American Politics Commons^™

Graham, Robert Duke, 1900-1984 (Mss 473), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 473. Correspondence and scrapbooks of Robert D. Graham, Democratic mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky from 1960-1963 and 1968-1971. The materials mostly document his public career, but some personal papers, including those of his wife Edith, are included.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 89, No. 6, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

• Holloway, Kaely. International Student Amendment Passes Student Government Association Senate Vote – Navitas
• Boyd, Kayla. Lambda Chi Alpha Raises Money for Hope Harbor – Watermelon Bust Beauty Pageant
• Marnon, Christian. Engineering Students Create Beech Bend Event – Cancer, Fund raising
• Downey, Casey. WKU Students Drink Wine for Class – Agriculture
• French, Jackson. Petition for 24-Hour Dining Option Heads to Student Government Association – Dining Services
• Burton, Kristina. Symphony at WKU to Give Free Concert at Jackson’s Orchard This Weekend – Music
• Bratcher, Nick. Soft Speech Still Works – Barack …

Poe Family Papers (Sc 1116), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) or Manuscripts Small Collection 1116. Chiefly letters to James E. Poe, a Warren County, Kentucky native, who later lived in Colorado and Washington Territory, from his family in Kentucky. They write of crops, weather, and their health. They also ask Jim to lead a sober life and consider returning home. Evidently Poe went west after a run-in with the law concerning the making of illegal alcohol. Also, data related to the collection.

What It's Like To Be A Radical Conservative, Stephanie K. Adamczak

SURGE

“What is your major?”

“Environmental Science.”

The snarky retort, “Don’t go joining GreenPeace now, you’re becoming a radical.”

I know there are many uses of the word “radical,” but in this context, I know that it is not meant as a compliment. Because I study environmental science and global climate change, this person associates me with radicals – those utilizing extreme methods to bring about extreme changes. [excerpt]

A Federalist George W. Bush And An Anti-Federalist Barack Obama? The Irony And Paradoxes Behind Republican And Democratic Administration Drug Policies, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

During President George W. Bush’s tenure in the White House, his administration stood clearly against state-level efforts in California and elsewhere to decriminalize soft drugs. Despite his loyalty to smaller government values and state sovereignty on other issues, the prospect of state-level drug decriminalization led Bush to pursue federal means of enforcing anti-drug laws. Years later, President Barack Obama, though known for his reputation as a federalist, shifted power over drug policy enforcement more towards the state level as a means to allow certain states to enact drug decriminalization policies at their will, particularly with respect to medicinal marijuana. The …

Agency Input As A Policy Making Tool: Analyzing The Influence Of Agency Input On Presidential Policy Success In Congress, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study posits a theoretical framework for understanding the role and value of agency input in presidential legislative policy making. I assert that by employing agency input for policy development, presidents instill their proposals with a degree of bureaucratic objectivity, expertise, process transparency, and agency support, which aids their legislative passage while lowering the extent of changes made to policy substance in the process. To test my hypotheses, I conduct binary and ordered logistic regression analyses using pooled cross-sectional data across twelve administrations from 1949-2010. I find that agency input serves as a key component for increased presidential legislative success.

Agency Input As A Policy Making Tool: Analyzing The Influence Of Agency Input On Presidential Policy Success In Congress, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

This study posits a theoretical framework for understanding the role and value of agency input in presidential legislative policy making. I assert that by employing agency input for policy development, presidents instill their proposals with a degree of bureaucratic objectivity, expertise, process transparency, and agency support, which aids their legislative passage while lowering the extent of changes made to policy substance in the process. To test my hypotheses, I conduct binary and ordered logistic regression analyses using pooled cross-sectional data across twelve administrations from 1949-2010. I find that agency input serves as a key component for increased presidential legislative success.

A Federalist George W. Bush And An Anti-Federalist Barack Obama? The Irony And Paradoxes Behind Republican And Democratic Administration Drug Policies, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

During President George W. Bush’s tenure in the White House, his administration stood clearly against state-level efforts in California and elsewhere to decriminalize soft drugs. Despite his loyalty to smaller government values and state sovereignty on other issues, the prospect of state-level drug decriminalization led Bush to pursue federal means of enforcing anti-drug laws. Years later, President Barack Obama, though known for his reputation as a federalist, shifted power over drug policy enforcement more towards the state level as a means to allow certain states to enact drug decriminalization policies at their will, particularly with respect to medicinal marijuana. The …

Spiller, Cora Jane (Morningstar), 1928-2020 - Collector (Sc 2762), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 2762. Letter, 30 April 1898, to Colonel Robert Morningstar, Bowling Green, Kentucky, from Walter S. Forrester, Assistant Adjutant General of Kentucky, regarding the possibilities of Kentucky troops seeing combat in the Spanish-American War; letter to Mrs. T. J. Peay and notes of Jane Morningstar regarding Barbre cemetery, Warren County, Kentucky; notes of Elise Dulaney on members of the Covington and Dulaney families of Warren County, Kentucky; printed pamphlet titled “Supplement Mulkey Genealogy.” You may access the Forrester letter about Spanish-American War service by clicking on "Additional Files" below.

