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.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Making a Good Soldier: a Historical and Quantitative Study of the 15th Texas Infantry, C. S. A. (open access)

Making a Good Soldier: a Historical and Quantitative Study of the 15th Texas Infantry, C. S. A.

In late 1861, the Confederate Texas government commissioned Joseph W. Speight to raise an infantry battalion. Speight's Battalion became the Fifteenth Texas Infantry in April 1862, and saw almost no action for the next year as it marched throughout Texas, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory. In May 1863 the regiment was ordered to Louisiana and for the next seven months took an active role against Federal troops in the bayou country. From March to May 1864 the unit helped turn away the Union Red River Campaign. The regiment remained in the trans-Mississippi region until it disbanded in May 1865. The final chapter quantifies age, family status, wealthholdings, and casualties among the regiment's members.
Date: December 1998
Creator: Hamaker, Blake Richard
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Fire Eater in the Borderlands: The Political Life of Guy Morrison Bryan, 1847-1891

From 1847 to 1891, Guy Morrison Bryan was a prominent Texas politician who influenced many of the policies and events that shaped the state. Raised in his Uncle Stephen F. Austin's shadow, he was a Texas nationalist who felt responsible for promoting the interests of his state, its earliest settlers, and his family. During his nineteen years in the Texas Legislature and two years in the United States House of Representatives, he safeguarded land grants, supported internal improvements and education, and challenged northern hostility towards slavery. Convinced that abolitionists would stop at nothing to destroy the institution and Texas, he led his state's walkout of the National Democratic Convention in 1860 and became a leading proponet of secession. During the Civil War, he served as a staff officer, and his ability to mediate conflicts between local and national leaders propped up the isolated Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. Finally as Speaker of the House, he helped oust Governor Edmund J. Davis in 1874 and "redeem" the state from Republican rule before convincing President Rutherford B. Hayes to adopt a conciliatory policy towards Texas and the South. Despite the tremendous influence Bryan wielded, scholars have largely ignored his contributions. This dissertation establishes his …
Date: August 2020
Creator: Kelley, Ariel Leticia
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The United States and Irish Neutrality, 1939-1945 (open access)

The United States and Irish Neutrality, 1939-1945

During the second world war relations between the United States and Ireland deteriorated to the point that many Irishmen feared that an American invasion of Ireland was imminent. At the same time many people in the United States came to believe that the Irish government of Eamon de Valera was pro-Nazi, This study examines the causes for the deterioration of relations between the two countries and the actual attitudes of David Gray, the United States minister to Ireland, and other American officials toward Irish neutrality. Since there are few secondary works on the subject, the research was undertaken almost entirely among primary sources, personal and diplomatic papers, various American newspapers, and memoirs. Of particular importance were David Gray's personal papers, especially his frequent letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.. Copies of some letters, not available among Gray's personal papers at the University of Wyoming, were furnished by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. The study has also made extensive use of the diplomatic papers published by the Department of $tate in the various volumes of the Foreign Relations of the United States. Finally, the author corresponded with more than a dozen of those still living who were …
Date: August 1973
Creator: Dwyer, Thomas Ryle, 1944-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Confederate Command Problem in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1861-1862 (open access)

The Confederate Command Problem in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1861-1862

This thesis is a study of the Confederate command problem in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1861-1862.
Date: May 1960
Creator: Dickey, Raymond D.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Role of Beaumarchais in the American Revolution (open access)

The Role of Beaumarchais in the American Revolution

This thesis explores the role of Caron de Beaumarchais in the American Revolution as a controversial topic in history and his shipping arms and ammunition to America during the 1777 campaign.
Date: June 1967
Creator: Shewmake, Antoinette
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Americans who did not wait: the American Legion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1917 (open access)

Americans who did not wait: the American Legion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915-1917

This study examines the five American Legion battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force formed in 1915 specifically to recruit American volunteers for the Canadian overseas contingent of the First World War. This study reviews the organization of Canada's militia and Anglo-American relations before examining the formation of the American Legion, the background of its men, and the diplomatic repercussions it sparked. This study is based largely on material in the Public Archives of Canada including war records and the personal papers of several participants. During its brief existence, the American Legion precipitated constitutional, diplomatic, and political problems. The issues the American Legion raised were mostly solved by America's entry in the war. The episode hastened the maturity of Canada as a nation.
Date: May 1996
Creator: Smylie, Eric
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Early Military Forts and Posts in Oklahoma (open access)

Early Military Forts and Posts in Oklahoma

Book discussing the history behind the early forts and military camps in Oklahoma, including Fort Towson, Fort Gibson, and Fort Washita. Index begins on page 129.
Date: 1978
Creator: Faulk, Odie B.; Franks, Kenny Arthur, 1945- & Lambert, Paul F.
Object Type: Book
System: The Gateway to Oklahoma History
Confederate Arkansas: a Study in State Politics (open access)

