Of the large amount of writings concerning the Civil War only a small percentage pertains to the Federal Navy's role. This is understandable since this was primarily a land war. A few of the Navy's exploits such as the capture of New Orleans, the sinking of the Alabama, the capture of the Florida in Brazilian waters, and the Trent affair received great amounts of publicity, but the majority of the naval activities were of a routine nature, each individually warranting little notice but collectively contributing immensely to the final Federal victory. The purpose of this paper is to show in detail the role of only a portion of the Navy, the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, during this struggle.

This thesis is a study of the Confederate command problem in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1861-1862.

In 1763, the British government attempted to control land hungry colonists by prohibiting settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. The ambitious attempt failed. Two years later! Great Britain, submitting to the pressure of land speculators, homestead seekers, and fur trappers, initiated the treaty making process with the American Indians. Although the Indians had no concept of private property, they exchanged their mountains and valleys for whiskey, beads, and muskets. Following independence, the American government continued the British policy of treaty making and pushing the red men out of the path of white civilization. After the Louisiana Purchase, many Americans considered the region lying beyond the Mississippi River a convenient area in which to settle the Indians. A policy of concentration evolved through John C. Calhoun's idea of a permanent Indian country where settlers had no desire to go. The white man's drive for the western lands doomed this policy to failure. During the 1850's the federal government extinguished Indian title to much of the Great Plains and opened the prairies for white settlement. By the 1860's, only two large areas remained in which to concentrate the red men--Indian Territory and the public lands north of Nebraska. Treaty negotiations for moving …

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the ramifications of Taft's policy extending "all proper support to every legitimate and beneficial enterprise." One must note particularly the Mexican attitude toward Americans and the United States government because the uprising which began with the overthrow of Diaz was a repudiation of foreigners and foreign domination, especially American.