The Political Philosophy of Sam Houston (open access)

The Political Philosophy of Sam Houston

Although most Americans view Sam Houston as a military leader and practical politician with little understanding of intellectual issues, he actually possessed a complex moral and political philosophy which he elaborated and demonstrated during a fifty-year public career. He based his philosophy on a mixture of Christian idealism and pragmatic realism, with duty, honor, and strict morality serving to restrain his love of reality, reason, and physical pleasures. The dual nature of his moral beliefs extended into his politics, which mixed Jeffersonian republicanism, individual rights, and limited government, with Jacksonian democracy, the needs of society, and the will of the people. Throughout most of his career he kept those conflicting sets of ideals successfully in balance, with only the turmoil of the 1850s leading him into extreme positions.
Date: December 1990
Creator: Daniels, John D. (John David), 1946-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cowboys, “Queers,” and Community: the AIDS Crisis in Houston and Dallas, 1981-1996 (open access)

Cowboys, “Queers,” and Community: the AIDS Crisis in Houston and Dallas, 1981-1996

This thesis examines the response to the AIDS crisis in Houston and Dallas, two cities in Texas with the most established gay communities highest number of AIDS incidences. Devoting particular attention to the struggles of the Texas’ gay men, this work analyzes the roadblocks to equal and compassionate care for AIDS, including access to affordable treatment, medical insurance, and the closure of the nation’s first AIDS hospital. In addition, this thesis describes the ways in which the peculiar nature of AIDS as an illness transformed the public perception of sickness and infection. This work contributes to the growing study of gay and lesbian history by exploring the transformative effects of AIDS on the gay community in Texas, a location often forgotten within the context of the AIDS epidemic.
Date: August 2014
Creator: Bundschuh, Molly Ellen
System: The UNT Digital Library
Slaveholders and Slaves of Hempstead County, Arkansas (open access)

Slaveholders and Slaves of Hempstead County, Arkansas

A largely quantitative view of the institution of slavery in Hempstead County, Arkansas, this work does not describe the everyday lives of slaveholders and slaves. Chapters examine the origins, expansion, economics, and demise of slavery in the county. Slavery was established as an important institution in Hempstead County at an early date. The institution grew and expanded quickly as slaveholders moved into the area and focused the economy on cotton production. Slavery as an economic institution was profitable to masters, but it may have detracted from the overall economic development of the county. Hempstead County slaveholders sought to protect their slave property by supporting the Confederacy and housing Arkansas's Confederate government through the last half of the war.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Houston, Kelly E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Rise of a Two-Party State: A Case Study of Houston and Harris County, Texas, 1952-1962 (open access)

The Rise of a Two-Party State: A Case Study of Houston and Harris County, Texas, 1952-1962

This thesis discusses the rise of the Republican party in Texas and specifically Harris County. The time period is the decade between the Presidential election of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the campaign of Jack Cox for Governor. Changes in the structure and leadership of the Republican party at the state level and specific precincts are examined in detail in chapter one. Leaders in Houston during this time period, such as Jesse Jones, Roy Cullen, and Oveta Culp Hobby are discussed in chapter two. The elections of Eisenhower, Cox, and Republican John Tower are analyzed in chapter three. The conclusion finds six major factors for the political changes occurring in Harris County, including economic and demographic changes. Main sources for this work included the Harris County Democratic party records and the Jack Cox Papers at the Center for American History, the Eisenhower Library, and the John Tower Papers.
Date: December 2007
Creator: Dunbar, Crystal Rose
System: The UNT Digital Library
Technology as a Factor in the Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Industry, 1900-1945 (open access)

Technology as a Factor in the Gulf Coast Shipbuilding Industry, 1900-1945

To show how mass-production principles and welding in shipbuilding altered the economic conditions along the Gulf coast, this investigation relied on a chronological narrative to illustrate the importance of timing in addition to identifying the significant factors causing the changes. The account begins with a description of the Gulf coast shipyards during World War I and ends shortly after World War II. The necessary factors for Gulf coast participation in shipbuilding are developed in two chapters followed by an evaluation of the specific accomplishments of five Gulf coast shipyards during and after World War II. The effects of the changes in the shipyards on labor are also discussed.
Date: August 1980
Creator: Peebles, Robert H. (Robert Houston)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Texas Presidencies : Presidential Leadership in the Republic of Texas, 1836-1845 (open access)

The Texas Presidencies : Presidential Leadership in the Republic of Texas, 1836-1845

