American Politics Commons^™

Kenneth A. Roberts Papers: Finding Aid, Bethany Latham

Finding Aids

This collection contains correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, memos, news releases, and other information related to Democratic Congressman Kenneth A. Roberts’ (1912-1989; representative from 1951-1965) time in office as a member of the US House of Representatives. The materials relate to a few broad categories: the construction of a hospital located at Fort McClellan in Anniston, Alabama; the construction of Howell Mill Shoals Dam; and concerns brought before the House Subcommittee on Health and Safety, such as working mothers, automobile safety, and refrigerator safety.

Kenneth Allison Roberts was born in Piedmont, Alabama in 1912 where he attended public school and then …

Kenneth A. Roberts Congressional Notebooks: Finding Aid, Bethany Latham

Finding Aids

This collection contains notebooks related to legislation brought before the US House of Representatives during the tenure of Democratic Congressman Kenneth A. Roberts’ (1912-1989; representative from 1951-1965). Each notebook contains a table of contents listing legislation sponsored by Roberts, in alphabetical order by subject (eg, Cuba, juvenile delinquency), along with other congressional activities, voting records, etc.

Kenneth Allison Roberts was born in Piedmont, Alabama in 1912 where he attended public school and then Samford College in Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Alabama Law School in 1935 and practiced law in Talladega from 1937-1942. He was elected to the …

The Trump Administration Feuded With State And Local Leaders Over Pandemic Response – Now The Biden Administration Is Trying To Turn Back A Page In History, Ana Maria Dimand, Benjamin M. Brunjes

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

As the U.S. recovers from the pandemic, the Biden administration is working to rebuild relationships across levels of government, from the top to the bottom, that were strained during the presidency of Donald Trump.

In November 2020, Biden offered urban leaders a seat at the table in coronavirus recovery efforts, promising to avoid partisanship. Addressing the National League of Cities in March 2021, Harris praised urban leadership on COVID-19 – cities like Seattle and New York were among the first to respond to the pandemic, developing testing protocols, tracking new infections and supplying equipment for hospitals – and highlighted the …

"Divide, Divert, & Conquer” Deconstructing The Presidential Framing Of White Supremacy In The Covid-19 Era, Vivian Louie, Anahi Viladrich

Publications and Research

Based on the analysis of President Donald J. Trump’s social media, along with excerpts from his speeches and press releases, this study sheds light on the framing of white supremacy during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Our findings reveal that the triad of divide, divert, and conquer was crucial to Trump’s communications strategy. We argue that racist nativism—or racialized national threats to American security—is key to comprehending the external divisiveness in this strategy. When Trump bitterly cast China as the cause of America’s pandemic fallout and Mexico as the source of other key American …

Arthur "Billy" Leonard Pegram Jr., Kelli Johnson

Oral Histories – NPS AACR Civil Rights In Appalachia Grant

Kelli Johnson conducting an oral history interview with Billy Pegram.

Mr. Pegram is know as Billy Pegram.

This oral history is part of the National Park Service African American Civil Rights History and Appalachia Grant Program.

William Hershey's Profiles In Achievement: The Gifts, Quirks, And Foibles Of Ohio's Best Politicians (University Of Akron Press, 2021) Reviewed In Midwest Book Review, University Of Akron Press

News of The University of Akron Press

William Hershey’s Profiles in Achievement: The Gifts, Quirks, and Foibles of Ohio’s Best Politicians is praised as an “impressively informative study of Ohio politics and politicians” that is “exceptionally well written, organized and presented.”

Preparing Students For Civic Engagement In The Era Of `Fake News’, Nathan J. Combes

Perspectives In Learning

I recommend that instructors allow students to determine the content for Introduction to American Government. I also recommend that instructors assign students to conduct independent research on each unit of American Government rather than assigning a textbook. There are numerous benefits to implementing these practices. Students take ownership of their education and feel empowered to fill gaps in knowledge. Students are more prepared for class. It allows course content to match current events in real time. Students learn how to analyze the credibility of various sources. Class conversations are more dynamic. Students develop a better understanding of opinions that …

Talented, Yet Seen With Suspicion: Surveillance Of International Students And Scholars In The United States, Ryan M. Allen, Krishna Bista

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The attacks of September 11, 2001, put terrorism at the forefront of the American political landscape. Donald Trump played into these fears of terrorism through his political rhetoric during his presidency, particularly targeting international students as “threats” to the nation. However, we argue that the labeling of international students as security threats was not started after 9/11 nor invented by Trump. Through historical records and accounts across decades of policies related to this issue, we seek to answer two questions: How has the U.S. government monitored visa policies and programs for international students? How have U.S. national policies evolved to …

"A Rabble Rouser All The Time": Jim Johnson And The Politics Of Massive Resistance In Arkansas, Marie Cathryn Totten

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

James D. “Jim” Johnson was an Arkansas politician best known for his racism, commitment to segregation, and failed gubernatorial campaigns. Johnson makes appearances in some of Arkansas’ most notorious political moments in the 20th century. He campaigned for the Dixiecrats in 1948, led the state’s first major protest against integration in 1955, pushed Governor Orval Faubus to become a segregationist in 1956, and lost multiple elections in the 1960s. Although not victorious at the polls, Johnson had a tremendous influence on Arkansas politics in the middle of the 20th century. He made integration a viable political issue in the state …

