Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Future And Past Anxieties : A Look At The Origins Of The British Welfare State Through Wwii, Emily Maanum

Honors Theses

The scope of this project focuses particularly on how members of Parliament and the media, specifically newspapers, understood the establishment of the welfare state. My use of the term “Britons” reflects political rhetoric used by MPs to illustrate unity within the public sphere and to shape the terms of debate. Their instrumentalist rhetoric was meant to unify the community, stop fascism and honor citizens. It is important to study the political rhetoric because these discussions within Parliament led to social policies and the eventual establishment of a welfare system. How MPs started early debates affected the structure of later debates …

Britain's Failed Attempt At Fascism : The British Union Of Fascists, Years 1933-1934, Katherine L. Collier

Honors Theses

This honors thesis examines how and why Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) tried to present itself as a viable political entity to mainstream British society in the years 1933- 1934. Though the BUF admired Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy and Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, this thesis argues that they sought to create their own distinctly British version of these Fascist movements. The BUF promised that Britain would again thrive, but only under strong fascist leadership which would provide an economic restructuring of government and a cohesive society, free from selfish individualism, decadence, and foreigners. The BUF promised to …

"Will The Sun Come Up In The Morning?" : The 1999-2000 Conflict Between Summerhill School And The British Department For Education And Employment, Emily Kerwin

Honors Theses

On March 23, 2000 a group of school children sat in the Royal Courts of Justice in London and voted to accept an agreement between Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett and their school, Summerhill School in Leiston, Suffolk. This vote ended a year-long fight to keep the school from closing. Carmen Cordwell, the chair of that meeting later remarked, "This is our charter for freedom. After 79 years, this is the first official recognition that A.S. Neill's philosophy of education provides an acceptable alternative to compulsory lessons and the tyranny of compulsory exams. With this one bound, we …

The Reluctant Colonization Of The Falkland Islands, 1833-1851 : A Study Of British Imperialism In The Southwest Atlantic, Shannon Warnick

Master's Theses

After the Napoleonic Wars, British leaders increasingly objected to large burdensome formal annexations. Hence, when South American markets opened in the 1820s British leaders considered using nearby island bases to ward off regional rivals. Britain therefore occupied the Falkland Islands in 1833. Despite governing the world’s strongest industrial and naval power however, British leaders neglected the Falklands’ progress as a colony from 1833 to 1851. Dogmatic faith in “efficiency” and free trade in the 1840s led to modest commercial progress by largely unfettered private interests in the islands, but led to little improvement in defense or society. This study uses …

Queen In Peril : The Elizabethan Parliament Of 1584-85, James Vernon Madison

Master's Theses

In November 1584 Queen Elizabeth I summoned her fifth Parliament. Over twelve years had elapsed since Parliamentary elections had been conducted, which resulted in a young and inexperienced House of Commons in 1584. Normally Parliaments addressed the granting of a subsidy, local issues, and concerns of the realm. However, this Parliament's primary concerns were with the protection of Elizabeth and the safety of the realm. In the months preceding the Parliamentary session London began receiving signatures to the Bond of Association. This unique document implemented a unified front against any person or persons involved with the untimely death of Elizabeth. …

Royal Protectors, Explorers And Thieves : Pirates Of The Elizabethan Cold War, 1558-1685, Dodie Jones

Honors Theses

Within this paper, I intend to explain the significance of Elizabethan pirates as financial and defensive assets to Elizabethan England. Because the pirates existed as plunderers and thieves, outright state support of their ventures by Parliament and the Queen is difficult to determine. Evidence indicates, however, that Queen Elizabeth I developed relationships with specific pirates, chiefly Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. Elizabeth entrusted Hawkins and Drake to employ cold war tactics against Spain and secure England's financial stability with stolen goods. Through state documents, primary accounts, biographies, and secondary sources, I aim to explain certain aspects of the …

Lord Lansdowne's Peace Letter And The Controversy It Caused, Mary Virginia Burton Cash

