Political Science Commons^™

Women And The American Legal System: All Men Are Created Equal, Jennifer L. Emma

Honors Theses

In the melting pot of American society, the concept of law cannot be underestimated. American society is based upon racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, all converged under one legal system. The premise of the American legal system is that everyone, regardless of their status in society, is held accountable under the same laws of the land. Since everyone is represented in the law, it is their civic duty to abide by these laws. The basis of a constitutional society is law; it replaced the old monarchy systems of Europe with one of equality. In the United States of the 1990's, …

The Effects Of The Caribbean Basin Initiative On Jamaica's Trade, Arlene Hendricks

Honors Theses

This paper will analyze the export-led model for development by looking at the intended versus the actual results of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) as it relates to the Caribbean country of Jamaica. The CBI was passed into law by the U.S. Congress under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) in 1983. An exploration is made of the circumstances leading to the CBI, the main precepts and legislation of the CBI, its implementation and its effects. This paper also discusses the amendment to the CBERA, known as CBI II, which was passed into law effective October 1,1990. There will …

Feasibility Of A Single European Currency Unit, Marrey C. Cannon

Honors Theses

The question raised by this paper is that of the feasibilty of a single European currency. It is assumed that the currency will be substantially similar to the current European Currency Unit and not a more dominant national currency such as the German deutschemark.

False Hopes: The United States Senate And Campaign Finance Reform 1980-1990, James Heimbach

Honors Theses

The cost of winning a seat in the United States Senate has risen dramatically over the last ten years. It has become the norm rather than the exception to spend over $1 million on a campaign. For example, in the 34 Senate races in the 1988 election, 32 campaigns spent over $1 million. Due to the necessity to raise more and more money, candidates have had to turn to alternative sources of campaign funds. Thus, the rise in campaign costs has been accompanied by a rise in the role of the political action committee (PAC). PACs are special interest groups …

Alientation And Internal-External Locus Of Control As Predictors Of Student Political Participation, Joanne M. Miller

Honors Theses

Seventy-two undergraduates (ages 18-23) from The University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University participated in this study to examine the potential predictors for student political participation. After methodological problems of past research - such as the confounding of activism and ideology and the specific focus on activism in the 1960's - were corrected, Dean's (1961) Alienation scale, Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Locus of Control scale, and Olsen's (1969) Alienation scale were used to predict political activity levels, as measured by Kerpelman's (1972) Activity scale. A stepwise multiple regression procedure showed that futility (a subscale of Olsen's Alienation scale) was the only …

Unofficial Latvian Political Organizations In The Gorbachev Era: Their Evolution, Accomplishments, And Goals, Peter Albertins

Honors Theses

Since the people called Latvians began living on the shores of the Baltic Sea, they have almost continually been in conflict with their neighbors, including the Estonians, Lithuanians, Swedes, Germans, and Russians. The major enemy to the Latvians over the centuries, however, has been the Russians. Perhaps this is because the Russians always wanted access to the Baltic Sea and the rest of Europe, but whatever the case, Russians and Latvians have not had a friendly history.

An Analysis Of The Significance Of Systemic Power In Chattanooga Decision Making, Franklin Chancey

Honors Theses

At the end of the Civil War, Chattanooga, like many southern cities, was beset by a wave of northern citizens eager to help rebuild the ravaged south. These carpetbaggers, the forebearers of some of Chattanooga's wealthiest families, began many important industries still in operation today. In fact, for most Chattanoogans, the names Probasco, Lupton, Guerry, and others are synonymous with great wealth. The members of this group, the descendants of those reconstruction era carpetbaggers, are at the top of Chattanooga's socioeconomic structure. If newspaper surveys are correct, this group is perceived by the public as running the city's affairs. Two …

American Athletics And The Law : The Sports Triangle, Brian M. Sheahan

Honors Theses

Colleges and universities regularly award scholarships to outstanding young athletes. The standard financial aid agreement between the institution and the athlete is that in return for the athlete's active participation in the particular sport, he or she receives free tuition, room, board and books.

In addition to the education and athletic involvements, the giving of financial aid has numerous implications on the relationship between the college or university and the athlete. Foremost among those implications is the potential legal entanglement under the law of workmen's compensation.