This thesis examines the letters, proclamations, and addresses of the four presidents of the Republic of Texas, David G. Burnet, Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones, to determine how these men faced the major crises of Texas and shaped policy regarding land, relations with Native Americans, finances, internal improvements, annexation by the United States, and foreign relations. Research materials include manuscript and published speeches and letters, diaries, and secondary materials.
Date: May 1998
Creator: Bridges, Kenneth William
System: The UNT Digital Library
Frances Farenthold: Texas' Joan of Arc (open access)

Frances Farenthold: Texas' Joan of Arc

Born in 1926, Frances "Sissy" Tarlton Farenthold began her exploration of politics at a young age. In 1942, Farenthold graduated from Hockaday School for Girls. In 1945, she graduated from Vassar College, and in 1949, she graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. Farenthold was a practicing lawyer, participated in the Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission from 1964 to 1969, and directed Nueces County Legal Aid from 1965 to 1967. In 1969, she began her first term in the Texas House of Representatives. During her second term in the House (1971-1972), Farenthold became a leader in the fight against government corruption. In 1972, she ran in the Democratic primary for Texas governor, and forced a close run-off vote with Dolph Briscoe. Soon afterwards in 1972, she was nominated as a Democratic vice-presidential candidate at the Democratic convention, in addition to her nomination as the chairperson of the National Women's Political Caucus. Farenthold ran in the Democratic primary for governor again in 1974, but lost decisively. From 1976 until 1980, she was the first woman president of Wells College, before coming back to Texas and opening a law practice. For the next three decades, Farenthold practiced law, taught at …
Date: December 2012
Creator: Fields-Hawkins, Stephanie
System: The UNT Digital Library
Marshall Robert Sanguinet, Architect (open access)

Marshall Robert Sanguinet, Architect

Sanguinet was one of the most important early architects in Texas. His partnership with Arthur and Howard Messer was responsible for the development of Arlington Heights, a prominent resort community. With partner Carl Staats and later partner Wyatt Hedrick, Marshall Robert Sanguinet designed most of the early towers of the Fort Worth central business district. In addition, the firm also designed residences, churches, educational facilities, courthouses, and club buildings in Fort Worth as well as in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls, where branch offices are located.
Date: December 1995
Creator: Brun-Ozuna, Barbara Suzanna
System: The UNT Digital Library

Lone Star under the Rising Sun: Texas's "Lost Battalion," 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment, During World War II

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
In March 1942, the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery Regiment, 36th Division, surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on Java in the Dutch East Indies. Shortly after the surrender, the men of the 2nd Battalion were joined as prisoners-of-war by the sailors and Marines who survived the sinking of the heavy cruiser USS Houston. From March 1942 until the end of World War II, these men lived in various Japanese prison camps throughout the Dutch East Indies, Southeast Asia, and in the Japanese home islands. Forced to labor for their captors for the duration of the conflict, they performed extremely difficult tasks, including working in industrial plants and mining coal in Japan, and most notably, constructing the infamous Burma-Thailand Death Railway. During their three-and-one-half years of captivity, these prisoners experienced brutality at the hands of the Japanese. Enduring prolonged malnutrition and extreme overwork, they suffered from numerous tropical and dietary diseases while receiving almost no medical care. Each day, these men lived in fear of being beaten and tortured, and for months at a time they witnessed the agonizing deaths of their friends and countrymen. In spite of the conditions they faced, most survived to return to the United States …
Date: May 2005
Creator: Crager, Kelly Eugene
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mary Jones: Last First Lady of the Republic of Texas (open access)

Mary Jones: Last First Lady of the Republic of Texas

Abstract This dissertation uses archival and interpretive methods to examine the life and contributions of Mary Smith McCrory Jones in Texas. Specifically, this project investigates the ways in which Mary Jones emerged into the public sphere, utilized myth and memory, and managed her life as a widow. Each of these larger areas is examined in relation to historiographicaly accepted patterns and in the larger context of women in Texas, the South, and the nation during this period. Mary Jones, 1819-1907, experienced many of the key early periods in Anglo Texas history. The research traces her family’s immigration to Austin’s Colony and their early years under Mexican sovereignty. The Texas Revolution resulted in her move to Houston and her first brief marriage. Following the death of her husband she met and married Anson Jones, a physician who served in public posts throughout the period of the Texas Republic. Over time Anson was politically and personally rejected to the point that he committed suicide. This dissertation studies the effects this death had upon Mary’s personal goals, her use of a widow’s status to achieve her objectives, and her eventual emergence as a “Professional Widow.” Mary Jones’s attempts to rehabilitate her husband’s public …
Date: December 2011
Creator: Fish, Birney Mark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Anson Jones and the Diplomacy of Texas Annexation (open access)

