Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

History Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in History

"Life Unworthy Of Life" Aktion T4: The First Nazi Genocide, Alexander M. Remington Apr 2023

"Life Unworthy Of Life" Aktion T4: The First Nazi Genocide, Alexander M. Remington

Student Publications

Though usually viewed as a prelude to the Holocaust, the T4 euthanasia program was a distinct genocide carried out by the Third Reich’s doctors. Allowing themselves to be corrupted by eugenics and Nazi policy, the perpetrators of the Nazi euthanasia killings transformed themselves from healers to murderers. Despite public resistance led by Bishop Clemens von Galen which resulted in the cancellation of the T4 program, Nazi doctors took it upon themselves to continue euthanizing patients until the end of the war, emphasizing the legitimacy that euthanasia had acquired. The history of the T4 program, its perpetrators, and resisters is critical …


Mental Illness And The Spanish Inquisition: A Tale Of Uncertainty And Suspicion, Alessandro M. Zuccaroli Apr 2023

Mental Illness And The Spanish Inquisition: A Tale Of Uncertainty And Suspicion, Alessandro M. Zuccaroli

Student Publications

The Spanish Inquisition prosecuted heresy throughout its lifespan. Occasionally, the question of mental illness confronted inquisitors during proceedings. For example, Bartolomé Sánchez, an impoverished laborer, was arrested and tried by the Spanish Inquisition on three separate occasions and was institutionalized in a mental hospital. In his case, mental illness was likely a reality, yet his inquisitors struggled to determine his mental state despite his outlandish ideology. On the other hand, Miguel de Piedrola, the Soldier-Prophet, was convicted by the Inquisition as a false prophet notwithstanding his employment of the insanity defense. At the center of both cases lay the question …


Epidemiology In Higher Education: Scarlet Fever At Gettysburg College, Addison E. Lomax Apr 2022

Epidemiology In Higher Education: Scarlet Fever At Gettysburg College, Addison E. Lomax

Student Publications

Throughout the early 20th century, the relationship between higher education and the spread of epidemic disease evolved in the United States. Two notable epidemics of scarlet fever in 1915 and 1920 serve as a lens through which the larger roles of disease and higher education can be analyzed. By assessing the roles both the administration and the students played at Gettysburg College, then Pennsylvania College, historians can understand the process of combating health crises in the future. Although the Pennsylvania College scarlet fever epidemics of 1915 and 1920 impacted campus to a smaller extent than the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the …


New Developments In Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Arden M. Scheetz Apr 2021

New Developments In Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Arden M. Scheetz

Student Publications

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, is a form of treatment based on the inhalation of 100% pure oxygen while subjected to closed chamber or room at pressures greater than sea level (1 atmosphere, ATA) (Howell et al., 2018; Kocaman, 2020). HBOT is administered through either a mono-place chamber or a multi-place chamber. Mono-place chambers are pressurized with oxygen and are equipped to handle a single person at a time. Multi-place chambers, on the other hand, can accommodate up to 20 people at a time, including medical personnel and intubated patients. These chambers are pressurized with air, and pure oxygen is …


The Physiology Of The Circadian Rhythm, Jessica S. Ken-Kwofie Apr 2021

The Physiology Of The Circadian Rhythm, Jessica S. Ken-Kwofie

Student Publications

This paper discusses the importance and origin of the Circadian Rhythm. First recorded by Jean Jacque d’Ortous de Mairan in 1729, the Circadian Rhythm is understood to be a fundamental biological system that is tailored to Earth’s axis. Having impacts on peripheral organs, sleep patterns, and hormonal balances, this process influences almost every aspect of the human body and several other mammals. Focusing on the Circadian Rhythm is vital to further understanding the “clock-like” patterns of the human body and future research and development of treatments could be the solution to current detrimental diseases and disorders.


The 'Spanish Flu': A True Global Pandemic, Erin H. Keener Apr 2020

The 'Spanish Flu': A True Global Pandemic, Erin H. Keener

Student Publications

This paper examines the portrayal of the 'Spanish Flu' in the press as it was emerging on the scene in 1918. Using contemporaneous newspaper articles, it shows the evolution from denial, to blame, and eventually to a call to action that developed as it spread around the country. This piece also provides some insight into the parallels between this pandemic and the current Covid 19 pandemic in regard to how both were handled, and what can be learned from when this devastating occurrence repeats itself.