Master's Theses

This study analyzes the letter Lord Lansdowne published in the 29 November 1917 Daily Telegraph and the varied reactions to it. The letter and his Cabinet Memorandum, which preceded it by a year, give no evidence of the traitorous, cowardly, sick, or tired old man his detractors portrayed. The detractors naturally included his political opponents, but also Americans such as Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan. Interestingly, most abuse came from those of his own party with whom he had served his country in a variety of offices. This thesis explores the mystery of how a statesman could, by the …

Anglo-Bulgarian Relations 1933-1941, Jason Sayers

Honors Theses

This paper explores the confusing relations between Great Britain and Bulgaria in the years 1933-1941. These years serve as the focus because 1933 is when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor in Germany and in 1941 Bulgaria entered World War II on the side of the Axis Powers. The newly rising threat of Germany, in the years after reconstruction from the First World War, is the backdrop against which these relations are set. This examination of the relations between Great Britain and Bulgaria shows why Britain failed to entice Bulgaria to join the Allied Powers, and why Bulgaria joined the Axis Powers.

Sturdy Rogues And Wanton Wenches : Response To Vagrancy And Development Of The Tudor Poor Laws, 1530-1597, Sonia T. Banerji

Honors Theses

Tudor England experienced crisis levels of poverty and unemployment which manifested in the form of widespread vagrancy during the sixteenth century. From 1530 to 1597 the central government, often with inspiration from local initiatives, enacted a series of laws which attempted to address the causes of the problems as perceived by the public, in an effort to quell popular fears and anxieties regarding vagrancy.

The focus of this paper is on the response of Tudor society to the problems of poverty and vagrancy. It studies the statutory distinctions drawn between various states of poverty and how these differences disposed society …

William Courtenay's England : An Aristocratic Bishop In The Fourteenth Century, Michael P. Gwaltney

Honors Theses

Despite religious controversy that threatened the church and

endangered the state, William Courtenay, as an aristocratic bishop,

succeeded in preserving the traditional structure of the medieval

English Church. During the second half of the fourtheenth century,

England sustained reversals abroad in the renewed war with France.

The military setbacks aggrevated the domestic unrest, which existed

under the uncertain leadership of senile Edward III and then young

Richard II. Church and state in medieval society were so closely

interwoven by means of a cohesive religion that "any substantial

alteration of the church system could have led to a revolution of a …

Capital Punishment : Public Opinion And Abolition In Great Britain During The Twentieth Century, Carol A. Ransone

Master's Theses

Some form of capital punishment has been practiced for as long as there has been recorded history. Early laws were generally harsh and failed to consider the impact of crime on society. In 621 B.C. the Code of Dracon recorded the laws observed in Athens. The Code of Dracon revealed that almost all offences were punishable by death. Two centuries later a more humanitarian attitude was expressed in Greece. Plato believed in the segregation and reform of the criminal rather than his execution.

In England the death penalty for felony convictions was traced to the reign of Henry I. It …

The Evolution Of The Statute Of Uses And Its Effects On English Law, Timothy L. Martin

Honors Theses

The separation of the lay and ecclesiastical courts complicated the law of succession as they drew a distinction between real and personal property. Laws pertaining to land were molded by royal courts of common law and equity, whereas laws relevant to succession of chattels were based on Roman and canonical law as interpreted by the ecclesiastical courts.

The Legal Confrontations Between King James Of England And Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke, Howard B. Blackmon

Honors Theses

James I, during his reign as King of England, sought to extend the pwoer and authority of the English monarchy. Firmly believing in divine right absolute monarchy, he desired to subordinate the Parliament and the common law courts to the Crown. James encountered fierce opposition in his attempts to extend royal privileges and prerogatives. In the contest between James and the common law courts, Sir Edward Coke arose as the chief defender of the supremacy of common law and the independence of the common law courts.

