Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Beyond Coattails: Explaining John Paul Hammerschmidt's Victory In 1966, Jesse Ray Sims

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the campaign issues, demographic factors, and voting trends that helped Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt defeat incumbent Democratic congressman James W. Trimble in Arkansas’s third congressional district in 1966. Much of the historiography addressing this election largely neglects the historic significance of Hammerschmidt’s successful campaign and the factors contributing to his victory. Instead, historians primarily write about the election of Republican Winthrop Rockefeller to the governor’s office that year.

This thesis pieces together several theories on how Hammerschmidt defeated Trimble, including the effect of Winthrop Rockefeller’s coattails, the demographic changes taking place in the Ozarks beginning in the …

The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan And Its Role In Middle Eastern Geopolitics, Elizabeth Heckmann

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Middle East is notorious for the seemingly endless series of conflicts, instances of internal unrest, and political insurrections it witnesses. From the Gulf Wars in the late 20th Century, to the Arab Spring that began in 2010, to the rise of the Islamic State in 2013, it appears that almost every state in the region is inescapably engulfed in violence and instability. However, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has proven itself to be the exception to that rule over the years. While Jordan is not unfamiliar with domestic conflict and political unrest, the kingdom has demonstrated a remarkable resilience …

Political Harvests: Transnational Farmers' Movements In North Dakota And Saskatchewan, 1905-1950, Jason Mccollom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research uses as a case study farmers' movements in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, two identical locales in terms of wheat monoculture, demographics, and agrarian ideology, and traces the differing Social, economic, and political outcomes between 1905 and 1950. The research, however, moves beyond this and also investigates the transnational integration, connections, and engagements among agrarian groups across the broader North American northern plains and across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, to Europe, the Soviet Union, and Australia. Methodologically, this study applies Social movement theory, pioneered by sociologists Doug McAdam, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilley, which seeks to replace a …

Leadership In African American Politics: The Role Of President Obama On The Issue Of Same-Sex Marriage, Kevin Christopher Faulk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, African Americans overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama in his bid for the Presidency. Their supported averaged at 95% of African American voters. At the same time that Senator Obama was on the ballet, Prop 8 - legislation designed to amend California's Constitution to define marriage as between a man and woman - was passed with a large majority of African American support. Why did strong Democrats vote in favor of a law that most Democrats rejected? Previous research has concluded it was the role of the Black Church in African American politics that moves the community to a more …

A Melting Pot Of Voices: Public Discourse And The Latino Immigrant Experience In The United States, Elizabeth Katherine Vammen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the discourses surrounding the immigrant experience in the United States to reconcile first-hand accounts of Latino immigrant experiences with the discourse prevailing in broader domains such as immigration law, public forums, non-fiction essays, and the news media. In order to break down barriers that prevent productive discussions, this analysis identifies stifling language guised under what Antonio Gramsci defines common sense rather than good sense. At the same time this study aims to deconstruct stifling language, it uses first-hand accounts from Latino immigrants to provide insight as to where the American public is not listening. By analyzing common …

Integrated Relationships: The Impact Of European Integration On The Special Relationship, 1969-1973, Benjamin Jared Pack

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The special relationship has long been a topic of interest to historians of US foreign relations. The general consensus has been that the years 1969-1973 were a low point for Anglo-American relations, and have therefore been dismissed as largely insignificant. Rejecting this interpretation, this thesis contends that while certainly one of the lowest moments in the history of the special relationship, the Heath-Nixon relationship reveals much about the nature of the special relationship and America's relations with its allies more broadly. Focusing on the question of European integration (and the corresponding British entry into the European Community in 1973) and …

Lobbying On Behalf Of The Faithful: Three Mainline Protestant Denominations And Their Advocacy Efforts On Capitol Hill During The 110th Congress, Julia Ann Summers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A number of mainline Protestant denominations engage in direct lobbying and grassroots advocacy efforts with Congress on behalf of the poor and other marginalized groups. This study explores the work of three specific denominations the Presbyterian Church [PC(USA)], the United Church of Christ (UCC), and the United Methodist Church (UMC), as religious special interests. Specifically, the study explores how they facilitated their policy agendas on Capitol Hill during the 110th Congress (2007-2008). This question is answered primarily through interviews with and surveys of the professional staff engaged in this work during that session. Results indicate that each denomination works extensively …

A Tangled Hope: America, China, And Human Rights At The End Of The Cold War, 1976-2000, Jared Michael Phillips

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Tangled Hope: America, China, and Human Rights at the End of the Cold War, 1976-2000, discusses the evolution of both the international and American understanding of human rights. Beginning with a discussion of the philosophical and cultural frameworks concerning "rights" that developed in Europe and the Americas throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, this work moves into the post-World War II climate that shaped Jimmy Carter and his unique understanding of human rights and America's role in the Cold War world. In particular, I argue that the existing narrative concerning Carter's foreign policy is lacking in a nuanced understanding …

Cold War Battleground In Africa: American Foreign Policy And The Congo Crisis, January 1959 - January 1961, Souleyman Saleh Souleyman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the late 1950s, the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union turned the Congo as one of the most volatile regions of the Third World. Because of Belgium's failure to effective decolonize the Congo, and because of the secession of two of the richest provinces of the Congo, the country would quickly fell into chaos and a civil war that would force its former colonial power to maintain its economic and military influence in the region. This neocolonial attitude induced Congo's Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, to request a military assistance from the Soviet Union. In …

Feet In The South, Eyes To The West: Fort Smith Enters The Sunbelt, Adam Morrison Carson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines the political realignment of Fort Smith, Arkansas and argues that the standard historiographical argument about the process of realignment does not explain what occurred in this city. Much of the historiography of political realignment currently revolves around the belief in a white backlash against the federal government and the national Democratic Party for their support of African American civil rights. Though historians have moved toward a "suburban synthesis" that downplays the backlash thesis, historians still argues that many white southerners moved to the suburbs to avoid integration.

