Arts and Humanities Commons^™

'A Deadly Menace To All Young Womankind': Seduction And Protective Legislation In America, 1850-1923, Elissa Michelle Isenberg

Dissertations - ALL

"A Deadly Menace to All Young Womankind": Seduction and Protective Legislation in America, 1850-1923 looks at sexual harassment before it was an actionable offense. Although female domestic servants have endured unwanted sexual attention for most of American history, the entry of women into wage labor in factories and offices during the late nineteenth century dramatically increased the number of girls and women that were subjected to what we today call harassment. Careful examination of American newspaper archives, court records, and reformers' personal papers have uncovered cases of unsolicited sexual advances toward women, and have demonstrated that sexual harassment was considered …

The Real 1920s: How The Immigration Act Of 1924 Empowered And Encouraged Organized Nationalism, Amanda Pawling

History Presentations

The 1920s were a key era for women and women’s rights. It was also a key era for immigration reform and antiimmigrant sentiment. My research is asking if and how there is a correlation between these different takes on one decade. What my research has shown is that while women were fighting for equality and their right to vote, many were also fighting for traditional family values, family roles, conservatism, and nativism. When it comes to the KKK and its rhetoric of America first and anti-immigration, women were not only in the background but front and center in the fight. …

Ordinary Power: Frontier Sentimentalism And Cultural Perceptions Of Gender In The Nineteenth-Century West, Erin Elizabeth Hastings

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will examine nineteenth-century women and their primary role in the cultural formation of frontier sentimentalism. White, middle class women primarily moved west with their husbands and families, initially to the Midwest in the early nineteenth century, and were continuing to settle in the Great Plains and further west by the end of the century. The first generation of women who migrated west were the pioneers of frontier sentimentalism, but it prevailed in successive generations of westering women. This thesis will argue that in the formation of their own form of sentimentalism, nineteenth-century women were at the heart of …

Aftermath Club - Russellville, Kentucky (Sc 3287), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3287. History of the Aftermath Club, a women’s literary club organized in Russellville, Kentucky, in 1896; club yearbooks, 1951-1952, 1952-1953; and correspondence regarding donation of the materials to WKU’s Department of Library Special Collections.

Peridot Pictures - Bowling Green-Warren County Bicentennial Film (Mss 715), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 715. Proposal, script materials, correspondence, publicity, interviews and other items relating to the production of a film for the Bowling Green-Warren County (Kentucky) bicentennial by Peridot Pictures and the Landmark Association of Bowling Green.

"Our Women Are Made Of The Right Stuff": Gender, Politics, And Conflict In Civil War West Virginia, Amanda Romain Shaver

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“’Our Women Are Made of the Right Stuff:’ Gender, Politics, and Conflict in Civil War West Virginia” examines the lives and contributions of white West Virginia women and argues that they were not merely victims of the war, but dynamic participants whose opinions were influential and whose actions determined the ability of both the Union and Confederate armies to wage war in Appalachia. Striking a balance between the antebellum standards of “True Womanhood” and the emerging ideals of the women’s rights movement, West Virginia women became politically engaged in both the statehood movement and the Civil War. They transformed their …

0865: Mccomas Family Letters, 1906 – 1930s, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

The collection consists of eight folders of correspondence between various family members of the McComas family between 1906 – 1930s. The McComas family consists of Mr. and Mrs. George J. McComas, and their son, B.C. “Curtis” McComas, and daughter, Margaret McComas. The majority of the folders contain correspondence from Curtis McComas detailing his experiences in France and Germany during the First World War. Other soldiers, including Curtis and Margaret’s cousin, Henry, also sent letters to Margaret detailing their experiences or thanks for gifts provided to the war front. The rest of the collection include letters received during Margaret’s stay in …

"After All, Who Takes Care Of The Red Cross's Morale?": The Experiences Of American Red Cross Clubmobile Women During World War Ii, Paige Gulley

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis examines the experiences of the women who served in the American Red Cross Clubmobile Service in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Their job required them to travel through England, France, and even Germany in converted buses and 2 ½ ton trucks, serving coffee, donuts, and a smile to soldiers just off the front lines. Though considered essential to maintaining soldiers’ morale, historians have virtually ignored these women’s experiences and role in the war. The inattention to their participation by the academic community parallels the disregard the women faced during the war. Clubmobile women encountered …

