History Commons^™

Righteousness, Reservation, Remembrance: Freedom-Loving Whites, Freedom-Seeking Blacks, And The Societies They Formed In Adams County, Brandon Roos

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On the border between slave society and free society a collection of ideologies mixed. The residents of Adams County, even before its inception on January 22, 1800, lived in a state of division that swirled and crashed against the omnipresent slavery conundrum. The "New World Renaissance" swept through Adams County in the 1830s bringing schools, public works, businesses, and most culturally significant, new ideas. These ideas would prove to be the fount from which flowed the waters of reform. As the first settlers had made good use of the physical creeks and streams that dotted their pastoral landscape, so too …

"Moses In Retirement": Andrew Johnson, 1869-1876, Evan Rothera

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On March 4, 1869, a tailor from Greeneville, Tennessee, who began his political life as an alderman and then mayor of Greeneville, who served in both houses of the State Legislature and both Houses of Congress, who served as the Governor of Tennessee and later the wartime Governor of Tennessee, who was elected to the vice-presidency of the United States, and, by the bullet of an assassin, made President of the United States, gave his Farewell Address. A few days later, he slunk out of Washington, D.C., and began his long journey home. Henry H. Ingersoll wrote to Johnson on …

"What Good Can There Be In This Kind Of Human?" Spanish Justification For The Conquest Of The Americas, John R. Pittenger

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

The Spanish conquest of the Americas was one of the most brutal episodes in human history. Entire cultures of American natives were suppressed, murdered, raped, and enslaved by Spanish conquistadors on an incessant quest for precious metals and other material wealth. The devastation wrought upon the natives was so great that some Spaniards felt that what they were doing violated God's will and was naturally and morally wrong, but they were vastly outnumbered. The majority saw it as their right, duty, and privilege to conquer and subject these millions of people to Spanish rule. Since they were trying to justify …

'A Beautiful Dream Realized': John S. Rice And The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Of The Battle Of Gettysburg, Brian Matthew Jordan

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

"We have real cause for being proud of our past and the heritage it has given us ... We have a rich past ... along with this heritage we have had thrust upon us a deep responsibility," John S. Rice said in 1959. Indeed, it was the same sense of deep responsibility that had motivated him in anticipation of 1938. That year marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the cataclysmic, three-day battle that was waged in the fields and farm lanes surrounding the seat of his native Adams County, Pennsylvania. Rice's cognizance of the importance not only of the Battle of …

"With Malice Towards None": The Springfield, Illinois Race Riot Of 1908, Andrew Carlson

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On Saturday, March 4th, 1865, a tall man with dark, tussled hair and a beard, dressed in a large great coat with top hat removed, stood on the portico of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., addressing the large crowd that had gathered to hear him speak. These civilians crowded near to the balcony, not only to hear the speaker but also to fend off the cold, leftover from the rain of the preceding weeks. After briefly discussing the issues of civil war and slavery, he appealed to the Almighty for assistance and closed with these now familiar lines: "With …

The Question Of Morality In Relations Between The United States And Huerta's Government, Ashley Towle

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

The presidency of General Victoriano Huerta was one of the darker times in the history of the Mexican Revolution. Often described as a ruthless dictator, Huerta went to extreme measures to maintain power, even going as far as to assassinate those who opposed his rule. Senator Belisario Dominguez was one of those men who opposed Huerta's right to the presidency, and was assassinated after speaking out against the dictator. The series of events following the senator's murder did not affect just Mexico; the repercussions of Huerta's actions were felt in Europe and the United States. As a result of Huerta's …

Letter From The Editor, Rachel Burg

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

For the seventh time, the Gettysburg Historical Journal of Gettysburg College put out a call for the submissions to the annual journal, and once again, the Journal received a large number of outstanding student compositions on the topic of history. This year in particular, the editorial board faced a daunting task in deciding which submissions were the best of the best.

Front Matter

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Front Matter of the Gettysburg Historical Journal 2008.

Gettysburg Historical Journal 2008

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Complete issue of The Gettysburg Historical Journal 2008.

