United States History | Open Access Articles

Index To Hulda Beckley Fitzsimons Interview, Melvin Van Hurck

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

This index provides a time-stamped overview of the subjects discussed during an oral history interview with Hulda (Beckley) Fitzsimons, Linfield College class of 1944.

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Private Confederacies: A Review, Olivia Ortman, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

For generations, notable scholars such as Gerald Linderman, Reid Mitchell and Joseph Glatthaar, have tried to understand the experience of common Civil War soldiers. With Private Confederacies, James J. Broomall makes a penetrating dive into the emotional world of elite male slaveholders, focusing on how the Civil War, emancipation, and Reconstruction affected their personal lives, emotional expressions, and gender identities. He argues that white Southern men struggled to process their wartime experiences due to societal expectations of male self-restraint. To overcome such expectations regarding their self-expression they created soldier communities that they could rely upon for emotional support and …

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Richards, Frances, 1893-1991 - Letters To (Sc 3429), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3429. Letters to WKU faculty member Frances Richards, written by various WKU colleagues both before and after her retirement. Presidents Henry Hardin Cherry and Dero Downing express their esteem and friendship; Earl A. Moore and Josephine (Cherry) Lowman write thank-you notes (the latter’s includes the text of an interview with her); history professor A. M. Stickles invites her to a dinner; and Gayle Carver writes mostly of the health of retired art professor Ivan Wilson.

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Roberts, Elizabeth Madox, 1881-1941 - Relating To (Sc 3425), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3425. Notes by an unidentified individual of an interview of author Elizabeth Madox Roberts. Apparently sent to WKU student Paul Wharton from Roberts’ home city of Springfield, Kentucky, the notes recount her comments on her novels The Time of Man and He Sent Forth a Raven, and on the title of her most recent book, Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair.

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Odum, Daisy Dean, 1877-1969 (Sc 3426), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3426. Letter, 19 August 1961, to WKU faculty member Frances Richards from Daisy Odum. She recounts a ghost story from DeKalb County, Tennessee, involving her nephew and the reaction of his horse to the sight of a spectral figure.

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Kentucky Heritage Commission - Frankfort, Kentucky (Sc 3430), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Mansucripts Small Collection 3430. Letters and reports sent to Frances Richards, Franklin Kentucky, in her capacity as Simpson County representative for the Kentucky Heritage Commission’s Statewide Survey of Historic Sites. Includes letters explaining the project, completed survey forms documenting six historic buildings in Simpson County, and the Commission’s report of its major accomplishments for 1972-1973. Also includes a program on the history of the Kentucky Governor’s mansion, prepared by the Daughters of the American Revolution in opposition to a proposal to convert it to another use.

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Wood, Mary Anne (Sc 3427), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3427. Letters to retired WKU faculty member Frances Richards from former student Mary Anne Wood. She reports on her health, earning a master’s degree in 1970, and her work for Kentucky Educational Television.

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Kentucky Sesquicentennial Commission (Sc 3424), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3424. Letter, 31 January 1941, to WKU faculty member Frances Richards from the Secretary of the Kentucky Sesquicentennial Commission, inviting her to a radio broadcast in Louisville, Kentucky featuring the Governor and Commission Chairman. The letterhead lists the Commission members.

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Downing, Joseph Dudley, 1925-2007 (Sc 3428), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3428. Letter to WKU faculty member Frances Richards from artist and Kentucky native Joe Downing, Paris, France, regretting his inability to see her during a 1962 visit to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Includes various notices and catalogs of Downing’s art exhibits.

