Political History Commons^™

Dreamcatcher From Mao's Last Revolution: My Venture Into Creative Social Documentary Video, Christopher Shea Howard

Student Publications

Dreamcatcher From Mao’s Last Revolution is a filmmaking venture into creative social documentary production undertaken by this filmmaker as his own experimental departure from narrative feature film production and the fiction genre. This thesis report not only describes aspects of this film production that are specific to the methodology of documentary film production, but also describes the film’s cinematic expression of memory and the filmmaker’s telling of the story. Some cinematic and conceptual aspects of the story are related to the film’s influences, specifically to those theoretical concepts and techniques employed by documentary filmmaker, Werner Herzog.

The documentary story is …

An Inquiry Into The Harshness Of German Colonialism In Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, Jessica Rohr

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis investigates German colonialism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It discusses the pressure and competition Germany experienced as neighboring countries also aggressively expanded and as Europe underwent massive and rapid industrial growth. It also analyzes the harshness Germany employed in colonizing foreign lands and the reasons for such measures, such as perceived racial and social superiority and economic need.

Vanguard Of The Right: The Department Of Education Battle, 1978-1979, Logan Michael Scisco

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Satisfying a campaign pledge to the National Education Association (NEA), President Jimmy Carter pushed for a federal Department of Education in 1978 and 1979. In the ensuing legislative battle, Carter confronted opposition from states’ rights, social, and religious conservatives that were beginning to form the nucleus of the New Right in the Republican Party. Using divisive racial and religious issues, these conservatives tried, and failed, to thwart the Department of Education project. Congressional testimony, the Carter administration’s internal documents, and newspaper editorials illustrate that the Department of Education battle foreshadowed the Reagan Revolution of 1980.

Realignment: Highways And Livability Policy In The Post-Interstate Era, 1978–2013, Michael R. Fein

Humanities Department Faculty Publications & Research

While federal policy makers have pursued “livable” communities since the late 1970s, they have rarely agreed on precisely what “livability” entailed and how best to achieve it. When U.S. Secretary of the Department of Transportation Ray LaHood promised in 2009 to make livability the hallmark of an ambitious interagency partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency—and, in the process, to undo long-standing patterns of auto-dependency—it appeared that LaHood was poised to shift American transportation policy in a bold new direction. And yet other policies, such as those that govern the alignment of highway …

The Heartland Of The Democracy: Presidential Politics In Oley Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1860-64, Benjamin Petersheim

Masters Theses

Oley Township, founded in 1740, in Berks County, Pennsylvania holds a special place in the commonwealth's history because of its unique religious, political, and cultural history. With hundreds of historic buildings and its Pennsylvania German heritage, the heart of the Oley Valley continues to attract colonial and Pennsylvania German historians from great distances so that they are able to analyze and research its rich heritage. Indeed, the area was designated as a National Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and much of the farmland has been preserved through land trusts and historical preservation efforts. Many …

Book Review Of A Companion To James Madison And James Monroe, Dinah Mayo-Bobee

ETSU Faculty Works

Review of A Companion to James Madison and James Monroe edited by Stuart Leibiger

The Power Of Corrupt Political Environments And Its Effects On Museums: A Look At Egypt’S Modern-Day ‘Indiana Jones’: Dr. Zahi Hawass, Christine Smith

History Theses

Egypt has been a nation plagued with political corruption since the early years of colonialism. After being under French and then British domination throughout the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century, the 1952 Revolution under Egypt’s Free Officers gave, Egypt a rare opportunity for independent political and cultural growth. Although change occurred politically―as seen in the Suez Crisis―Egypt’s antiquities remained stagnant and still under the influence of foreigners. Egypt’s antiquities were directly supervised by the British and the French until that time, but remained influenced even after the political revolution. There were few Egyptians involved in preservation …