Political Gridlock:The Ongoing Threat To American Democracy, Jalen A. Campbell

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

My paper answers the question: What are the origins of extreme political gridlock in the United States government and how can it be solved? I use quantitative research in order to measure the exact periods of split government and I note its effect on the probability of enacting legislation. The qualitative research highlights the key factors that leading to the increase of political gridlock from 1964-2016. From my case study, I argue political gridlock has increased because of ideological shifts in voters and politicians between 1980 and 1992, voting system imbalances, and critical political and economic events. I conclude with …

Gettysburg College Journal Of The Civil War Era 2020

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editors, Cameron T. Sauers, Zachary A. Wesley

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

"Some Personal Coloring." Examining The Falsehoods Of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain At Gettysburg, Hans G. Myers

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

An examination of the myths of the Battle of Gettysburg relating to Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine on Little Round Top. Examines the roots of several misconceptions relating to the fighting on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863.

Robert Smalls And The Steamship Planter: Turning The Tides For The Union Military In The Civil War, William K. Donaldson

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This paper addresses the accomplishments of the slave Robert Smalls and his absconding with the valuable Confederate steamship, the Planter, from the Charleston, South Carolina harbor in the early morning hours of May 13th, 1862. Smalls went on to become a pilot and eventual captain of ships for the Union contributing substantially to the Civil War effort. After the war, Smalls became a Congressman. Through his contributions, Robert Smalls left an indelible mark on the history of the United States.

The Unspoken Demands Of Slavery: The Exploitation Of Female Slaves In The Memphis Slave Trade, Sarah W. Eiland

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

In the antebellum South, exploitation and mistreatment characterized the plight of the female slave. In Memphis, the story remained unchanged. The abusive and exploitative nature of the Memphis slave trade emerges through high prices for particular female slaves, the growth of the mulatto population, and the existence of mulatto children from certain prominent local figures. The survival of slavery depended upon the ability of the domestic slave population to sustain itself through the female slave population. This view of bondswomen as natural breeders and the accessibility of enslaved females in an urban setting, subjected them to sexual violence and exploitation. …

Frances Peter: A Loyal Woman Of Kentucky, Erica Uszak

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Frances Peter, a young epileptic woman, supported the Union in her divided town of Lexington, Kentucky. Although her family owned several slaves, she came to support the federal government’s emancipation policy and clearly distinguished her middle class Unionist family from the elite secessionist Southerners. She fiercely attacked the secessionist women in her community, criticizing them as hypocritical and unchristian. She took a more sympathetic tone in her view of Confederate troops, believing them to be uneducated, lower class men who had been duped by wealthy Southern politicians. Nevertheless, she condemned both groups for turning their backs on the Constitution, as …

“When This Cruel War Is Over”: The Blurring Of The Confederate Battlefront And Homefront During The Civil War, Sophie Hammond

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The line dividing the Confederate battlefront and homefront was always extremely blurred, and this blurring, though initially a source of strength, contributed significantly to the South losing the Civil War. While fighting the war, the Confederacy faced a terrible handicap which the Union did not: the vast majority of the war's battles happened on its own soil. At first, this situation galvanized Southerners. But as the war dragged on, concern for their families as well as the very real costs of war—Confederate soldiers were nearly three times as likely to die as Union soldiers—encouraged a total of around 103,000 Confederates …

The Warrior As Priest: Edmund Herring And The "Call To The People Of Australia", Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Prominent for his role in World War II in New Guinea, Sir Edmund Herring grew discouraged about his countrymen’s failure to sustain wartime spirit in a post-war era. In his view ‘faith and courage’ had been replaced by a national ethos of ‘gimme and get’. Charged by Prime Minister Robert Menzies with leading a national awakening, particularly as related to the threat of international communism, in 1951 Herring spearheaded a fervent ‘Call to the People of Australia’, which earned massive publicity, short-term engagement by up to a third of the population, but little long-term impact. To Herring’s frustration, a largely …

Speaker Interview: The Civil War In The West, Ashley Whitehead Luskey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Her new book, The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West, will be published by Scribner in February 2020. This project was the recipient of a 2017 NEH Public Scholar Award and a Filson Historical Society Fellowship. Nelson is the author of two previous books: Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War (Georgia, 2012) and Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee Swamp (2005). She has also written about the Civil War, the U.S. West, and American …