The Pioneering Legacy And Consequence Of Wernher Von Braun, Ethan S. Wilt Oct 2019

The Pioneering Legacy And Consequence Of Wernher Von Braun, Ethan S. Wilt

Student Publications

The fundamental research question of this paper revolves around the idea of; would it have been possible for the United States to land on the Moon by the close of the decade if it hadn’t been for the effort, influence, and work of Wernher von Braun? The secondary question of the paper is what significant accomplishments and work did von Braun contribute to the United States space flight program that consequently led to the success in 1969? Through the effort, work, and influence of Wernher von Braun, it was possible for the United States to land on the Moon in …


Presidential Leadership In The Space Age, Ziv R. Carmi Oct 2019

Presidential Leadership In The Space Age, Ziv R. Carmi

Student Publications

Mankind’s quest to reach the moon consisted of many people in leadership positions. In the US, however, many of the decisions behind the space race, especially funding for it, were made by four men: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Richard Nixon. While some presidents (namely Kennedy) receive more credit than others for their work on bringing man to the moon, each of them passed influential policy that was vital in the development of Apollo: Eisenhower founded NASA and began research on the Saturn V, Kennedy gave vision and urgency to the program, Johnson gave massive …


The Other 'Vd': The Educational Campaign To Reduce Venereal Disease Rate During World War Ii, Madeleine L. Gaiser Oct 2016

The Other 'Vd': The Educational Campaign To Reduce Venereal Disease Rate During World War Ii, Madeleine L. Gaiser

Student Publications

Venereal disease was a major contributor to lost man days in World War I so the government attempted to implement an educational campaign beginning in 1918. After a loss of funding, venereal disease became unattended until 1936 when Thomas Parran was appointed as Surgeon General. He made prevention of venereal disease his top priority and began a new campaign, determined to make it more effective and better funding than its predecessor. The subsequent advent of World War II strengthened national interest. With the inspiration of Parran, the Public Health Service and other organizations made movies, posters, pamphlets, books, and school …


A Surgeon’S Duty, Andrew P. Carlino Oct 2014

A Surgeon’S Duty, Andrew P. Carlino

Student Publications

Dr. Albert Gaillard Hall described a scenario in where he was tricked by his soldiers; “At our rendezvous, on three successive mornings, men reported sick, complaining of backache and headache, and with a very heavily coated tongue, but without other symptoms. Thinking it might prove an oncoming fever, I excused the first and second lots, and then saw that they were ‘old-soldiering the surgeon.’ Long afterwards one of the men explained the trick. The camp was surrounded by rose-bushes in bloom, and a liberal chewing of rose-leaves a little before sick call produced the effect I saw on the tongue. …


Facing The Apocalypse: Bomb Shelters And National Policy In Eisenhower’S Second Term, Angela A. Badore Apr 2014

Facing The Apocalypse: Bomb Shelters And National Policy In Eisenhower’S Second Term, Angela A. Badore

Student Publications

This paper explores the issues of civilian defense from a federal perspective during Eisenhower’s second term, particularly focusing on the issue of bomb shelters during the period from 1956-1958. Despite widespread efforts to promote bomb shelters, or fallout shelters, during this period, no significant progress was made toward a federal program. By examining federal efforts such as the Holifield Committee, the Gaither Committee, Operation Alert, and the National Shelter Policy, this paper shows that efforts to set up shelter programs actually made the public and the Eisenhower administration less likely to trust such programs at all.


1 1/2 Years In Death Valley, Louis T. Gentilucci Oct 2013

1 1/2 Years In Death Valley, Louis T. Gentilucci

Student Publications

This paper is an exploration into the historian as an independent source of history. Homer T. Rosenberger was an amateur historian in Pennsylvania during the better part of the 20th century. His works on Pennsylvania history, early American history, and contemporary historical events are valuable, if unknown, resources in those fields. However, Rosenberger becomes his own source of history when his battle with cancer is examined in the context of the American 1950's. Rosenberger's reactions to his plight help illustrate the mindset American brought to cancer in the 1950's and the transition in American society since then.