History
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Item San Antonio, Bexar County, and the Texas Rangers: The struggle of prohibition enforcement(May-23) Febre, Matthew David 10/17/1995-; Landdeck, Katherine S; Van Erve, Wouter; Parker, JamesThe purpose of this study was to examine the enforcement of Prohibition in San Antonio, Texas, both before nationwide implementation and through Governor Pat Neff’s Ranger occupation of the city between September 1923 to January 1925. Due to the challenges of Prohibition enforcement, Governor Neff, during his second term, created a new company of the famed Texas Rangers to police Prohibition within San Antonio with mixed results. This year-and-a-half-long enforcement campaign ended with the court case Neff vs. Elgin and the election of Governor Miriam Ferguson. Major primary sources of this thesis include various newspaper articles primarily from San Antonio, letters from Governor Neff and Rangers from San Antonio, including Captain Berkhead C. Baldwin, and court documents from Neff vs. Elgin. While Neff’s occupation of San Antonio successfully enforced vice laws, the campaign proved difficult to maintain because of the unprofessionalism, uncooperativeness, and violent methods of the Texas Rangers.Item An inferno of anxiety: How narratives surrounding the North Texas fires of 1860 ignited paranoia and distrust in Texas prior to secession(May-23) Hustoft, Stefanie 01/26/1997-; Blosser, Jacob; Parker, James; Van Erve, WouterThe purpose of this thesis was to examine the impact of the 1860 North Texas fires on Texas’ decision to secede. This research project looks at the various factors of these events. Chapter one looks at the environment of North Texas and how the dry conditions combined with white settlement practices created conditions that helped the summer fires spread. This chapter also analyzes Donald E. Reynolds’ prairie match, which claims that the North Texas fires of 1860 were caused by matches combusting from the summer heat. Chapter two looks at the animosity Texans had against northerners. A specific focus of this section is Texans’ assumption that all northerners were abolitionists who wanted to harm southerners and take away their slaves. The third chapter analyzes Texas coverage of the North Texas fires and how the narratives were manipulated to accuse abolitionists of setting fires across the region. The chapter also introduces how other southern states influenced Texas to secede during the state convention of 1861.Item An inferno of anxiety: How narratives surrounding the North Texas fires of 1860 ignited paranoia and distrust in Texas prior to secession(May-23) Hustoft, Stefanie 01/26/1997-; Blosser, Jacob; Parker, James; Van Erve, WouterThe purpose of this thesis was to examine the impact of the 1860 North Texas fires on Texas’ decision to secede. This research project looks at the various factors of these events. Chapter one looks at the environment of North Texas and how the dry conditions combined with white settlement practices created conditions that helped the summer fires spread. This chapter also analyzes Donald E. Reynolds’ prairie match, which claims that the North Texas fires of 1860 were caused by matches combusting from the summer heat. Chapter two looks at the animosity Texans had against northerners. A specific focus of this section is Texans’ assumption that all northerners were abolitionists who wanted to harm southerners and take away their slaves. The third chapter analyzes Texas coverage of the North Texas fires and how the narratives were manipulated to accuse abolitionists of setting fires across the region. The chapter also introduces how other southern states influenced Texas to secede during the state convention of 1861.Item Stomach equality: An analysis of the practical effects of white supremacy on the organizing drives of the Brotherhood of Timber Workers(7/7/2021) Smith, Philip James; Landdeck, Katherine SharpLike a specter, white supremacy has haunted this nation’s history from the very beginning. It has even reared its ugly head in the institutions that are supposed to liberate working people, namely labor unions. What about the labor organizations that organizes on a biracial basis? How did white supremacy effect the day to day work of biracial organizations like the Brotherhood of Timber Workers (BTW)? This work examines the practical effects of white supremacy on the organizing drives of the BTW in the Piney Woods region of East Texas and Western Louisiana between 1910 and 1914. By using archival research and building on the work of previous scholars, this work finds that white supremacy, in various ways, negatively impacted the union’s organizing drives.Item The impact of climate change on African American communities(1/12/2021) Diggs, Mallaya J; Hoye, TimothyAfrican American communities are experiencing the serious effects of climate change on a nationwide level. The researcher examines in detail the hardships which have been endured by the African American community, including the degradation of their environment, health, economic stability, and general well-being. These concerns remain an ongoing issue because African Americans are without a voice on the national stage. This study aims to verify that climate change, whether caused by natural or human means, has had a significant impact