American Politics Commons^™

Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1917-1963 (Sc 3259), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3259. Letter, 19 January 1961, from U.S. President-elect John F. Kennedy to James Gray of Cardinal Office Supply in Frankfort, Kentucky, thanking him for assistance rendered on behalf of the Democratic ticket during the 1960 election campaign.

The Seventeenth Amendment: The United States Senate And The Transformation From Legislative Selection To Direct Popular Election, John Joseph Janora

History Theses

The passage of the Seventeenth Amendment helped to democratize the United States Senate and tied the legislative branch closer to the people, but it undermined the links between the state and the federal systems. Any thoughtful discussion on the Progressive Era will generally lead towards the idea of increased involvement of both the government, at all levels, in the lives of the general population, and the increased involvement of the general population in the functioning of the government at large. One seemingly obvious decision made in the early part of the 20^th century was the implementation of the Seventeenth …

The Rise Of Political Factions In The United States: 1789–1795, William Wehrs

History Summer Fellows

Organized factions were something that did not arise with the creation of the United States. Rather, they slowly emerged during George Washington’s presidency. Initially, the Founding Fathers were highly resistant to the idea. There was resistance to political parties partly because of their association with the perceived dysfunctionality of England, and also because major influential thinkers like John Trenchard or David Hume were strongly against them. Soon, however, conflicts began to emerge. These stemmed from the conflicting views the Founding Fathers had on human nature. While Hamilton and Adams were both highly dubious about the trustworthiness of the common people, …

H-Diplo Article Review 780 On “Nuclear Weapons, Coercive Diplomacy And The Vietnam War.”, Luke A. Nichter

Presidential Studies Faculty Articles and Research

A review of The Journal of Cold War Studies's Forum on Nuclear Weapons, Coercive Diplomacy, and the Vietnam War: Perspectives on Nixon’s Nuclear Specter by Robert Jervis and Mark Lawrence.

Stormy Present: Conservatism And The Problem Of Slavery In Northern Politics, 1846-1865, Michael Green

History Faculty Research

Historians have been fighting about the causes and effects of the Civil War since they were using quill pens, and they figure to keep doing so until long after the laptop computer on which this is written has become an antique. Now Adam I. P. Smith, a scholar of mid-19th-century America and especially its political culture, has joined the battle to argue that one of the dominant impulses and attitudes associated with the years leading up and including the American Civil War was conservatism. As the conflicting interpretations of the era suggest, that may be the case, but the reforms …

Teaching Apportionment, Charles M. Biles

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Exhibit Notebook, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

Biography, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

Bibliography, Department Of Library Special Collections, Sandra L. Staebell

Exhibit Documents

No abstract provided.

This Is Why Republicans Can’T Shrug Off The Stormy Daniels Saga, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Stormy Daniels would probably have never been much more than a name in the catalog of porn-movie stars had it not been for Michael Cohen.

On Jan. 12, the Wall Street Journal broke the story that Cohen, one of Donald Trump's personal lawyers, had paid Daniels [npr.org] - or arranged for Daniels to be paid -- $130,000 for her silence over an alleged affair she once had with the president. In a political climate jaded by the sexual shenanigans of politicians, many Americans were tempted to ask, "So what?"

Because, as they like to say in high-stakes poker, the Daniels …

U.S. Presidential Leadership And Crisis Rhetoric, Robert Mccabe

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

My capstone project seeks to determine what are U.S. presidents attempting to accomplish in (or with) their speeches? This matters because presidential responses to crises can reflect how a president’s leadership abilities are perceived by the people he serves. This perception plays a large role in determining how much political strength the president has to accomplish his agenda. I address this research question by analyzing four different speeches: President Kennedy’s Address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on the Bay of Pigs, President Kennedy’s Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Bush’s National Cathedral Speech after the September 11th …

Priest Family Papers (Sc 3210), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3210. Correspondence and papers relating to the Priest family of Henderson County, Kentucky. Includes abstracts of title in connection with grants of coal rights. Correspondence discusses an estate settlement, pending legislation amending certain city charters, family financial matters, and a candidate’s defeat in an 1884 primary election after two of three barrooms in the precinct were “thrown wide open” for his opponent.

