Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Radical Impact Of Madame Delphine Lalaurie On Slavery And The Image Of African Americans, 1831-1840, Sophie A. Rehlaender

Young Historians Conference

The paper covers the history of Madame LaLaurie, and the public reaction of New Orleans in response to her slave abuse. The paper reviews the social climate between New Orleans Americans and the French Creole society, in which LaLaurie was included in. The rivalry between the two groups influenced the widespread hatred for LaLaurie. The paper addresses the extremity of her abuse of her slaves, and the psychological theories that could have allowed for her behavior. The public reaction to the crimes is considered as well, whereas the New Orleanians developed mob mentality in an attack on LaLaurie's house. The …

The Role Of Activism During The Aids Epidemic, Olivia Eaton

Young Historians Conference

The paper examines the role of activism within the AIDS epidemic in the United States and the factors that influenced the various protests. It focuses on the activism that had a major impact on the epidemic and the search for a cure with a concentration on the activist group, ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). The thesis is that because the activists mostly came from oppressed backgrounds of being LGBT or people of color, they were not afraid of their reputation with the public and thus went to great lengths to expose the corruption in the system and within …

What Comes After: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Charles S. Borah

Young Historians Conference

This paper looks at the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the response that followed, including the cleanup efforts, litigation against ExxonMobil and the captain of the Exxon Valdez, Joseph Hazelwood. Also evaluated is the governmental response to the spill, both at the state level in Governor Steve Cowper’s reaction to the spill and the laws passed and hearings held in the federal government. The paper’s thesis is that though there was judicial and legislative action taken as a result of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, it was too narrow in scope to prevent future oil spills from happening and only …

Revitalization In Philadelphia, 1940-1970: Rebuilding A City But Straining Race Relations, Abigail E. Millender

Young Historians Conference

This paper examines government and privately sponsored revitalization projects in inner city and Center City Philadelphia from 1940-1970. These projects—including the construction of rail lines connecting Center City to the suburbs, changes to the National Housing Act, and the revitalization of Society Hill—were meant to bring investment back into the city after the economy had declined from de-industrialization. These projects successfully rebuilt the inner city’s economy, however, they ultimately hurt African-American and minority populations and encouraged segregation. The revitalization of Center City over other parts of inner city and the perpetuation of subprime loans displaced many African Americans, lowered home …

New Directions For Kabuki Performances In America In The 21st Century, Narumi Iwasaki

Dissertations and Theses

Transitions from the first kabuki performance abroad in Russia in 1928 to the recent performances around the world show various changes in the purpose and production of kabuki performances overseas. Kabuki has been performed as a Japanese traditional art in the U.S. for about 60 years, and the United States has seen more kabuki than any other country outside of Japan. Those tours were closely tied to national cultural policy of both Japan and the USA in the early years. The first kabuki tour to New York in 1960 helped to reestablish the U.S-Japan relationship after the war.

However, recently …

Process And Privilege: When It Comes To Renaming Streets, Not All Petitioners Are Treated Equally, Cynthia Carmina Gómez

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

On a rainy afternoon in January 2010, I drove to my old neighborhood in Southeast Portland to attend the César Chávez Boulevard sign unveiling ceremony at Central Christian Church. The event marked the culmination of the effort to rename a major street after the civil rights champion. After saying hello to a few friends, I sat alone in a pew toward the back of the mostly empty space. Light reflected off of the words César E. Chávez Blvd. on the large street sign placed under the dais. I was expecting busloads of school-aged children and families to be there, but …

"Beneath This Sod": Intersections Of Colonialism, Urbanization, And Memory In The Cemeteries Of Salem And Portland, Oregon, Kirsten Makenna Straus

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the large amount of research about the colonization of the American West Coast, historians have overlooked the subtle yet significant role that cemeteries have played in this narrative. Using evidence from archives, newspapers, and historical maps, this study identifies the forces which influenced the development and use of cemeteries in Portland and Salem, Oregon during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In Salem, the reinterpretation of the story of Methodist Mission leader Jason Lee culminated in an elaborate reinterment ceremony nearly sixty years after his death at the cemetery he had helped found. By contrast, the remains of Indigenous children …

"We Were At Our Journey's End" : Settler Sovereignty Formation In Oregon, Katrine Barber

