History Commons^™

Wrapped In The American Flag: Liberal Activism And Queer Political Organizing Post-1940s, Sam Markley

IdeaFest

By analyzing the United States Lavender Scare and immigration policy of the 1950s, this paper attempts to shed light on how the distinction between “American” and “Un-American” remains at the center of Queer rights advocacy. The heightened fear over the survival of the nation, along with the view of Queer immigrants as threats to the nation, was used to tighten immigration restrictions. This restriction, however, is complicated by existing prejudices against racial minorities and women. Queer rights groups began to rise to prominence during this time and mobilize against claims that they were anti-American or subversive deviants, working through the …

0893: Maurice G. Burnside Collection, 1793-2003, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection was deaccessioned from East Carolina University to Marshall University Special Collections. The original processing, organizing, and files were maintained in this transfer. The only change that has been made is the addition of the new accession number to the existing folders.

The bulk of this collection pertains to Dr. Burnside’s congressional and political activities (1945-1956) and is composed largely of scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Materials reflect the time and effort Dr. Burnside directed towards environmental issues, unemployment, the problems faced by small businesses and farmers, and the promotion of tariffs on foreign products that competed with local …

An Exhibition And Protest Of Executions In Iran, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

An exhibition and protest of executions in Iran was held in Washington, D.C. in June 2025. Portraits of 2000 men and women who were killed or executed in Iran since the 1980s were displayed on the National Mall in front of the Capitol. The Iranian Resistance estimates that 30,000 activists were massacred in one period in 1988. Executions of prisoners have continued steadily, making Iran the world’s leading executioner of men and women. In recent years, there has been a sharp escalation in the number of executions of prisoners. A United Nations Special Rapporteur reported that over 800 persons were …

The Commander’S Crusade: Bush’S Campaign For War In Iraq, Aliyah Ramirez

Voces Novae

No abstract provided.

United States Governmental Assessments Of The Rise Of Communism In And Around The Republic Of South Africa, Stuart Ledbetter

Voces Novae

No abstract provided.

Death, Violence, And Condemnation: The News Media Coverage Of The 1981 Prisoners’ Hunger Strike In Northern Ireland In The United Kingdom And Ireland, Tyler Coker

Voces Novae

No abstract provided.

Ronald Reagan And The Politics Of Tuition, Alyssa Dunlop

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper explores how Ronald Reagan, as governor of California, justified imposing tuition at the University of California, despite a near one hundred-year tradition of tuition-free education, by connecting tuition to the student protest movement of the 1960s. This paper argues that Reagan made the case for tuition by claiming that tuition would restore law and order on college campuses. Specifically, he contended that tuition would deter rabble-rousing individuals from attending college and improve the moral character of students. Consequently, this argument proved appealing for the majority of Californians, who expressed concern about the student protests, and thus the public …

Photographic Truth: Civilian Manipulation And Reality Under Stalinism, Reese Finnigan

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

No abstract provided.

Where's The Dim Sum? Art, Oral History, And The Chinese American Diaspora In Portland, Or, Rayli Dornan

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the history, transformation, and contemporary significance of Portland's Chinatown through an oral history framework, emphasizing the voices of Chinese American artists. Beginning with a comprehensive historical overview from the mid-nineteenth-century Gold Rush migrations and railroad labor to twentieth-century exclusion, dispossession under urban renewal, and the late-twentieth-century dispersal into suburbs, the thesis traces how structural racism and policy shaped both the physical landscape and communal life of Oregon's Chinese diaspora. Through in-depth interviews with local artists, this research aims to illuminate how individual experiences of identity, belonging, and creative expression navigate the tensions between heritage and adaptation.

