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The Classic Maya Collapse: A Review of Evidence and Interpretations

Description: Classic Maya civilization which flourished A.D. 250- 900 fell from causes unknown. This study traces the evidences and interpretations of those who sought to explain the downfall. Discussion begins with treatment of the ideas of pre-archaeological travellers to the region and then shifts to the twentieth century. Themes of internal collapse are explored, first focusing on such catastrophes as earthquakes and epidemics, followed by an examination of Maya gricultural technology and its possible f… more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Wood, Jeffrey Clark
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Economic Cooperation: American Labor's Alternative to Modern Industrialism

Description: Economic reform completely dominated the later half of the nineteenth century. Cooperation proved the more dominant of alternatives. This study examines the significance the English working class perceived in their own Rochdale cooperation. The American labor press reveals the philosophy by which Americans adapted the English idea peculiar to their own cultural traditions. The Sovereigns of Industry are most representative of genuine cooperative practices in labor. The Texas Cooperative Associa… more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Rainwater, Patricia Hickman
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A History of Debutante Presentation in Dallas, 1884-1977

Description: This study traces the history of debutante presentations in Dallas, Texas, from 1884 to 1976. Manuscript materials, organizational collections, interviews, and published sources were used to document and establish past and present information. The problem is organized topically and treated in chronological order within each subject. The role of four bachelors' clubs, Idlewild, Terpsichorean, Calyx, and Dervish, is emphasized and the influence of a business known as Party Service is considered. … more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Lindley, Melinda A.
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Impeachment as a Political Weapon

Description: This study is concerned with the problem of determining the nature of impeachable offenses through an analysis of the English theory of impeachment, colonial impeachment practice, debates in the constitutional convention and the state ratifying conventions, The Federalist Papers and debates in the first Congress, In addition, the precedents established in American cases of impeachment particularly in the trials of Judge John Pickering, Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson are exami… more
Date: December 1977
Creator: Collins, Sally Jean Bumpas
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The Catholic Henri IV and the Papacy, 1593-1610

Description: This study explores Franco-Papal relations, and their effect on the French Church and State, from Henri IV's conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1593 until his death in 1610. Because Henri IV's primary concern, even in matters involving the Papacy or the Gallican Church, was to protect his kingdom from Habsburg encroachment, he was willing either to abandon his Protestant allies abroad, or to adopt reform measures, such as the decrees of the Council of Trent, that might weaken his own authority … more
Date: August 1977
Creator: Fling, William Jackson
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James K. Polk and Slavery

Description: As a plantation owner, James K. Polk had economic interests which were bound to that peculiar institution. Consequently, many of his decisions as a politician were influenced by his southern background. Although his partiality toward"southern rights" was evident, he did not let his personal bias interfere with his determination to preserve the nation. Throughout his public career, he maintained that slavery was being exploited as a "political question" to divide the United States. Even though h… more
Date: August 1977
Creator: Marsh, Richard Dean
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Their Faltering Footsteps: Hardships Suffered by the Confederate Civilians on the Homefront in the American Civil War of 1861-1865

Description: It is the purpose of this study to reveal that the morale of the southern civilians was an important factor in determining the fall of the Confederacy. At the close of the Civil War, the South was exhausted and weak, with only limited supplies to continue their defense. The Confederacy might have been rallied by the determination of its people, but they lacked such determination, for the hardships and grief they endured had turned their cause into a meaningless struggle. Therefore, the South fe… more
Date: August 1977
Creator: Spencer, Judith Ann
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Government Printing Patronage and the Press, 1829-1837

Description: National and selected local newspapers, executive and congressional sources from 1829-1837, personal correspondence, and autobiographies are studied to consider the use of public funds for government printing patronage. A limited examination of printing patronage for the years prior to and immediately following the Jackson administration was made for comparative purposes. The printing patronage of various departments of the executive branch, including especially the publication of the laws, an… more
Date: May 1977
Creator: Snapp, Elizabeth M.
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The Imperial Survivors: Mythical Gods of the Counterrevolution