Interpretresses: Native American Women Translators In Colonial America, Faith Clarkson

Undergraduate Research Awards

Underlying all the disputes and treaties between native Americans and Europeans was the need for an understanding of what the groups were saying to each other. Translation was the common denominator throughout the numerous interactions between native tribes in America and colonists coming over from Europe. In colonial America, translators were crucial to establishing relationships between native Americans and the Europeans that came to North America to create colonies. These interpreters operated in the in-between of two different cultures and they needed to be knowledgeable enough about both of them to correctly convey meaning to either side. It was also …

Mothers, Morals, And Godly Motivations: Conservative Women’S Activism From Anticommunism To The New Christian Right, Kaitlyn C. Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The modern conservative movement cannot be understood without investigating women’s activism. Women’s political participation sustained the transformation of the Republican party from an emphasis on economic issues to a focus on social issues, especially throughout the mid-late twentieth century. One key point of transformation was in the 1950’s, when Communism posed a very serious danger. Conservatives claimed that in Communist countries, women gave their children to government funded programs and went to work.1 This policy took women away from their assigned roles as wives and mothers. Another important turning point was in the 1960’s, when the United States saw sweeping …

Imagining A New Nation: Patriotism And National Identity In The Writing Of Late-18th Century American Women, Aysia S. Brenner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Benedict Anderson defined the nation as “an imagined political community” that is “imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” The research for this paper began with a desire to know how American women in the time leading up to, during, and immediately after the American Revolution and War of Independence did or did not imagine themselves as members of the newly emerging political community eventually known as the United States of America. As tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain increased, as tea was dumped in Boston harbor, and as independence was declared in 1776, how did women make sense …

Women’S Impact On Cooking Culture During The Great Depression: Limited To Being A Homemaker, Unlimited In Their Authority On Nutrition In Their Communities, Michelle Molina

History Undergraduate Theses

This paper examines American cooking culture of the Great Depression, as the impact it had on everyday people’s diet was much greater than one may initially think. By analyzing interviews, photographs, and newspaper advertisements, and conducting archival research, I illuminate the public history of the Great Depression’s impact on diet and the roles women played during it. The existing scholarship on the Great Depression typically focuses on the relief efforts made to help people affected by this economic downturn, but this paper will focus more specifically on the cooking culture that involved women during this desperate time. Harsh conditions experienced …

Being Careful : Progressive Era Women And The Movements For Better Reproductive Health Care, Sarah Patterson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

ABSTRACTFor American and British women, the definition of being healthy changed in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Previously, there had been a resigned acceptance of the fact that a woman’s reproductive capacity often relegated her to a lifetime of suffering and ill health. Certainly, individual women sometimes sought out solutions to their health problems, but there was no concerted social movement to help all women. Then in the Progressive Era that changed. The professionalization of medicine, combined with scientific breakthroughs, such as using Salvarsan to treat syphilis and urine testing to identify eclampsia meant that women could …

The Evolution Of Defining Rape In The United States, Sophia Rhoades

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Acknowledging Our Past: Race, Landscape And History, Alea Harris, Kaycia Best, Dieran Mcgowan, Destiny Shippy, Vera Oberg, Bryson Coleman, Luke Meagher, Rhiannon Leebrick Ph.D., Phillip Stone

Student Scholarship

This book is the product of nearly a year's worth of student research on Wofford College's history, undertaken as part of a grant by the Council of Independent Colleges in the Humanities Research for the Public Good initiative. The research was supervised and directed by Dr. Rhiannon Leebrick.

"Guiding Research Questions:

How did Wofford College and its early stakeholders support and participate in slavery?

How is the legacy of slavery present in the landscape of our campus (buildings, statues, names, etc.)?