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Timmons, James Aloysia, 1836-1902 (Sc 3434), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3434. Letter, 18 March 1869, of James A. Timmons, Bowling Green, Kentucky, to A. T. Stewart. The struggling schoolmaster implores Stewart, a wealthy New York merchant and fellow native of Ireland, to help him save his home from judicial sale and support his vocation “instructing the poor Irish children of this place.” He anticipated repaying Stewart in three years out of the tuition from his American students and what little the Irish students can pay. He enclosed the notice of Commissioner’s sale of his house pursuant to …

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Denied To Serve: Gay Men And Women In The American Military And National Security In World War Ii And The Early Cold War, Gianni Barbera

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Gay men and women have existed in the United States and in the armed forces much longer than legally and socially permitted. By World War II, a cultural shift began within the gay communities of the United States as thousands of gay men and women enlisted in the armed forces. Military policies barred gay service members by reinforcing stereotypes that gay men threatened the wellbeing of other soldiers. Such policies fostered the idea that only particular kinds of men could adequately serve. There were two opposing outcomes for the service of returning gay and lesbian veterans. For many hiding their …

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Learning In The Light Of Freedom: The Mississippi Freedom Schools Of 1964, Emma E. Appleton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper investigates the “freedom schools” of the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964. It argues through a combination of a powerfully designed curriculum, the implementation of student-centered pedagogy, and a focus on relationship building and personal efficacy, freedom school students were given the skills and confidence needed to become young leaders in their communities and bring change to Mississippi. Through this paper, I hope to encourage current educators apply freedom school principles and practices in their own classrooms to inspire our students in the same way.

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The History Of Lizzie Borden: Burying The Axe, Christian Ford

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In 1892, a wealthy Massachusetts couple, Andrew and Abby Borden, were hacked to death during broad daylight in the comfort of their own home. A few weeks later Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter from his first marriage, was arrested for double homicide. Newspapers across the country took hold of the story from the very first day; a wealthy, white, woman being accused of murder was no ordinary affair. For the next year, the nation was gripped to the news as the case revealed an everlasting list of strange characters and showed the dark underbelly of the small industrial city of Fall …

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A War Of Frustration: Saddam Hussein’S Use Of Nerve Gas On Civilians At Halabja (1988) And The American Response, Christopher Huber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The large-scale use of chemical weapons in conflict dates to World War I, but international regulations kept its use in check until Saddam Hussein’s decision to implement it throughout the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. The consistent use of poison gas and repeated lack of international intervention allowed Saddam to murder thousands of Kurdish citizens in Halabja on March 16, 1988. This paper admits Saddam Hussein committed heinous acts of human rights violations and war crimes, but argues he was forced to make these horrific decisions by an unyielding adversary in the Ayatollah Khomeini, abandoned by an ineffective United Nations …

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“A Life Stripped Of Humanity”: Using The Buffalo Department Store Strike Of 1913 As A Case Study Of Abused Pre-World War I Female Department Store Workers, Kyle Thaine

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

When one considers the movement of women into the labor force, images of Rosie the Riveter, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, or New England textile mills are often conjured. But many women entered the workforce through retail employment, seemingly a much better work environment. Considering awful workplace conditions, these retail women workers are often overlooked. This paper argues that pre-World War I era female department store workers were an abused class that suffered as much as many of their female contemporaries. The paper begins with a general discussion of women’s labor history up until 1913, with a focus on women in …

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The Transformation For Chinese Americans From Political Apathy To Activism: A Case Study On Manhattan Chinatown Tenants In 1970, Shouyue Zhang

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

This presentation will introduce the political participation of Chinese tenants in Manhattan Chinatown in the era of post-Civil Rights Movement. To strive for the self-determination of their communities, the “Model Minority” unprecedentedly participated in social movements named as “Asian American Movement” across the United States in the 1970s. This case study will describe the background, mobilization, and process of a demonstration against the telephone company‘s requisition of land located in Manhattan Chinatown from 1969 to 1970. Consequently, the telephone company was no longer mighty as real estate developers in the early stage of urban renewal, even making a concession to …

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Index To Roberta Schmalz Campbell Interview, Ruby Guyot

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

This index provides a time-stamped overview of the subjects discussed during an oral history interview with Roberta (Schmalz) Campbell, Linfield College class of 1949.

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Index To Tom Kilpatrick Interview, Melvin Van Hurck

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

This index provides a time-stamped overview of the subjects discussed during an oral history interview with Tom Kilpatrick, Linfield College class of 1948.

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Index To Jack Shannahan Interview, Elisia Harder

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

This index provides a time-stamped overview of the subjects discussed during an oral history interview with Erwin "Jack" Shannahan, Linfield College class of 1945.