Description: This work provides an account of the Crimean residency of Nicholas II's mother, Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, former Commander--in-Chief of the Russian Armies, and other members of the Romanov dynasty, from the abdication of the tsar (March 1917) until their departure aboard the H.M.S. Marlborough (April 1919). The first two chapters provide a background of conditions within the Imperial Family during the reign of Nicholas II. The remainder of the work traces… more
Date: May 1977
Creator: Norman, John O.
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The Role of Illusion in the Making of the Versailles Treaty (1919)

Description: This investigation is concerned with the role played by the illusions of security, Bolshevism, and American innocence in the making of the Versailles Treaty of 1919. The main sources used in this thesis were the U.S. State Department publications The World War and The Paris Peace Conference and Paul Mantoux's Proceedings of the Council of Four. The drafting of the Versailles Treaty is approached chronologically with special emphasis accorded the problems emanating from the questions of Russia a… more
Date: May 1977
Creator: Baker, Bonnie Riddle
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Humanist Approach to Feminism

Description: Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), writer and lecturer, provided philosophical guidance to the feminist movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, During a career spanning the years 1890 to 1935 she published eleven books, wrote articles for popular magazines, and lectured throughout the United States and Europe. Between 1909 and 1916 she wrote, edited, and published a monthly magazine entitled The Forerunner. Gilman's efforts dealt primarily with the status of women, but… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Potts, Helen Jo
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Irish Members of Parliament and the Home-Rule Bill of 1912

Description: This thesis examines speeches made by Irish members of the British House of Commons concerning the Government of Ireland Bill (1912). The most significant source use was the Parliamentary Debates of the House of Commons, 1912 to 1914. The organization of the Irish political parties is outlined in Chapter One. The next two chapters deal with their view of Irish history during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fourth chapter focuses upon the bill in committee, and the fifth chapter exa… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Burke, Kenneth Alton
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The Origins and Development of Black Religious Colleges in East Texas

Description: This work is a study of the origins, development, and contributions of the black religious colleges of East Texas. The central purpose of the study is to reexamine the role Wiley, Bishop, Texas, and Jarvis colleges have played in black higher education. Although prior to 1960 most studies of Negro institutions of higher education described such schools as total failures in their effort to uplift American Negroes, since that time many scholars have published works which pointed up the achievemen… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Thompson, Lloyd K.
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Black Opposition to Participation in American Military Engagements from the American Revolution to Vietnam

Description: This thesis includes two background chapters based largely on secondary works; Chapters I and II trace the historiography of black participation in American military engagements from the American Revolution through the Korean conflict. Chapter III, based largely on primary sources, places emphasis on black resistance and attitudes toward the Vietnam crisis. Evidence indicates that the Vietnam era of black protest was not unique but was an evolutionary process that had its roots in other periods… more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Alexander, Vern L.
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G. K. Chesterton: Twentieth Century Catholic Reformer

Description: This thesis attempts to discover the basis of Chesterton's theories and the link between his religion and politics. The main sources for this paper are the religious and political non-fiction works by Chesterton and his collaborators. The first chapter brings G. K. from his birth in 1874 to 1908 and the publication of Orthodoxy. The second chapter describes his conversion to Roman Catholicism, and the third discusses his distinctive Christian theology. The fourth outlines G. K.'s political sol… more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Blackman, Amanda Hasbrouck
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A Study of Southern Insurgency Within the Texas Congressional Delegation, 1933-1938

Description: This study focuses upon the Texas congressional delegation from 1933 to 1938 in an attempt to determine the extent of southern insurgency within that group. Following an examination of the Redeemer-insurgent dichotomy in southern politics since Reconstruction, the thesis analyzes roll-call votes on New Deal legislation concerning agricultural, financial, relief, and labor reform issues to demonstrate that a spirit of southern insurgency existed in Texas politics in the 1930's. The study conclud… more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Haney, Jan P.
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Twilight of Laissez-Faire: the Campaign for Ten Hours, 1831-1853