on African American communities. Change is required to promote environmental equality for all who have suffered from, and continue to be affected by, the aftermath of natural disasters. This thesis will identify what climate change is and how it originated in order to understand the effects it has had on society, particularly African Americans. This study will identify the criticism of climate change that disregard climate change is part of the problem. The study will research other global experiences with addressing climate change of regions that have similar problems to those of African American communities in the United States. The purpose of the researcher’s stance is to understand what the United States can extract, gain, and lose. The study will argue that the focus of the United States government is not on climate change or its effects on minority communities. On the contrary, the effects of climate change in the community are downplayed by the media, not taken seriously, or not addressed to the extent they should be. At present, the struggle for addressing this problem remains the responsibility of local communities that still need more political and governmental support. To test this hypothesis, due to the COVID-19 quarantine, an online survey was taken from a national poll of one thousand African Americans to capture their responses regarding the effects of climate change. The researcher also used graphs and research studies conducted by other institutes to support the hypothesis that African American communities are disproportionately affected by climate change. These results suggest that climate change does impact the African American community, and that without the U.S. government enacting effective climate change policy, the problems are likely to persist. African American communities can only rely on non-profit organizations to help their communities deal with the consequences of climate change and to promote change and equality when disaster strikes.Item Beyond East and West: Political melancholy in the works of Orhan Pamuk(2013-05) Cooper, Travis; Hoye, Timothy; Travis, Paul D.; Belfiglio, ValentineThis thesis examines Orhan Pamuk's use of melancholy as a political concept. While the Nobel committee argues Pamuk's work is an example of clashing civilizations, this thesis argues Pamuk's novels examine how collective melancholy is the cause of, rather than a symptom of, political conflict. This thesis provides a conceptual analysis of melancholy, reviews the origins and uses of the term in both Western and Islamic literature, and examines how Pamuk reinvented the concept to explain Turkish political culture since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The primary sources include Pamuk's novels, essays, and speeches; medical and philosophical literature on melancholy and Sufi poetry. This thesis will show that Pamuk's reconceptualization of melancholy has political implications globally as well as in Turkey.Item The Czech-German coexistence and the "wild expulsions" from Ústí nad Labem/Aussig, 1918-1945(10/2/2019) Kvapilova, Katerina; Landdeck, Katherine SharpThis study, which spans from the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 to August 1945,examines the factors that played a role in the postwar violence against Sudeten Germans and their “wild expulsions” from the city of Ústí nad Labem while considering the deterioration of the local Czech-German relations prior to the expulsions as one of the possible factors. This thesis argues that while the Czech-German coexistence rapidly deteriorated in the late 1930s, this fact did not play a significant role in the violence against Germans in Ústí nad Labem during the period of the “wild expulsions.” Other factors such as the attitude of the Czechoslovak government, military leaders, and individuals within military and paramilitary formations proved to play a major role. A factor uniquely specific to Ústí nad Labem was, for example, the close proximity to Prague and easy access by railroads. While Ústí’s Czechs did not participate in violence against Germans, there does not seem to be any evidence that they opposed the expulsions.Item Sino-American relations since 1949: The correlation between domestic and foreign policies(1977-05) Chan, Liza Cheuk May; Belfiglio, Valentine; Landry, Harral; Yarborough, KempItem The national pastime and history: Baseball and American society's connection during the interwar years(2007-05) Birch, Kristina; Landdeck, Katherine Sharp; Travis, Paul D.; Hoye, Timothy"The National Pastime and History: Baseball and American Society's Connection During the Interwar Years" examines specific connections between Major League Baseball and society during the 1920s and 1930s. The economics of Baseball and America, the role of entertainment, and the segregation practiced by both are discussed in detail to demonstrate how Major League Baseball and society influenced each other. There is a brief look at both America and Baseball prior to and during World War I to provide an understanding of America and Major League Baseball at the dawn of the 1920s. Economics, the role of entertainment, and segregation are examined separately from both America's and Baseball's prospective. The direct influences they have on one another and the importance of their connection is then discussed at