands of the British Army as many became wartime refugees following the destruction of their farms. This made many of them eager participants in Tallmadge’s schemes and some would even accompany Tallmadge on his whaleboat raids. Although none of these skirmishes proved decisive in tipping the …

Give Peace A Chance: Responses To The Vietnam War On Catholic College Campuses, Elizabeth Gleason

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, colleges and universities were at the center of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the United States. While there were certainly moments of tense, violent protest at American institutions such as Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, there were many more moments of nonviolent, peaceful protest at other institutions, particularly Catholic colleges and universities such as Providence College, Notre Dame University, and its sister school St. Mary’s College. While Catholic college students were not the only American students to employ peaceful methods of protest in conveying their opposition to the war, they comprised a …

Negro Slavery In Florida, Edwin L. Williams, Jr.

Florida Historical Quarterly

Negro slavery existed in Florida long before it became American territory and the Negro began to play his part in the drama of Florida history at a very early date. If we are to credit the narrative of Cabeca De-Vaca, as translated by Buckingham Smith, at least two Negroes accompanied the Narvaez expedition to Florida in 1528, though no mention is made as to whether they were slave or free. One of these Negroes was among the few survivors of this ill-fated expedition who finally reached Mexico. A few Negro slaves accompanied the great expedition of Hernando DeSoto when it …

Diego Pena’S Expedition To Apalachee And Apalachicolo In 1716, Mark F. Boyd

Florida Historical Quarterly

Prior to the settlement of Charles Town in 1670, the Spanish, through the mission reductions, dominated many of the southeastern Indian tribes. Although the mission Indians generally accepted the discipline imposed, several revolts against Spanish rule nevertheless occurred, the suppression of which doubtless produced many malcontents. Furthermore the Spanish regarded the English settlement of Carolina as an encroachment on Spanish territory, although evidently not unwelcome by Indians who had become hostile to the Spaniards.

Carpetbag Imperialism In Florida, 1862-1868 Part Ii, George Winston Smith

Florida Historical Quarterly

Before the Florida Direct Tax Commissioners couId hope to make extensive tax assessments and sales of “rebel”property in Florida, further military operations were essential in the Jacksonville area. Nevertheless, Fernandina and St. Augustine already were in possession of the Union forces, and Stickney could see before him a limited entree to southern wealth. Before he made a leisurely journey southward at the end of 1862, he quietly began to make preparations.

The Everglades Before Reclamation, J. E. Dovell

Florida Historical Quarterly

This account of the Everglades and their early history is one result of the author’s extensive research into all available sources. The full story of the Everglades including reclamation is the subject of an unpublished dissertation by the author which was accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina.

Stephen Russell Mallory Part Ii, Occie Clubbs

Florida Historical Quarterly

Of those who have been identified with early Key West, one who has been given highest acclaim is Ellen Mallory, Stephen R. Mallory’s mother.

Stephen Russell Mallory, Occie Clubbs

Florida Historical Quarterly

Perhaps Charles Mallory, as he worked at his carpenter’s bench somewhere in New England, dreamed that some day he might have a son to work beside him or to follow him at the same bench; and later, now a building superintendent and contractor in the island of Trinidad off the coast of South America, he may have dreamed again that the little Stephen playing about his shop or office, might become a great man. But if so, the reality far surpassed his dreams-for the boy became a member of the foremost legislative body of the world, and later was one …