United States History Commons^™

Looking Ahead To The 2018 Pohanka Internship Program, Ryan Bilger

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

This summer, 21 Gettysburg College students will head to the front lines of public history through the Brian C. Pohanka Internship Program. From Andersonville National Historic Site to Minute Man National Historical Park, these interns will carry forward the legacy of the late Brian C. Pohanka, while also developing their own skills in the field of public history. Brian Pohanka was an avid student of the Civil War who shared his love of the past through presenting and reenacting, as some of the interns who bear his name will do this summer. They will work at some of the sites …

Miller, George W., B. 1843? (Sc 3220), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3220. Letter, 19 January 1863, of George W. Miller to his sister. In camp at Bowling Green, Kentucky, the unhappy soldier writes of the threat of death from battle and disease, of “tyrannical” officers, and of a debt owed to him at home. He is angered to learn that an uncle in Fostoria, Ohio is a secessionist. He also mentions his brother Jacob’s engagement in a “big fight” lasting five days.

Webster, Mrs. William - Letter To (Sc 3221), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3221. Letter, October 1864, written by “Ann” to her sister, Mrs. William Webster in Lorain County, Ohio, apparently after leaving home to join her husband Ed, stationed at a garrison in Columbus, Kentucky. Ann writes of her recent illness and the frequency of sickness in women coming from the North; of Ed’s military duties; of a “boy” back home; and of her lack of fear when alarms are raised at the garrison. In an apparent reference to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, she doubts that he will …

Clarence Irving And The Rediscovery Of Black America, Robert D. Parmet

Publications and Research

Clarence L. Irving, Sr., a retired machinist, founded an archive of African American music at York College, CUNY. He also managed and coached a New York City sandlot baseball team, the Bisons, and conceived the idea of placing the images of African American women on United States postage stamps.

To Be Everything: Sylvia Plath And The Problem That Has No Name, Alanna P. Mcauliffe

Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores, in depth, how the poetry of Sylvia Plath operates as an expression of female discontent in the decade directly preceding the sexual revolution. This analysis incorporates both sociohistorical context and theory introduced in Betty Friedan’s 1963 work The Feminine Mystique. In particular, Plath’s work is put in conversation with Friedan’s notion of the “problem that has no name,” an all-consuming sense of malaise and dissatisfaction that plagued American women in the postwar era. This notion is furthered by close-readings of poems written throughout various stages of Plath’s career (namely “Spinster,” “Two Sisters of Persephone,” “Elm,” “Ariel,” “Daddy,” …

The Home Front: The Experience Of Soldiers And Civilians In The Louisiana Maneuvers Of 1940 And 1941, John G. D'Antoni

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the years before and during World War II, the United States Army conducted a series of military maneuvers in north-central Louisiana. The two biggest maneuvers occurred in May 1940 and September 1941. The Louisiana Maneuvers are credited with helping to prepare the U.S. armed forces for World War II. Previous studies of the 1940 and 1941 maneuvers have focused on the day-to-day activities during the maneuvers or the generals behind the maneuvers. This study will focus on the impacts of the maneuvers on the soldiers themselves and on the citizens of north-central Louisiana who lived in the maneuver area. …

Both Sides Of The Barbed Wire: Lives Of German Prisoners Of War And African Americans In Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, 1944-1946, Claire Delucca

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Located outside of Alexandria, Louisiana, Camp Claiborne was temporarily home to more than 500,000 U.S. servicemen and women during its short existence. Thousands of German prisoners of war also were held for more than two years in a section of the camp. Racial problems stemming from the policies of Jim Crow South and the blatant inequality eventually led to an African American mutiny within the camp. The events from 1944 to 1946 at Camp Claiborne provide insight into the mindsets of white Southerners and the generation of African Americans who would influence the major civil rights victories in the following …

Your Commencement Weekend Guide To Visiting Gettysburg, Abigail K. Major

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Commencement weekend is nearing, which has inspired us to compile a list of Civil War activities and programs you can take part in during your visit. The following events and activities are suitable whether you are a Civil War buff, general history enthusiast, or are just curious about learning more about the Civil War. [excerpt]

Spalding, Delphina, B. 1845? (Sc 3218), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3218. Affidavit, 3 October 1887, of Delphina Spalding in support of a charge against Ned Spalding, Marion County, Kentucky for “unlawfully killing, disfiguring, injuring and maiming” a hog belonging to Delphina’s husband Dick Spalding.