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Miner Family Letters (Sc 3410), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3410. Letter, 7 March 1849, of Selden Miner and his wife Maria of Wethersfield, Illinois (formerly of Wethersfield, Connecticut) to Selden’s brother Samuel S. Miner and his wife Araminta in Maysville, Kentucky. Hearing of their plan to visit Illinois, they warn that Selden has “Gold fever” and may depart for California. An enthusiastic Selden details the preparations being made by others in the community, but admits his wife’s lack of support and asks Samuel’s advice. A skeptical Maria doubts the wisdom of the plan for several reasons and fears it will ruin the …

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Beeler, Andrew J., Jr., 1912-1998 (Sc 3418), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3418. Letters to WKU faculty member Frances Richards from A. J. Beeler, curriculum director for the Louisville, Kentucky public schools. A letter of 1 May 1946 encloses his list of recent Kentucky literature, and a letter of 3 January 1958 reports on his family and Christmas holiday. Includes his reviews of three books by Janice Holt Giles.

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Rennick, Robert M., 1932-2010 (Sc 3419), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3419. Letters, March 1972, to retired WKU faculty member Frances Richards and her sister Mary Ellen Richards, Franklin, Kentucky, from Robert M. Rennick of the University of Kentucky’s Prestonsburg Community College. Rennick outlines the objectives and methods of a national undertaking to survey all the place names of the United States and his work with a committee to ensure Kentucky’s participation. He requests their help in supervising the research and gathering of data from Simpson County. A second letter thanks Frances for her agreement to participate and …

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Goodman, Julian Byrn, 1922-2012 (Sc 3420), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3420. Letter, 12 September 1966, to retired WKU faculty member Frances Richards from Julian Goodman, president of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. The former student of Richards thanks her for attending his recent WKU commencement speech, praises her habit of maintaining correspondence with students, and remarks fondly on his days at WKU. He also promises to “try to give you more of those good dramatic programs you’d like to see.” Also includes a copy of a theme for Richards’ English class, apparently written by Goodman, that makes …

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Schools - Simpson County, Kentucky (Sc 3423), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3423. Report of a joint meeting to discuss proposals to merge the Independent School District of Franklin, Kentucky and the Simpson County (Kentucky) School District. Matters considered include a joint budget, tax rate, facilities, and costs per pupil. Includes data on high school enrollment for 1939-1940. The report concludes with a decision to reject the merger.

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Kentucky Historical Society - Frankfort, Kentucky (Sc 3422), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3422. Letters to retired WKU faculty member Frances Richards, Franklin, Kentucky, from the Kentucky Historical Society. Most relate to Simpson County’s participation in ceremonies and programs commemorating the 175th anniversary of Kentucky statehood. Includes Governor Edward T. Breathitt’s proclamation and calendars of statewide events. Also includes 1958 letters with biographical data from Secretary-Treasurer Charles F. Hinds, delivered in advance of his speaking engagement at WKU.

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Kentucky High School Speech League (Sc 3421), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3421. "Kentucky High School Speech League Bulletin," 24 January 1942, with a list of Kentucky literature, poetryand orations for use in speech festivals during Kentucky’s sesquicentennial celebrations; monograph titled “Kentucky Literature for Speech Contests,” possibly written by WKU faculty member Frances Richards, with suggested readings and commentary; and a 1947 bibliography of selections from Kentucky literature.

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Mapping Policy Issues: A Simple, Active-Learning Exercise For Critical Thinking, Richard Holtzman

History and Social Sciences Faculty Journal Articles

Many students in my undergraduate American politics courses struggle to see policy issues as complex. Too often, they get stuck making surface-level observations or jumping straight to personal opinions, falling far short of critical thinking. This article introduces an active-learning exercise—situational mapping—that provokes students to recognize and think critically about the complexities of policy issues such as immigration, abortion, campaign financing, and guns. Adapted from a grounded-theory research technique, the goals of this mapping exercise are to (1) help students see policy issues as messy, (2) encourage them to “wallow in complexity” rather than oversimplify, and (3) provoke them to …