The Political History Of Sugarcane-Based Ethanol In Brazil, Joshua Gagner

Political Science Theses and Capstones

With the Middle East putting an embargo on oil in 1973, oil prices ascended to levels that made importation of oil expensive. Brazil also faced another issue with sugar prices going down in 1973, putting much of their sugar supply on reserve. Brazil’s military government then made a decision to adopt the sugarcane-based ethanol program, Pro-Alcool. Pro-Alcool’s goal was to produce an alternative energy source to gasoline and take pressure off of oil importation. While initially intended to be a short-term fix, a second oil strike in 1979 pushed Pro-Alcool to higher levels. Oil industries were initially opposed to ethanol …

A Beacon Of Light: Tougaloo During The Presidency Of Dr. Adam Daniel Beittel (1960-1964), John Gregory Speed

Dissertations

This study examines leadership efforts that supported the civil rights movements that came from administrators and professors, students and staff at Tougaloo College between 1960 and 1964. A review of literature reveals that little has been written about the college‘s role in the Civil Rights Movement during this time. Thus, one goal of this study is to fill a gap in the historical record.

A second purpose of this study is to examine the challenges of progressive leadership at a historically Black college in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement when a White president was at the helm.

When Dr. …

Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, And Second Wave Feminism, Lauren A. Stealey

Honors Theses

The First Ladyship is an ambiguous, constitutionally undefined role. The women who have inhabited this role since Martha Washington have had to interpret this role in their own ways and encounter the scrutiny or approval of their country along the way. On this national stage, these women have influenced and been influenced by contemporary conceptions of American womanhood. National discussion shifted to focus prominently on the role of women particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, in the resurgence of an organized women’s rights movement known as Second Wave Feminism.

In this qualitative study, I focused on two First Ladies during …

Echoes Of Environmentalist Sensibilities: Exploring The Origins Of A Movement, Hannah Raines

Honors Theses

In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt demonstrated tremendous foresight by organizing a conference of state governors, congressmen, and Supreme Court justices to address what he considered “the weightiest problem” facing the United States: diminishing natural resources. In the gathering’s opening address, he articulated his concerns as follows: “The occasion for the meeting lies in the fact that the natural resources of our country are in danger of exhaustion if we permit the old wasteful methods of exploiting them longer to continue.” A year prior, in his annual address to Congress, Roosevelt stated, “Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to …

Black Radicals And Marxist Internationalism: From The Iwma To The Fourth International, 1864–1948, Charles R. Holm

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project investigates historical relationships between Black Radicalism and Marxist internationalism from the mid-nineteenth through the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that contrary to scholarly accounts that emphasize Marxist Euro-centrism, or that theorize the incompatibility of “Black” and “Western” radical projects, Black Radicals helped shape and produce Marxist theory and political movements, developing theoretical and organizational innovations that drew on both Black Radical and Marxist traditions of internationalism. These innovations were produced through experiences of struggle within international political movements ranging from the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century to the early Pan-African movements and struggles …

A Leatherneck In Congress: Melvin Maas's Fight For A Modern Marine Corps Reserve, Timothy A. Guill

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Melvin J. Maas was a Marine Corps officer, combat pilot, and member of Congress. Maas’s unique view of American defense in the Interwar Period led him to promote the modernization the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve, which resulted in the formation of a well trained pool of semi-professional personnel prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. This study first examines the evolution of the formation of the reserve system of the American Armed Forces during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in order to understand the state of the Marine Corps Reserve that Maas joined in 1925. …

An Assessment Of Ho Chi Minh’S Strategies For Gaining Support In The Vietnamese Revolution, Madeline Fraser

Young Historians Conference

Despite Americans’ awareness of Vietnam in the context of America’s crusade against communism, little attention is paid to Ho Chi Minh as a national revolutionary in the creation of an independent Vietnam. This paper addresses Ho Chi Minh’s tactics for inciting a revolutionary spirit in the Vietnamese people, particularly his blending of communism and nationalism. Although Ho was characterized as a fervent communist in the West, an examination of his strategies reveals a man who recognized the need to diversify his platform. Ho not only employed nationalistic propaganda, but also adopted fragments of varying political ideologies and appealed to the …