To Remain Near The "Water Ditch," Paiute Sovereignty And United States Settler Colonialism, Owens Valley, California, 1870-1937, Lee Murray Hanover

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis argues that Owens Valley Paiute sovereignty manifested itself both inherently and adaptively from 1870 to 1937. Sovereignty is an historically contingent term that reflects how nations deploy power to retain control over their communities and provide self-determination within economics, politics, culture, and society. This thesis illuminates Paiute sovereignty through the Peoplehood model, explaining how Paiute sovereignty existed at the moment of their creation, when Coyote placed them next to the Water Ditch—Owens River—and told them to spread throughout but never leave their homeland, the Owens Valley. This inherent mandate allowed Paiutes to adapt Coyote’s stipulation to remain in …

"The Only People Who Can Get Aids-Are People": The Aids Crisis In Mainstream Crisis, 1981-1995, Franklin Howard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the representation of the AIDS crisis and People with AIDS (PWAs) in comics produced by mainstream publishing companies in America. Between 1988 and 1995, mainstream comic artists at DC Comics and Marvel Comics used their art to offer social commentary on the crisis. This commentary focused primarily on social issues like violence against PWAs and social ostracizing instead of the critiques of the Reagan Administration and medical institutions found in similar comics produced by activists in the queer communities. They provided education and advocated acceptance through their character’s actions and dialogue as well as in their own …

Outer Space In A Western Place: How Environmental Perceptions Of The American West Shaped The Space Race, William Marino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis analyzes how environmental perceptions of the American West at the intersections of nature and technology shaped vital decisions regarding the space race. The analysis is first contextualized by pervasive political ideologies of the Cold War, which elucidates how these firmly held beliefs turned into political actions and transformed the post-World War II arms race into the space race. The author next examines the technological sublime, an awe-inspiring experience arising in people when they view impressive feats of massive, powerful, human-built machines, in this case nuclear bombs, and rockets. Where the nuclear bomb’s destructive capabilities eventually turned many Americans …

Blackdom: Interpreting The Hidden History Of New Mexico's Black Town, Austin J. Miller

History ETDs

This master’s thesis recovers the history of Blackdom, New Mexico. Founded by an African American family from Georgia, Blackdom is a ghost town that existed in the early decades of the twentieth century near Roswell, New Mexico. Blackdom was initially imagined as both a refuge from the hostilities of Jim Crow society and as a for-profit enterprise. Entanglement in land-fraud scandals hindered the town’s early development, but Blackdom eventually grew to nearly three hundred residents, with its own school, Baptist church, post office, and general store. Blackdom settlers practiced a variety of agricultural methods, including dry farming and irrigation from …

A Slaughter Forgotten: A Reflection On The Wayside On Iverson’S Assault, Zachary A. Wesley

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Nearly every visitor to Gettysburg can easily point to Pickett’s Charge as the bloodiest loss the Confederates suffered on the field during the three days of fighting here. However, few know that another Confederate assault during the battle rivaled the horrendous casualty rates of July 3. On the afternoon of July 1, Brigadier General Alfred Iverson ordered his North Carolina brigade forward against the Federal positions on Oak Ridge, essentially sending them to their slaughter. [excerpt]

Old Union Church Of Christ - Sumner County, Tennessee (Sc 3216), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3216. Minute book of Old Union Church of Christ, Sumner County, Tennessee, also known as the Congregation Electa Cyrea. Includes an introductory narrative on the formation of the church, meeting minutes, members lists (white and African American), and lists of contributions and expenditures.

Memoirs Of The West Memphis Three: History, Heritage, And Literature, Haley Wimpy Fitzgerald

Student Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a two-part project. In the first half memoir is defined as “a book understood by its author, its publisher, and its readers to be a factual account of the author’s life.” The genre of memoir contributes to the historical understanding of an event or period, and this study examines the memoir in relation to how it affects both history and heritage. The heritage of a community or knowledge of an event is largely shaped by what is written or has been passed orally from generation to generation. This dissertation highlights how memoirs provide a perspective of an …

The Real Atlanta: Representations Of Black Southern Culture, Masculinity, And Womanhood As Seen In Season One Of The Fx Series Atlanta, Tamisha Nicole Askew

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

This project explores how the new FX original series, Atlanta, challenges previous notions of Blackness on American television. The series Atlanta delves into conversations on hip-hop and Black culture through what has been considered an authentic representation of Black Atlanta. This paper examines tropes of Southerness and perceived homophobia in hip-hop and Black culture while analyzing the way in which the series creators and producers create a dialogue on economic and social matters facing the Black Southern community in the city of Atlanta. Finally, this paper examines controlling images of Black women on American television to uncover the ways …

Postwar Churches Of Christ Mission Work: The Philippines As A Case Study, Brady Kal Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There was a large increase in the number of Churches of Christ missionaries and missionary efforts following World War II (WWII). There were also significant changes and developments in American religious culture following WWII—Churches of Christ were not exempt from these changes. This study examines the question of how postwar developments in American religion influenced missionary efforts of American Churches of Christ by looking at examples of American missionaries in the Philippines.

