Legal Strategies Used By Black Men During The Antebellum Period, A. D. Banse

Digital Legal Research Lab

AD Banse, "Legal Strategies Used by Black Men During the Antebellum Period" [Research Poster]

Digital Legal Research Lab REU Site, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2022

The Missouri Statute of 1807 existed as the primary act that somewhat ensured the freedom of those enslaved and pursuing their freedom. The act refuted laws such as the Futgitive Slave Clause of 1793 and 1850, and the Missouri Compromise, which were evidence that slaveholders held decisive political influence and could cast the Constitution in proslave terms (Baker 2012). These clauses essentially gave enslavers the right to seize enslaved people who escaped to free states deepening …

Habeas Corpus: Breaking Reservation Boundaries, Samantha Byrd

Digital Legal Research Lab

Dr. Katrina Jagodinsky’s Petitioning for Freedom examines marginalized peoples’ use of habeas corpus in the American West from 1812 to 1924. This project has uncovered Indigenous manipulation of the American legal system to counter the challenges of colonialism. Indigenous peoples used habeas to protest, and sometimes successfully mitigate boarding school experiences, forced removal, and confinement on reservations. This study aims to show how Indigenous peoples and other minorities had a complex understanding of the law and used it to their advantage.

Advisor: Katrina Jagodinsky

A Home Shielded By Laws: Freedom Suits And Enslaved Mothers, Heidi Martin

Digital Legal Research Lab

This project collects, digitizes, and makes accessible the freedom suits brought by enslaved families in the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Maryland state courts, and the United States Supreme Court. This project places families in the foreground of our interpretive framework of slavery and national formation.

Using TEI encoding, we focused on outcomes, relationships between individuals and the claim for freedom made. Using these data sets, I focused specefically on mothers petitioning for their children. Of the 508 cases I utilized, 131 included children and a parental figure. I set out to distinguish the additional burden mothers had …

In The Waiting: The Role Of The Slave Bastille In Antebellum D.C., Ellyzabeth Morales-Ledesma

Digital Legal Research Lab

In 1808 the Transatlantic Slave Trade ended and in turn the government created a federally protected human market. As the South's demand for human labor force increased the domestic slave trade rocketed and in turn created even more turmoil for the Black population if the United States. Slave Traders and Man-Dealers took advantage of the market and kidnapped Free Black men women and children. While waiting to be sold enslaved people would be admitted into holding cells and jails; this was the creation of slave jails and Slave Bastilles. Slave jails served as places where the horrors of a human …

Trade Agreements In The Last 20 Years: Retrospect And Prospect For Agriculture / Les Accords Commerciaux Au Cours Des 20 Dernières Années : Rétrospective Et Perspectives Pour L’Agriculture / Handelsabkommen In Den Letzten 20 Jahren: Rückblick Und Ausblick Für Die Landwirtschaft, John C. Beghin, Jill O’Donnell

Yeutter Institute Publications

We provide an overview of major developments in multi-and plurilateral trade agreements over the last twenty years with a focus on the implications for agricultural and food markets. We take stock of what has been accomplished in market integration, remaining obstacles to trade, events that have changed the trade landscape, and emerging issues. Agricultural tariffs have fallen through commitments made in the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture and through the proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs). Nevertheless, agricultural trade remains distorted with some extremely high tariffs. RTAs have achieved progress on nontariff measures and other beyond-the- border frictions. World Trade …

Habeas Corpus As A Means For Economic Freedom In The Progressive Era, Janana Khattak

Digital Legal Research Lab

Habeas corpus protects individual freedom by allowing detained individuals proper trial. Economic liberty, or the “right to earn a living in an occupation of choice without unnecessary government interference,” is a key component of individual freedom. Following the depression of 1893, the Progressive Era ushered in a sharp increase in productivity. This was in part because of an immigration boom. While immigrants sought economic opportunities for the betterment of themselves and their families, ideologies of nativism rose.