Anson Jones and the Diplomacy of Texas Annexation

Chapter I. Early political and diplomatic career -- Chapter II. Anson Jones, Secretary of State -- Chapter III. Independence or annexation -- Chapter IV. Annexation achieved -- Chapter V. Assessment -- Bibliography.
Date: January 1961
Creator: Swafford, Ralph R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economic Development of the Gulf Coastal Prairie (open access)

Economic Development of the Gulf Coastal Prairie

The study of the economic development of the Gulf Coastal Prairie has been divided into the following seven chapters: (1) Physical Aspects, (2) Grazing, (3) Development of Farming, (4) Development of Transportation, (5) Development of Mineral Resources, (6) Development of Industry and (7) A Look to the Future.
Date: 1951
Creator: Lumpkin, George Enos
System: The UNT Digital Library
Slavery, Fear, and Disunion in the Lone Star State: Texans' Attitudes toward Secession and the Union, 1846-1861 (open access)

Slavery, Fear, and Disunion in the Lone Star State: Texans' Attitudes toward Secession and the Union, 1846-1861

This work is a study of white Texans' attitudes toward their role in the federal Union and their right to secede from it during the antebellum period. The central question of the study is why did people so strongly Unionist in 1846 became so strongly secessionist by 1861. In tracing this significant shift in Texans' sentiment, the author especially emphasizes the racial attitudes of white Texans, their emotional defense of the institution of slavery, and their strong conviction that the Negroes, if emancipated, would destroy white society. Of special importance to this study is the relationship of Texans' racial attitudes to their attitudes toward the Union.
Date: August 1972
Creator: Ledbetter, Billy D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Skylab: The Human Side of a Scientific Mission (open access)

Skylab: The Human Side of a Scientific Mission

This work attempts to focus on the human side of Skylab, America's first space station, from 1973 to 1974. The thesis begins by showing some context for Skylab, especially in light of the Cold War and the “space race” between the United States and the Soviet Union. The development of the station, as well as the astronaut selection process, are traced from the beginnings of NASA. The focus then shifts to changes in NASA from the Apollo missions to Skylab, as well as training, before highlighting the three missions to the station. The work then attempts to show the significance of Skylab by focusing on the myriad of lessons that can be learned from it and applied to future programs.
Date: May 2007
Creator: Johnson, Michael P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 (open access)

Texas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

This work demonstrates the importance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in stirring sectional awareness and tension in Texas. It also analyzes the continuing impact of the measure on Texas politics and public opinion from 1854 until secession in 1861. Texas newspapers of the 1850s were the principal source for this study, supplemented by historical journals and other works. Organized chronologically and topically, this study traces Texans' attitudes and opinions concerning the extension-of-slavery controversy from their showing little interest in the issue prior to 1854 to their demand for secession in 1861. Texans considered slavery inseparable from their prosperity and welfare. Their determination to preserve it caused them to become a part of the disastrous secession movement.
Date: December 1974
Creator: Moore, Charles Latham
System: The UNT Digital Library
Military Campaigns of the Texas Revolution (open access)

Military Campaigns of the Texas Revolution

This thesis contains information pertaining to the events that led up to the Texas Revolution as well as the military campaigns and battles that ultimately led up to the secession with Mexico.
Date: August 1951
Creator: Webb, Rufus Mac
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Sorrow Whispers in the Winds" : the Republic of Texas's Commanche Indian Policy, 1836-1846 (open access)

"Sorrow Whispers in the Winds" : the Republic of Texas's Commanche Indian Policy, 1836-1846

The Comanche Indians presented a major challenge to the Republic of Texas throughout its nine-year history. The presence of the Comanches greatly slowed the westward advancement of the Texas frontier, just as it had hindered the advancing frontiers of the Spaniards and Mexicans who colonized Texas before the creation of the Republic. The Indian policy of the Republic of Texas was inconsistent. Changes in leadership brought drastic alterations in the policy pursued toward the Comanche nation. The author examines the Indian policy of the Republic, how the Comanches responded to that policy, and the impact of Texan-Comanche relations on both parties.
Date: December 1994
Creator: Lipscomb, Carol A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Behold the Fields: Texas Baptists and the Problem of Slavery (open access)

