American Politics Commons^™

Will The Vice Presidential Candidates Matter This Year? Maybe, But Not The Way You Think, Kyle C. Kopko, Christopher J. Devine

Political Science Faculty Publications

Veepstakes speculation is rampant as we approach the national conventions for both major political parties.

Media reports have detailed the wide array of options available to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as they decide who will be their number twos for this campaign, and perhaps for four or eight years to come.

Who will Trump and Clinton pick? That depends on each candidate’s goals – both for the remainder of the presidential campaign and after Nov. 8. Political observers widely agree that the most important characteristic to look for in a running mate is the ability to serve as president …

The One Exhibition The Roots Of The Lgbt Equality Movement One Magazine & The First Gay Supreme Court Case In U.S. History 1943-1958, Joshua R. Edmundson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The ONE Exhibition explores an era in American history marked by intense government sponsored anti-gay persecution and the genesis of the LGBT equality movement. The study begins during World War II, continues through the McCarthy era and the founding of the nation’s first gay magazine, and ends in 1958 with the first gay Supreme Court case in U.S. history.

Central to the story is ONE The Homosexual Magazine, and its founders, as they embarked on a quest for LGBT equality by establishing the first ongoing nationwide forum for gay people in the U.S., and challenged the government’s right to engage …

The Oval Office Is Ready For Madame President: Predictors And Support, Brittney E. Souza

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The 2016 United States Presidential Election brings the revolutionary idea of a woman president with the Democratic candidate of Hillary Clinton. The current opposition for a woman president has been generalized gender stereotypes that she will be incompetent, too sensitive, temperamental and fickle with other world leaders. Many studies show that these arguments lack evidence in current female leaders and many commanding women in democracies have proven to be sufficient leaders to their male counterparts. Judeo-Christian traditions have permeated political voting and has acted as an important role in American public opinion on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. These …

Slavery And Freedom In Theory And Practice, David Watkins

Political Science Faculty Publications

Slavery has long stood as a mirror image to the conception of a free person in republican theory. This essay contends that slavery deserves this central status in a theory of freedom, but a more thorough examination of slavery in theory and in practice will reveal additional insights about freedom previously unacknowledged by republicans. Slavery combines imperium (state domination) and dominium (private domination) in a way that both destroys freedom today and diminishes opportunities to achieve freedom tomorrow. Dominium and imperium working together are a greater affront to freedom than either working alone. However, an examination of slavery in practice, …

Characteristics Of Punitive States, Danielle Savage

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Findings from the literature on mass incarceration in the United States have in the past suggested that incarceration rates are strongly related to social, economic and political variables. In this study, I build upon these findings by testing (1) if the prevalence of more conservative political elites influences incarceration rates, and (2) if the racial context of a state relates to state punitiveness. My results suggest that states with citizens that have more conservative ideologies, as well as states that are more racially diverse, have higher incarceration rates.

Friends Of Musselman Library Newsletter Spring 2016, Musselman Library

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter

From the Dean (Robin Wagner)

Library Receives 9/11 Commission Papers (Fred Fielding '16)

Library News

Digital Scholarship Fellows

From Paupers to Presidents

Fair Use Week

Reading About Race

Student Workers Save the Day (Nadia Romero Nardelli '19)

Life in the Fishbowl (Brittany Barry '17)

In Memory of Douglas R. Price; Former Aide to Eisenhower

Special Purchases

From the Piano Bench (Jay P. Brown ’51, Doug Brouder ’83, Julie Caterson ’84 and Mr. & Mrs. Michael Fiery)

Research Reflections: The Spirit of Gettysburg (Timothy Sestrick)

Gift of Art

Old Gettysburg Back to Thee (Jenna Fleming '16, Avery Fox '16, Melanie Fernandes …

Rhetoric Vs Reality: Public Opinion On Immigration In The United States, Elizabeth M. Belair

Student Publications

The United States has a rich and interesting history of immigration. The country itself was created by waves of immigrants who came from across the globe. Although immigration has always existed in the U.S., the number of immigrants coming to the United States has increased during the 21st century, and as a result, a controversial debate surrounding the consequences of immigration has emerged. In this paper I examine how Americans view the debate on immigration, specifically focusing on what affects public opinion on this topic. I find that shifts in public opinion do not reflect changes in immigration patterns but …

Black Praxis: The Trace Of Jamesian Pragmatism In Duboisian Scholar Activism, Jerome D. Clarke

Student Publications

Philosophy and activism formed a mutualist relationship in regards to 20th-century Black American politics. Emancipatory theories undergirded the civil disobedience and reformist action of the entire century. W.E.B. DuBois, renowned African-American academic at the forefront of American and Pan-Africanist liberation movements, is often divorced from his originary philosophical roots. As he became the first Black PhD graduate of Harvard University, his mentor was philosopher and psychologist William James. James is the forefather of American Pragmatism, a school of thought still alive and dynamic in this day. DuBoisian scholars tend however to stress the German Idealist influences on DuBois’s thought. Informed …