Advisor: Katrina Jagodinsky

Backlash Against The #Metoo Movement: How Women’S Voice Causes Men To Feel Victimized, Jaclyn A. Lisnek, Clara L. Wilkins, Megan E. Wilson, Pierce D. Ekstrom

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Three studies examined whether perceived increase in women’s “voice” (i.e., being heard and taken seriously about sexual assault) contributes to perceptions of bias against men. In Study 1, both men and women who perceived women to have a greater voice related to sexual assault, perceived greater victimization of men. This relationship was stronger for relatively conservative participants. In Study 2, relatively conservative (but not relatively liberal) participants who read about #MeToo perceived greater men’s victimization than those in the control condition. Study 3 examined responses to perceiving that men are victimized by #MeToo. For relatively conservative (but not liberal) men, …

Turning Back Time: Implications Of Originalist Legal Theory For Women's Rights, Emma Mays

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Since America’s foundation, women’s rights have expanded to lengths that would have been unimaginable to the Founding Fathers including the right to vote, the ability to work outside the home, and some aspects of bodily autonomy. These legal adaptations, along with a larger cultural shift towards liberation, have left many modern-day women with a false sense of security in the face of growing judicial sentiments that threaten the rights of women. The legal theory of originalism that has been growing in force significantly since the 1980s argues that in interpreting constitutional matters, judges should uncover and promote the meaning of …

From The End Of Politics To Legitimate Opposition: Political Perceptions Of The 37th Congress Of The United States In The North 1860-1862, Lauren Dubas

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper intends to explore the political landscape of the Union during the first two years of the Civil War, specifically how the people in the North perceived what remained of the Congress from 1860-1862. I will be using a combination of primary and secondary sources to cover the 37^th Congress of the United States, whose members were elected in 1860 and legislated until the next Congressional election in 1862. My research shows several significant stages in the political landscape during this period and uses these stages of partisan politics as the foundation for understanding how the federal government, …

Nebraska Stories Of Humanity: Increasing Accessibility To Holocaust Education, Aila Ganic

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis seeks to answer the question: How can the digital humanities provide a vehicle that elevates the human impact of survivor narrative and testimony? An analyzation of how the digital humanities could preserve survivor testimony is conducted through an examination of how Bea Karp’s narrative will be shared through the Nebraska Stories of Humanity portal project. Based on this analyzation, the Nebraska Stories of Humanity portal could be an effective method for teaching Holocaust education for three main reasons. First, this portal project avoids perpetrator-oriented narratives by highlighting survivors and soldiers who liberated camps. Further, it also offers a …

Using Political Psychology To Understand Populism, Intellectual Virtues, And Democratic Backsliding, Ingrid J. Haas

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Political scientists have argued that populism is an ideology that can occur on both the left and right, whereby people begin to see politics as a battle between the people and a powerful elite that fails to represent the people’s interest and are attracted to political candidates who vow to fight corruption. In this chapter, I examine how research in political psychology may help to explain the motivations underlying citizens’ attraction to populist ideologies and political candidates. I argue that the same cognitive processes driving people toward populism are those that undermine the intellectual virtues, which in turn, decreases support …

The Appointment Of Women To Authoritarian Cabinets In Africa, Alex Kroeger, Alice J. Kang

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

What explains variation in the inclusion of women in authoritarian cabinets? We theorize that leaders of electoral autocracies are affected by changing international norms of democracy and women’s rights to appoint women ministers. We propose two hypotheses. First, increasing dependence on aid from democratic donors encourages leaders of electoral autocracies to appoint more women ministers. Second, electoral autocrats uprooting democratic traits appoint more women ministers to minimize the reputational costs of their autocratization. Using data from authoritarian regimes in 38 African countries between 1973 and 2013, we find that increases in aid from democracies are associated with modest increases in …

The Importance Of Cultural Knowledge In Counterinsurgency, Allee Norvell

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis discusses the importance and usefulness of cultural knowledge in counterinsurgency. When combatting insurgent groups, it can be difficult to identify insurgents and utilize conventional warfare. Insurgents use various tactics and strategies to promote their goals while living among the local population. These aspects require intervening countries and counterinsurgency to take the varying strategies into consideration when making their military decisions. The most important aspect needed for these counterinsurgency operations is cultural knowledge. Having an understanding of the intervening population and its dynamics with the insurgent group can be proven to be very beneficial. Specifically, in the cases of …

Private Interests In The Public Sphere: The Evolution Of Private Interest Before And During The American Revolution, Jensen Alexander Humphrey

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

From the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s, mercantilism was the dominant economic doctrine practiced in the politics of the English Empire. To balance foreign trade in favor of exports and bolster the national wealth, however, mercantilists argued in favor of centralizing private commercial interests in the public realm, effectively redefining the public interest as a composition of narrow merchant interests. Restrictive mercantilist policies directed at the American colonies worsened over time, and colonists turned to the theories of John Locke to argue that English mercantilism prohibited colonists from fully realizing their rights to liberty and property. This association of mercantilism with …