Latinos In The South: Community, Family, And Identity, José Tránsito Ayala Rodriguez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As Latinos have migrated at high rates to the U.S. South in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the region has become known as a “new immigrant destination” and the “Nuevo South” yet political science research documenting the dynamics of Latino identity in the Nuevo South has been scarce. In this thesis I seek to understand the roles of Latino panethnic, U.S. (American) and Southern identity on factors informing the development of Latino community building. I use the 2016 Blair Center Poll to test social identity and family intimacy theories through a quantitative analysis of the effects of attachment …

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 …

The Personality Profile And Leadership Style Of U.S. President Joe Biden, Anne Marie Griebie, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality and leadership style of U.S. president Joe Biden, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data about Biden were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5.

The personality profile yielded by the MIDC was analyzed on the basis of interpretive guidelines provided in the MIDC and Millon Index of Personality Styles manuals. Biden’s primary …

The Plexiglass Ceiling: Exploring Systemic Racism And Sexism In Public Leadership Positions, Kaylin Oliver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The numbers of black women who hold leadership positions within public institutions are not correspondingly reflective of their overall numbers within public institutions. The focus of this study is to examine how race and gender discrimination prohibits black women from obtaining leadership positions in public institutions.. I propose a new theory Workplace Intersectional Infringement Theory (WIIT) to increase the efficacy of the study on black women in Public Institutions. Using snowball sampling, I conduct interviews with 11 black women who hold leadership positions across a variety of public institutions within the United States. I found a majority of the participants …

A Lifeline For Millions: American Relief In An Age Of Isolationism, Matteo Marsella

The Forum: Journal of History

American military involvement in the Great War is a widely discussed aspect of the conflict. The period following the war is often considered an example of American isolationist foreign policy. Lesser well known are American efforts to provide food relief to starving populations in Europe, which began during and continued well after the war's conclusion. This paper seeks to locate American relief efforts within broader postwar foreign policy. Although President Harding’s 1920 election victory on a platform of a “return to normalcy” is often construed as a rejection of Wilsonian internationalism and a return to prewar isolationism, there is no …

The Conspiracy Theory Defense In Response To Whistleblower Accusations: Turning A Hero Into A Villain, James K. Beggan

Heroism Science

Whistleblowers can be viewed as heroic actors who reveal institutional misdeeds. In contrast, conspiracy theorists are seen as members of a marginalized element perpetuating misinformation. Despite this apparent difference, the present analysis focuses on how similarities between the two constructs can allow a target to discredit a whistleblower accusation by countering that the whistleblower is operating as part of a conspiracy. More generally, this paper considers how the difficulty inherent in disproving conspiracy theory claims facilitates their utility as a defense. The case study of President Donald Trump’s responses to whistleblower accusations are considered to illustrate the arguments.

Judicial Review As An Instrument Of Natural Rights Theory: An Intellectual History, James M. Masnov

Dissertations and Theses

The unique and antidemocratic power of judicial review by the United States Supreme Court is not a bug, but a feature. Its role was critical in establishing and affirming a separation of powers horizontally among the federal branches as well as vertically between the federal government and the individual states. More than this, the Court's power of judicial review acts as an instrument of rights theory and is informed by a rich and rarely-discussed intellectual history. Though judicial review as a mode of constitutional law and the legal history surrounding it has been discussed by various legal scholars, political scientists, …

How To Escape 130 Years Of Being Unnatural, Incompetent, And Unviable: American Women Presidential Candidates Take To Social Media, Izabella Becherer

University Honors Theses

For 130 years, American media coverage on women in presidential races remains unchanged despite the drastic difference in women's rights. While male candidates receive commentary on their policy, women often fall into discussions about their hair, their hemline, or their husband. Three core narratives about women then stem from their media characterization: unnatural, incompetent, and unviable. Unnatural, in that women, by nature, are not meant to be in political office. Incompetent, implying women are not smart enough for political office. Unviable, arguing that America is not ready to elect a female or females are "unelectable". The key to escaping this …

Executive Unilateralism And Individual Rights In A Federalist System, Meredith Mclain, Sharece Thrower

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Presidents have a wide array of tools at their disposal to unilaterally influence public policy, without the direct approval of Congress or the courts. These unilateral actions have the potential to affect a variety of individual rights, either profitably or adversely. Governors too can employ unilateral directives for similar purposes, often impacting an even wider range of rights. In this Article, we collect all executive orders and memoranda related to individual rights issued between 1981 and 2018 at the federal level, and across the U.S. states, to analyze their use over time. We find that chief executives of all kinds …

Too Much Of A Good Thing?: A Review Of Overdoing Democracy, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Cultivating civic friendship doesn’t start with transforming society; it begins on an individual level."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Overdoing Democracy: Why We Must Put Politics in its Place from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/too-much-of-a-good-thing-a-review-of-overdoing-democracy/

Liberation Theology And Adult Education, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"If there was ever time for the social gospel of Jesus Christ to make its voice heard, it is at this present historical juncture. Now is the time for American adult education to bid welcome to Liberation Theology."