Selby, Isabella M. (Sc 3208), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3208. Letter to an editor, apparently drafted by Isabella M. Selby or a member of her family. Likely in reference to the “Eaton affair” or “Petticoat affair,” the letter complains of “abuse” of President Andrew Jackson and his cabinet by newspapers that are patronized “by the Clay & Adams party in this part of Kentucky”; specifically, the letter objects to characterizing the Administration’s replacement of some officeholders as “sin” or “anti-republican.”

The Prometheus Bomb: The Manhattan Project And Government In The Dark By Neil J. Sullivan, Peter Parides

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Examining The Strategies Of Formation And Action Among Social Movements: A Comparison Of The Civil Rights Movement And Black Lives Matter, Hailee Saxton

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In today’s tumultuous political landscape, the question of what makes an effective social movement? is often asked. This can be a complicated question to answer as social movements vary greatly across racial, ethnic, economic, and political boundaries. Therefore, I am conducting a case comparison of two widely-known socio-political organizations, the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter. In this comparison I will examine whether or not they truly fit the definition of a social movement, look at the strategies of action that have or could prove successful in enacting long-standing socio-political change, and make recommendations on how movements could continue …

Civil Liberties And The Dual Legacy Of The Founding, John W. Compton

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"This chapter will argue that the framers’ dual legacy in the area of civil liberties has cast a long historical shadow. Since the early republic, Americans have invoked constitutional civil liberties provisions to challenge customary forms of authority. Yet establishing the abstract legitimacy of one's claim – that it comports with a particular conception of religious liberty or the freedom of speech, for example – has typically been insufficient to prevail in the courts."

It’S Like Déjà Vu All Over Again: Seismic Changes In The American Experiment, David King

Bridge/Work

“I’ve never seen anything like this.” “Is this the end of the country?”

In 2016, it seemed that both of those statements, or something similar, was on the tongues of nearly every American. No matter who you supported, there seemed to be something entirely new about the election cycle that the nation found itself in. There is no doubt that for this generation, the 2016 election is a watershed moment for the United States. For the U.S., however, watershed moments in democracy are not the exception but the rule. To fully understand how our democracy transitions, one must return to …

2018 Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation, Otterbein University

MLK Convocations

Otterbein University honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each year at an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation which features a keynote speaker. This year's speaker was Samuel Gresham, Jr. and also included several speeches & performances by Otterbein Students.

My Grandfather Was An Illegal Immigrant: Guest Opinion, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner

Faculty Publications

In this opinion piece originally published in the Oregonian, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner reflects on his grandfather's immigration status in light of the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protection for 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants who came to the United States without documentation.

Is Trump The De-Regulator-In-Chief?, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Abe Lincoln was a regulation cutter. Who would’ve known that?”

That line in a speech on December 8 by President Trump sent a number of pundits flocking to their history textbooks for fact-checking, especially after he followed it with the claim that, based on the numbers, he had actually exceeded Lincoln’s first-year total. “That’s pretty good for 10 months.”

What the pundits found was largely what they looked for. Blue State Daily’s Matthew Slivan smirked that “Trump likes to conjure comparisons to Abraham Lincoln,” but “the truth is what you’d expect: Trump is a blowhard.” Another reporter rang up …

In A Gilded Cage, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The Oxford history of the United States may be the most prestigious series of American history survey volumes in print. Originally launched under the aegis of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, it embraces at least three Pulitzer Prize-winners—James M. McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988), David M. Kennedy’s Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945 (1999), and Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought? The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 (2007)—plus two other Pulitzer nominations and a Bancroft Prize in 1997 for James Patterson’s Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945–1974.