length.Item Thomas Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII: A study of power and conflict in Tudor England(1979-05) Wooten, Mary Caroline; Landry, Harral; Belfiglio, Valentine; Yarborough, KempItem Beyond orientalism: A study of three Arabic women writers(2007-05) Elhajibrahim, Samah Samih; Hoye, Timothy; Alexander, Jim; Travis, Paul D.In 1978, Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literary theorist, published his famous book, Orientalism. The book was an attack on the concepts of "Orient" and "Occident". Said described orientalism as a discourse that helped the West colonize the East. Recent events such as the illegal occupation of Iraq, the war on Afghanistan and U.S. interference in Lebanese affairs, all helped to bring orientalism to the fore. Today, some Arab scholars are questioning if orientalism actually ended. This study argues that orientalism did not vanish but has simply taken on a new form. The aim of this thesis is to study Edward Said's theory of orientalism and examine his notion that literary production provides the raw material of politics. To examine orientalism and colonialism in the Arab world, I use novels written by three Arab women writers (Fadia Faqir, Pillars of Salt; Yasmin Zahran, A Beggar at Damascus Gate; and Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Memory in the Flesh). The novels are used as tools with which to build the thesis that orientalism and colonialism continue, largely unchanged, and form the basis for the troubled relationship between the Western world and the Arab world. I argue that orientalist discourse still functions to justify and perpetuate the political, economic and military hegemony. This thesis also highlights the solutions introduced by Edward Said and the three novelists in order to move beyond orientalism and colonialism. By using novels to examine Edward Said's theory of orientalism, this thesis provides a twofold contribution to the field. First, it provides an example of how novels can be used to study social and political phenomena and how novelists are political thinkers who raise the consciousness of the society. Second, this thesis demonstrates how the study of the literature of other cultures can provide the reader with the opportunity to make a place in their mind for a foreign "other." Unlike the media which have the tendency to magnify the differences between cultures, novelists focus on the humanity of the characters, thus diminishing the differences between the reader and the character and providing the reader with light that illuminates, otherwise invisible problems.Item Laissez-faire conservatism and the United Nations Reform Act of 2005(2007-05) Gunther, Breighton; Hoye, Timothy; Belfiglio, ValentineThe United Nations Reform Act of 2005 articulates a response by laissez-faire conservatives to the hemorrhaging costs of supporting U.N. developmental programs outside the boundaries of U.S. audits. Laissez-faire conservatism, also referred to as classical liberalism, has traditionally sought freedom from large governmental mechanisms. In the 21st century, this mechanism is the U.N. with its peripheral vision continually dilated in the presence of non-western development. Stated concisely, this thesis demonstrates that the theories on the modern welfare state and its discontents by Friedrich Hayek and Robert Nozick have revitalized and continue to inform the 21st century laissez-faire conservative in maintaining global order.Item George Edward Pickett: A macro-historical/micro-historical perspective(1996-08) Campbell, Marsha Maro; Landry, Harral; DeMoss, Dorothy; Mott, KennethThe purpose of this study is to prepare a life history of George Edward Pickett (1825-1875). However, there are many historiographical problems which present a variety of interpretations of George Pickett. As a result, historians have drawn numerous conclusions about Pickett, many of which are based on narratives written decades after his death. This study will attempt to clarify that image by ascertaining which materials present a true image and which historical information distort the image purposefully. It is the intention of this thesis, therefore, to provide an interdisciplinary approach to the research problem. The quantitative methods for this study are based on census records, official U. S. military records, and statistical information provided by the United States government. The micro-historical model focuses on the personal life of George E. Pickett, utilizing letters, diaries and newspaper accounts. The macro-historical model for this research includes cultural and social trends, nineteenth century gender roles, and political issues. Manuscript collections located at the National Archives, the University of Virginia, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Virginia Historical Society, as well as others, have contributed to the research strategy. Another important component of this examination will comprise the use of letters and works written by LaSalle Corbell Picket. This study provides an integrated view of the impact of the Civil War and the subsequent period on George and LaSalle Pickett by demonstrating the interdependence of legitimized myth and culture. And, this analysis will also contribute to a better understanding of the Victorian era gender roles. An historiographical essay