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open access

His, Hers, and Theirs: Domestic Relations and Marital Property Law in Texas to 1850

Description: Texas law regarding the legal status of women and their property rights developed from the mingling of Spanish and English laws. Spanish laws regarding the protection of women's rights developed during the centuries-long Reconquest, when the Spanish Christians slowly took back the Iberian Peninsula from the Moorish conquerors. Women were of special importance to the expansion of Spanish civilization. Later, when Spain conquered and colonized the New World, these rights for women came, too. In … more
Date: May 2000
Creator: Stuntz, Jean A.
open access

A.P. Giannini, Marriner Stoddard Eccles, and the Changing Landscape of American Banking

Description: The Great Depression elucidated the shortcomings of the banking system and its control by Wall Street. The creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 was insufficient to correct flaws in the banking system until the Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935. A.P. Giannini, the American-Italian founder of the Bank of America and Mormon Marriner S. Eccles, chairman of Federal Reserve Board (1935-1949), from California and Utah respectively, successfully worked to restrain the power of the eastern bankin… more
Date: May 2000
Creator: Weldin, Sandra J.
open access

David Lefkowitz of Dallas: A Rabbi for all Seasons

Description: This dissertation discusses the impact David Lefkowitz and his ministry had on Dallas during the years of his ministry (1920-1949) at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas Texas, and the years following his death in 1955. The focus is on his involvement in civic activities, although his pastoral activities are also discussed. Sources include interviews with family members, friends and acquaintances, newspaper articles, journals, internet sources, unpublished theses and dissertations about Dallas and relate… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Guzman, Jane Bock
open access

The Evolution of Gentility in Eighteenth-Century England and Colonial Virginia

Description: This study analyzes the impact of eighteenth-century commercialization on the evolution of the English and southern American landed classes with regard to three genteel leadership qualities--education, vocation, and personal characteristics. A simultaneous comparison provides a clearer view of how each adapted, or failed to adapt, to the social and economic change of the period. The analysis demonstrates that the English gentry did not lose a class struggle with the commercial ranks as much as … more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Nitcholas, Mark C.
open access

Interests Eternal and Perpetual: British Foreign Policy and the Royal Navy in the Spanish Civil War, 1936 - 1937

Description: This thesis will demonstrate that the British leaders saw the policy of non-intervention during the Spanish Civil War as the best option available under the circumstances, and will also focus on the role of the Royal Navy in carrying out that policy. Unpublished sources include Cabinet and Admiralty papers. Printed sources include the Documents on British Foreign Policy, newspaper and periodical articles, and memoirs. This thesis, covering the years 1936-37, is broken down into six chapters,… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Sanchez, James
open access

Male Army Nurses: The Impact of the Vietnam War on Their Professional and Personal Lives

Description: As American involvement in Vietnam escalated in the 1960s, the military's need for medical personnel rose as well. A shortage of qualified nurses in the United States coupled with the requirements of providing adequate troops abroad meant increased opportunity for male nurses. To meet the needs of Army personnel, the Army Nurse Corps actively recruited men, a segment of the nursing population that had previously faced daunting restrictions in the Army Nurse Corps (ANC). Amidst mounting tension,… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Hess, Lucinda Houser
open access

Robert Boyle and the Significance of Skill and Experience in Seventeenth-Century Natural Philosophy

Description: The purpose of this study is to examine how English natural philosophers of the seventeenth century—in particular, Robert Boyle (1627-1691) considered and assessed the personal traits of skill and experience and the significance of these characteristics to the practice of seventeenth-century science. Boyle's writings reveal that skill and experience impacted various aspects of his seventeenth-century experimental natural philosophy, including the credibility assessment of tradesmen and eyewitne… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Chipman, Gary V.
open access

The Significance and Impact of Women on the Rise of the Republican Party in Twentieth Century Texas

Description: During the early twentieth century, the Democratic party dominated the conservative political landscape of Texas. Through the 1920s, members of the Republican party focused on patronage and seemed content to maintain the position of minority party. A growing dissatisfaction with the liberal policies of the New Deal during the 1930s created opportunities for state Republicans to woo dissenting Democrats to their side. With a change of leadership within the state GOP after 1950, the Republicans w… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Strickland, Kristi Throne
open access

Singing for Blaine and for Logan! Republican Songs as Campaign Literature in the 1884 Presidential Race

