Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Maine, James P. Melcher

New England Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.

Domestic And Foreign Policy Priorities Of Maine Voters, Caitlyn Rooms

Honors College

Understanding the political priorities of a population is key to unravelling the ways that people engage in local, state, and national politics. National polling organizations do studies in every election cycle on the domestic priorities of national voters, and every few years on the foreign policy priorities of the American public. These polls help academics and policymakers understand the motivations of the American populace and help to guide the public narrative surrounding contentious issues. Polls like this are, however, rare at the state level. This study aims to fill that gap for the state of Maine, providing state-level data on …

A State Divided: The Reality Of Education In Maine, Gabrielle Raymond

Honors Program Theses

In Maine there is a lack of a comprehensive policy that allows and facilitates an equal education for all students no matter where they go to school. In order to research what is driving this inequality a specific policy was selected to use as the case study. The policy selected was proficiency-based learning. This policy was enacted in 2012 which makes it the most recent comprehensive education policy passed in Maine. In addition, this policy mandated similar concepts as past policy, so it was able to illustrate the trends in Maine’s education policy. In order to understand what effects education …

Margaret Chase Smith's 1972 Election: The Fall Of An Institutional Giant, Allison Kobzowicz

Senior Honors Theses

Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress and was well-known by her constituents in Maine as a principled, integrous public servant. In 1972, after 24 years in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith lost her first ever election to democratic challenger, William Hathaway. An examination of the primary source documents available at the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine, as well as local and national newspaper coverage, finds three main reasons that Smith suffered defeat: Smith was unwilling to let go of her traditional way of campaigning, she was berated by a press …

Party Development And Political Conflict In Maine 1820-1860 From Statehood To The Civil War, Lee D. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of politics in Maine during the state’s formative period, the years from statehood until 1860. The history focuses on party conflict and on the development of organized political parties, particularly the Democratic and Republican parties. It concentrates on the structures and processes that politicians built, including party newspapers, county conventions, state conventions, legislative caucuses, and ultimately state committees and the office of state committee chair – all to compete effectively for power. During this 40-year period, parties also develop powerful new messages, campaign strategies, and developed leaders with the skills to accomplish these tasks.

I …

Grassroots Diplomacy And Vernacular Law: The Discourse Of Food Sovereignty In Maine, John Welton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine, a coalition of small-scale farmers, consumers, and citizens building an alternative food system based on a distributed form of production, processing, selling, purchasing, and consumption. This distribution occurs at the municipal level through the enactment of ordinances. Using critical-rhetorical field methods, I argue that the discourse of food sovereignty in Maine develops a ‘constitutive’ rhetoric that composes rural society through affective relationships. Advocates engage the industrial food system to both expose its systemic bias against small-scale farming and construct their own discourse of belonging. Based upon agrarian values such as …

A Comparison Of The Experiences Of Economic Adaptation And Integration For Refugees And Asylum Seekers In Maine, Grace Kiffney

Honors College

The migration of refugees and asylum seekers affects them and the communities where they resettle, as people from different backgrounds and cultures come together. In the United States, the federally funded refugee resettlement program supports refugees with welfare benefits, case management, and other services to assist with integration. However, no such federal program exists for asylum seekers, who are considered displaced people, but who have not received immigration status as refugees. This project sought to answer the question: How is the experience of supporting oneself different and similar for refugees and asylum seekers, in the context of Maine?

Research involved …

Climate Policy 2015: Reports From The Congressional Trenches, Sharon Tisher, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

The bipartisan commentary by Peter Mills and Sharon Tisher urges action in Congress to address the problem of climate change, and stems from interviews with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree regarding their climate-related initiatives in 2015.

What Bonds Hold? An Examination Of Statewide Bond Referenda In Maine And Other States, James P. Melcher

Maine Policy Review

Since 1990, Maine has held votes on statewide bond referenda than any other state. In this article, James Melcher tackles three main questions: (1) How often do voters approve bond proposals in Maine, and how does this compare to other states? (2) Are some types of bond referenda more likely to pass than others? (3) Does a bond’s placement on the ballot make it more, or less, likely to pass?