Natcher, William Huston, 1909-1994 (Sc 2761), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2761. Condolence letter from U.S. Representative William Huston Natcher to Mrs. Effi Phelps, Bowling Green, Kentucky concerning the loss of her mother.

Garnett, Joseph Fauntleroy, 1901-1973 (Sc 1106), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1106. Holographic copy of a radio speech, [1934?], delivered by Democrat Joseph Fauntleroy Garnett, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, seeking his party’s nomination as a candidate for the Kentucky state senate representing Christian and Hopkins Counties. Also, another radio speech [1934?], typed with holographic changes. Includes 14 June 1933 document from the Secretary of State acknowledging his declaration as a candidate, and receipt for printing 500 placards, 1935.

The American Ideal Of Representative Democracy: The Roles Of National Identity And Perceived Consensus And Homogeneity Among The American People, Frank John Gonzalez

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

A “true” American takes pride in the democratic processes that grant power to the people, right? Some literature has shown that “power to the people” is actually quite far from being uniformly endorsed by the American people, largely because of the inherent conflict and disagreement that comes with it (e.g., Hibbing & Theiss-Morse, 2002). So are people more positive toward democratic processes when they perceive consensus among citizens? I utilize survey data from a representative sample of the United States in order to show that perceptions of consensus are positively related to support for the political power of the American …

Nine Presidents: Character Sketches From Personal Interviews, Thomas Vail

Cleveland Memory

It has been my privilege to know nine American presidents. These character sketches present my impressions of each of them. (From the Introduction by Thomas Vail, publisher and editor of the Plain Dealer 1963-1991). Original publication date 2002.

Lincoln: Reformer Or Revolutionary? An Analysis Of Lincoln's Legacy As Compared To The Political Ideals Of The Amerian Revolution, Hayley Elizabeth Patterson

Master's Theses

Despite the fact that his greatest legacies departed from American traditions, Abraham Lincoln coveted the political ideals espoused by the Founding Fathers. As president, Lincoln inherited the unprecedented challenges that resulted from decades of politicians tabling the insoluble problem of slavery. He operated within the realms of constitutionally allocated authority to meet those challenges. Where the Constitution provided no direction, Lincoln developed solutions that more closely resembled the political philosophies of the American Revolution than any of his political opponents' alternative solutions. The unprecedented circumstances he faced not only enabled Lincoln to reconcile the right to freedom as described in …

The Effects Of The Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act On The Process Of The Campaign Finance In The Presidential Nomination Process, Karen Sebold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act increased the individual donor limit to $2,000 per candidate per election and indexed the limit for inflation every two years. The primary research question guiding this study is how has the increase in the donor limit affected donor behavior. Answering this question should allow a determination to be made about how donors have responded to the increased donor limit. Understanding how donors responded to the doubled limit is important because it provides evidence on the intersection of wealth inequality and political influence. To answer the research question this study considers how the increased donor limit …

Stanley, John Hart, 1808-1878 - Relating To (Sc 1091), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1091. Holographic copy of memorial comments related to the death of John Hart Stanley, a Henderson County, Kentucky, farmer, who represented the 5th District in the state legislature. He was a state senator when he died, having been elected in 1875. Includes holographic copy of a campaign flyer used in his senatorial race.

The Contextual Presidency: The Negative Shift In Presidential Immigration Rhetoric, C. Damien Arthur

Political Science Faculty Research

Party platforms from 1993 through 2008 show a positive approach to immigration policy. Presidential rhetoric, however, does not match the tone of the platforms. There are negative frames (illegality, criminality, terrorism, and economic threats) in nearly 50% of immigration speeches. We argue that social context motivates presidents to talk about immigration negatively. This analysis provides insight into rhetoric as responsive to context rather than a mechanism of power. We coded each speech on immigration from Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and found statistically significant results that show that immigration rhetoric is more negative when certain social …

Huddleston, Walter Darlington "Dee," 1926-2018 (Sc 1083), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1083. Letter, 11 July 1980, from Kentucky Senator Walter Darlington Huddleston, Washington, D.C., to Virginia P. DeVries, Bowling Green. He thanks her for her letter, details his views on immigration limits, and comments on President Jimmy Carter’s proposal to reinstate the military draft.

Osborn, Tracy L. How Women Represent Women: Political Parties, Gender, And Representation In The State Legislatures., Arlene Violet

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

No abstract provided.

The Respectability Trap: Gender Conventions In 20th Century Movements For Social Change, Georgina Hickey

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

An analysis of how a variety of women in 19th and 20th century movements for social change in the United States negotiated normative gender expectations in both their activism and their personal lives. While challenging norms or using traditional norms as a part of a movement tactic are both common in social movements, women leaders still sometimes found themselves in a ‘respectability trap’ when they reflexively applied the dictates of respectable behavior. In these moments, the often invisible privileges attached to the social recognition of a woman’s respectability – and implied morality – become visible. Women who eschewed traditional norms …