Drawing …

Cunning Commies, Dumb Democrats, And Exiled Germans: A Holistic Postmortem Of The 1948 Czechoslovak Coup D'État, Douglas Joys

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

The role played by the post-WWII expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia in catalyzing the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état has been underexplored in favor of the traditional narrative of an East-West clash between Czechoslovak democratic and communist parties backed by the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. Scholarship on the expulsion and the coup has on occasion brought up connections between the two events, albeit briefly and only as a small part of larger examinations of one of the two. The Eastern and Western forces at play in Czechoslovakia were undoubtedly key factors in the coup’s outcome: the end of …

The Seduction Of Journalism In Atlanta: William Randolph Hearst And The Atlanta Georgian, Andrew J. Bramlett

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Atlanta Georgian was founded in 1906, quickly becoming a rival of the already established Atlanta Constitution and Atlanta Journal. Its founding editor, John Temple Graves, was a devoted believer of the New South Movement and a prominent ally of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. In 1912, Hearst purchased the Georgian, expanding his influence into the South. The Georgian was a small piece of his grander plan to become President of the United States, and he quickly turned it into Atlanta’s most discussed newspaper. However, since the first edition of the Georgian was published in 1906, Hearst’s presence …

Balancing Power And Influence: U.S.-Brazil Foreign Relations In The 20th Century, Thais Russo Goncalves

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper explores the intricate dynamics of U.S. foreign policies directed toward Brazil during the 20th century. The paper examines Brazil’s unique role in Latin America as the only country in the region to actively participate in both World Wars, which led to its emergence as a key ally of the United States. This partnership influenced U.S. foreign policy, particularly in economic and military aid, fostering Brazil’s dependency on the U.S. while simultaneously granting it regional significance. The paper acknowledges four schools of thought: exclusion, reactionary, parental, and economic-political, to analyze the motivations and implications of U.S. policies. The exclusion …

Land Access As Liberation: A Qualitative Study On Faith, Food, And Farming Of Urban And Rural Black Land Stewards In The United States, Dominique Edwards

Dissertations

Since 1920, Black farmers in the United States have held less than 2% of the nation's farmland, a direct result of race-based discriminatory policies embedded within federal, state, local, and county-level institutions (Daniel, 2013). Structural barriers—ranging from exclusionary lending practices by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the systematic dispossession of land through legal loopholes, heirs’ property laws, and violent racial terror—have contributed to this staggering decline in Black land ownership (Gilbert et al., 2002). The erosion of Black agrarian landholdings intensified in the latter half of the 20th century, as government programs, civil rights legislation, and technological advancements, …

American Consumer Culture And Social Media Polarization: Analyzing Twentieth Century Trends And Their Effects On Twenty First Century Politics, Max Lally

University Honors Theses

The emergence of social media as a mainstream communication technology during the early twenty first century has had an outsized impact on the United States' political system. By analyzing trends in American culture and economics beginning in the decades following the end of World War Two, the circumstances that shaped social media during its development can be tied to long term historical changes. Shifts away from traditional models of community and towards rising individualism reshaped communication with both political allies and opponents. Generational shifts in political attitudes have heightened these divisions as well, as younger and liberal perspectives challenge traditional, …

Guardians Of The Iranian Revolution: Clerical Authority, Bonyads, And The Irgc In Iran's Economic Landscape, Chase M. Toscano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates the ideological and institutional foundations of Iran's post-revolutionary political economy, focusing on the triumvirate of clerical authority, bonyads (charitable foundations), and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Drawing on Kevan Harris’s “subcontractor state” framework, this study argues that Iran’s political economy is simultaneously a decentralized yet state-dominated system, where semi-public institutions like the bonyads and the IRGC act as key subcontractors, enabling the Islamic Republic to further economic development and circumventing Western sanctions. This analysis examines the development of Iran’s political economy from the 1979 revolution to identify the influence of left-wing Islamic ideologues like Ali Shariati …

Embodied Archives, Emerging Futures, Xuân-Lam Nguyen

Masters Theses

Fifty years after the end of the U.S.–Vietnam War, this thesis reflects on the entangled relationship between the two nations, inspiring hope while challenging dominant representations of trauma and tragedy. Drawing from autobiography, family history, folk art traditions, colonial photographs, hierarchies within art history, archives of student activism, and key geopolitical events, the work explores the complex intersections of queer identity and glitchy historical narratives. Combining research-based inquiry with time- and labor-intensive processes, it reimagines historical materials to construct alternate possibilities for the future.

