History Commons^™

Heavenly Places On Earth: Religion And Architecture In Early Modern Europe, Luke Horton

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

European church architectures reveal the impact of significant events during early modern time period as shown in the cases of clandestine churches during the Dutch Revolution, the architectural makeover of Catholic churches during the Counter-Reformation and the establishment of Renaissance architecture through the construction of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Foire as a result of tragic historical events.

The Failure Of Soviet Orphan Policies, 1918-1939, Stephen Wong

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

The soviet government is the first in the world that proclaimed to transform orphans. The essay will compare the soviet experiment in two distinct periods: period from 1917 to 1926 and the period under Stalin in the 1930s. The first period has produced large war orphans but Soviet government has made enormous effort to accommodate them. However, the Stalin’s reign under the 1930s has failed the experiment as children and orphans become victims of Stalin’s Terror.

Review Of Boats, Borders, And Bases: Race, The Cold War, And The Rise Of Migrant Detention In The United States, Tyler C. Rodriguez

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Review of Boats, Borders, and Bases: Race, the Cold War, and the Rise of Migrant Detention in the United States. By Jenna M. Loyd and Alison Mountz. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2018. 320 pp., $29.95, paperback, ISBN 978-0-520-28796-9

The Great Cheese: John Leland (1754-1841) As An Enforcer Of Ciceronian Ideals Of Community, Holly Vlach

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This paper builds the argument that John Leland’s religious communities exemplify Ciceronian ideas of polis through his efforts to advocate for religious liberty and equality by first breaking down the concept of a Ciceronian polis and its basis in Platonic philosophy. This is done through a careful analysis of how John Leland’s sermons and other writings advocated for unity within the communities in Massachusetts and Virginia, using the case study of his religious town, Cheshire, Massachusetts, and the activities of the people within it. Additionally, this paper will examine how Cicero articulated that stronger communities lead to a stronger nation …

This Land Is Whose Land? History, Fiction, And The 1800’S Cherokee Removal In Inskeep’S Jacksonland, Payton Tolbert

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This article explores the relationship between history and fiction closely, using Steve Inskeep’s Jacksonland as a source of study. Backed by the ideals of Beverley Southgate’s History Meets Fiction, the article analyzes the way that Andrew Jackson is viewed in current day’s society, based on the primary sources that are chosen to highlight him. It then aims to shine the light on his treasonous actions against the Cherokee nation and his conflict with John Ross. This begs the right to ask the question as to why Jackson is still so highly respected despite evidence condemning him. With a focus …

Anglo-American Loan And Britain's Economic Struggles In Post-War Europe, Jessica Solomon

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

The Anglo-American Loan of 1946 weakened the British Empire as the United States grew as the top global power. By supplying the Allied Powers with weapons and ammunitions during World War II, through the Cash and Carry Policy and the Lend-Lease Act, the United States economic superiority in the postwar made most of Europe look for assistance in the rebuilding of Europe. This research paper, through the analysis of primary and secondary sources, conducts how the British Empire fell at the hands of the United States in the 20^th century. Through looking at British Parliament and American Congress transcripts, …

Mayan Bloodshed: Examining What Allowed For Genocide To Occur In Early Colonial Yucatan, Tyler C. Rodriguez

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

By the mid-sixteenth century, Yucatan was firmly under Catholic control. By 1561, there were dozens of friars and eight monasteries in operation, and programs aimed at converting Mayan natives to Catholicism appeared to be going smoothly. However, in 1562 friars at Mani were confronted with clear evidence that the “Christian Indians” were still worshiping their previous gods in secret. The Indians accused of idolatry were rounded up and subject to a severe form of torture known as the garrucha, a form of torture including flogging and the burning of flesh using wax.

This paper explores what factors lead to …

The Beverage Of The Ages: The Role And Function Of Beer In Sumerian Society, Jared Kelly

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Alcoholic beverages has had an extensive impact on the earliest human societies. This article aims to discuss the importance and the role that beer played in ancient Sumer. It also examines the geography of beer and how it spread to Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt following its genesis in Sumer.

