History Commons^™

Libertatis Cunabula: Slavery In San Antonio, Makayla Hernandez

Posters - 2026

This research on the taxes collected by our city and county exposes the pervasiveness of slavery in San Antonio. This truth is shockingly new for San Antonio. No marker nor plaque nor historical commemoration exists to honor the memory and contributions of enslaved San Antonians, nor to force a reckoning with the legacy of prominent enslavers among San Antonio’s leading families and Alamo heroes. This research project recovers every person listed as enslaved in the Bexar County Tax Assessment Records from 1837 to 1862 and names their enslavers. It immediately counters the assumption and assertion that slavery was insignificant in …

Remembering In The North: How The Civil Rights Movement Is Told Through Monuments, Courtney Wight

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

This thesis, titled “Remembering in the North: How the Civil Rights Movement is Told Through Monuments,” examines how the Civil Rights Movement is remembered in the North through public monuments. The Civil Rights Movement in the North has not received the same level of recognition compared to the South in public memory, yet the stories and activists in the North deserve the same acknowledgement. The cities of Newark, NJ, and Albany, NY, act as case studies to illustrate how the racism and discrimination, which prompted the Civil Rights Movement, were present in the North during the movement. Both cities, like …

Back Matter

Tenor of Our Times

Back Matter

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Jr Duke, David T. Richardson

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Faculty Spotlight

For They Shall Inherit The Earth: Humility And The Constructed Etruscan And Carolingian Origins Of The Medici, William M. Deloach

Tenor of Our Times

The Italian Renaissance and the cultural legacy of the Classical World are inextricably linked. The links between the non-classical sources and the Renaissance, however, have frequently been neglected. This article examines the non-classical origin claims made by the Medici family in Renaissance Florence. Specifically, it evaluates the purpose behind the Medici's attempts to link themselves to the Etruscans and to Charlemagne. Ultimately, it concludes that these efforts represent an attempt to conceal the significant authority the Medici had, both at the time that these sources were written and in Florentine history through the fifteenth century.

Front Matter

Tenor of Our Times

Front Matter

Full Issue

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Full Issue

Spotlight - Mecca Mejor, William Deloach

Tenor of Our Times

Staff Spotlight

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other: Differences Between The New Deal And Great Society, Brayden T. Gallagher

Tenor of Our Times

This paper examines the differences between the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, challenging the prevailing interpretation that the latter administration was the logical continuation of the former. Through comparative historical analysis of policy and rhetoric, the research finds that, despite clear similarities such as expanded government involvement and social welfare programs, the two initiatives diverged significantly. The New Deal prioritized economic recovery through short-term job creation while often tolerating or reinforcing racial inequality. In contrast, the Great Society directly confronted systemic racism and struck at the roots of poverty through education, …

The Emigration Equation: A Study On Why Individuals Emigrate, Anielka S. Perez Brenes

Tenor of Our Times

Literature about migration often focuses on “refugee crises” or “immigration crises,” but the causes of these crises are those which take place in the origin country. The reasons, or push factors, of why individuals are emigrating from their home countries is the central question of this study. This cross-sectional research study focuses on seven of these potential causes in the year 2024 and spans one hundred and sixty five countries. These seven causes, or the independent variables, are: conflict, human rights, political rights, gross domestic product (GDP), civil liberties, unemployment, and education. This research study as a whole is statistically …

Delenda Est Norfolk: The Tidewater Revolts!, Kiera Dillman, Alise Dunham, Kristen Gary, Olivia M. Haris, Nelliel A. Herrera, Logan Holzgrefe, R. J. Lynch, Adam M. Manis, David Mogan, Luke Pickard, Shayla M. Shaw, Landon Swain, Kenny Wilcox, Bailey M. Wimberly, Tracy L. Barnett

Student Projects

Introduction to the Exhibit:

Today—exactly 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence—many Americans trace the origins of the nation’s revolutionary sentiment to Boston, Massachusetts or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We remember the violence of March 1770, when red-coated British soldiers fired into a crowded Boston street, massacring innocent colonists and igniting outrage. We recall the patriotic defiance of the Sons of Liberty, who boarded three East India Company ships and dumped chests of imported British tea into the Boston Harbor in December 1773. We can still hear, too, the reverberations of the “shot heard ’round the world,” when British …

Editor's Note, William Deloach

Tenor of Our Times

Editor's Note

Speculative Spies: The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, Business, And Labor Conflict In The Gilded Age, Luke M. Gibbs

Tenor of Our Times

The Pinkerton Agency molded into an “arm of capital” used by the wealthy against labor during the Gilded Age. However, such a transition seems confusing given the life of the company’s founder. Allan Pinkerton, once a champion of workers’ rights in his home country of Scotland, seemingly used his agency to side with the wealthy elite. In explaining these shifts, historian Sean Paul O’Hara agrees with a “profits and negative image” narrative. The poor financial position of the agency, coupled with a battered reputation resulting from failures in the American West, would be remedied through the lucrative business that was …

Phi Alpha Theta Arkansas Regional Conference 2026, Jacob Rooney

Tenor of Our Times

Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference 2026

History Day At Harding 2026, Julie E Harris

Tenor of Our Times

History Day in Arkansas summary.