Upholding The Monroe Doctrine: American Foreign Policy In The 1954 Guatemalan Coup D'Etat, Nadjalisse C. Reynolds-Lallement

Young Historians Conference

During the Cold War era, the US developed resentment toward the democratically elected government of Guatemala due to fears of Soviet influence in Latin America and liberal reforms orchestrated by President Arbenz that limited the interference of large American corporations in the Guatemalan economy. In keeping with a long history of imperialistic foreign policy, this distrust resulted in the Eisenhower administration and the CIA conspiring to overthrow the Arbenz administration and setting up a new Guatemalan government designed to be more sympathetic to American interests.

"To The People Of New Orleans" Broadside, By John T. Monroe, April 25, 1862., John T. Monroe

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

In this item, a broadside about 12" x 18", Mayor of New Orleans John T. Monroe addresses the citizens of that city just prior to its capitulation in the American Civil War, April 25, 1862.

Naccs 41st Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Fragmented Landscapes in Chicana and Chicano Studies: Deliberation, Innovation or Extinction?
April 9-12, 2014
Hilton Salt Lake City Center

“No Baker’S Dozen Was Her Taste”: Rhode Island, Ratification, And Rhetoric In American Constitutional History, Lucy Morroni

American Studies Forum

In 1787, Rhode Island refused to send any delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, becoming the only state to do so. From its early colonial beginnings, Rhode Island's unique status gave its residents the opportunity to develop equally unique attitudes about the nature of government. These attitudes, however, also made the colony particularly susceptible to criticism from outside commentators. Over time, this criticism hardened Rhode Island's individualist, self-reliant determination to resist outside control, which ultimately resulted in the refusal to send delegates to the Convention and later continued refusal to ratify the Constitution until 1790. As Rhode Island's dissidence …

Madison’S Memorial And Remonstrance, Jefferson’S Statute For Religious Liberty, And The Creation Of The First Amendment, Mark Hall

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

Jurists, scholars, and popular writers routinely assert that the men who framed and ratified the First Amendment were influenced by James Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance (1785) and Thomas Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Liberty (1786). In this essay I demonstrate that there is little evidence to support these claims. Because these documents represent only one approach to church-state relations in the era, jurists and others who believe that the religion clauses should be interpreted in light of the founders’ views need to look well beyond these texts if they want to understand the First Amendment’s “generating history.”

Throwing The Switch: Eisenhower, Stevenson And The African-American Vote In The 1956 Election, Lincoln M. Fitch

Student Publications

This paper seeks to contextualize the 1956 election by providing a summary of the African American political alignment during the preceding half-century. Winning a greater portion of the black vote was a central tenant of the 1956 Eisenhower Campaign strategy. In the 1956 election a substantial shift occurred among the historically democratic black electorate. The vote shifted because of disillusionment with the Democrats and Eisenhower’s civil rights record. The swing however, was less pronounced for Republican congressional candidates. This paper draws upon extensive primary material, including countless newspapers, magazines, the NAACP Papers, and published primary sources to form the core …

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.

"Heal Their Land": Evangelical Political Theology From The Great Awakening To The Moral Majority, Joseph D. Harder

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the 1970s, a movement arose among white American evangelicals and fundamentalists that has been labeled variously as the “Christian Right,” or more broadly, “the Religious Right.” While they had not been entirely apolitical in the middle decades of the twentieth century, in the 1970s many theologically conservative Protestants began to organize specifically around their religious concerns, forming a number of groups—of which the Moral Majority was the best-known—in an effort to “bring the nation back to God.” They also moved to the political right, joining forces with “New Right” activists who were seeking to push the Republican Party in …

'An Explosive Of Quite Unimaginable Force': Did Werner Heisenberg Obstruct German Atomic Bomb Research?, Aaron G. Noll