The study relies heavily on primary sources, including letters and news reports from archival collections, Churches of Christ periodicals, and email correspondence with people familiar with the main …

A Dagger Through The Heartland: The Louisville & Nashville Railroad In The Civil War, Gared N. Dalton

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The Civil War was a defining moment in American history. What began as a sectional debate over states’ rights transformed itself into a bloody odyssey that would alter the national character itself. Within the wide scope of this conflict, scholars have sought to answer the multifaceted question of how the Union triumphed, often citing the proficient management of the railways as a key contribution to victory. Within this logistical network of rails, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad served as a vital mode of transportation for supplies and troop mobility through the heartland states of Kentucky and Tennessee. The Union exploited …

Rewriting History: A Study Of How The History Of The Civil War Has Changed In Textbooks From 1876 To 2014, Skyler A. Campbell

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

History textbooks provide an interesting perspective into the views and attitudes of their respective time period. The way textbooks portray certain events and groups of people has a profound impact on the way children learn to view those groups and events. That impact then has the potential to trickle down to future generations, fabricating a historical narrative that sometimes avoids telling the whole truth, or uses selective wording to sway opinions on certain topics. This paper analyzes the changes seen in how the Civil War is written about in twelve textbooks dated from 1876 to 2014. Notable topics of discussion …

Condemning Colonization: Abraham Lincoln’S Rejected Proposal For A Central American Colony, Matthew Harris

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This article focuses on a proposal by Abraham Lincoln to settle freed African Americans in Central American countries. The backlash from several countries reveals that other countries besides the warring United States were also struggling with reconciling racial issues. This also reveals how interwoven racial issues were with political crises during the Civil War because it not only effected domestic policies but also international relations.

After Andersonville: Survivors, Memory And The Bloody Shirt, Kevin S. Nicholson

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

This article details the experiences of survivors of the Andersonville prison camp after the Civil War. Feeling marginalized by the public after returning to the North, prisoners of war worked to demonstrate that their experiences were exceptional enough to merit the same kind of respect and adoration given to other war veterans. In particular survivors utilized the strategy of "waving the bloody shirt," describing purported Confederate atrocities at the camp to a Northern audience looking for figures to blame for the horrors of war. Through prison narratives, veteran organizations, the erection of memorials, and reunions years later, Andersonville survivors worked …

Senior Reflection: Our Time As Fellows, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

As Jeff, Jen, and I move ever closer to commencement, we want to take a moment to reflect on our time as Civil War Institute fellows. We have been part of this fellows program for three years and spent countless hours researching topics we are passionate about, engaging with the Civil War community, and creating an active academic atmosphere for our fellow budding historians. Our time at Gettysburg may be coming to an end, but the experiences we have had here will continue to shape our futures. Here is what the CWI fellowship means to us. [excerpt]

Branham, John, 1798-1887 (Sc 3217), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3217. Letter, 20 December 1835, of John Branham to Mary Branham, Cairo (Sumner County), Tennessee. He writes from Chickasaw Nation, Pontotoc, Indian Territory of his efforts at trade, the competitive atmosphere, his accommodations, and the promise of profits that keeps him away from home.

Instituting Protest (Film), Joshua Eisenberg

Theses and Dissertations

The road-trip story of one man looking at how first and fourteenth amendment rights have effected college campuses over time in the United States, while also looking at the possibility of revoking a diploma from a white nationalist for having different views than ones preferential to a certain college.

Siouxland Ozymandias, James C. Schaap, Mark Munger

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This is a podcast from Dr. James Schaap's Small Wonders, a series of historical vignettes about regional history for KWIT/KOIA public radio in Sioux City, Iowa. Podcasts of these and other stories from the collection, read by the author, can also be found on the station's website, www.KWIT.org, by entering Professor Schaap's name in the search field.

A Divided Generation: How Anti-Vietnam War Student Activists Overcame Internal And External Divisions To End The War In Vietnam, Jeffrey L. Lauck

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Far too often, student protest movements and organizations of the 1960s and 1970s are treated as monolithic in their ideologies, goals, and membership. This paper dives into the many divides within groups like Students for a Democratic Society and Young Americans for Freedom during their heyday in the Vietnam War Era. Based on original primary source research on the “Radical Pamphlets Collection” in Musselman Library Special Collections, Gettysburg College, this study shows how these various student activist groups both overcame these differences and were torn apart by them. The paper concludes with a discussion about what made the Vietnam War …

The Castle Of Intelligence: Camp Ritchie Maryland And The Military Intelligence Training Center During The Second World War., Kevin M. Aughinbaugh

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Abstract: During the Second World War, Camp Ritchie, Maryland played an important role in the training of intelligence soldiers. This camp was one of the many that taught men the various ways to gather intelligence on a battlefield. From aerial photography to prisoner interrogations, soldiers learned the skills required to gather information, make sense of it, and propose plans based on what they knew about enemy troop positions and movements. These skills would be put to the test once the men graduated their six months of intensive training, and were sent abroad to assist in the war effort. Despite Camp …

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …

Performing Authentic Savagery: National Myth-Making And Indigenous Survival At American World's Fairs, 1893-1904, Hannah Facknitz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The late nineteenth century in America was a period of intense change, where society took on the project of describing what exactly made America what it was. An important vehicle for this exploration of identity was the world’s fair. This paper analyzes the Chicago World Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Omaha Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898, and the St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 and their depictions of Indigenous North Americans which were closely tied up in the current project of national myth making. A three-way conflict emerges in this study between contemporary anthropologists, entertainment professionals, and so-called …