Women With Will: The Power Of The Women Of The Renaissance, Madeline E. Stewart

Tenor of Our Times

Women of Italy in the Renaissance period were not powerless. They may or may not have had articulate power, but in many cases, they wielded an inarticulate power or influence that is more complex and difficult to define by modern terms associated with feminism. Feminism is simply anachronistic for this time, and the people of this time cannot be expected to have upheld ideals that had not been developed yet. Claims that women had no power or development in this era are false. Some excellent examples of some of the most powerful people in Italy politically were women, and they …

Living Letters, Jacob Rooney

Tenor of Our Times

Living Letters

Hyphenated America: The Story Of Swedish Immigrants In The 20th Century, Ryan D. Coons

Department of History

This thesis examines the memorialization of two Swedish immigrants John Ericsson and Joe Hill by their contemporaries. The first section, focusing on socially mobile upper class Swedish immigrants who immortalized Ericsson as a symbol of their "Americanness," The latter documents the life of Joe Hill and the IWW. His labor activism forever typified Hill as an outside foreigner. Both Ericsson and Hill's actual lived experience demonstrate a more complex weaving between Swedish and American. Ericsson frequently confirmed a loyalty to his native Sweden, even with his final wishes being to be buried under Swedish soil. Hill on the other hand, …

Artifacts As Ambassadors: How Archaeological Artifacts Dictate Modern Diplomatic Relations And Repatriation, Emma Boyd

Honors Papers and Posters

In this thesis, I examine and re-center the roles of archaeological artifacts and conceptions of ownership in global politics, drawing on debates about cultural heritage and diplomacy. This thesis will emphasize debates around ownership and repatriation, articulating their value in international relations and diplomacy between Western countries and postcolonial nations, as well as between federally recognized Native American Indigenous Tribes and the United States government. The thesis review takes the Elgin Marbles, arguably the most debated subject, as a model for my case study analysis. I will explore complications driven by conversations of repatriation. Overall, this thesis will propose theories …

Studies In Rio Grande Valley History - Volume 19, Thomas Daniel Knight, Antonio N. Zavaleta, Anthony K. Knopp, Andrik Gonzalez, Milo Kearney

Studies in Rio Grande Valley Regional History Series

Early Days of the U.S. Mexican War in South Texas / James W. Mills -- La Configuración de la Frontera Mexicana Desde El Mar / Arturo Zárate Ruiz -- Ethnic Trends in The Growth of Brownsville / Anthony Knopp -- How McAllen Became the Economic Center of the Rio Grande Valley: Further Considerations / Edward F. Wallace -- Cobbling in the Rio Grande Valley / Noe E. Perez -- Cultural Crossroads: Expressions of Identity, Resistance, & Belonging on the Texas-Mexico Border / Andrik Gonzalez -- Two Women, Two Journeys, One Border: Stories From the Migrant Generation / Manuel F. Medrano …

St. Mary's Rotc, One Hundred Years Of Military Science, Pedro Martinez

Posters - 2026

The ROTC program at St. Mary’s has built a proud legacy of over a century of military tradition, leadership, and service. That distinguished chapter will evolve at the end of this semester as the program transitions from host institution status and becomes an extension of the University of Texas at San Antonio. While the program will continue to operate, this change marks both the end of one era and the beginning of another. Much of this rich history had long gone undocumented by the university and the battalion, until now, bringing together the key moments of its evolution, from its …

2nd Place Contest Entry: "Destablizing U.S.-Japan Relations: Nikkatsu Film Noir As Postwar Social Critique", Thomas Graham Buchanan

Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Library Research Prize

This is Thomas Buchanan's submission for the 2026 Eric M. Scandrett Graduate Research Prize, which won second place. It contains their essay on using library resources, a summary of their research project on how a generation of Japanese filmmakers in the 1950s and 1960s borrowed the formal strategies of Hollywood film noir to mount a critique of U.S. Cold War policy, and their bibliography.

Thomas is a student in the Master of Arts in Film & Media Studies program at Chapman University. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Emily Carman.