Description: During the presidential contest of 1884, Republicans used singing as a campaign tactic at rallies, meetings, and parades. Their songs may be divided into several categories, such as rally songs, songs of praise for the party and its candidate, "bloody shirt" songs, mudslinging songs, and issue-based songs. Songs provide a perspective on the overall tenor of the campaign, while a lack of songs on certain topics, such as temperance, reflects the party's reluctance to alienate voters by taking a … more
Date: December 2000
Creator: Madding, Carol Ann
open access

By Air Power Alone: America's Strategic Air War in China, 1941-1945

Description: During World War II, the Army Air Force waged three strategic air offensives in and from China against Japan. At first, the Flying Tigers and 10th Air Force constituted the whole of American aid to China, but the effort soon expanded. Supported by Chiang Kai-shek, Claire Chennault and his 14th Air Force waged an anti-shipping campaign, to which the Japanese Imperial Army responded with Operation Ichigo and against which Joseph Stilwell accurately warned. 20th Bomber Command used B-29s to wage O… more
Date: May 2001
Creator: Jahnke, Todd Eric
open access

Jacksonian Democracy and the Electoral College: Politics and Reform in the Method of Selecting Presidential Electors, 1824-1833

Description: The Electoral College and Jacksonian Democracy are two subjects that have been studied extensively. Taken together, however, little has been written on how the method of choosing presidential electors during the Age of Jackson changed. Although many historians have written on the development of political parties and the increase in voter participation during this time, none have focused on how politicians sought to use the method of selecting electors to further party development in the count… more
Date: May 2001
Creator: Thomason, Lisa
open access

The Rio Grande Expedition, 1863-1865

Description: In October 1863 the United States Army's Rio Grande Expedition left New Orleans, bound for the Texas coast. Reacting to the recent French occupation of Mexico, President Abraham Lincoln believed that the presence of U.S. troops in Texas would dissuade the French from intervening in the American Civil War. The first major objective of this campaign was Brownsville, Texas, a port city on the lower Rio Grande. Its capture would not only serve as a warning to the French in Mexico; it would also dis… more
Date: May 2001
Creator: Townsend, Stephen A.
open access

Spanish Relations with the Apache Nations East of the Río Grande

Description: This dissertation is a study of the Eastern Apache nations and their struggle to survive with their culture intact against numerous enemies intent on destroying them. It is a synthesis of published secondary and primary materials, supported with archival materials, primarily from the Béxar Archives. The Apaches living on the plains have suffered from a lack of a good comprehensive study, even though they played an important role in hindering Spanish expansion in the American Southwest. When th… more
Date: May 2001
Creator: Carlisle, Jeffrey D.
open access

Dr. Richard Price, the Marquis de Condorcet, and the Political Culture of Friendship in the Late Enlightenment

Description: The eighteenth century saw many innovations in political culture including the rise of the public sphere where political ideas were freely and openly discussed and criticized. The new public sphere arose within the institutions of private life such as the Republic of Letters and salons, so the modes of behavior in private life were important influences on the new political culture of the public sphere. By studying the lives and careers of Richard Price and the Marquis de Condorcet, I examine th… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Kruckeberg, Robert Dale
open access

From Lost Cause to Female Empowerment: The Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, 1896-1966

Description: The Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) organized in 1896 primarily to care for aging veterans and their families. In addition to this original goal, members attempted to reform Texas society by replacing the practices and values of their male peers with morals and behavior that UDC members considered characteristic of the antebellum South, such as self-sacrifice and obedience. Over time, the organization also came to function as a transition vehicle in enlarging and… more
Date: August 2001
Creator: Stott, Kelly McMichael
open access

Combat Reconsidered: A Statistical Analysis of Small-Unit Actions During the American Civil War

Description: Historians often emphasize the physical features of battleterrain, weaponry, troop formations, earthworks, etc.in assessments of Civil War combat. Most scholars agree that these external combat conditions strongly influenced battle performance. Other historians accentuate the ways in which the mental stresses of soldiering affected combat performance. These scholars tend to agree that fighting effectiveness was influenced by such non-physical combat conditions as unit cohesion, leadership, mora… more
Date: December 2001
Creator: Barloon, Mark C.
open access