The major questions which are in front of the courts today in conjunction with …

Impact Of The 1980 Election On Ideological Liberal Organizations, Michael Coval

Honors Theses

Throughout this section, I sought to establish a nexus between interest group theory and empirical observations. This in turn, would provide the framework from which I would set forth a series of hypotheses concerning the impact of the deviating 1980 elections on ideological liberal organizations. What I found in fact, was not just a link but a near perfect correlation between theory and practice, each reinforcing the other and pointing to the same ineluctable conclusion: The upshot of the Reagan/New Right landslide of 1980 was a dramatic renaissance of American liberalism. A renaissance so pervasive that ideological liberal organizations stand …

Iran; Nicaragua; Cuba; An Analysis Of Revolutions, Neil Moynihan

Honors Theses

Can these revolutions be explained by the withdrawal of the United States? It seems not. Can all three revolutions fit under any one theory of revolution? The answer here will probably also be: no; each theory, however, gives valuable hints about what aspects of each revolution one should analyze.

A Study Of The Community Development Advisory Act Committee 1978-1979, Christopher W. Cottrell

Honors Theses

This paper will focus on the Community Development Act Advisory Committee, (CDAAC), for the year 1978-79. This Citizens Advisory Committee is required under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant, Entitlement Grant Program. The City of Kalamazoo, as an applicant for community development Block Grant funds, must have citizen input on how funds should be spent on the neighborhoods that qualify for assistance. This year there is about $2,323,563 which can be spent to improve the housing and community needs of what the city calls the six comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Areas or more commonly known …

Presidential Impeachment: Must It Lie For A Crime?, Monte L. Brown

Honors Theses

Not since Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 has presidential impeachment been seriously considered. But in 1974 our country, for the second time in it's history, faced the possibility that our President may, in the words of the Constitution, "be re moved from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." It was this great, but unfortunate event in our history, that prompted me to write this thesis.

Power, Elitism, And Lawyers: An Examination Of The Richmond Legal Establishment And Its Impact On The Making Of Social And Economic Policy-Making Within The Commonwealth Of Virginia., Stephen C. St. John

Honors Theses

Within the annals of American academia, much time and effort has been expended in the attempt to answer the crucial question of who wields power within the community and more specifically inside the realm of governmental policy-making. This pursuit has taken many forms and focuses throughout the years, as the spotlight of community power inquiries have shifted from one group of societal actors to another. Such focuses however have quite frequently neglected to give proper consideration to the immensely important roles played in the community and governmental power structure by those individuals who collectively form the legal profession. Of all …

Hirabayashi And Korematsu: The Stone Court's Double-Edged Sword, Thomas Seilheimer

Honors Theses

Law, as a fixed or immutable device for civilized social intercourse, is a myth. All too often the law has been construed in capital letters, and little has it been realized or remembered that the law has been written by people and interpreted by people. Rather than the rigidity and permanence of steel and stone, the law expounded by the Supreme Court has been more like clay. Case upon case, decision after decision, the law of the Court has been constantly re-molded and re-defined to meet the ever-changing needs of society, and to protect the personal freedoms of American citizens.

The Socialist Evolvement Of The Cuban Revolution 1948-1960, Ross E. Chapman

Honors Theses

Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba after a surprisingly powerless Batista fled the country during the early morning hours of January 1, 1959. Joyous celebration swept the country as Castro made his triumphant journey across the island, leaving his hideout of two years in the Sierra Maestra for Havana. The revolution had succeeded in over throwing the hated Batista, for whom almost all elements of Cuban society felt disdain. The people were rejoicing at his overthrow* let most had little conception of what was to come. Fidel Castro, outside of being a popular hero, was a little known commodity …

Soviet International Law : Theory And Practice, Rozanne D. Oliver

Honors Theses

After World War II, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics became a "Great Power," surpassed in might by only the United States. The foreign policy of the Soviet Union now exerts a tremendous influence on the international scene, making the study of Soviet policies a "must" for the student of international affairs. The question of the role of international law in the foreign relations of the U.S.S.R. is an interesting and important one. Are changes in the international system reflected in Soviet views of international law? Have the Soviet theories had significant impacts on the actions of other states? To …

The Electoral College: Retention, Reform, Or Abolition?, Gary E. Brown

Honors Theses

Several Presidential elections during our history have shown that the electoral college machine is a crude invention that has never been "well-oiled" and two elections within the last decade are vivid proof of this problem.