Thomas' thesis is the scholarship that emerged from the research discussed …

Ursinus Magazine, Spring 2026, Gundolf Graml, Steve Thomas, Jennifer L. Post-Whisted, Brad Drexler, Alyssa Kratz

Ursinus Magazine, 1995–Present

Gundolf Graml, Ph.D., named 20th President • $1.99 million grant boosts STEM pipeline • $1.49 million grant fuels APEX innovation center • Esports comes to Ursinus • Experiential Learning Week • Ursinus / Rochester partner on 4+1 business pathway • Ursinus launches global learning program • Students win America250PA innovation challenge • Athletics: A generous gift and a milestone • Bear2Bear Impact Award for leadership and service • Lenape Symposium returns to Ursinus • Wall Street on Main Street • Tuition Promise for Montgomery County students • Wrestler wins two Puerto Rico national titles • Paying it forward: A Montgomery …

The Secondary City: Georgetown And The Waccamaw Neck Within A Global Maritime Perspective, 1740-1850, John Paden Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Georgetown is not and has never been the primary city on the South Carolina coast. Its harbor is shallow and muddy and its urban development lacks the commercial density found in more prominent Atlantic port cities such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston. Despite all indicators to the contrary, this marshy backwater outpost became the second richest port in the United States prior to 1850 through rice and indigo exportation. As a result, the port drew people, goods, and ideas from around the Atlantic. Despite its small size and limited cultural relevance, Georgetown was a regional node for international …

From Reclamation To Restoration: Remaking Nature On Portland's Peninsula, Theus Richards

University Honors Theses

This environmental history of the North Portland Peninsula is a critical case study of a landscape in transition, where new "natures" have been constructed through shifting projects of reclamation and restoration. The Port of Portland, who controlled the Peninsula, transformed the marshy bottomlands near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers to accommodate greater networks of industrial infrastructure and expand their capacity for global trade. Beginning in 1967, the Port began dredging operations to fill Ramsey Lake to make way for the construction of Rivergate Industrial District. Through this process, Smith & Bybee Lakes were set aside as a …

Changing Mercy In Aotearoa New Zealand, Anna Nicholls Victoria University Of Wellington

Journal of Global Catholicism

This paper examines the evolving expression of Catholicity within the Mercy organization in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explores the impact of Vatican II, demographic shifts, and societal changes. Through interviews with lay leaders in Whānau Mercy Ministries, the religiosity, inclusive approach, and the tension between traditional Catholic identity and pluralism in the organization are explored. A pertinent discussion concerns how the organization uses a more secular portrayal of Catherine McAuley as a unifying figure for the religiously diverse audience. The author argues that while secularization influences the organization, it fosters human flourishing and community engagement, offering opportunities for growth rather …

Ancestral Rites And Tablets As A Site Of Contestation Between Confucian Filial Piety And Catholicism: The Cases Of Chinese Confucian Yan Mo And Korean Catholic Yun Ji-Chung, Mideum Hong

Journal of Global Catholicism

This essay examines how the Confucian practice of filial piety, particularly as expressed through ancestral rites and tablets, became a focal point of contention in the encounters between Confucianism and Catholicism. Focusing on the cases of the Chinese Catholic Yan Mo and the Korean Catholic martyr Yun Ji-chung, I argue that the different historical and cultural contexts in China and Korea significantly shaped how each figure understood and responded to the practice of ancestral rites. While Catholicism spread globally, local converts developed distinct theological interpretations rooted in their respective cultural traditions. Although Yan Mo and Yun Ji-chung reached divergent conclusions …

Opening And Closing Doors: Internationalism In The Norbertine Missions To Settler And Indigenous Populations In Wisconsin, Alex Gruber

Journal of Global Catholicism

In this essay, I argue that the Premonstratensian or Norbertine Order located in Berne Abbey in the Netherlands responded strongly to a call for international ministry by going to northeast Wisconsin for Walloon settlers from Belgium and their descendants in 1893. However, these priests and brothers fell much farther short of internationalism in the mission to the Oneida Nation reservation they received in 1898. I will make my case by detailing these two missions and analyzing how the Norbertines acknowledged their international nature and practiced or failed to practice internationalism in them. Diving into the mission histories requires discussion of …

The Paradox Of Appropriation: A History Of Media Technology And Propaganda In Rwanda, 1900–1964, Claudia Brown

Journal of Global Catholicism

Scholars of the 1994 Rwandan genocide agree that media technology and propaganda played a role in mobilizing ordinary Rwandans in 1994 to commit genocide. Underappreciated in these inquiries is the history of the introduction of media technology and propaganda in Rwandan society by missionaries, technologies Rwandans later appropriated and applied to a pursuit of self-determination, but also in support of perpetrating genocide. A close examination of the social and political context of Rwanda’s colonial era and Catholic evangelism reveals a variety of motives for adopting propaganda as a strategy for evangelizing and rallying support for decolonization. This article casts light …

The Untameability Of The Sacred: Votive Traditions At Notre Dame De Lourdes And El Santuario De Chimayó, Gabrielle Bibeau

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article compares divergent votive practices at Notre Dame de Lourdes in France and El Santuario de Chimayó in New Mexico. Lourdes’ embrace of modern aesthetic values—simplicity, order, and functional clarity—has led to the removal and tight regulation of most ex-votos. By contrast, Chimayó’s roots in Latin American Baroque aesthetics, with its emphasis on abundance, drama, and hybridity, create space for a vibrant proliferation of offerings. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s theory of aesthetics and politics as the “distribution of the sensible,” the article shows how aesthetic judgments intertwine with clerical power to curate, constrain, and authorize pilgrims’ access to the …