The Canadian Press Views The 1908 American Presidential Election, Harvey Strum

Journal of 20th Century Media History

"How many people appreciate the tragedy of the defeat of Mr. Bryan," asked the anti-Bryan Toronto World on 5 November 1908. This expression of sympathy for the Great Commoner's defeat by Republican candidate William Howard Taft, represented the opinion of a minority of the Canadian press. Newspapers representing western agrarian progressives, trade unions, militant Protestant nativists, independent reformers, and social reform Liberals regretted Bryan's defeat since he symbolized reform that might creep across the 49th parallel. If Bryan's third defeat did not prompt the majority of Canadian editors to dance in the streets it did prompt them to raise their …

Selected Artificial Intelligence Provisions In U.S. Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The 2025 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act contains multiple provisions relating to artificial intelligence (AI). These congressionally mandated provisions direct various sections of the Department of Defense (DOD) and individual U.S. armed service branches to execute congressional intent for AI policymaking. Examples of such intent include identifying and planning DOD's AI workforce, demonstrating AI biotechnology applications for national security, improving the human usability of AI systems, and establishing an AI security center. This presentation will note that reports on these initiatives must be prepared for relevant congressional oversight committees, and, in many cases, are in many cases, publicly released …

Imperial Fabrication Of Ethnic Cleansing: Czarist Through Soviet Russian Practices And Policies Responsibility In The Ethnic Cleansing Of Georgians In Abkhazia., George Kane

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the direct correlation and connection between Goergia’s struggles against Russian imperialism and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia that resulted from the 1990s Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict. After examining the historical and cultural ties of the Abkhaz as one of the many Georgian nationalities, this thesis examines the concerted effort by Czarist and Soviet Russia to separate the two identities in order to further imperial ambitions in the Caucasus region. This targeted separation over decades, along with direct Russian military support during the conflict, would then result in an ethnic cleansing taking place perpetrated by the Abkhaz against …

From Essential To Expendable – Montagnards, Kurds, And U.S. Army Special Forces In Vietnam And Northern Iraq, Jake Brooks

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the Vietnam and Iraqi conflicts, the U.S. Army Special Forces teamed up with indigenous ethnic monitories to bring the fight to all corners of the battle space, and to take advantage of their immense local knowledge and strategic locations. The Montagnards of Central Indochina and the Kurds in Northern Iraq allied with the Special Forces for a number of reasons: protection from their ruling governments, recognition for their movements for autonomy, increased access to better medicine and equipment, and the opportunity to strike back at their historical enemies. The Montagnards and Kurds taught the Green Berets how to better …

Making Their Voices Heard: Virginia Women's Organizations As Agents Of Community Change From 1945 To 1955, Preston C. Morgan

Masters Theses, 2020-current

After World War II, Virginian women’s organizations experienced increases in membership and in community influence. For the next decade, Virginian women in various non-partisan organizations would take intentional efforts to position women as activists of change, creating and training women for public and civic contributions. Organizational women began to see themselves as having growing responsibility for their community’s wellbeing. This study will analyze this growing grassroots organization movement by examining records from organizations like the Winchester Women’s Civic League, the women’s missionary societies of the First Baptist Church and Salem Lutheran Church, and Madison College. This study will analyze this …

I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In: The Negative Effects And Shortcomings Of United Nations Peacekeeping Efforts, Andrea G. Heredia-Ortiz

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to look at peacekeeping operations done by the United Nations. In specific the efforts in Haiti, the former Yugoslavia, and Israel. In each of these operations the United Nations created more instability or left the country in the same or worse state than it was when it came in. In the case of Haiti there was sexual exploitation of the citizens and the cholera outbreak of 2010. In Israel, the peace operation has been ongoing since 1947, conflict in the Middle East does not seem to be coming at an end anytime soon. Additionally, …

Beyond The Binary: Amazigh Ethnicity And Transformational Resistance, Nour Sidhoum

Journal of Amazigh Studies

This article explores Amazigh activism in Algeria, focusing on the role of language, memory, and political mobilisation in reshaping national identity. It critically examines the reductive Arab/Berber binary, arguing that such oppositions, rooted in French colonial logic, provide the vocabulary through which Amazigh identity claims are confined within minority paradigms. The aim is to reconceptualise Amazigh ethnic identity as a form of transformational resistance that challenges dominant power structures rather than merely seeking accommodation within them. Drawing on a diverse range of primary and secondary sources—including memoirs of key figures in Algerian nationalism such as Hocine Aït Ahmed and Sadek …