Life Between Two Zions: The Beta Israel And Their Experience Of Multiple Diasporas, Alexander Peeples

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

There are several communities at the intersection of both the African and Jewish Diasporas, but the largest is a community of Ethiopian Jews known as the Beta Israel who have primarily resided in Israel since the 1980s. As a group that is defined by multiple homelands and overlapping oppressions, their experience provides a unique demonstration of the limits and possibilities of diasporic identities in explaining and defining the modern world. In particular, the recent experiences of the Beta Israel draw attention to the limits of essentializing identity, collective notions of shared oppression, and inert understandings of place. The work of …

Martial Brilliance Or Marine Corps Propaganda? The Combined Action Platoon In The Vietnam War, Beta Scarpaci

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This paper examines the structure, concept of operations, and efficacy of the little-known USMC

Combined Action Platoon program as a means for the pacification of South Vietnam and an effort to suppress the NLF insurgency. This paper primarily examines primary source material documenting the conduct of the Combined Action Platoons in order to determine if the program was as effective as its Marine Corps proponents claim and if the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam under Gen. William Westmoreland and Gen. Creighton Abrams made a military blunder in not implementing the program across the whole of South Vietnam.

The Utopia For All—With Exceptions: Gender Roles In Thomas More's Utopia And Early Modern England, Ryan Miller

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This essay takes a critical view of women’s role in the heavily influential work, Utopia, and how that compared to that role in the contemporary English society. Sir Thomas More’s Utopia was both influencing to and revealing of the early modern England under the rule of the Tudor monarchs of the 16th century. Coupling this with the sheer fact that this book is designed to explore a utopian society (in fact this is the first time the word was used as such), this work represents the gender ideas of England that were the background and motivation of the English …

Review Of More Than Chattel: Black Women And Slavery In The Americas, Morgan Reddick

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Book Review

‘Never Disobey’: How Confucian Filial Piety Is Counterproductive To Its Goals For Society?, Bruce Crosby

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

The paper presents a contentious aspect in Confucius’s teachings. In the Analects, there is a contradiction regarding the philosopher’s stance on filial piety and its importance to society. Such a contradiction has the potential to unravel much of his philosophy and represents an inconsistency particularly when taking into account Confucius’s goal of creating a harmonious society.

‘A Spirit Of Faction’: The Essex Junto And The Decline Of The Federalist Party, Julia Brown

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Early American politics was largely characterized by fear, distrust, and blatant propaganda. There is perhaps no political faction that more fully embodies this fact than the Essex Junto. This essay delves into the history of this secretive faction from Essex County, Massachusetts and their impact on the post-Revolutionary period. Through analysis of both primary and secondary source material, this study seeks to decipher the true nature of the Junto, whether they wielded significant political influence or merely functioned as a useful propaganda tool for opportunistic Jeffersonians. This paper also examines the existing scholarship on this topic, mainly works created by …

Ruined Ingénue And Redeemed Sister: Representations Of The Sex Worker In Late-Nineteenth-Century American Fiction, Helen Stec

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Male-authored novels written in the mid-to-late nineteenth century frequently denied female sexual desire and agency and adhered to themes of poverty and seduction. Often, male authors explicitly punished their female characters for their sexual indiscretions, typically by imposing death sentences upon them and emphasizing how surviving sex workers were spiritually irredeemable. However, the few female-authored novels from this time that address prostitution were less encumbered by this patriarchal framework and more aware of the nuances of the female sexual experience. Female authors were generally more forgiving and sympathetic to the sex workers they wrote about. They often allowed these women …

Nationalism Through Insecurity: Why 1979 Iranian Revolution Started?, Ryan Schweitzer

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Nationalism and revolutions are highly volatile processes and typically can be seen as attempts to create a unified society. While Iranian nationalism may be a creation of religious and academic elites, religious zeal and intellectual enlightenment cannot be the sole, or even strongest, explanation. However, with Iran, the nationalism was evoked not out of a desire to necessarily create a new nation, but instead to create an independent nation out of the control of Western powers, particularly the United States. The United States was forcefully creating new cultural identities and Westernized lifestyles, which some Iranians viewed as a security concern …