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

For too long, Oregon history has been captive to the mid-nineteenth-century’s rambling wagon trains. Settler stories of motivations, hardships, and achievements, preserved in diaries, letters, and memoirs, are compelling and deserving of the attention lavished on them. But more is necessary. Oregon’s Euro-Americans were intimately tied to national and international events that saw the rise of White, European colonial expansion into the colored word. Alongside that expansion was the development of a framework of domination, justified by claims of superiority and destiny, that conflated the ability to control with the right to do so. Placing Oregon history in this larger …

A Mutual Charge: The Shared Mission Of Herbert Hoover And Harry S. Truman To Alleviate Global Hunger In A Postwar World, Brian Douglas Reese

Dissertations and Theses

Famine and destitution stemming from the Second World War had spread across the European continent and parts of Asia by mid-1945. Recognizing the need for recovery and survival in those regions, President Harry S. Truman at the recommendation of several Cabinet members, summoned ex-President Herbert Hoover for advice on how the United States should proceed in offering aid beyond the earlier efforts of the United Nations Rehabilitation and Relief Administration and other relief sources. After an absence from the White House and official government participation for many years, Hoover readily provided crucial advice on addressing famine relief in Europe and …

Anarchism On The Willamette: The Firebrand Newspaper And The Origins Of A Culturally American Anarchist Movement, 1895-1898, Alecia Jay Giombolini

Dissertations and Theses

The Firebrand was an anarchist communist newspaper that was printed in Portland, Oregon from January 1895 to September 1897. The newspaper was a central catalyst behind the formation of the culturally American anarchist movement, a movement whose vital role in shaping radicalism in the United States during the Progressive Era has largely been ignored by historians. The central argument of this thesis is that the Firebrand publishers' experiences in Gilded Age Portland shaped the content and the format of the newspaper and led to the development of a new, uniquely American expression of anarchism.

Anarchism was developed in response to …

A Temperate And Wholesome Beverage: The Defense Of The American Beer Industry, 1880-1920, Lyndsay Danielle Smith

Dissertations and Theses

For decades prior to National Prohibition, the "liquor question" received attention from various temperance, prohibition, and liquor interest groups. Between 1880 and 1920, these groups gained public interest in their own way. The liquor interests defended their industries against politicians, religious leaders, and social reformers, but ultimately failed. While current historical scholarship links the different liquor industries together, the beer industry constantly worked to distinguish itself from other alcoholic beverages.

To counter threats from anti-alcohol groups, beer industry advocates presented their drink as a wholesome, pure, socially and culturally rich, and economically significant beverage that stood apart from other alcoholic …

"On The Murder Of Rickey Johnson": The Portland Police Bureau, Deadly Force, And The Struggle For Civil Rights In Oregon, 1940 - 1975, Katherine Eileen Nelson

Dissertations and Theses

On March 14, 1975, twenty-eight year old Portland Police Officer Kenneth Sanford shot and killed seventeen-year-old Rickie Charles Johnson in the back of the head during a sting operation. Incredulously, Johnson was the fourth person of color to be shot and killed by Portland police within a five-month period. Due to his age and surrounding circumstances, Johnson's death by Sanford elicited extreme reactions from varied communities of Portland. Unlike previous deaths of people of color by the police in Portland, Johnson's death received widespread attention from mainstream media outlets. In response, some white citizens decried Johnson's death as unjustified police …

The Influence Of The Stonewall Riots, Leah K. Rosenbaum

Young Historians Conference

For decades, the rights of the members of the LGBTQ community were oppressed without major objections from the American public, until June 28, 1969. The Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, New York marked the beginning of a radicalized movement for equal rights within the LGBTQ community. Newspapers nationwide, printed articles about the riots, some condemning the participants, and others praising the men and women for standing up against the police. On the one year anniversary of the riots, the first gay pride march happened in various cities across the country.

Women Of The West: Prostitutes And Madams, Emma R. Marek

Young Historians Conference

During the late 1800s, the institution of prostitution flourished unlike ever before as America fulfilled its “Manifest Destiny.” Amidst predominantly male industries, women found prostitution a unique opportunity to survive in the developing and wild western society. The topic of this paper addresses these women, this under celebrated group, and their contribution to the development of the American West. This paper will argue that during the 19^th century, prostitutes and madams contributed immensely to the economic, social, and legal developments of the Western Frontier. Brothels became integral for the economic discourse of businessmen. Their dually criminal and civil position …

An Examination Of American Isolationism Through Public Opinion, 1935-1939, Maggie S. Wu

Young Historians Conference

The 1930’s saw the widespread use of public opinion polling as a way to inform lawmakers and the general public alike of where the masses stood on issues. These polls, paired with newspapers and magazines from the time period, offer a rich glimpse into 1930’s United States. This paper will pull on this extensive pool of primary sources to illustrate the story of the United States’ shift from isolationism to interventionism in the era of Nazi Germany, appeasement, and World War II.