The Effects Of The Norman Conquest On Anglo-Saxon Aristocracy, Cynthia L. Puryear

Honors Theses

In 1066, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England. He established himself as king and began to implement his policies for complete control over the subjugated territory. The Norman invasion did not involve a large influx of people: but, rather a conquest by a man who acquired the country for himself and distributed the land to his followers. The old English aristocracy, mainly composed of the king's thegns, virtually disappeared with the conquest and was replaced by a new aristocracy.

The near disappearance of the English aristocrats and their replacement by Normans holding land in return for military service was an …

The Tudors And Their Parliaments, Mark W. Cummins

Honors Theses

Up to the reign of the Tudors and in some respects to the Stuarts, Parliament was controlled by the King. Under the Tudors, a change came about between these two "branches" of the English government. The Parliament, especially the Commons, began to assert their authority. They began to "flex their muscles" and the crown began to lose its dominance in Parliament.

This conflict between the crown and Parliament would result in the English Civil War and the establishment of constitutional monarchy in England.

The English Public Health Movement, 1838-1848, Rebecca Dale

Honors Theses

Parliament passed its first comprehensive public health act in 1848. Prior to that time Britain as well as other European countries had mostly just tolerated insanitary conditions.

In English medieval towns people threw their garbage onto the narrow streets where animals--pigs, cattle, ducks--roamed, Houses were built with projections over the streets which blocked light and ventilation. There were few qualms about slaughtering animals on the streets. The common method of sewerage was by cesspools which in some cases were built underneath the houses and in most cases were cleaned out only once every several years by the "dust-collectors". Even in …

The Sacheverell Affair : Its Causes And Implications, Robert A. Kester

Honors Theses

The Sacheverell Affair of 1709-10 is a much overlooked event in English history. It was not significant in itself, being a rather trivial incident, but was significant for its far-reaching implications, in terms of its impact on both the political situation in Britain and diplomacy on the continent.

The Fabians And Socialized Medicine : A Study Of Fabian Attitudes Toward National Health Services, Linda Mcintosh

Honors Theses

Concentrating on the Minority Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Law (1909), the National Insurance Act (1911), the Beveridge Report (1942), and the National Insurance and National Health Service Acts (1946), this thesis studies the various Fabian attitudes and philosophies toward British health services. No one "Fabian program" existed; the Society did not, as a single body, endorse specific programs or ideas, allowing its members freedom of thought and opinion. Inside Fabian publications this policy is enunciated:

This pamphlet, like all publications of the Fabian Society, represents not the collective view of the Society, but only the view …

Edward Vii And The Anglo-French Entente Of 1904, Patricia M. Day

Honors Theses

After the end of the Napoleonic wars, the appearance of Europe was changed almost to that of the eighteenth century. France had been returned to her old borders, the multitude of little kingdoms in Italy and Germany had been reinstated, and Russia had taken back the portion of Poland that she had acquired in 1793. The general alliance of all European countries against a superior France was discontinued as soon as France had lost that position. It had been nothing more than one of the agreements that European countries made when they were under pressure. The enemy was only the …

Party Lines Drawn By The Spectator, Emily W. Zehmer

Honors Theses

The concept of political parties as they existed in England during the reign of Queen Anne has been the source of considerable conflict among Stuart historians. The traditional view, postulated by G. M. Trevelyan, is that the Tory and Whig parties were organized in the 1670's as outgrowths of the Cavalier and Roundhead factions of the Civil War, changing very little in the process. The Tories were a "solid phalanx of squires and parsons," whereas the Whigs were united not by class or vocation but by their agreement on various political issues: religious toleration for all Protestants, war with France …

Henry Parker's Doctrine Of The Consent Of The Governed /, Barbara Cahoon

Honors Theses

The role of Parliament in England's history has been one of interest to historians for centuries. The background and origin of a rule based on the people's consent has been attributed to many people in England's past. I hope to show that one of the first men who developed this theory of government which was later taken up by Locke and other philosophers was Henry Parker. The people choosing their types of government and laws was a new idea that few had voiced. Parker writing in the 1640's saw the tendency of government evolving to Parliamentary sovereignty, not monarchy.