The Alliance For Progress: Policy Continuation Or Actual Reform?, Mario Mion

Honors Theses

The Alliance for Progress appears to falter within its own objectives. As such this is not unique to this aid program; other programs have encountered difficulties in their operation. However, the extent of the Alliance's failure to meet its stated goals raises the question of the efficacy of the program itself and, what is more significant, of the intent of the Alliance as a program of aid and as a tool for reform. In fact, the operational or mechanical difficulties per se are not surprising considering the obstacles Involved. Traditionally divergent economic and political patterns and social attitudes, here in …

The Evolution Of Patterns Of Seasonal Migration From San Juan Ostuncalco, William Parsons

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Planning And Democracy In France, Larry G. Massanari

Honors Theses

In the beginning of 1962, France launched its Fourth Plan to cover the period 1962-1965, and entered its sixteenth year of economic planning, Parodoxically, France which has so frequently seemed determined to demonstrate to the world an absolute incapacity for self-government has at the same time carried out a complicated experiment in economic planning, the results of which have frequently been brilliant; this is not to suggest that through planning the French have found answers to all of the many difficulties which still face them. It was immediately after World War II that France embarked upon their experiment in planning. …

A Study Of Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman On The Elections Of 1936 And 1940, Betty Sanford Molster

Honors Theses

Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman was the Virginia-born editor of The Richmond News Leader from 1915 to 1949. He is also widely known as the author of several historical works--notably a biography of R.E. Lee for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1934, and a biography of George Washington which he had not quite finished at the time of his death in 1953.

This thesis is an attempt to discuss the views held by Dr. Freeman on the Presidential elections of 1936 and 1940. The only source of information used was his editorials during those two years. I have attempted …

Administrative Reorganization Of The Government Of The State Of Virginia Under Governor Byrd, Robert Greg Barr

Honors Theses

Administrative reorganization is a tremendous subject. In the final analysis, it involves the history of administrative organization, proposals for its improvement, reforms in its structure, desirability of further changes, and the adequacy and beneficial effects of changes already instituted, as well as the broad ramifications of governmental theory inextricably related to any scheme of administrative structure. It is a study of the entire executive branch of a government in all its aspects. These subjects offer interesting fields of research for the student of government and history, as well as the student of economics in some instances. Exploitation of the opportunities …

The Juvenile Court : It's Purpose With Special Treatment On The Juvenile And Domestic Relations Court Of Richmond, Virginia, Harold L. Ronick

Honors Theses

The objectives of the writer in writing this monograph are two - first, to acquaint himself with the Juvenile And Relations Court of his own city, and second, to compile the records of the court so that they may known to all interested people.

The work is divided into four sections - in the first the early fundamental history and principles of Juvenile Courts in which an attempt is made to show that the Juvenile Court can trace its origin back to the English Common law Courts.

In the second section the writer discusses the bills passed by the General …

The Early Origins And Experiments Of Fascism : The Hegelian State And The Second Empire, Samuel T. Schroetter

Honors Theses

The majority of people assume that Fascism is a purely recent phenomenon. This paper is an effort to prove by a historical formula, an analysis of fact, and a parallel of events that the finished product of Fascism today has been in the making for a century. It sees the manifest origins of Fascism in the philosophy of Hegel and the milieu out of which Hegelianism grew. Then Fascism first took political form in the preliminary experiment of Louis Napoleon. For some years after that passed it was merely an infiltrating element in the structure of democracy. But democracy broke …

The Fellow Servant Doctrine And Its Application In Virginia, Winston G. Crenshaw

Honors Theses

Prior to early in the twentieth century, working men were forced to accept conditions as laid down by their employers. It was largely essential that they work under whatever circumstances their employers saw fit to apply--their jobs were dependent upon their submission.