Navigating Non-Physical Borders: An Examination Of The Boundaries Of Exclusion And Ideas About Inclusion Of Immigrants In American Communities, Alison O'Toole

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Are exclusionary boundaries drawn by those who aren’t accepting of immigrants malleable? Do beliefs about inclusion on the part of those who tend to be more accepting toward immigrants have limits? To address these questions, I look at the major factors that I believe influence reactions to immigrants: national identity and trust, and values. This dissertation contributes to two important goals. The first is to help ensure that long- term residents in communities accept people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. The second is softening the divisive power of the immigration issue to make it less of a staple in the …

Breaking The Judicial Glass Ceiling: The Appointment Of Women To High Courts Worldwide, Maria C. Escobar-Lemmon, Valerie J. Hoekstra, Alice J. Kang, Miki Caul Kittilson

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The salience of judicial institutions in democratic and nondemocratic countries has increased, making it important to have women on these powerful and visible decision-making bodies. Yet, women have only recently gained entrance to peak judicial bodies including constitutional and supreme courts. The appointment of the first woman to a high court is a historic landmark, breaking traditional ideas of who can and should be on the court. Using a global, longitudinal data set we show that certain explanatory factors matter differently in wealthy, stable democracies and in developing countries. The method of selecting high court justices exerts influence in wealthy, …

Strategic Litigation And The Evolution Of Regional Human Rights Norms: Cases From Germany And The Netherlands, Cole Kovarik

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study seeks to fill gaps in our understanding of how private actors participate in international human rights politics by examining civil society involvement in European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) cases against long-standing democracies. Descriptive analysis of an exhaustive data set of instances of civil society organization (CSO) participation in ECtHR cases against Germany and The Netherlands is complemented by a comparative case study analysis of networks of organizations that mobilized around German and Dutch cases concerning Articles 8 (right to privacy) and 10 (freedom of expression). The data suggest that civil society organizations not only appear before the …

Full Spectrum Space Deterrence: From Laws To Technology, Joshua Carlson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Conflict in space is becoming an ever-real possibility, with the potential of rendering the space completely useless for future generations. Current talks are centered around limiting or preventing any weapons deployed to space, but this is not the most effective way of dealing with the issue. The focus should shift to agreeing on how nations should act responsibly in space together instead of preventing nations from acting at all. The best way of accomplishing this goal is by improving satellite design, creating agreed upon and understood rules of engagement, fostering widespread cooperation between nations, and choosing not to be the …

Information Search And Political Ideology: Examining How An Individual’S Political Ideology Relates To The Category And Depth Of The Political Information They Pursue, Megan Elbel

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The expansion of news media in television and online allows the public to tailor their consumption of political news to their specific interests. Understanding how the public engages in political information search with respect to their political identities can provide insight into the type and amount of information an individual pursues before making a political decision. The present study examines how people of various political ideologies gather information related to political issues. Participants completed surveys gauging their attitudes toward a number of political policy issues following a task in which they were allowed to select political issue topics and control …

Free To Hate: Hate Crimes' Intertwinement With The Evolution Of Free Speech In The United States, Lee F. Paulson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In response to the growing tension between civil liberties and civil rights, this research investigates the relationship between the relative expansiveness of free speech and a the nationwide propensity for hate crimes. I argue that government’s legal limitations of speech influence the development of linguistic and hierarchical norms in a national culture. Given structural inequality’s association to violence and crimes of intimidation, I hypothesize that as the government expands the legal bounds of free speech, the national propensity for hate crimes decreases. Text analyses of 50 influential freedom of expression rulings in the United States (U.S.) Supreme Court from 1919-2019 …

An Analysis Of State Attorney General Attempts At Policy Influence Through Naag Multistate Advocacy Letters, Sam Crowley

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

State Attorneys General have emerged as influential political actors on the national level in the last 25 years. State attorneys general seek to influence policy at the federal level in both partisan and bipartisan manners. Media attention in recent years and previous scholarship has focused mostly on areas of partisan conflict between and among state attorneys general. This paper seeks to explore areas of bipartisan cooperation among state attorneys general as demonstrated through the practice of signing multistate advocacy letters addressed to Congress, administrative agencies, and the private sector that are coordinated through the efforts of the National Association of …