African Americans In Portland, A History Of Displacement And Exclusion, Brock Gjesdal

Young Historians Conference

Throughout the history of Portland, African Americans living within the city have been subject to discrimination and hardship by the hand of whites living among them, but not willing to live beside them. For this reason, whites enforced housing regulations to concentrate most of the African Americans living in Portland into the Northeast reaches of the city, more specifically the Albina District. However, as African American inequality in Portland gathered more and more recognition, the blunt racism embodied by the restrictive housing covenants that had been imposed upon African Americans for decades became less and less acceptable by the 1950s. …

The United States ‘Civil’ War: The Forgotten Nation Of Cherokee People And Their Dynamic Wartime Experience, Lauren E. Monkewicz

Young Historians Conference

This paper explores the Cherokee Nation’s experience in the American Civil War. It delves into the impact of the Civil War on the Cherokee Nation and vice versa. Beginning with Relocation and traditional customs and ending with Reconstruction, the paper investigates cultural, social, and political changes brought on by the war in the Cherokee Nation.

THEMES:

1. The paper beings by exploring the social and racial customs of the Cherokee Nation in order to add context to the narrative of the war. It similarly sets the stage for the damaged relationship between the Federal Government and the Cherokee Nation by investigating …

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The Rise Of Gay Culture And Why Portland Is Different, Lucas Y. Morimoto

Young Historians Conference

This paper serves as a short history of the gay movement in Portland, as well as the reasons why Portland’s movement was inherently dissimilar to the movements of other major cities. It begins by providing historical context on the movements of some of Americas biggest cities, focusing primarily on the 1969 events of the Stonewall Riots in New York, the election and assassination of Harvey Milk in San Francisco, and Seattle’s movement for the purpose of comparison. A brief history on homosexuality in Portland’s recent past follows, going on then to the influence of “Darcelle’s” for the growing gay movement …

Music And Race In The American West, William Steven Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the complexities of race relations in the nineteenth century American West. The groups considered here are African Americans, Anglo Americans, Chinese, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. In recent decades historians of the West have begun to tell the narratives of racial minorities. This study adopts the aims of these scholars through a new lens--music. Ultimately, this thesis argues that historians can use music, both individual songs and broader conceptions about music, to understand the complex and contradictory race relations of the nineteenth century west.

Proceeding thematically, the first chapter explores the ways Anglo Americans used music to …

Book Review Of, Embracing A Western Identity: Jewish Oregonians, 1849 - 1950 By Ellen Eisenberg, Natan M. Meir

Judaic Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Natan M. Meir is the Chair of the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at Portland State University. Here he reviews the book "Embracing a Western Identity: Jewish Oregonians, 1849 - 1950" by Ellen Eisenberg.

Book Review Of, Fur Trade Gamble: North West Company On The Pacific Slope, 1800-1820 By Lloyd Keith And John C. Jackson, William L. Lang

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Earliest American Map Of The Northwest Coast: John Hoskins's A Chart Of The Northwest Coast Of America Sketched On Board The Ship Columbia Rediviva ... 1791 & 1792, James V. Walker, William L. Lang

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Between 1790 and 1793, John Hoskins created a map of the Northwest Coast of North America that included ninety-one place names documenting Native communities. The map is the earliest example of such detailed documentation by an American and was rediscovered in 1852 at the Cartographic Archives Division of the National Archives and Records Administration. In this research article, James Walker and William Lang provide a historical context for the map, including comparative charts that break down the Native names that Hoskins documented into seven cultural groups. According to Walker and Lang, the map “opens a window to what American traders …

Working-Class Black Women’S Role In Building And Sustaining Black Communities In The Pacific Northwest, Tessara G. Dudley

Student Research Symposium

In response to the scholarly focus on the historical racism of the Pacific Northwest, this research attempts to answer the question of how Black communities have persisted in the face of discrimination. This study is a historical examination of the roles that Black women have played in building and sustaining Black communities within predominantly white regions, with a specific focus on the Portland-Vancouver area during and after World War II. This work focuses on the activities of working class Black women, a significant proportion of Black women migrating to the Pacific Northwest during World War II, examining their community-building activities …