Race And Gender And The Perception Of Masculinity And Femininity Of The American Political Parties, Jessica Dulz

Political Science Theses and Capstones

How Americans select and identify with a political party can have many different sources. One important source has been found to be the effects of gender and perceptions of masculinity and femininity on party identification. I look deeper into this phenomenon to analyze the effects of race on the perception of masculine and feminine traits within Democrats and Republicans. In order to study this, I analyze 2012 American National Election Study (ANES) data. I hypothesize that among whites the results will be similar to previous studies which found Republicans to be much more favorable of masculine traits and Democrats to …

In God We Trust, Andrew C. Nosti

SURGE

Almost everywhere I turn I can hear someone saying, “America is a Christian nation!” likely yelled or grumbled with impressive, and sometimes concerning, aggression. I can’t go through a week without this phrase popping up, usually closely accompanied by the notion that America’s founding has roots in Christian principles. [excerpt]

Substantive Representation By The Unelected: The Role Of Staff Gender On Mayoral Priorities In U.S. Cities, Sara M. Hottman

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on descriptive and substantive representation focuses on elected representatives, but overlooks the gender of those who play an integral role in policy process (agenda-setting) and outcomes (implementation): The elected’s chief of staff, senior policy advisors, and, in council-manager systems, the city manager. This thesis examines the role policy staff and city manager gender plays in substantive representation. After analyzing staff composition and agenda priorities — gleaned from State of the City addresses — for mayors of the 50 most-populous cities in the United States, I found substantial evidence to support my hypotheses that the chief of staff’s gender, …

The Changing Demographics Of Florida’S Latino Electorate: Latino Party Affiliation And Voter Registration Rates In The State, Central Florida, And South Florida, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This special report in partnership with CNN en Espanol examines characteristics of Florida -- where the Latino electorate could very well determine victory in the 2016 presidential election.

Methods: Data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, Voting and Registration, as a part of the Current Population Survey data from the November Voter Supplements. The 2016 estimates were derived by using the yearly percentage rate of increase between 2004 and 2012. Additional data were derived from an analysis of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) American Community Survey (ACS).

Results: The Latino population of Florida soared between 1990 …

Through The Gateway: Marijuana Production, Governance, And The Drug War Détente, Michael Polson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1996 voter approval of medical marijuana laws in California, marijuana policy has become increasingly liberalized. Producers, however, have remained in the greyest of grey market zones. Federal anti-drug laws and supply-side tactics have intensively targeted them even as marijuana has become more licit. In this legally unstable environment, marijuana patient-cultivators and underground producers have articulated and asserted themselves politically and economically, particularly as the likelihood of full legalization has increased. This dissertation explores how producers navigated the nebulous zone between underground and medical markets. I argue that even as producers supplied marijuana to a formalizing, regulated medical industry …

The Hermeneutics Of International Trade Conflicts: U.S. Punitive Trade Policy Towards China And Japan, Barry F. Murdaco

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes punitive trade conflicts between the U.S. and two trading partners: China and Japan. Punitive trade conflicts can be defined as trade wars between two states, retaliatory tariffs, or other forms of conflict, e.g. preventing the acquisition of foreign assets or sanctions for an undervalued exchange rate. I will examine several trade conflicts between the U.S. and Japan in the 1980s and several trade conflicts between the U.S. and China from 2001 to the present. This study is situated within a larger debate concerning the resolution of four theoretical "puzzles" in political science. The first concerns the dispute …

Mlk 2016 Convocation Slide Show, Otterbein University

MLK Convocations

A series of photographs from the event.

2016 Mlk Convocation, Sarah L. Hickey

MLK Convocations

This is the program for the annual MLK Convocation at Otterbein University.

The Mysterious Case Of The Islamic State Organization (Iso) Smiling Martyr--Solved, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: For a mere Muslim mortal, Allah’s granting of martyrdom (Shahada) is the pinnacle of spiritual achievement. The martyr (Shahid) is granted unique privileges among which are the right to bypass the moral interrogation meted out to determine after death whether one is spiritually fit; the complete freedom from all anguish, pain, and suffering caused by one’s wounds as one immediately traverses into the highest of seven heavens; the right to intercede and request divine favors on behalf of seventy of one’s loved one’s; the enjoyment of exclusive sexual privileges with seventy-two virgins; and finally, …

On Self-Declared Caliph Ibrahim’S December 2015 Speech: Further Evidence For Critical Vulnerabilities In The Crumbling Caliphate, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: On December 26, 2015 a 24-minute audio message was released by the Islamic State Organization’s (ISO) official media arm al-Furqan.