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

Why was Nazi Germany unable to acquire an atomic bomb during World War II? An answer to this question necessarily involves an analysis of the wartime conduct of Werner Heisenberg. As the undisputed leader of German nuclear research, Heisenberg was integral to the successful production of a bomb. Heisenberg claimed after the war that the Nazis lacked the economic resources for this project. Moreover, Nazi military strategy ruled out such a sustained long-term commitment in armaments development. Heisenberg explained that he personally felt fortunate that these circumstances prevented Hitler from having a bomb. He argued that he merely “pretended” to …

American Indian Activism And The Rise Of Red Power, Rachael Guadagni

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

Recent historical scholarship has determined that the socio-political environment of post-World War II America provided the necessary catalyst for Native American activism which when combined with the socio-political atmosphere of the civil rights era lead to the development of the Red Power Movement. In the thirty or so years immediately following World War II America witnessed profound social and political change. Initial fear of communism lead to strict, pro-capitalist Indian legislation resulting in the termination of hundreds of tribes and the relocation of countless Indian people. From this same environment rose strong leaders, including many veterans, influenced by Cold War …

A Case Study Of Melita Maschmann: Women And The Third Reich, Lynda Maureen Willett

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

The case study of Melita Maschmann shows that despite the deep manipulation and gender discrimination she was subject to in her youth by National Socialism Maschmann made her own free choices as an adult and chose to zealously absorb its political ideology. The general assumption is that National Socialism, and fascism, were male dominated political ideologies in which women played a passive role, such as that professed by Gertrude Scholtz-Klink. However, many women found National Socialism appealing and became active supporters of its ideals. The purpose of this paper is to explore that appeal and analyze why certain women such …

Teaching Preeminence In Renaissance Florence: Leonardo Bruni’S Translation And Dedication Of Pseudo-Aristotle’S Economics, Jason F. Amato

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

Renaissance scholars consider Leonardo Bruni’s translation of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Economics, a work dedicated to Cosimo de’ Medici in 1420, the beginning of the Italian humanists’ interaction with newly readable Greek sources. The text was among the first Greek documents Westerners embraced and translated into Latin or the vernacular of the Quattrocento. Thus, it played a significant role in the revival of the ancient Greek language amongst humanists, which was largely lost since the fall of the Roman Empire. However, this paper argues that Bruni’s translation of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Economics also represents the utilization of an important Roman source: Seneca …

Introduction To Against Harmony: Radical Buddhism In Thought And Practice, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Zen And The Art Of Treason: Radical Buddhism In Meiji Era (1868–1912) Japan, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

In the early decades of the twentieth century, as Japanese society became engulfed in war and increasing nationalism, the majority of Buddhist leaders and institutions capitulated to the status quo. At the same time, there was a stream of ‘resistance’ among a few Buddhist figures, both priests and laity. These instances of progressive and ‘radical Buddhism’ had roots in late Edo-period peasant revolts, the lingering discourse of early Meiji period liberalism, trends within Buddhist reform and modernisation and the emergence in the first decade of the twentieth century of radical political thought, including various forms of socialism and anarchism. This …

When To “Open It” Only Meant Untying The Pyjama Strings: Partition And Narrativity Gone Astray, Sarbani Banerjee

Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Conference

My paper studies how brevity manifested itself through a complete breakdown of language system in reaction to the animosity circumscribing the Partition of India. I look into Sadaat Hasan Manto’s selected Urdu short stories to demonstrate how the pared off pattern of writing coupled with creation of specific information lapses helps to project hostility in its denuded form. The dark side of language emerges through minimum clarification, where the unedited picture of gruesome carnage becomes the lone guarantor of informal accounts, generating perspectives that had hitherto been rebuffed by the selective versions of mainstream history.

Through his economization of words, …

The Avenger - March 2014, Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum

The Avenger

No abstract provided.