Lucca in the Signoria of Paolo Guinigi, 1400-1430

Description: This study analyzes the once great medieval Tuscan capital of Lucca's struggle for survival at the beginning of the fifteenth century. This was the age of the rise of regional states in Italy, and the expansionistic aims of Milan, Florence and others were a constant challenge to city-states such as Lucca which desired a political and cultural status quo. Yet, it was a challenge that was successfully met; unlike Pisa, Siena, Perugia, and various other major Tuscan cities, Lucca did not succumb … more
Date: May 2002
Creator: Johnson, Ken
open access

Greek texts and English translations of the Bible: a comparison and contrast of the Textus Receptus Greek New Testament of the sixteenth century and the Alexandrian text of Westcott and Hort (nineteenth century) and Aland and Metzger (twentieth century) concerning variant texts that pertain to the orthodox Christology of the Council of Nicea, A.D. 325.

Description: The argument of this paper is that certain salient passages in the New Testament concerning Christology, as it was defined in the Nicene creed in A.D. 325, reflect such orthodoxy better in the Textus Receptus Greek texts and the English translations made from them than do the Alexandrian texts. Arian theology, which was condemned as heretical at Nicea, is examined. Patristic quotations, historical texts, and arguments of the scholars are cited and traced, along with a comparison of Christologic… more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Samples, Gil L.
open access

Gritos de la Frontera: Giving Voice to Tejano Contributions in the Formation of the Republic of Texas, 1700-1850

Description: The intent of this thesis is to convey the distinctiveness and the contributions of Tejano culture in Texas. It focuses on the traditions of governance employed by Tejanos as well as their contributions to industry, economy and defense that Texas benefited from and still enjoys today. .given by Spain and México to Tejanos in establishing their settlements affected the development of a distinct Tejano culture. Furthermore, this study will also examine Anglo-Tejano interaction and Anglo American … more
Date: December 2002
Creator: Guzmán, Roberto
open access

British and Indian Influences in the Identities and Literature of Mark Tully and Ruskin Bond

Description: With globalization and modernization, increasingly people are influenced by multiple cultures. This paper examines the case of two authors, Mark Tully and Ruskin Bond, who were born in India shortly before India's Independence (1947). Both had British parents, but one considers himself Indian while the other has retained his British identity. The focus of this paper is how and why this difference has occurred and how it has influenced their writing. Both Tully and Bond write short stories about… more
Date: August 2003
Creator: Lakhani, Brenda
open access

The Twilight of the Texas Democrats: The 1978 Governor's Race

Description: This dissertation examines the results and strategies used in the 1978 Texas gubernatorial election to determine what issues, demographics, and campaign strategies led the Republican Party nominee, Dallas businessman Bill Clements, to defeat the Democratic nominee, Attorney General John Hill, to break the 105-year old Democratic lock on the governorship and how this victory affected the evolution of Texas into a two-party state. Research materials include manuscripts and published speeches, let… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: Bridges, Kenneth William
open access

A Comparison of the Status of Widows in Eighteenth-Century England and Colonial America.

Description: This thesis compares the status of upper-class widows in England to Colonial America. The common law traditions in England established dower, which was also used in the American colonies. Dower guaranteed widows the right to one-third of the land and property of her husband. Jointure was instituted in England in 1536 and enabled men to bypass dower and settle a yearly sum on a widow. The creation of jointure was able to proliferate in England due to the cash-centered economy, but jointure never… more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Jones, Sarah E.
open access

James Evetts Haley and the New Deal: Laying the Foundations for the Modern Republican Party in Texas

Description: James Evetts Haley, a West Texas rancher and historian, balked at the liberalism promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Haley grew concerned about increased federal control over states and believed Roosevelt was leading the country toward bankruptcy. In 1936, Haley, a life-long Democrat, led the Jeffersonian Democrats in Texas, who worked to defeat Roosevelt and supported the Republican candidate, Alf Landon. He continued to lead a small faction of anti-New Deal Texans in… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Sprague, Stacey
open access

The Administration of Spain Under Charles V, Spain's New Charlemagne

Description: Charles I, King of Spain, or Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was the most powerful ruler in Europe since Charlemagne. With a Germanic background, and speaking French, Charles became King of Spain in 1516. Yet secondary sources and available sixteenth century Spanish sources such as Spanish Royal Council records, local records of Castro Urdiales in Castile, and Charles's correspondence show that he continued the policies of his predecessors in Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. H… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Beard, Joseph
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