The Usurper: Trump, Islamophobia, And The Decline Of Reagan Conservatism, Michael A. Baugh

Op-Ed Pieces

Op Eds, or opinion editorials, are typically published in daily newspapers and can raise awareness about a particular topic or aim to persuade others. For this project each student wrote an op-ed in which they presented their opinion or thoughts about the issue of islamophobic discourse coming from Republican candidates, especially Donald Trump.

Black, White, & Blue: An Analysis Of Implicit Racial Bias & The Fourth Amendment In The Criminal Justice System, Michael A. Baugh

Political Science: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Just two score and seven years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to leadership in a fight for racial justice and civil rights in America. As Dr. King famously remarked from the confines of a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. King’s powerful words hold true today. Controversies, such as the deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner at the hands of officers tasked to protect them, seems to indicate that while progress has been made since the days of Dr. King, racial prejudice and discrimination remain …

Challenging The Violence And Invisibility Against Women Of Color – A Marxist Imperative, Lilia D. Monzó, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"We are heading into an era where unbridled greed, racism, sexism, and other forms of hate are, once again, unabashedly proclaimed to the world without remorse. This turn from the once negative association with racism and attempts to avoid being labeled racist has became increasingly evident in the U.S. since 2014, when, astoundingly, a string of White police killings of unarmed Black men went unpunished or unprosecuted (Monzó & McLaren, 2014). In some of these cases the police officers evidenced a complete lack of compassion for the men in their final seconds of life. National coverage of these events made …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #6: Politics And 2016 Presidential Election, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

This report examines regional perceptions of political figures and political affiliation from the 2016 Life In Hampton Roads survey (LIHR 2016) conducted by the Old Dominion University Social Science Research Center. Data from prior years is also provided when available to show comparisons in responses over time. Responses were weighted by city population, race, age, gender, and phone usage (cell versus land-line) to be representative of the Hampton Roads region.

Faith In A Changing Planet: The Role Of Religious Leaders In The Fight For A Livable Climate, Morissa Zuckerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

Progressive religious leaders are playing an increasingly important role in the effort to combat climate change. Through a combination of unstructured in-depth interviews and primary source analysis, this thesis highlights nine U.S. religious leaders from various denominations of Christianity, Judaism and Islam who are actively involved in working on climate issues. Drawing on literature in social movement theory, I explore how clergy are uniquely influential in climate issues because of the organizational advantage and moral authority they hold through their positions as religious leaders, granting them the ability to highlight social justice implications of climate change with distinctive legitimacy. Clergy …

Leveraging Our Trust: Taking Action In Support Of Our Democracy, Lori Bowen Ayre

Collaborative Librarianship

Librarians need to build on their trusted status to be more actively engaged in activities that support our democratic system whose success relies on having an informed citizenry. These activities including teaching media literacy skills to patrons in the library as well as in the schools in partnership with teachers. In addition, libraries should be facilitating community conversations and promoting a wide variety of community collaborations that get people engaged and out of their isolated bubbles.

The Political Implications Of Felon Disenfranchisement Laws In The United States, Katharine G. Connaughton

CMC Senior Theses

This empirical study analyzes the political implications for presidential election outcomes that stem from varying felon disenfranchisement laws within the United States. In the past decade incarceration rates have drastically increased, consequently augmenting the disenfranchised population. This paper focuses on presidential election outcomes and state political party majorities in the election years 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. I use demographic characteristics to calibrate assumptions for voter turnout and political party choice among the disenfranchised populations within each state. I then apply these voting populations to historical election outcomes and find that three state political party outcomes change, as well as …

The Vp Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting In Presidential Elections, Christopher J. Devine, Kyle C. Kopko

Political Science Faculty Publications

A widespread perception exists among political commentators, campaign operatives and presidential candidates that vice presidential running mates can deliver their home state's electoral votes in a presidential election. In recent elections, presidential campaigns have even changed their strategy in response to the perceived VP home state advantage. But is the advantage real? And could it decide a presidential election? In the most comprehensive analysis to date, Devine and Kopko demonstrate that the VP home state advantage is actually highly conditional and rarely decisive in the Electoral College. However, it could change the outcome of a presidential election under narrow but …

Voting, Politics, And Gender: Has America Paved The Way For A Female President?, Hannah Bower

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of candidate gender on voting behavior in presidential elections in the United States. By delving into the vice presidential nominations of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, and Sarah Palin in 2008, I provided the baseline for the experiences of Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns in 2016. Ultimately, I present the argument that the United States is ready for a female president, either this year or in the near future.

Trump As A Chicken, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump poster caricature of Trump as a chicken.

Exposed, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

Politics

Political protest poster. Anti-Trump, anti-Ted Cruz, anti-Republican poster. Test reads: "You're not homophobic. You're just a republican. Exposed. The political use of homophobia has become a ubiquitous part of the contemporary political landscape and political gain."

Know Your Rights, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

Politics

The National Lawyers Guild RI and Providence iww General Defense Committee poster advertising a "Know Your Rights Training" free, public informational event "..to learn the basics of asserting your rights when dealing with the police".