There …

Blurring The Spectrum: Exploring Queer Conservatism, Austin P. Mejdrich

Masters Theses

Running parallel to the groundbreaking and historic advancement of LGBTQ rights over the past decade has been the rise in the prominence and public discourse of queer conservative thinking. From the Log Cabin Republicans to far-right nationalistic politics, queer conservatives underscore both diverging ideologies within the modern American conservative tradition and the increase of far-right politics in Western societies. This study argues that queer conservatism, while traditionally less explored in the broader context of sexuality politics, is consequential to an understanding of the LGBTQ community and queer politics. Thus, an exploration of queer conservatism as a political ideology is explored, …

Indefinite Detention, Colonialism, And Settler Prerogative In The United States, Natsu Taylor Saito

Faculty Publications By Year

The primacy accorded individual civil and political rights is often touted as one of the United States' greatest achievements. However, mass incarcerations of indefinite duration have occurred consistently throughout U.S. history and have primarily targeted people of color. The dominant narrative insists that the United States is a political democracy and portrays each instance of indefinite detention in exceptionalist terms. This essay argues that the historical patterns of indefinite detention are better explained by recognizing the United States as a settler colonial state whose claimed prerogative to expand its territorial reach and contain/control populations over which it exercises jurisdiction inevitably …

Strength Through Diplomacy: A Fundamental Review Of The Relationship Between North Korea And The United States, Benjamin D. Blackstone

CMC Senior Theses

At the time that this thesis is printed, we are reminded of the tumultuous relationship between North Korea and the United States every day. If we follow the mainstream news regularly, it seems like we are on a steady path to war. Ultimately, this paper is centered around the question: what is the best foreign policy strategy for both countries to achieve respective goals, without descending into armed conflict? Specifically, I evaluated the failures of the last three U.S. Presidents and used their shortcomings to explain limitations in current foreign policy strategy. I also attempted to show North Korean concerns …

Nineteenth-Century American Religion And Politics In The West: Doctrinal Shifts In Mormonism And The Creation Of Utah, Katherine Manning

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

American religion and politics have always been closely intertwined. Though America was founded on ideals of religious pluralism and tolerance, the actual landscape of American religion often resembled the opposite of these ideas. As a religious majority, Protestants in the nineteenth-century believed in a specific American identity—one which championed the “virtuous” family and a capitalist market system. Yet, some religious organizations challenged these norms, making them the object of intense persecution. One of the most famous of these examples is the Mormons. From their “peculiar” beliefs to their separatist goals, Mormons presented the American people with a religious group which …

H-Diplo Roundtable Xix, 14 On Dynamic Détente: The United States And Europe, 1964-1975, Thomas Schwartz, Werner Lippert, Luke A. Nichter, Kenneth Weisbrode, Stephan Kieninger

Presidential Studies Faculty Articles and Research

A set of reviews of Stephan Kieninger's Dynamic Détente: The United States and Europe, 1964-1975, with a response from the author.

Grann's "Killers Of The Flower Moon: The Osage Murders And The Birth Of The Fbi" (Book Review), Roderick Leupp

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 (Sc 3162), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3162. Envelope addressed to P. R. Fendall, Esq., Washington, D.C., from Henry Clay, Lexington, Kentucky. The date of receipt is listed as 21 November 1829. On the left margin Fendall, a journalist, attorney, and politician in Washington, D.C. has noted when he replied to Clay in January 1830. The red wax seal remains attached; the envelope is empty.

Honor And Compromise, And Getting History Right, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly does not have a Ph.D. in history, although he does have two master’s degrees, in Strategic Studies (from the National Defense University) and in National Security Affairs from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. So perhaps it was simply that he believed what he said about the Civil War this past Monday on Laura Ingraham’s new Fox News ‘Ingraham Angle’ was so innocuous that he could also believe that it wouldn’t even become a blip on anyone’s radar screen. (excerpt)

Nunn, Louie Broady, 1924-2004 (Sc 3159), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3159. Telegram, 29 September 1956, from Louie B. Nunn, Republican State Campaign Chairman for Kentucky, to Mr. and Mrs. William Pennycook, Jr., Louisville, Kentucky, inviting them to a dinner at the Phoenix Hotel on October 1 in honor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Includes a ticket to the dinner and to the welcoming event at Memorial Coliseum.