Confederate Arkansas: a Study in State Politics

Arkansas state politics during the Civil War was influenced by the preceding thirty years and many of the state's problems for which political answers were sought were similar to problems experienced in this period of political development. The war simply magnified and multiplied the problems faced by the state. This thesis is concerned with identifying the political forces in the state and their development, with investigating problems to which political solutions were sought and attempts made to solve these. Finally, an effort is made to determine the effectiveness of the various political moves made during the terms of Governors Rector and Flanagin.
Date: August 1971
Creator: Cox, James L.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Mexican Connection: Confederate and Union Diplomacy on the Rio Grande, 1861-1865 (open access)

The Mexican Connection: Confederate and Union Diplomacy on the Rio Grande, 1861-1865

This study examines the efforts of the Union and Confederate diplomatic agents to influence the events along the Rio Grande during the Civil War. The paper compares the successful accomplishments of Confederate agent Jose Quintero to the hindered maneuverings of the Union representatives, Leonard Pierce and M. M. Kimuey. Utilizing microfilmed sources from State Department records and Confederate despatches, the paper relates the steps Quintero took to secure the Confederate-Mexico border trade, obtain favorable responses from the various ruling parties in northern Mexico, and hamper the Union agents' attempts to quell the border trade.
Date: May 1978
Creator: Fielder, Bruce M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
United States Psychological Operations in Support of Counterinsurgency: Vietnam, 1960 to 1965. (open access)

United States Psychological Operations in Support of Counterinsurgency: Vietnam, 1960 to 1965.

This thesis describes the development of psychological operations capabilities, introduction of forces, and the employment in Vietnam during the period 1960-1965. The complex interplay of these activities is addressed, as well as the development of PSYOP doctrine and training in the period prior to the introduction of ground combat forces in 1965. The American PSYOP advisory effort supported the South Vietnamese at all levels, providing access to training, material support, and critical advice. In these areas the American effort was largely successful. Yet, instability in the wake of President Ngo Dinh Diem's overthrow created an impediment to the ability of psychological operations to change behaviors and positively affect the outcome.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Roberts, Mervyn Edwin, III
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Asleep in the Arms of God (open access)

Asleep in the Arms of God

A work of creative fiction in the form of a short novel, Asleep in the Arms of God is a limited-omniscient and omniscient narrative describing the experiences of a man named Wafer Roberts, born in Jack County, Texas, in 1900. The novel spans the years from 1900 to 1925, and moves from the Keechi Valley of North Texas, to Fort Worth and then France during World War One, and back again to the Keechi Valley. The dissertation opens with a preface, which examines the form of the novel, and regional and other aspects of this particular work, especially as they relate to the postmodern concern with fragmentation and conditional identity. Wafer confronts in the novel aspects of his own questionable history, which echo the larger concern with exploitative practices including racism, patriarchy, overplanting and overgrazing, and pollution, which contribute to and climax in the postmodern fragmentation. The novel attempts to make a critique of the exploitative rage of Western civilization.
Date: December 1999
Creator: Clay, Kevin M.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Peculiar Honor: a History of the 28th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted), Walker's Texas Division, 1861-1865 (open access)

Peculiar Honor: a History of the 28th Texas Cavalry (Dismounted), Walker's Texas Division, 1861-1865

This study traces the history of the 28th Texas Cavalry by using a traditional narrative style augmented by a quantitative approach. Compiled service records, United States census records, state tax rolls, muster rolls, and casualty lists were used to construct a database containing a record for each soldier of the 28th. Statistical analysis revealed the overwhelming southern origins of the regiment, the greater proportion of older and married men compared to other regiments, and a close resemblance to the people of their home region in terms of occupations, slaveholding and wealthholding.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Johansson, M. Jane Harris
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Child Soldiers and Intrastate Armed Conflicts: An Analysis of the Recruitments of Child Soldiers in Civil Wars Between 2001 and 2003. (open access)

Child Soldiers and Intrastate Armed Conflicts: An Analysis of the Recruitments of Child Soldiers in Civil Wars Between 2001 and 2003.

This thesis examines why some governments and rebel organizations but not others recruit children to be child soldiers. The theory posits that if a country fights in a civil war of long duration, armed groups are more likely to recruit children as soldiers. I find that the probability of child soldier recruitment increases when a country experiences following conditions: a longer duration of civil war, a large proportion of battle deaths, a large number of refugees, a high infant mortality rate, and the presence of alluvial diamonds. An increase in education expenditures and civil liberties would decrease the probability of child soldier recruitments.
Date: August 2008
Creator: Samphansakul, Attaphorn
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
World's Longest History Lesson: Unit 26. Splitting the Texas Democrats captions transcript

World's Longest History Lesson: Unit 26. Splitting the Texas Democrats

Video of Dr. Torget's lecture about the early 20th century in Texas, covering: (1) Rise and Fall of James Ferguson, (2) Mexican Revolution, (3) World War I.
Date: 2018-08-25T09:31:39/2018-08-25T10:01:19
Creator: Torget, Andrew J.
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
World's Longest History Lesson: Unit 26. Splitting the Texas Democrats (ASL Interpretation) captions transcript

World's Longest History Lesson: Unit 26. Splitting the Texas Democrats (ASL Interpretation)