I argue that this process did not occur in the …

Woes Of The Arkansas Internationalist: J. William Fulbright, The Middle East, And The Death Of American Liberalism, Mitchell Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary scholarship has shown that J. William Fulbright's defeat in 1974 was due to a plethora of reasons including his opposition to America's involvement in Vietnam, lackadaisical attitude towards the monolithic threat of Communism, connection to the Washington establishment amidst the Watergate scandal, and old age. Scholars, however, have not paid enough attention to the role Fulbright's Middle Eastern stances played in his final election campaign. I seek to place the voice of Arkansans in the national and international political discussions and show that, despite their relatively unfocused interest in Middle Eastern affairs (and perhaps because of that lack of …

Deracialized Leadership And Promotion Of African American Political Engagement: Cory Booker's Use Of Twitter, Marisol Mcnair

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Cory Booker was elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey in 2006, after two rancorous and racially charged campaign cycles; he used a deracialized political style that challenged traditional thinking about Black leadership for many in Newark. Booker uses the social networking tool, Twitter, to establish a cohesive group identity and to legitimize his leadership with African Americans in Newark. We use a social media “engagement infrastructure” framework developed by Leighninger and Mann (2011) to review Booker’s postings on Twitter over a 31-day period. The goal of this review was to analyze the ways in which Booker utilizes social media to …

"It Was Awful, But It Was Politics": Crittenden County And The Demise Of African American Political Participation, Krista Michelle Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the vast scholarship that exists discussing why Democrats sought restrictive suffrage laws, little attention has been given by historians to examine how concern over local government drove disfranchisement measures. This study examines how the authors of disfranchisement laws were influenced by what was happening in Crittenden County where African Americans, because of their numerical majority, wielded enough political power to determine election outcomes. In the years following the Civil War, African Americans established strong communities, educated themselves, secured independent institutions, and most importantly became active in politics. Because of their numerical majority, Crittenden's African Americans were elected to county …

Muslim Women And The West: Faith, Feminism, And The Quest For Gender Equality, Kelly Haller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For centuries the West has seen the Muslim woman as an entire group of people in need of saving. Lacking a thorough understanding of Islam and an incredibly diverse Middle Eastern society, Western powers endeavored to shape women of the Middle East into secular, modern examples of "liberated" women. Completely unacknowledged in this pursuit are the grass roots movements that emerged out of nationalist movements in the early twentieth century. An attempt to understand why the West is so incredibly fascinated by Muslim is undertaken in this scholarly pursuit. Additionally, a case study on the nation of Egypt shows not …

Bush’S Brain (No, Not Karl Rove): How Bush’S Psyche Shaped His Decision Making, Robert Maranto, Richard E. Redding

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We will summarize the most systematic work on George W. Bush's psyche, stressing that leader personality traits should not be judged as good nor bad: Rather traits which match some situations mismatch others. SAT scores and other available measures indicate that Bush has sufficient intelligence to serve as president. Yet the best studies, in which raters evaluate statements without being aware of their source, suggest that Bush lacks integrative complexity and thus views issues without nuance (Thoemmes and Conway 2007). The leading personality theory (the “5-Factor Model”), as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory, suggests that Bush is highly extraverted …

Talking Us Into War: Problem Definition By Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson And George W. Bush, Barbara Ellen May Warner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How presidents talk us into war merges the study of problem definition in public policy with the study of rhetoric in communications. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research analyzes the key words used by two presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush, to persuade us into escalating a war in Vietnam and engaging in a pre-emptive war in Iraq, respectively. The findings indicate that presidents repeat words that are patriotic, emotive, metaphorical, symbolic and religious, tapping into American themes of Manifest Destiny and even predicting dire outcomes if we do not accept their definitions of the dangers …

How The Social Context Of Bill Clinton's Childhood Shaped His Personality: Using Oral History Interviews Of His Childhood Peers And Relatives, Karen Sebold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since individual personality plays an important role in presidential decision-making (Barber, 1972), then understanding the setting that impacted the personality is an important component in any understanding of a president's personality. This study seeks to understand the setting that shaped the personality of William Jefferson Clinton. This case study was selected for two reasons: (1) there is a plethora of descriptive psycho-biographies of Clinton (Maraniss, 1995, Renshon 1996b, Post, 2006) and (2) there are oral history interviews from individuals who were part of Clinton's familial and childhood peer networks. The interviews used for this study are part of the Clinton …

American Feminism And Social Democracy, Cathy Elizabeth Hinshaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concepts of both social democracy and feminism will be discussed in detail in the course of the thesis. By way of introduction, broad definitions for these concepts will be offered here. Before attempting these definitions, however, the "central validity" of which Lippmann speaks and around which the definitions revolve should be established. The core of both social democracy and feminism, as they are to be used here, is a particular understanding of the notion of equality.

Evolution Of The Missouri System, Kay G. Collett

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

State Party Activity In A Two-Party Environment: The Democratic Party Of Indiana, George C. Roberts

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Political Trends In The 1959 Off-Year Elections: The Case Of Kentuckiana, George C. Roberts

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.