Arts and Humanities Commons^™

A Study Of Fraud In African-American Civil War Pensions : Augustus Parlett Lloyd, Pension Attorney, 1882-1909, Carrie Kiewitt

Master's Theses

This work examines fraud in the United States Civil War Military Pension system from 1882-1909 by showing how one attorney, Augustus Parlett Lloyd, defrauded the government on numerous occasions without ever being punished. Research for this work was conducted by studying a group of seventy-three African-American veterans who relied on Lloyd to assist in the application process and by using federal pension records, the manuscript census records, vital statistics, records of the federal Pension Bureau, and several secondary works to explore how Lloyd related to his clients, his associates and the Pension Bureau. This study concludes that Lloyd, the most …

Prohibition In Richmond, Joseph George Era

Master's Theses

The effort to abolish Virginia's liquor trade was a failed experiment in Richmond. The city's liquor industry prospered at the turn of the century, as anti-liquor forces gradually drove saloons from the rural areas of the state. From 1916 until 1933, the political influence of groups like the Anti-Saloon League of Virginia and the Women's Christian Temperance Union led to state-wide prohibition. For seventeen years, various state and federal laws were enacted to stop the flow of ardent spirits. Despite tremendous costs for enforcement, and constant pressure by prohibitionists on the city's courts and juries, many Richmonders flouted the liquor …

"Old Flu's" Artillerymen In War And Peacetime, Matthew Glenn Hall

Master's Theses

Using a unique approach to study the 218 members of Snead's Battery, a Civil War artillery unit from Fluvanna County, Virginia, this thesis draws upon material from a variety of public and private records to describe the lives of its members before, during, and after the Civil War. Included in a narrative for the first time, some of the findings provide new insights into the experiences of the soldiers. Through six chapters, their story is presented by addressing three questions: What was the background of the Artillerymen?, What did they experience during the war?, What happened to the surviving veterans …

A Political And Economic History Of Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1840-1860, Christopher Robert Finley

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the political and economic factors in the growth of Fredericksburg, Virginia during the twenty years preceding the Civil War. The town's population growth is examined in relation to occupations, wealth, status, and both the political and economic patterns of living during the period. The impact of the competition with other Virginia towns and the successes and failures of the town as it slowly moved away from being a commercial center toward becoming chiefly concerned with manufacturing is explored. Information on Fredericksburg was obtained primarily from the United States census, public documents, memoirs and newspapers. The data was …

Practicing What He Preached : How Martin Luther Lived Out His "Universal Priesthood Of All Believers", David C. Mayes

Master's Theses

When Martin Luther entered the monastery in 1505 as an Augustinian monk, he left the corrupted, inherently less-spiritual "world" for the religiously-oriented, celibate life in a cloister-the highest, most holy road one could take as a Christian. After a number of years he discovered that he was no more certain about his salvation or God's acceptance of him than the day he had become a monk. The only way to please God came through faith, which a farmer or housewife could have as equally as a monk or a nun. Therefore, he left the monastery to return to the world …

Twixt Ocean And Pines : The Seaside Resort At Virginia Beach, 1880-1930, Jonathan Mark Souther

Master's Theses

America's seashore was virtually untouched prior to the Civil War. The American attitude toward leisure held that any time spent engaging in unproductive activities was time wasted. In antebellum society, industrialization had yet to transform the lifestyles of rank and- file Americans. In a predominantly agrarian society, work and leisure were ill-defined. No widespread notion of"leisure time" existed. To be sure, a few resorts did flourish in the antebellum United States. With the notable exceptions of Newport, Rhode Island, and Cape May, New Jersey, these tended to be health resorts situated in close proximity to inland springs believed to offer …

The Population Of Richmond, Virginia During The Civil War Era, John G. Deal

Master's Theses

This thesis studies the population of Richmond, Virginia during the Civil War era by examining the persistence (those who remained in the city for ten years) of a sample of white, male heads of household from 1860. It focuses on such characteristics as age, nativity, wealth, and occupation. In contrast to other investigations of persistence, individuals who left the city, but remained in the state, also are examined. Further, a sample from Richmond's population in 1850 is traced during that decade to compare persistence rates and characteristics to the 1860 sample. The low persistence rates in both the 1850s and …

Grieving And Reconciliation In Baltimore After The American Civil War, Jennifer Prior

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how residents of Baltimore, Maryland, grieved their losses after the Civil War. Thantalogical studies of the stages of grief were compared with various public events and institutions throughout the city's culture. Special focus was placed upon Baltimore's internal split during the war as portions of its population opted to fight on opposing sides. This study reveals not only how the city progressed through its bereavement, but also how it found selected outlets of expression to manage emotional pain.