How Should We Regulate The Internet? A Proposal, Natalie Petruzelli

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

With the invention of the internet providing newfangled methods of spreading information around the world, misinformation has also found home in these pathways, disrupting the general public’s ability to discern fact from fiction and creating divides in society. Regulation must be enacted to stop the effects of misinformation, but the efforts of technology companies and the general public have been insufficient thus far. Regulatory control of the internet and its content should be the responsibility of the government, based on their constitutional right to intervene under certain circumstances and the fact that previous efforts by other parties to mitigate misinformation …

Educational Attainment And Social Norms Of Voting, Eric Hansen, Andrew Tyner

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Why does the likelihood of voting increase with education in the U.S.? Prominent theories attribute education’s effect to human capital, which affords individuals resources needed to participate, but neglect social motivations. We test a theory of internalized social norms as another contributing factor, providing evidence in three studies. First, we show that highly educated people are more likely to view voting as a civic duty, and that civic duty partially mediates the effect of education on voting. Second, we show education is associated with a higher likelihood of overreporting voting in the 2016 election. Third, we show that educated respondents …

Latinx Political Leadership In Massachusetts (2021), Leyi Andrea Perez, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Christa Kelleher

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Fact Sheet provides an overview of Latinx political leadership and representation in Massachusetts.

'Who' Or 'What' Is The Rule Of Law?, Steven L. Winter

Law Faculty Research Publications

The standard account of the relation between democracy and the rule of law focuses on law’s liberty-enhancing role in constraining official action. This is a faint echo of the complex, constitutive relation between the two. The Greeks used one word – isonomia – to describe both. If democracy is the system in which people have an equal say in determining the rules that govern social life, then the rule of law is simultaneously before, after, concurrent and synonymous with democracy: It contributes to the formation of citizens with the capacity for self-governance, serves as the instrument through which democratic decisions …

El Pueblo Unido: How Threats Increased Latinx Turnout In Arizona’S 2020 General Election, Conner Martinez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Latinx voter turnout in the United States has persisted to remain below White, Black, and Asian Americans. In 2020, county level data shows Latinx turnout reached historic levels in Arizona’s 2020 general election (Pew Research 2020; Census 2020). But throughout the past two decades, Latinx’s in Arizona have faced some of the harshest anti-immigrant policies in the nation. Currently, the literature on Latinx mobilization shows mixed results on the impact of political threats on Latinx turnout (Jones-Correa et al. 2018). Through in depth interviews with Latinx organizational leaders who managed mass mobilization efforts in 2020, this paper explores the role …

A Lasting Impression: Higher Education’S Effects On Mass Polarization In The Us, Bradley Highfield

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Political polarization has been growing exponentially over the past few decades, not only with political elites and party activists, but also in the mass public. During the same period of time, the United States has also seen an exponential increase in higher education attainment. This paper examines the possible relationship higher education and elite political polarization may have in regards to the increasing polarization within the American electorate. Additionally, I aim to extrapolate how collegiate institutions create an increase in ideological polarization, as well as affective partisanship, while synthesizing Political Science studies on the effects of college education towards political …

Young People’S Perception Of Opportunities To Participate In Democratic Governance, Jennifer Nga Yu Tang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations General Assembly, 1989) accords all young people the right to be heard and make decisions on matters affecting them. Despite the fact the United States remains the only country in the world not to have ratified this document, a number of American cities have nevertheless begun to engage young people in community decision-making (e.g., in neighborhood associations or community boards). However, as of yet there are few actual opportunities for youth to participate fully in the governance of their cities. This study examined the perspectives of young people …

Anti-Intellectualism And American Fears: An Analysis Of Social And Political Factors That Influence Distrust In Scientific Authority, Naomi Hill

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

In the last few decades of our history, strong sentiments of anti-intellectualism and distrust in scientific authority have developed and spread throughout American society. Recently, the outward displays of denial and distrust surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have demonstrated just how pervasive these views are becoming. This study looked at public opinion on a variety of anti-intellectual views among the American public. The main question this research was attempting to answer is what are the political and social correlates of anti-intellectualism? The data I used to test this question was the 2021 Chapman University Survey on American Fears. …

Victim Impact: The Manson Murders And The Rise Of The Victims’ Rights Movement, Merrill W. Steeg

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Federalist Society And Constitutional Interpretation: Who Gets To Say What The Constitution Says, Deborah L. Toscano

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Federalist Society was organized in 1982 by conservative law students to counteract what they perceived to be a liberal bias in law schools, the courts, and government administration. Forty years later there is an acknowledgement of a rightward turn in the Supreme Court which scholars have attributed in part to the efforts of the Federalist Society. However, there is still little understanding of just how that change came about. This dissertation takes a step toward understanding that question. Viewing the Federalist Society as the center of a network of lawyers, think tanks, and legal institutions, I examine the influence …