History Commons^™

Cold War Fears And Algerian Independence: American Public Opinion On An Independent Algeria, 1954-1962, Shayla Taylor

2024 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents

The Algerian War of Independence was a struggle by the Algerians for autonomy from their long-time colonizer and ally of the United States, France. While the independence movement is said to have started during the First World War, the war did not break out until late in 1954.1 The conflict came not even a decade after World War II, in the thick of the Cold War in which the Soviet Union and the United States competed on an international stage, and in an era in which many groups of people within Western powers held mixed feelings about decolonization. Maintaining order …

“Why Invest In Racism?”: Anti-Apartheid Activism At The University Of Illinois, 1977-1987, Shane Smith

Student Honors Theses

On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man after being held captive for over 27 years. Crowds roared with joyfulness as their beacon of hope pumped his right fist in the air triumphantly. The international community watched the occasion with hope and a feeling of success after the assistance in the struggle to bring down the brutal regime of apartheid. This inspiring movement took decades of unified activism from both South Africans and local, grassroots organizations to bring the system down. Amidst the ongoing Cold War politics and other international issues, dismantling apartheid proved to …

“That New Africa Is Ready To Fight Its Own Battles": Kwame Nkrumah, The United States, And The Quest For A Modern Ghana, 1957-1966, Godwin Gyimah

Masters Theses

This project examines the United States-Ghana relationship and how the relationship transformed Ghana, 1957-1966. African leaders such as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had declared: "That new Africa is ready to fight its own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his affairs." Despite the non-alignment philosophy, Ghana was not neutral regarding the West and East blocs rivalry. The thesis argues that it was through the United States' government and private firms' contributions that Ghana was able to achieve the mark of a modern nation through industrialization, universal education, and the expansion of international trade economy. …

The Duration Of Sub-Saharan African Civil Armed Conflict Episodes, Christian Ilunga-Matthiesen

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

The socio-economic question which this study intends to answer is one of global relevance. For quite some time now, civil wars on the African continent have been a major source of economic and social destruction resulting in excessive human suffering. The primary objective of this study will constitute the analysis of 32 armed conflict episodes across 17 countries between 1990 and 2014 throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Armed conflicts will be defined as the following: “a contested incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a …

The Power Of The Periphery: Aid, Mutuality And Cold War U.S-Ghana Relations, 1957-1966, Moses Allor Awinsong

Masters Theses

This project interrogates how economic self interest motivated periphery states such as Ghana to use foreign policy as a vehicle to attract improved development assistance from superpowers, in this case the United States. While the United States viewed its aid program in Ghana in stringently Cold War terms, Kwame Nkrumah and his advisors were less inclined to get deeply concerned about Cold War ideology. This project shows that Ghanaian agency was manifested in the Cold War through the new state's construction of a foreign policy image that made it a prominent African voice globally. It then examines how that image …

The Royal Navy's Employment Of Black Mariners And Maritime Workers, 1754-1783, Charles Foy

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The Royal Navy has been portrayed as an institution that embodied liberty, regularlyemploying and relying upon blacks to keep its vessels afloat and to implement Britain'sblue water policy. Despite the critical role black naval seamen played, their employmentwas shaped more by regional practices than by Admiralty edicts. The result was that blackswere often treated inequitably. Black seamen had less access to pension benefits andwere not promoted in the same numbers as working-class white seamen. In England andNew York, blacks were largely kept out of royal dockyards and received less favourablecompensation than whites. In contrast, while blacks were employed in great …

Oil Wealth, Resource Curse And Development: Any Lessons For Ghana?, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Edward Brenya, James Agbodzakey

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Ghana’s new status as an oil-producing country has invigorated the scholarly debate on the resource curse theory, which assumes that countries with vast natural resource wealth like oil, diamond and gold are likely to experience slow economic growth and development as compared to countries with scarce natural resources. Although the development literature is well endowed with cases of countries with huge natural resources that have experienced slow economic growth, the literature is also clear on few other countries with enormous natural resources that continue to experience high economic growth due to strong political institutions and democratic practices. Norway and Botswana …

Book Review: Foreign Intervention In Africa: From The Cold War To The War On Terrror, Felix Kumah-Abiwu

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

‘Unkle Sommerset's’ Freedom: Liberty In England For Black Sailors, Charles R. Foy