How can we better understand Wofford as an institution during the time of Reconstruction through the Jim Crow era? …

Women’S Suffrage Is “Nothing Less Than Treasonable:” An Analysis Of Rural Women And Their Group Activism In The Women’S Suffrage Movement In The Jackson Purchase Area, 1838-1940, Ashleigh Deno

Honors College Theses

The 1910s was a decade characterized by technological advancement, World War I, and a global movement for women’s suffrage, which would eventually culminate with legislation, most notably the 19th Amendment in the United States. In the United States, women staged protests throughout the country and were known to stand outside of the White House with taunting signs for President Woodrow Wilson to read. This movement came to the United States from other parts of the globe, particularly Britain, and suffragists from other countries were known to travel to the States to give presentations and provide guidance to suffragists on this …

John C. Campbell Folk School - Brasstown, North Carolina (Fa 1377), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Collection 1377. Research materials for a history of the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, North Carolina, compiled by Dr. James M. Gifford.

Law Library Blog (September 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Women's Residence Hall, Arkansas State College, Yee Tin-Boo

Women's history in Arkansas

Color postcard of the Women's Residence Hall at Arkansas State College in Jonesboro.

Girl's Tennis Team At Central College And Conservatory In Conway

Sports in Arkansas

This is a page from the Central College and Conservatory's annual, "The Centralian." The images show tennis at the all female college in Conway. Names written on the page at top are: 1. Willie McKinley, 2. Bertha [?], 2. Bessie McCauley, 4. Bessie Riley, 5. [?], 6. Ruby Vaughn, 7. Edith Spradler, 8. Chloe Grace, 9. Winnie [?], 10. Louise Henry, 11. Bess Dean, 12. Otis McDuffin, 13. Frances Moore, 14. Olie Whitroe, 15. Leona Roberts.

Girl's Sports At Central College And Conservatory In Conway

Sports in Arkansas

This is a page from the Central College and Conservatory's annual, "The Centralian." The images show sports at the all female college in Conway. Names listed include at top: 1. Chloe Grace, 2. Edith Skradlin, 3. Jeneve Ackrin, 4. Ruby Vaughn, 5. L(?) Henry, 6. Muriel Rogers, 7. Bess Dean, 8. Leo Burton, 9. Otis McDuffin, 10. Willie McKinley; bottom left: 1. Elizabeth Tate, 2. Olie Whitroe, 3. Julia Freeman, 4. Bertha Stinson, 5. Louise Henry, 6. Bess Dean, 7. Hattie Riley, 8. Leo Burton, 9. Ruby Vaughn, 10. Louise Lewelyn, 11. Frances Moore, 12. Grace Cunningham, 13. Leona Roberts, …

Ticket, Arkansas Lassies Vs. Men's Faculty Basketball Game

Sports in Arkansas

This is a ticket to a basketball game played between the Arkansas Lassies Basketball team and the Men's Faculty at an unknown place. The Arkansas Lassies were a nationally known women's basketball team who frequently played male faculty at colleges and schools. The team was owned by Linda Yearby.

Jane Justus Richardson Feeding The Hogs

Farming in Arkansas

Black and white photograph of Jane Justus Richardson feeding hogs in a barnyard.

Arkadelphia Ladies Library

Women's history in Arkansas

Color postcard of the Arkadelphia Ladies Library.

Charlotte Stephens

Women's history in Arkansas

Black and white print photograph of Charlotte Stephens, the first African American teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Women's City Club In Little Rock

Women's history in Arkansas

Color postcard of the Women's City Club at 4th and Scott Streets in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Geraldine Jones Jefferson

Women's history in Arkansas

Black and white photograph of Mrs. Geraldine Jones Jefferson posed sitting in a chair wearing a dress, coat, and hat and holding a purse.

Hattie Caraway

Women's history in Arkansas

Black and white photographic portrait of Senator Hattie Caraway.

Medora Hampton Kitchens Making Rugs With Friends

Women's history in Arkansas

Black and white photographic negative of Medora Hampton Kitchens and her friends showing rugs they are making. Medora is standing with a rug labeled, "Daisy Scroll." The seated women are unnamed but the titles of their rugs are listed left to right: "Gift of Love," Bow, Knot and Roses," "Paradise Garden," "Hearth Rug," and "Arcadia."

Narrative, Origins Of Arkansas's State Flag, Willie K. Hocker

Women's history in Arkansas

This is Willie K. Hocker's narrative about the origin of Arkansas's state flag. The first four pages are handwritten on Pine Bluff letterhead by Hocker, designer of the flag, but the last page is typed.