Practicality Or Principle: A Comparative Study Of The Origin Of Legal Protections On Gun Rights, Robert (Rj) Haskin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study examines the legal protections of the right to bear arms as an extension of John Locke’s principles of government. Whereas most studies of the right to bear arms focus on the contemporary practical consequences of an armed populace, I focus on the foundations of the right and how it has been exercised across the diverse circumstances of the U.S. and Azerbaijan to achieve the ideal of self-determination. Specifically, I detail and compare the political histories of each country leading up to their independence and how they obey Locke’s precepts. Given that the chief commonality between the two countries …

A Home Run For Turnout: An Analysis On The Use Of Sports Facilities To Increase Voter Turnout, Drew Bydalek

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In 2020, American voters turned out to cast ballots in record-breaking numbers. While many factors likely contributed to this increase in turnout, professional sports stadiums and arenas were used as polling locations for the first time. Did this first-time use of sports facilities contribute to increased turnout in the 2020 election? I theorize that sports facilities increase turnout by decreasing the cost of voting and providing psychological motivations to vote. The research design employed to test this theory is a difference-in-differences model (DD) that compares 2016 and 2020 county vote totals while controlling for various demographic factors. The results indicate …

A Historical Analysis Of The Causes Of The French And Indian War, Jake Althouse

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The current study attempted to answer the following research question: what were the causes of the French and Indian War between Great Britain and France in 1754? To do so, the current study researched secondary sources from a historical perspective, political theories regarding the causes of war, and primary sources from individuals involved in the build-up to conflict. Previous research by historians and political scientists have mainly attributed the causes of the French and Indian War to a security dilemma and the spiral theory of war. The current study does not support this assertion. Instead, the current study asserts that …

Implications Of Information: An Analysis Of How State Secrecy Prevails Over The Rights Of Free People, Cassandra Kostal

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis is an analysis of the withholding of information at the hands of the federal government and the subsequent creation of a culture of secrecy that threatens the freedom of information. The primary research question was: How does the government keep information classified in the age of information and how does this penchant for secrecy and nondisclosure undermine the public’s faith in their leadership? Research into this question was conducted through two means: printed and online publications. The printed publications were books recommended to me by Dr. John Bender and the online publications were sources found through searches using …

Term Limits, Political Polarization, And Voter Behavior: An Analysis Of The Nebraska Unicameral, Jared Long

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Term limits are an often-debated reform proposal in American politics. In the 1990s and 2000s, many states adopted a range of term limit policies, including Nebraska. At the time, many bold predictions were made for how such a significant structural change in state governance might affect political norms. Over the past 20 to 30 years, many empirical studies have been carried out to weigh the merits of these predictions. However, much research has focused on institutional effects within state legislatures themselves; less focus has been given to the residual effects on voters themselves.

This paper posits the argument that term …

Mapping Brexit: Analysis Of The Results Of The 2016 Eu Membership Referendum, Jessica Long

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The 2016 EU Membership Referendum, also known as Brexit, resulted in the United Kingdom deciding to leave the European Union (EU). This paper uses mapping techniques to examine the results of the Brexit. Results of the referendum show that most voters within the United Kingdom (UK) voted along regional entities. The major regional entities examined within the paper include England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Within these regions, national identity, age, and economic status had a major influence on a voter’s decision to Leave or Remain in the EU. Demographics were mapped and examined at multiple levels to better understand …

Self-Determination In American Discourse: The Supreme Court’S Historical Indoctrination Of Free Speech And Expression, Jarred Williams

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Within the American criminal legal system, it is a well-established practice to presume the innocence of those charged with criminal offenses unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Such a judicial framework-like approach, called a legal maxim, is utilized in order to ensure that the law is applied and interpreted in ways that legislative bodies originally intended.

The central aim of this piece in relation to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution is to investigate whether the Supreme Court of the United States has utilized a specific legal maxim within cases that dispute government speech or expression regulation. …

Resolution Impeaching Donald John Trump, President Of The United States, For High Crimes And Misdemeanors, David N. Cicilline, Ted Lieu, James Raskin, Jerrold Nadler

United States House of Representatives: Documents

Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

ARTICLE I: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, …

Glossary Of Legislative Terms: Brief Explanations Of Legislative Terms Used Throughout Congress.Gov, United States Congress, United States Congress

United States Senate Documents

Glossary of Legislative Terms

Brief explanations of legislative terms used throughout Congress.gov. In-depth descriptions are provided in "About" Legislation, Legislation Text, Committees, Committee Reports, Members, the Congressional Record, the Congressional Record Index, Nominations, House Communications, Senate Communications, and Treaty Documents.