Review Of Pandora's Box: A History Of The First World War, Ian A. Isherwood

Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty Publications

Perhaps the gravest difficulty with any single volume book on the Great War is taming the war's complexities while still maintaining a degree of nuance and insight that goes beyond the temptation for simplification. Indeed, the war's scale itself makes this task even more unmanageable. How can an author possibly offer a nuanced treatment that takes into consideration a war fought on three continents, not to mention, the political and social realities on the war's many home fronts and the changing dynamics of differing and complex societies under strain? To be comprehensive is an impossible task especially given the wealth …

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2019, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

From the Dean (Robin Wagner)

Library News

• Cite and Bite Workshops
• Open Access Week (Janelle Wertzberger, Alecea Standlee, Hana Huskic)
• Notes at Noon
• Friends Sponsor Guild Participation (Mary Wootton)
• Stop the Bleed
• The Wall Must Go
• Story Time
• Table to Farm
• Pop-up Library
• Take the Reading Challenge
• 1,000,000
• Grant to Digitize Asian Art

Vietnam Oral Histories (Ron Bailey '67, Sue Hill '67, Michael Birkner, Devin McKinney)

Alexander von Humboldt's Secretary (William Bowman)

Focus on Philanthropy: Walter Miller Trust

A Gift in 3 Dimensions (Richard C. Ryder '70)

Remembering Richard Ryder '70 (Michael Birkner)

New Externship - Careers in Library and …

The Gettysburg Campaign, Carol Reardon

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The Battle of Gettysburg has inspired a more voluminous literature than any single event in American military history for at least three major reasons. First, after three days of fighting on July 1–3, 1863, General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and Major General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac lost more than 51,000 dead, wounded, captured, and missing, making Gettysburg the costliest military engagement in North American history. Second, President Abraham Lincoln endowed Gettysburg with special distinction when he visited in November 1863 to dedicate the soldiers’ cemetery and delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. Finally, Gettysburg …

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 …

The Actions And Reactions Of Trajan And Decebalus: A Brief Reconsidering Of The Causation Of The Dacian Wars, Wesley C. Cline

Student Publications

While one camp of historians have followed the words of Cassias Dio, that Trajan began the war to avenge the defeats of his predecessor Domitian and put down the ever growing power of the Dacians and subsequently was forced to fight a second war which was inevitably for conquest, the other camp argues that Trajan aimed for military glory and sought to conquer Dacia from the onset of hostilities. Neither camp has yet to conclusively utilize Decebalus’ and Trajan’s actions as a way to definitively prove their argument. By analyzing these two military leaders’ orders and strategies, it becomes clear …

Secrecy In The American Revolution, Abigail N. Minzer

Student Publications

This paper analyzes how the use of various cryptographic and cryptanalytic techniques affected the American Revolution. By examining specific instances of and each country's general approaches to cryptography and cryptanalysis, it is determined that America's use of these techniques provided the rising nation with a critical advantage over Great Britain that assisted in its victory.

From The Shire To The Somme: Comparing Military Themes In The Hobbit And Up To Mamtez, Alexander M. Remington

Student Publications

The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien, tells the story of the titular Bilbo Baggins who goes on an adventure to help a band of dwarves retake their home from a dragon. Throughout the adventure, Bilbo and the dwarves endure many hardships similar to those of a British soldier fighting on the western front in the First World War. These hardships are especially comparable to Llewelyn Wyn Griffith's World War One experience described in his book Up to Mametz. Military themes of enforced adventure, constant and escalating danger, comradeship, and the devastation of war can also be found in both the Hobbit …

The Constant Struggle Of Life And Death During The Siege Of Leningrad, Anastasia N. Semenov

Student Publications

In 1941 during the Second World War, Hitler began Operation Barbarossa, in which he invaded the Soviet Union in order to repopulate it with Germans and expand German territory. The city of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, was one of Hitler’s main objectives because if Leningrad fell to the Germans, they would then be able to go south and capture Moscow, which would possibly lead them to win the war. Additionally, Leningrad was a Baltic seaport, which was useful for trade, and it was home to some of the USSR’s main munition factories. When Germany attacked Leningrad, the people of the …

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 …

Ashley Luskey, Assistant Director Of The Civil War Institute, Musselman Library, Ashley Whitehead Luskey

Next Page

In this first Next Page column of the new academic year, Ashley Luskey, Assistant Director of the Civil War Institute, shares which weathered volume she reads each October, her favorite book from her 9th grade English class, and explains her long-time fascination with Varina Davis, wife of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.