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Diversity And Democracy At War: Analyzing Race And Ethnicity In Squad Films From 1940-1960, Lara K. Jacobson

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Both the Second World War and the Korean War presented Hollywood with the opportunity to produce combat films that roused patriotic spirit amongst the American people. The obvious choice was to continue making the popular squad films that portrayed a group of soldiers working together to overcome a common challenge posed by the war. However, in the wake of various racial and ethnic tensions consistently unfolding in the United States from 1940 to 1960, it became apparent to Hollywood that the nation needed pictures of unity more than ever, especially if America was going to win its wars. Using combat …

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Humanizing The Enslaved Of Fort Monroe’S Arc Of Freedom, William R. Kelly Jr.

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Fort Monroe, located in Hampton, Virginia, was a United States Army post until its deactivation in 2011. President Barack Obama proclaimed Fort Monroe a national monument due to its complex history, including its ties to slavery and emancipation. This paper outlines an ongoing research project designed to identify and humanize both the enslaved who helped build the fort and those who were declared as contraband there during the American Civil War. Housed in the National Archives and Records Administration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States Army Engineer Records from 1819 to 1866 is the main area of focus for this …

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Deposit Of W. S. Featherston's Presidential Proclamation

Documents

Certificate regarding deposit of W.S. Featherston's Presidential Proclamation, 7 September 1867.

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Full-Text Articles in United States History

Index To Hulda Beckley Fitzsimons Interview, Melvin Van Hurck

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

Private Confederacies: A Review, Olivia Ortman, Cameron T. Sauers

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Richards, Frances, 1893-1991 - Letters To (Sc 3429), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Roberts, Elizabeth Madox, 1881-1941 - Relating To (Sc 3425), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Odum, Daisy Dean, 1877-1969 (Sc 3426), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Kentucky Heritage Commission - Frankfort, Kentucky (Sc 3430), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Wood, Mary Anne (Sc 3427), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Kentucky Sesquicentennial Commission (Sc 3424), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Downing, Joseph Dudley, 1925-2007 (Sc 3428), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Timmons, James Aloysia, 1836-1902 (Sc 3434), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Denied To Serve: Gay Men And Women In The American Military And National Security In World War Ii And The Early Cold War, Gianni Barbera

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Learning In The Light Of Freedom: The Mississippi Freedom Schools Of 1964, Emma E. Appleton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The History Of Lizzie Borden: Burying The Axe, Christian Ford

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A War Of Frustration: Saddam Hussein’S Use Of Nerve Gas On Civilians At Halabja (1988) And The American Response, Christopher Huber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

“A Life Stripped Of Humanity”: Using The Buffalo Department Store Strike Of 1913 As A Case Study Of Abused Pre-World War I Female Department Store Workers, Kyle Thaine

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

The Transformation For Chinese Americans From Political Apathy To Activism: A Case Study On Manhattan Chinatown Tenants In 1970, Shouyue Zhang

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

Index To Roberta Schmalz Campbell Interview, Ruby Guyot

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

Index To Tom Kilpatrick Interview, Melvin Van Hurck

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

Index To Jack Shannahan Interview, Elisia Harder

Linfield University Public History Project: World War II as Experience and Memory

Miner Family Letters (Sc 3410), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Beeler, Andrew J., Jr., 1912-1998 (Sc 3418), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Rennick, Robert M., 1932-2010 (Sc 3419), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Goodman, Julian Byrn, 1922-2012 (Sc 3420), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Schools - Simpson County, Kentucky (Sc 3423), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Kentucky Historical Society - Frankfort, Kentucky (Sc 3422), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Kentucky High School Speech League (Sc 3421), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Mapping Policy Issues: A Simple, Active-Learning Exercise For Critical Thinking, Richard Holtzman

History and Social Sciences Faculty Journal Articles

Diversity And Democracy At War: Analyzing Race And Ethnicity In Squad Films From 1940-1960, Lara K. Jacobson

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

Humanizing The Enslaved Of Fort Monroe’S Arc Of Freedom, William R. Kelly Jr.

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Deposit Of W. S. Featherston's Presidential Proclamation

Documents