provides the conclusion to this study. George Pickett was a member of the Pickett family of Virginia whose ancestors dated their arrival in the Virginia Colony to the early seventeenth century. His early years were undistinguished from other young men of his era; however, with the onset of a civil war his existence became closely entwined with notable figures of the nineteenth century whose endeavors helped shape the course of American history. Subsequent to his graduation from West Point in 1846, Pickett was assigned to diverse military stations in the United States. He fought in the Mexican War, and later received a transfer to the Washington Territory. However, in 1861 with the secession of South Carolina, PIckett resigned his position in the Federal army and returned to his home in Virginia. Promoted to the position of Major-General in the Confederate Army. George Pickett became celebrated by reason of misfortune. Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg left an ineradicable mark on the future for Pickett, and his life would never be the same.Item The Federal Theatre in Dallas: A new deal for theatre(1996-08) Walters, Marion Rhett; Swain, Martha; DeMoss, Dorothy; Hoyle, MaryThe Dallas Federal Theatre Project was part of the Works Progress Administration effort to put 3.5 million unemployed people to work starting in 1935. Initial work to create the Dallas Federal Theatre Project began in August 1935. After fifteen months, the Dallas Theatre Project closed on 30 November 1936. This thesis examined the questions generated by the creation, activities, and short life span of the Dallas Federal Theatre Project. This thesis was based upon original documents from the Federal Theatre Project Records, located in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Because of the passage of sixty years since the events examined, none of the principals were available for interviews. Evidence showed that lax organization, failure of federal agencies to coordinate their efforts, the opposition of the WPA State Administrator, and unclear authority combined with too many goals led to the early demise of the Dallas Federal Theatre Project.Item The possible effects of John Adams's decade in Europe on his policies as vice president and president(2008-12) Giffin, Kenna S.; Presnall, Barbara; Belfiglio, Valentine; Blosser, JacobJohn Adams was comfortable with the fact that the American colonies were governed by a monarch living several thousand miles away, as long as the monarch governed through the colonial legislative bodies. When the British Parliament imposed taxes on the colonies, however, Adams knew it was time to fight, first for the colonists' rights as British citizens, and later for America's sovereignty. Adams was instrumental in planning the break from Britain, in negotiating the peace treaty with Great Britain, in negotiating commercial treaties with the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, and other countries, and as the first minister plenipotentiary from the United States to Great Britain. Adams had a decade in which to listen, observe, ask questions, read papers, and generally absorb the essence of French and British thinking, so that during his vice presidency and presidency, as America teetered on the brink of war with France and Great Britain, Adams was uniquely able to lead his country to peace and security by insisting on neutrality.Item Lord Lothian's mission to the United States, 1939-1940: A study of diplomatic persuasion(1976-05) Yeargan, Dorothy J.; Landry, Harral; Belfiglio, Valentine; Yarborough, Kemp; Dawson, JohnItem The history of the relations between Thailand and the United States of America: A study of diplomatic tension and balance in American foreign policy(1977-05) Champoonote, Amitta; Landry, Harral; Belfiglio, Valentine; Yarborough, KempItem Bui Doi: Vietnamese Amerasian experiences in Vietnam and the United States(2004-05) Olmsted, Elizabeth; Travis, Paul D.; Hoye, Timothy; Robb, JeffreyWhen examining the devastation of the Vietnam War, the experiences of the children of American soldiers and Vietnamese women: the Bui Doi, “children of the dust,” must be considered. Discriminated, ostracized and unwanted because of the origins of their births, Amerasians have suffered racial hatred to an unimaginable extent. In the United States and Vietnam, they have existed as a people without a country, children without a homeland and individuals without a culture. This is an investigation into the experiences and realities of the Amerasians. By utilizing primary and secondary sources: interviews, government documents, books, articles, and periodicals, this investigation examines the nature of the United States' involvement in Vietnam, the race relations and oppression in each society, as well as the experiences of Amerasians in both countries. This investigation yields an understanding of the discrimination, oppression and dislocation suffered by Amerasians in Vietnam and the United States.Item Biafra: A study in national self-determination and tribalism in Nigeria(1977-05) Justice, Madeline Carol; Belfiglio, Valentine; Landry, HarralItem The legal status of women and their reform movements in Victorian England: A study in feminist frustration and achievement(1975-08) Hodder, Doris Ann; Landry, Harral; Yarborough, Kemp; Sparks, Dade; Dawson, John