Description: In early Victorian England, the new philosophy of social democracy challenged the bourgeois creed of laissezfaire. An important aspect of this struggle, which historians have neglected, is the campaign (1831-1853) for a shorter and regulated factory workday. This study concludes that during the Parliamentary debates on factory legislation, Britain's leaders, regardless of party affiliation, decided that the Government, indeed, had an obligation to assist the victims of social and economic injus… more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Barvin, Linn H.
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"With All Deliberate Speed:" The Fifth Circuit Court District Judges and School Desegregation

Description: During the years following Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. district courts assumed the burden of implementing that decision across the country. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of the district court judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in that effort. The primary sources used are the district, appellate and Supreme Court opinions. This study concludes that many background variables used to study judicial behaviour are ineffective in this geographical area because … more
Date: August 1976
Creator: Bodnar, John A.
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A Descriptive Account of United States Government Documents Pertaining to the History of United States Diplomatic Relations with Mexico, 1821-1846

Description: This paper provides a thematic approach to three major United States government document series relating to topics of early United States diplomatic relations with Mexico; treaty negotiations, the Santa 'Fe trade, the Texas question, and claims. The document series examined are .the United States presidential papers, United States Congressional documents , and the National Archives Record Group 59, diplomatic dispatches from United State Ministers to Mexico. Historians must make an evaluation o… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Kelly, Melody S.
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The Diplomacy of Prohibition

Description: The advent of prohibition in America in the early 1920's brought on wide-spread smuggling activity along the Canadian and Mexican borders as well as along the Atlantic coastline. Since many of the smuggling vessels sought protection from American authorities by foreign registry, the State Department initiated efforts to enable American officials to enforce prohibition without interfering with legitimate commerce. Washington concluded compromise agreements with fifteen countries that provided fo… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Walker, Judson Steely
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The European View of the Incas in the Sixteenth Century

Description: This study seeks to ascertain European views concerning the nature of the indigenous population of Peru by employing contemporary works of Spanish chroniclers. Major focus is on the ideological background of the conquest with elaborations on Iberian philosophies held by conquistadors. Equally important are evaluations of Indian religion and social customs based on such sources as Aristotelian and Thomist doctrines as understood by Spanish writers. Political organization and the hierarchy of rul… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Greene, Gayle Lee
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Martin Luther: Protagonist of Authoritarianism

Description: It is the aim of this thesis to discuss Martin Luther as a political philosopher of authoritarianism as revealed in his writings. Although he advocated the separation of faith and reason, Luther's political sphere includes the omnipotence and authority of God. Given this factor, the religious elements of calling, faith, and love become political manifestations. This polity effects a state in which the citizen must find spiritual and civic fulfillment within a secular existence. The possible aff… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Hopkins, Karen Leigh
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The Political Life of a Carpetbagger: Stephen W. Dorsey, 1873-1883

Description: This thesis investigates the political career of Stephen Dorsey, an Ohio industrialist who moved to Arkansas in 1871. Dorsey was elected to the U.S. Senate from Arkansas in 1873, served as secretary of the Republican National Committee for. the election of 1880, and was tried twice, in 1882 and 1883, for the Star Route postal frauds. Although Dorsey was acquitted, the Star Route frauds ended his political career. Separate chapters treat each phase of Dorsey's career. Major sources included the … more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Lowry, Sharon K.
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Winfield Scott and the Sinews of War: the Logistics of the Mexico City Campaign, October 1846--September 1847

Description: This study analyzes the procedures and operations of the Quartermaster, Ordnance, Commissary, and Medical Departments during Scott's campaign to determine the efficiency of the prevailing logistical system. Unpublished and published government documents, official records, manuscript collections, memoirs, diaries, and newspapers provide the data. The first chapter describes the logistical departments interworkings; the remaining chapters detail the operations of the bureaus during the expeditio… more
Date: May 1976
Creator: Miller, Roger Gene
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