[Introduction To] All Over The Map: Rethinking American Regions, Edward L. Ayers, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Stephen Nissenbaum, Peter S. Onuf

Bookshelf

Even as Americans keep moving "all over the map" in the late twentieth century, they cherish memories of the places they come from. But where do these places—these regions—come from? What makes them so real? In this groundbreaking book a distinguished group of historians explores the concept of region in America, traces changes the idea has undergone in our national experience, and examines its meaning for Americans today.

Far from diminishing in importance, the authors conclude, regional differences continue to play a significant role in Americans' self-image. Regional identity, in fact, has always been fed by the very forces that …

"Increasing The Pensions Of These Worthy Heroes" : Virginia's Confederate Pensions, 1888 To 1927, Jeffery R. Morrison

Master's Theses

Virginia's Confederate pensions for veterans and their widows began in 1888. This financial relief for the destitute began as artificial limb provisions immediately after the Civil War. Commutations developed as some veterans could not utilize an artificial limb. These commutations, one-time appropriations approved by the General Assembly, directly precluded pensions. Pensioning of Confederate veterans was sweeping southern states during this period. However, these pensions dimly reflected the massive federal pensions received by Union veterans. Virginia's pension laws expanded the eligibility of pensioners and increased the amounts paid to them. King William County's Confederate veteran and widow pensioners were examined to …

Blues For You Johnny: Johnny Dodds And His "Wild Man Blues" Recordings Of 1927 And 1938, Gene H. Anderson

Music Faculty Publications

Shortly after Johnny Dodd's death Sidney Bechet invited Johnny's brother to join his New Orleans Feetwarmers in a recording honoring Bechet's hometown musical colleague and lifelong friend. Although Baby Dodds pronounced "Blues for You, Johnny," recorded in Chicago on September 6, 1940, a "fine tribute," Down Beat found vocalist Herb Jeffries "from hunger on blues." A more fitting memorial would have been "Wild Man Blues" cut by Bechet a few months previously. Said to be his favorite number, "Wild Man Blues" was recorded by Dodds three times in 1927 and once again in 1938. This study examines Johnny Dodds's style …

Virginia Celebrates The Yorktown Centennial Of 1881, Julie Anne Sweet-Mcginty

Master's Theses

This study chronicles the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Yorktown Centennial of October 1881 in Yorktown, Richmond, and Norfolk. Beyond its original expectation of memorializing the one hundredth anniversary of the last major battle for independence, as the first nationally prominent celebration to occur on Southern soil after the Civil War, it made reconciliation among the states a significant aspect of the occasion. Also, it marked the first national gathering after the assassination of President James A. Garfield as well as the occasion for the first public speech given by the new President, Chester A. Arthur. The presence of …

The Integration Of Emory & Henry College, Scott David Arnold

Master's Theses

While Emory & Henry College's catalogue today states that the institution does not "discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin," this was not the case just a little more than thirty years ago. Throughout much of the South, African Americans were legally barred from attending various traditionally white colleges and universities. This thesis looks at the integration process at Emory & Henry College, a small private, Methodist-affiliated institution in southwest Virginia.

As early as the 1940's the subject of integration was informally discussed by the faculty and students at Emory & Henry. It became a major topic for …

"If You Can Educate The Native Woman...": Debates Over The Schooling And Education Of Girls And Women In Southern Rhodesia, 1900-1934, Carol Summers

History Faculty Publications

As the turn of the century, European settlers, officials, and missionaries in Southern Rhodesia were apathetic about promoting African girls' schooling. By the late 1920s, however, all sectors of the European community-settlers, officials, and missionaries- were debating whether, and for what reasons, girls should attend mission schools.¹ Europeans discussed girls' and women's schooling as a strategy for coping with problems in the social and economic development of the region. Some Native Commissioners hope that disciplined moral education would encourage women to remain in rural areas and take responsibility for their families, supporting the system of migrant labor. Many missionaries …

Virginia History As Southern History: The Nineteenth Century, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

This essay briefly surveys some of the best work that has been done over the last ten years or so in the field of nineteenth-century Virginia and southern history in general, hoping to supply inspiration for histories yet to be written.