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

With his 1772 decree in Somerset v. Steuart that slavery was ‘so odious that nothing can be suffered to support it [in England] but positive law’, Lord Mansfield altered the legal landscape regarding black rights in England. While earlier judicial decisions had implied that slaves who came to England were free, prior to the Somerset decision there was no judicial consensus on the issue. The Somerset decision did not decree that slavery was illegal in England. Yet many blacks believed it ‘emancipated’ any slave who reached the shores of England. This understanding, combined with the British military welcoming runaways into …

Symposium: A Futuristic Look Through Ancient Lenses - Egypt, Booth Library

Symposium on Ancient Egypt: Exhibit Booklet

Symposium Dates

This exhibit was displayed at Booth Library October 6 - November 2, 2011

About the Symposium

A Futuristic Look Through Ancient Lenses - Egypt brought together the Eastern community and citizens of the region to explore the future by learning about this great ancient civilization. It was the first in a series of symposia that explore various ancient civilizations of the world, learning what made them great and what led to their decline. It has been said that history repeats itself because people were not paying attention the first time. The panorama of topics covered by this symposium …

Charles R. Foy Review Of Michael J. Jarvis, “In The Eye Of All Trade: Bermuda, Bermudians, And The Maritime Atlantic World,” In Common-Place 10:4 (July 2010) (Www.Common-Place.Org)., Charles R. Foy

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In his comprehensive study of colonial Bermuda Jarvis places Bermuda in "the eye of trade," i.e., the center of the Anglo-American Atlantic. He proceeds to use this new perspective to explore six key characteristics of Bermudian life: its transition from a tobacco society to a maritime society; the island’s unique system of slavery; the emphasis placed on kinship connections and communal activities; Bermudian exploitation of the Atlantic’s natural resources; the effect of Bermuda’s maritime economy on its residents; and the impact of the American Revolution on Bermudian society. With their maritime skills, unique slave system and extensive kinship connections Bermudians …

Shipboard Insurrections, The British Government And Anglo-American Society In The Early 18th Century, James Buckwalter

2010 Awards for Excellence in Student Research & Creative Activity - Documents

Captain Francis Messervy, first time captain on the slave ship Ferrers and perhaps overly ecstatic after his most recent successes at sea, maneuvered unprotected below deck to inspect his newly purchased Africans. As he lurched further down into the Ferrers, Messervy would have seen sailors whose duty it was to guard against insurrection and the three hundred or more Africans he had recently purchased following a war between two neighboring polities near Cetre-Crue. What Messervy perceived as good fortune, fellow captain William Snelgrave saw as cause for concern, noting that controlling "many Negroes of one Town and Language" had its …

The Curse Of Diamonds, Holly Thomas

2010 Awards for Excellence in Student Research & Creative Activity - Documents

Sierra Leone and Liberia have exported rough diamonds since the discovery of diamonds in the Mano River basin in the 1930s.i It was not until the late 20th century when these minerals were nicknamed conflict diamonds, loot-able resources sold to fund rebel movements and terrorist organizations. Conflict diamonds have been linked to civil war, corruption, and human rights violations. Both countries suffered through bloody civil wars, slow development, and a low standard of living. Sierra Leone's civil war resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of one-third of the country. Liberia's civil war resulted in over 200,000 deaths and …

Impact Of Computers On Cultures In Third World Countries: A Case Of Computers In Education, James Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Computers On Cultures In Third World Countries: A Case Of Computers In Education, James R. Ochwa-Echel

James R. Ochwa-Echel

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Computers On Cultures In Third World Countries: A Case Of Computers In Education, James R. Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Conflict Resolution In Africa: A Comparative Analysis Of The Demilitarization Process In Burundi And Rwanda (1993-2003), Victoria Chipoka

Masters Theses

The civil wars that have occurred in Africa have had destabilizing effects on the political and social structure of African countries. The massacres and genocide of 1993 and 1994 in Rwanda and Burundi shocked the whole world into experiencing the horror of the news that more than one million people had been slaughtered in cold blood. The causes of the conflict in Rwanda and Burundi are many and complex. In this paper, my major focus will be on the role the armed forces have played in the conflict and how demilitarization should be the alternative solution in bringing permanent peace …

The Military In Political Leadership In Ghana, Kenneth Koroma

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.