Review Of The Shoemaker And The Tea Party: Memory And The American Revolution, Chrishon Campbell

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Book Review

The Eagle’S Rise: Napoleon Bonaparte’S First Campaign And The Birth Of Napoleonic Warfare, Berke Gursoy

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Traditionally, the study of Napoleonic warfare has been approached through the lens of the massive battles of the French Empire and Emperor Napoleon, but little attention has been paid to those campaigns of General Bonaparte, specifically, on Napoleon’s first campaign, the Italian Campaign. This paper argues that the Italian campaign should be understood not only amongst Napoleon’s greatest but amongst history’s greatest demonstrations of the art of war. This thesis is advanced by an overview of the core elements of Napoleonic warfare and a demonstration of their implementation in Italy. Using both primary and secondary sources, this paper conducts an …

Soviet Germans And Soviets Living In Germany During The Second World War, Artur Kalandarov

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

In response to Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22nd, 1941, Stalin ordered the deportation of millions of ethnic Germans residing near the Eastern Front into Central Asia. This decision represented a swift change in the Soviet Union’s treatment of the sizable German population that had lived in Russia since the reign of Katherine the Great. Simultaneously, as Nazi Germany expanded its territory, Hitler’s regime had to deal with a massive influx of Soviet citizens into the Third Reich. This paper explores the change in treatment of ethnic Germans living in the USSR (commonly referred to as Soviet …

The United States In The Great War And The Alternate History Of The Twentieth Century, Matthew Anstatt

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

The events of the twentieth century were undoubtedly some of the most significant in human history. Exponentially increasing levels of military technology combined with antiquated methods of peacekeeping and archaic systems of government in Europe meant that by the middle of the century the world would see international conflict on an unprecedented scale. This paper aims to examine the role of United States in these events and to question, with the benefit of hindsight, whether the path taken by the Wilson administration was the most prudent.

Review Of War Of Annihilation: Combat And Genocide On The Eastern Front, 1941, Peter Kropf

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Book Review

Linguistic Isolation: Ferdinand De Saussure’S Linguistic Theory And The Implications For Historiography, Luke Neilson

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

“Linguistic Isolation” concerns the confluence of historical description and language. This essay explores the influence of Ferdinand de Saussure on facticity and description in historiography, arguing that de Saussure’s linguistic theory of significant, signifie, and difference pose problems for any historical account which attempts to describe the past as it actually occurred. Specifically, if we grant de Saussure’s linguistic theory for historical narratives, we are forced to abandon meta-historical entities and concepts, to impose non-empirical interpretive categories on data-sets, limit historical evidences to extremely small data sets, and, perhaps, to abandon the discipline of history altogether. Finally, the essay suggests …

Thucydides On Strength And Justice In The Melian And Mytilenian Debates, Molly Wancewicz

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

Thucydides’History of the Peloponnesian War provides incisive historical analysis of the 5th-century BC clash between the Athenian and Spartan alliances. Through his depiction of the Mytilenian debate and the Melian dialogue, Thucydides analyzes prioritization of self-interest, and more specifically, the idea that might makes right. Thucydides’ discussion of these topics indicates that he largely disagrees with the positions taken by the Athenians in these debates.

The Proving Ground: The Decline Of Slavery And The Emergence Of Black Codes In Antebellum Delaware, Justin Muchnick

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

This paper focuses on the oft-neglected First State in the pre-Civil War years. It explores the economic and social factors in Delaware through the first half of the nineteenth century that led to widespread voluntary emancipation of slaves in the state without resulting in the official legal abolition of the institution of slavery. From here, this paper shows how this strange tension created an environment hospitable to some of the nation’s first black codes, which can be seen as ideological forerunners to postwar systems of racial control such as vagrancy laws and convict leasing in the Deep South.