Politics Then And Now: Introduction, Richard Barringer, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

This article is an introduction to several articles and excerpts published in this issue of Maine Policy Review based on a series of related lectures. One set of lectures, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” was presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013, and the other was the William S. Cohen lecture held at the University of Maine. Most of the speakers are prominent public office holders who were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was …

Maine As A Bulwark Of Democracy, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Productive Partisanship, Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a lecture given in a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with

Governing For The People, Kenneth Curtis

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a lecture given in a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with the current situation, and discussing what Maine can offer based on experiences here.

Politics Then And Now: Looking Forward, Amy Fried, Ken Fredette, Cynthia Dill

Maine Policy Review

This article is an excerpt of a concluding panel presentation from a lecture series, “Politics Then and Now, in Maine and the Nation,” presented by the Muskie School and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2013. Speakers were asked to address the issue of political polarization and dysfunction, comparing how politics was played in the past with the current situation, and discussing what Maine can offer based on experiences here.

At What Cost?: A Study Of The American Highway System And The Maine East-West Highway Proposal, Brian Philbrook

Honors College

Highway construction has been a staple of American development since the early twentieth century, drastically changing the American landscape. The United States is a nation characterized by, and dependent upon automobile transportation as constructed by this vast network of asphalt connectors, symbolizing a “high-modernist” ideology and state control.

Despite our obvious needs for road and highway construction, we must tread lightly. As America’s continued quest for increased connectivity and infrastructure grows, there must also be a balanced and fair look at both the benefits and costs related to highway construction. Political, sociological, economic and environmental concerns must be considered, and …

The Politics Of Justice: Navigating The Waters Between Legal Efficacy And Racial Profiling In The State Of Maine, Joseph G.E. Gousse

All Theses And Dissertations

This thesis examines the issue and causal factors of racial disparity in Maine’s contemporary penal system. More pointedly, this thesis examines the ways in which contemporary Maine society functions to procure the causal factors responsible for conditioning racial minorities as “criminalized” populations, thus stimulating overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. This thesis focuses on Native American populations in the state of Maine and the historical, socio-economic, political, and legal ways in which the state has interacted with and subsequently disenfranchised them. Through a comparative examination of the work of legal scholar Michelle Alexander, the well-established argument of the American racial …

Maine’S Paradoxical Politics, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

Kenneth Palmer’s article, based on his 2009 University of Maine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Maine Heritage Lecture, discusses the para­doxes of Maine’s politics that often draw national attention. He notes how these paradoxes have contrib­uted to the state’s having a “creative and effective political system.” Maine politics are dynamic in nature, with parties loosely hung together, governors winning by pluralities rather than majorities, and significant turnover both in members and parties in legislative districts. Palmer suggests that Maine’s political leaders find themselves as centrists, primarily because they want to find practical solutions to difficult problems.

Bite-Sized Democracy: The Virtues Of Incremental Change, Peter Mills

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Peter Mills draws on his long years of public service in both houses of the Maine Legislature to reflect on the values of gradual, incremental change in public policy.

Temple Collection (Mss 55), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 55. Correspondence, 1931-1970 (33 items), chiefly of William Montgomery Temple, originally of Bowling Green, Kentucky, an autograph collector; his collection of papers of Kentucky governors, 1805-1951 (50); other autograph letters, 1715-1941 (17); and articles about Bowling Green, etc., (23).

Equality News (Summer 2008), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Spring 2008), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Winter 2008), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

“These Very Impelling Reasons Against My Running”: Maine Women And Politics, Mary Cathcart

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay Mary Cathcart reflects on women in politics and describes her own trajectory in coming to serve in the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate. She discusses the upcoming (2009) launch of the Maine NEW Leadership program at the University of Maine, a national education program for college women

Equality News (Autumn 2007), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Spring 2007), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Winter 2007), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Autumn 2006), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Summer 2006), Matthew R. Dubois

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Fall 2005), Rodney Mondor

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.

Equality News (Summer 2005), Rodney Mondor

Equality news / EqualityMaine (2004-2008)

No abstract provided.