American Sign Language interpretation of Dr. Torget's lecture about the early 20th century in Texas, covering: (1) Rise and Fall of James Ferguson, (2) Mexican Revolution, (3) World War I. Video contains picture-in-picture rendering of slides and original narration.
Date: 2018-08-25T09:31:39/2018-08-25T10:01:19
Creator: Torget, Andrew J.
Object Type: Video
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Confederate Naval Department and its Operation at New Orleans (open access)

The Confederate Naval Department and its Operation at New Orleans

Many books have been written on the battles of the Civil War. Most of these deal only with engagements between the armies; little has been written concerning the Confederate Navy. Yet the struggles of the Confederate Navy cannot be overlooked in determining why, after so many victorious battles in the field, the Confederacy still failed to defeat the Union.
Date: January 1960
Creator: O'Glee, John Clifford
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Pennsylvania Rifle: the Evolution of its Tactical Employment in the American Revolution (open access)

The Pennsylvania Rifle: the Evolution of its Tactical Employment in the American Revolution

There are two opinions as to the effectiveness of the Pennsylvania Rifle during the Revolutionary War. On one hand it is alleged that the rifle was, at best, not particularly useful, and that its disadvantages outweighed its advantages. In contradiction to this we find that the British military appealed to London for rifles, and that the British government specified that there be a definite number of riflemen among the mercenaries they hired. Furthermore, according to Fortescue, the British military were forced to change their tactics, at least in part, because of the rifle. It is the purpose of this thesis to resolve this conflict by determining which of the two positions, if either ,is correct, or to determine the extent to which they may both be correct.
Date: August 1964
Creator: Johanns, Walter Alfred
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Mr. Stanton's Navy: the U. S. Army Ram Fleet and Mississippi Marine Brigade, 1862-1864 (open access)

Mr. Stanton's Navy: the U. S. Army Ram Fleet and Mississippi Marine Brigade, 1862-1864

The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the importance of the military principle of unity of command by examining the military history of a Union army unit during the Civil War. The Mississippi Marine Brigade and its predecessor, the Ellet Ram Fleet, being a creation of the War Department, and yet conducting tactical operations within the scope of the Navy Department, vividly illustrates the problems inherent in joint army-navy operations. The brigade's primary mission was to counter guerrilla warfare in the Mississippi River valley. The text describes the organization, administration, and major operations of the brigade as a mobile, independent, private military force.
Date: May 1975
Creator: Mangrum, Robert G.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
A History of Smith County, Texas (open access)

A History of Smith County, Texas

This thesis gives an overview of the history of Smith County, Texas. The chapters, according to the Table of Contents: Topography and Earliest Indian Life; The Cherokees; The Expulsion of the Cherokees; The Exploration and Beginnings of Smith County; Frontier Smith County, 1846-1851; The Ante-Bellum Period, 1860-1874; The Railroads and Their Influences, 1870-1900; Post Civil War Politics and Society, 1870-1900; and The Major Industrial Period.
Date: May 1944
Creator: Ward, William R.
Object Type: Book
System: The Portal to Texas History
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
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The British-Loyalist Strategy to Recover the Southern Provinces During the American Revolution (open access)

The British-Loyalist Strategy to Recover the Southern Provinces During the American Revolution

This thesis examines the efforts of the British loyalists in Georgia and the Carolinas to assist the British army bring the southern provinces back under royal control. These efforts and a judgment of the reasonableness of the trust in the zeal and strength of the southern loyalists are the subjects of this study.
Date: August 1966
Creator: Griffin, Roger Allen
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Coming of Conscription in Britain (open access)

The Coming of Conscription in Britain

The subject of this thesis is the conscription debate in Great Britain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, defined in a social-cultural context. The basic assumption is that a process of cultural conditioning works to determine human actions; actions therefore can be understood by examining cultural conditioning. That examination in this thesis is limited to a study of social and intellectual influences relating to conscription as they acted upon various groups in the English community prior to the Great War. The thesis also discusses the 1915-1916 crisis over actual adoption of conscription, in light of these influences.
Date: May 1972
Creator: Baker, Suzanne Helen
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The West Gulf Blockade, 1861-1865: An Evaluation (open access)

The West Gulf Blockade, 1861-1865: An Evaluation

This investigation resulted from a pilot research paper prepared in conjunction with a graduate course on the Civil War. This study suggested that the Federal blockade of the Confederacy may not have contributed significantly to its defeat. Traditionally, historians had assumed that the Union's Anaconda Plan had effectively strangled the Confederacy. Recent studies which compared the statistics of ships captured to successful infractions of the blockade had somewhat revised these views. While accepting these revisionist findings as broadly valid, this investigation strove to determine specifically the effectiveness of Admiral Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron. Since the British Foreign Office maintained consulates in three blockaded southern ports and in many Caribbean ports through which blockade running was conducted, these consular records were vital for this study. Personal research in Great Britain's Public Record Office disclosed valuable consular reports pertaining to the effectiveness of the Federal blockade. American consular records, found in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. provided excellent comparative reports from those same Gulf ports. Official Confederate reports, contained in the National Archives, various state archives and in the published Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies revealed valuable statistical data on foreign imports. Limited use was made of …
Date: May 1974
Creator: Glover, Robert W.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library