I …

Elizabethan Foreign Policy : 1567-1585, Jo Anne Reynolds

Master's Theses

The topic of this paper, "Elizabeth Foreign Policy: 1567-1585", evolved from an attempt to analyze Anglo-Spanish relations during the same period. The interrelatedness of the religious and political problems among the major powers of the period led this author frequently into considerations outside the original sphere of interest. While the topic was expanded in scope, it should be noted that the paper attempts to deal only with the more significant factors affecting English foreign policy and not not pretend to illuminate the complex and changing national situations elsewhere. Specific external events are introduced only when they directly affect Elizabeth foreign …

Monopolies During The Reign Of James I., William Charles Thompson

Master's Theses

The Statue of Monopolies or 1624 occupies a prominent place in the economic history of England. It was the first national patent law to contain all the essentials, and thereby made a large contribution to England's later technical progress.

Economic Policies Of The Privy Council 1620-1628, Jean A. Scott

Honors Theses

The first English patents of monopoly appeared in the decade from 1561 to 1570. The privileges granted under the patents wore of three types, involving the exclusive rights either of supervision of an industry, of use of techniques or processes in production, or of trade in a product. Although intended primarily to stimulate intervention and commerce, the monopolies were a potential source of power and wealth for monarch and courtier.

Poor Relief In Tudor England, Edith Burrows

Honors Theses

In many respects the sixteenth century in England marks the beginning of a definite acceleration toward modern humanitarianism. It was an era characterized by the slow decline and definite disap­pearance of all aspects of manorial society. The progressive changes in institutions and the way of thinking reciprocally aided each other, hastening the rise of a new, more humane society. The reforms, at first hesitant and cautious, were by the end of the cen­tury confident and deliberate.

The Leveller Influence In The New Model Army From 1647 To 1649, G. Elaine Johnson

Honors Theses

Although the scope of this paper, from February of 1647 to January of 1649, would seem rather limited, the actual impact of Leveller principles and methods was felt during this short span of time. After the final Agreement of the People in early 1649, the movement seemed to center around personal attacks, reiteration of previous ideas, and defensive measures. The establishment of the Commonwealth, under the thumb of Oliver Cromwell, left behind all the Leveller plans of government, which had been discussed and approved by the Agitators and the Army Council.

Other aspects of the Leveller movement, such as their …

Two Women From The Past, Barbara Goodwyn

Honors Theses

The Elizabethan period was undoubtedly one of the richest in the history of England. After a period of turmoil, Elizabeth's reign gave England a time of internal peace. Making the best of the opportunity, the English burst out in all directions: exploration,. drama, trade, poetry. The importance of women grew in this period along with everything else, with a natural development of freedom. Duke Frederick of Wuttemberg, visiting England in 1602, remarked that "the women have more liberty than perhaps in any other place." Twentieth century minds would disagree that the women had freedom, but in comparison to other countries …

Non-Importation Agreements In Virginia, Evelyn Bristow

Honors Theses

The non-importation agreement of 1769 and that of 1774 were protests for the preservation of British rights for Great Britain's subjects in America. The colonies were growing. They were beginning to feel their strength. The high spirit in the Virginia Assembly was due to the colony's rapid growth in wealth, population, and culture. England could put off the time when American would establish her independence, which she was almost capable of doing, by governing to the colonies' satisfaction. This strength was bound up in the young radical leaders.

From Cape Town To Cairo, Leslie L. Jones

Honors Theses

Cecil Rhodes has been dead twenty-two years. The flesh of the man has long since become dust; his dreams are about to become realities... two slender streaks of shining steel form Cape Town to Cairo. For the red now cleaves the heart of Africa, north and south, from the Inner Sea to The Cape of Good Hope. A great splash of red up and down this vast continent where fifty years ago but little red was to be seen.

And this is the simple task I have set myself in the present paper: accounting for the red, this astonishing growth …