Behold the Fields: Texas Baptists and the Problem of Slavery

The relationship between Texas Baptists and slavery is studied with an emphasis on the official statements made about the institution in denominational sources combined with a statistical analysis of the extent of slaveholding among Baptists. A data list of over 5,000 names was pared to 1100 names of Baptists in Texas prior to 1865 and then cross-referenced on slaveownership through the use of federal censuses and county tax rolls. Although Texas Baptists participated economically in the slave system, they always maintained that blacks were children of God worthy of religious instruction and salvation. The result of these disparate views was a paradox between treating slaves as chattels while welcoming them into mixed congregations and allowing them some measure of activity within those bodies. Attitudes expressed by white Baptists during the antebellum period were continued into the post-war years as well. Meanwhile, African-American Baptists gradually withdrew from white dominated congregations, forming their own local, regional, and state organizations. In the end, whites had no choice but to accept the new-found status of the Freedmen, cooperating with black institutions on occasion. Major sources for this study include church, associational, and state Baptist minutes; county and denominational histories; and government documents. The four …
Date: May 1993
Creator: Elam, Richard L. (Richard Lee)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Historical Development of Fine Arts in Texas (open access)

The Historical Development of Fine Arts in Texas

The purpose of this study is to give a historical account of the development of fine arts in Texas including music, dramatic arts, paintings and sculptures.
Date: August 1949
Creator: Hastings, Catherine Troxell
System: The UNT Digital Library
Unionism in Texas: 1860-1867 (open access)

Unionism in Texas: 1860-1867

This thesis studies the issue of unionism in Texas during the era of the Civil War.
Date: January 1954
Creator: Haynes, Billy Dwayne
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Break-up of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Army, 1865

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Unlike other Confederate armies at the conclusion of the Civil War, General Edmund Kirby Smith's Trans-Mississippi Army disbanded, often without orders, rather than surrender formally. Despite entreaties from military and civilian leaders to fight on, for Confederate soldiers west of the Mississippi River, the surrender of armies led by Generals Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston ended the war. After a significant decline in morale and discipline throughout the spring of 1865, soldiers of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department chose to break-up and return home. As compensation for months of unpaid service, soldiers seized both public and private property. Civilians joined the soldiers to create disorder that swept many Texas communities until the arrival of Federal troops in late June.
Date: May 2001
Creator: Clampitt, Brad R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
In justice to our Indian allies:  The government of Texas and her Indian allies, 1836-1867. (open access)

In justice to our Indian allies: The government of Texas and her Indian allies, 1836-1867.

Traditional histories of the Texas frontier overlook a crucial component: efforts to defend Texas against Indians would have been far less successful without the contributions of Indian allies. The government of Texas tended to use smaller, nomadic bands such as the Lipan Apaches and Tonkawas as military allies. Immigrant Indian tribes such as the Shawnee and Delaware were employed primarily as scouts and interpreters. Texas, as a result of the terms of her annexation, retained a more control over Indian policy than other states. Texas also had a larger unsettled frontier region than other states. This necessitated the use of Indian allies in fighting and negotiating with hostile Indians, as well as scouting for Ranger and Army expeditions.
Date: August 2008
Creator: Yancey, William C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Confederate Texas: A Political Study, 1861-1865 (open access)

Confederate Texas: A Political Study, 1861-1865

"No adequate history of the activities of the Texas state government during the Civil War has been written. Instead this phase of state history has been treated only in a limited manner in general state and Civil War histories. A history of the state government's functions and role during this period is essential to understanding Texas' development as a state and its place in the Confederacy. This work is an attempt to provide such a history. A study of the internal political affairs of Texas during the war years, this work begins with the movement toward secession and ends with the collapse of the state government and the establishment of military rule in Texas. Emphasis has been placed on revealing how the state government attempted to cope with the numerous problems which the war engendered and the futility of these attempts." -- p.iii
Date: August 1969
Creator: Ledbetter, Billy D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The 1948 States' Rights Democratic Movement in Texas (open access)

The 1948 States' Rights Democratic Movement in Texas

The purpose of this paper is to examine, from a local perspective, the reaction of the southern conservative wing of the Democratic party to the liberal changes which occurred in that organization as a result of the transitional decades of the 1930s and 1940s. In particular, the study focuses on the growing sense of alienation and the eventual withdrawal of a handful of Texas Democrats from affiliation with the national body and their subsequent realignment with other dissident Dixie Democrats in the short-lived States' Rights party of 1948. This work is based essentially on the personal recollections of Texans who participated in the States' Rights movement and on those papers of the party's leaders which have survived until today.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Griffin, James P.
System: The UNT Digital Library