Paving The Pathway For Loving V. Virginia, Maia L. Insinga

Young Historians Conference

Interracial marriage laws have burdened jubilant couples throughout America’s history, making the stories of those that fought against the unjust laws a necessary topic of research. This paper discusses the history of Loving v. Virginia, a Supreme Court case that repealed all remaining interracial marriage laws on April 10, 1967, when the Court sided with the Loving couple. The credit of this event cannot be given entirely to the Lovings and their lawyers appeals to the Supreme Court, therefore this paper reviews supplementary events, court cases, research and media influences that paved the pathway to the ultimate decision of Loving …

Progressive Era Aftermath-Analysis Of Municipal Housekeeping: Bertha K. Landes And Dorothy Mccullough Lee, Mary Potter

Young Historians Conference

Municipal housekeeping in America arose after the fall of the progressive era. The nation faced political corruption, high crime rates, and civic disarray. Elite clubwomen took it upon themselves to step forward and clean up their communities. In the Pacific Northwest, Bertha Landes and Dorothy McCullough Lee were two of the most influential municipal housekeepers. Bertha Landes was mayor of Seattle in 1926 and Dorothy Lee was mayor of Portland in 1949. Both mayors fought gender bias and prejudice while cleaning up their city’s streets and morals. From 1926 to 1949, the fundamentals behind municipal housekeeping did not change, but …

An Examination Of Franz Edmund Creffield And The Holy Rollers, 1900-1907, Sophie Koh

Young Historians Conference

This paper outlines the story of a religious cult from Corvallis referred to as the “Holy Rollers” and led by Franz Edmund Creffield. I researched the causes for his followers’ behavior from 1900 to 1907, relating the investigation to the press, people, and social roles surrounding the sect. Because his following was dominantly female, hysteria was the popular argument during the early twentieth century. To explore these claims, I researched the possibility of insanity in these women and why they may have agreed to all of Creffield’s ridiculous demands, as well as why the public responded the way they did.

Parks, People, And Property Values: The Changing Role Of Green Spaces In Antebellum Manhattan, Catherine Mcneur

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

The role that parks played in Manhattan changed dramatically during the antebellum period. Originally dismissed as unnecessary on an island embraced by rivers, parks became a tool for real estate development and gentrification in the 1830s. By the 1850s, politicians, journalists, and landscape architects believed Central Park could be a social salve for a city with rising crime rates, increasingly visible poverty, and deepening class divisions. While many factors (public health, the psychological need for parks, and property values) would remain the same, the changing social conversation showed how ideas of public space were transforming, in rhetoric if not reality.

Charles A. Moose: Race, Community Policing, And Portland's First African American Police Chief, Douglas Jon Kenck-Crispin

Dissertations and Theses

In 1993, Charles Moose became Portland, Oregon's first black police chief. A nationally recognized student of the developing theories of community policing, Chief Moose's promotion was also hoped to help strengthen the diversity of the Portland Police Bureau. Ultimately, Portlanders were unable to look past Moose's public outbursts and demeanor and recognize his accomplishments. As a city, they missed an opportunity.

This thesis uses transcripts of speeches and policy papers to present some political history to the reader, but also letters to the mayor's office, letters to the editor and the like to consider the social history of 1990's Portland. …

Seeing The Forest For The Roads: Auto-Tourism And Wilderness Preservation In Mount Hood National Forest, 1913-64, Taylor Elliott Rose

Dissertations and Theses

Between 1913 and 1964, automobile roads appeared throughout the Cascade Mountains around Mount Hood, just east of Portland, Oregon. From elaborate scenic highways to primitive dirt trails, each had its own story. Many of them are gone today, decommissioned and decomposing with the rotting understory soil of the forest. However, some remain as the most utilized spaces in Mount Hood National Forest, one of the most popular public land units for recreation in the country, owned and managed by the United States Forest Service. "Seeing the Forest for the Roads" uncovers the history of why roads were built, who planned …

"On This, We Shall Build": The Struggle For Civil Rights In Portland, Oregon 1945-1953, Justin Legrand Vipperman

Dissertations and Theses

Generally, Oregon historians begin Portland Civil Rights history with the development of Vanport and move quickly through the passage of the state's public accommodations law before addressing the 1960s and 70s. Although these eras are ripe with sources and contentious experiences, 1945 to 1953 provide a complex struggle for civil rights in Portland, Oregon. This time period demonstrates the rise of local leaders, wartime racial tensions, and organizational efforts used to combat inequality. 1945 marked a watershed moment in Portland Civil Rights history exhibiting intergroup collaboration and interracial cooperation converging to eventually provide needed legislation. Although discrimination continued after 1953, …