‘Casar Public Lecture: 100 Days Of Trump: America, The Middle East, And Beyond’, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

The entire world is literally getting new updates about Trump's internal & external policies almost everyday now....can you imagine that we are still yet to reach 100 days?? USAID cuts, Chinese and Canadian Tariffs, DEI revokes, Gaza War, Ukraine War, the case of Iran, National Economic Emergency in the US, ICE arrests in the US & so much more to discuss.....Trump's policies impact the US as well as everywhere in the world, but what are the repercussions so far?

Speakers: From AUC: Dr. Sean Lee, Assistant Professor, Political Science Department - Amb. Dr.Alaa El-Hadidi , CASAR Adjunct Professor.

The panel …

Death, Violence, And Condemnation: The News Media Coverage Of The 1981 Prisoners’ Hunger Strike In Northern Ireland In The United Kingdom And Ireland, Tyler Coker

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

During the Troubles, the ethno-political conflict between the majority Catholics and minority ruling Protestants in Northern Ireland that lasted from 1968 to 1998, the 1981 prisoners’ hunger strike in Belfast’s HM Prison Maze was a key turning point. The starvation death of 10 striking prisoners gained the world’s attention, as one by one Irish prisoners died in British custody. This tragedy helped push the Irish nationalist movement toward a diplomatic means of negotiation. As one of the most influential events during the conflict, the news media covered the strike extensively, shaping the narrative of the strike to largely uninformed audiences. …

The Impact Of Historical Memory: Polish-Russian Relations Since 1991, Conner J. Lipinski

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The history of global foreign relations is marked by both strengthening alliances and deteriorating ties. From a historical perspective a perfect example of this dynamic is seen in the complex and ever-evolving relationship of Poland and Russia. That is why this research thesis will be focused on the history of Polish and Russians relations in connection to the Polish response to Putin’s war in Ukraine. This research project’s look into this history will serve to answer the central question of “How has the shared history of Polish and Russian relations uniquely shaped the Pole’s response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine?” …

From Pagan Chieftains To Christian Kings: Shaping Medieval Nordic Political Culture, Carissa Chinnery

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This research investigates how the Christianization of Scandinavia between the 800s and 1100s transformed Nordic political culture, particularly in relation to governance, kingship, and Scandinavia's integration into European Christendom. The adoption of Christianity contributed to the centralization of power, replacing the previous decentralized chieftain-based system with hereditary monarchies legitimized through Christian ideology. Additionally, the establishment of church institutions played a critical role in administrative development, reinforcing royal authority and expanding government structures. Methodologically, this study analyzes historical texts such as Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, which offers a narrative perspective on Christianization. Archaeological evidence, including church remains, runestones, and burial sites …

American Collusion With The Republic Of South Africa During The Angolan Civil War (1975-1990), Stuart W. Ledbetter

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Between 1948 and 1994, the Republic of South Africa enacted one of the most brutal white supremacist regimes in recent history, known as Apartheid. Across the world, nations pressured South Africa to end its racist legislature through economic sanctions, limited diplomatic contact, and non-cooperation with the government. The United States was one such nation to decry Apartheid since it stood against American values of equality and freedom. This all changed when the Angolan Civil War broke out in 1975, and South Africa stood as the primary neighboring anti-communist interventionist in the conflict. This research explores exactly why and how the …

Revolutions In July: A Decade Of Unrest 1958-1968, Eric Wilbur

Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

“Take This Job And Shove It”: How Black Women’S Fight For Economic Rights Informed Their Participation In The Broader Social Movements Of The Twentieth Century, Kyndle Diane Lee

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the vital role of Black women in the American labor movement during the twentieth century, emphasizing how their leadership and union participation were central to both labor organizing and the broader fight for human rights. Black women workers navigated and resisted the effects of racism, sexism, and class exploitation in a century marked by industrial expansion, economic upheaval, and major civil rights struggles. Far from passive participants, they emerged as key organizers, negotiators, and strategists in their communities, labor unions, and national movements. Additionally, their work extended beyond their demands for better wages and safer working conditions. …