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

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

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 Operation Matterhorn, failed, and later conducted PACAID missions. 14th Air Force then waged a counterproductive transportation campaign as The Pacific War, also known as the Greater East Asian War, ended. Events in the China-Burma-India and China Theaters provide lessons in logistics, targeting, training, and air-ground cooperation that are applicable in the post-Cold War era.
Date: May 2001
Creator: Jahnke, Todd Eric
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

Southland, The Completion Of a Dream: The Story Behind Southern Newsprint's Improbable Beginnings

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The purpose of this thesis is to explore the creative process behind Southland Paper Mills, the South's first newsprint factory. The thesis describes the conditions leading to the need for southern newsprint. It then chronicles, through the use of company records, the difficult challenges southern newsprint pioneers faced. The thesis follows the company history from the gem of an idea during the mid 1930's through the first decade of the Southland's existence. The paper concludes with the formative years of the company in the 1940's.
Date: May 2001
Creator: McGrath, Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
Slaves and Slaveholders in the Choctaw Nation: 1830-1866 (open access)

Slaves and Slaveholders in the Choctaw Nation: 1830-1866

Racial slavery was a critical element in the cultural development of the Choctaws and was a derivative of the peculiar institution in southern states. The idea of genial and hospitable slave owners can no more be conclusively demonstrated for the Choctaws than for the antebellum South. The participation of Choctaws in the Civil War and formal alliance with the Confederacy was dominantly influenced by the slaveholding and a connection with southern identity, but was also influenced by financial concerns and an inability to remain neutral than a protection of the peculiar institution. Had the Civil War not taken place, the rate of Choctaw slave ownership possibly would have reached the level of southern states and the Choctaws would be considered part of the South.
Date: May 2009
Creator: Fortney, Jeffrey L., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
May 1856: Southern Reaction to Conflict in Kansas and Congress (open access)

May 1856: Southern Reaction to Conflict in Kansas and Congress

This thesis examines southern reactions to events that occurred in May 1856: the outbreak of civil war in Kansas and the caning of Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. I researched two newspapers from the upper South state of Virginia, the Richmond Enquirer and the Richmond Daily Whig, and two newspapers from the lower South state of Louisiana, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the New Orleans Bee to determine the extent to which political party sentiment and/or geographic location affected southern opinion towards the two events. Political party ties influenced the material each newspaper printed. Each newspaper worried that these events endangered the Union. Some, however, believed the Union could be saved while others argued that it was only a matter of time before the South seceded.
Date: May 2007
Creator: Fossett, Victoria Lea
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gladstone and the Bank of England: A Study in Mid-Victorian Finance, 1833-1866 (open access)

Gladstone and the Bank of England: A Study in Mid-Victorian Finance, 1833-1866

The topic of this thesis is the confrontations between William Gladstone and the Bank of England. These confrontations have remained a mystery to authors who noted them, but have generally been ignored by others. This thesis demonstrates that Gladstone's measures taken against the Bank were reasonable, intelligent, and important for the development of nineteenth-century British government finance. To accomplish this task, this thesis refutes the opinions of three twentieth-century authors who have claimed that many of Gladstone's measures, as well as his reading, were irrational, ridiculous, and impolitic. My primary sources include the Gladstone Diaries, with special attention to a little-used source, Volume 14, the indexes to the Diaries. The day-to-day Diaries and the indexes show how much Gladstone read about financial matters, and suggest that his actions were based to a large extent upon his reading. In addition, I have used Hansard's Parliamentary Debates and nineteenth-century periodicals and books on banking and finance to understand the political and economic debates of the time.
Date: May 2007
Creator: Caernarven-Smith, Patricia
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
Dem Schwerte Muss Der Pflug Folgen: Űber-Peasants and National Socialist Settlements in the Occupied Eastern Territories during World War Two (open access)

Dem Schwerte Muss Der Pflug Folgen: Űber-Peasants and National Socialist Settlements in the Occupied Eastern Territories during World War Two

German industrialization in the nineteenth century had brought forward a variety of conflicting ideas when it came to the agrarian community. One of them was the agrarian romantic movement led by Adam Műller, who feared the loss of the traditional German peasant. Műller influenced Reichdeutsche Richard Walther Darré, who argued that large cities were the downfall of the German people and that only a healthy peasant stock would be able to ‘save' Germany. Under Darré's definition, “Geopolitik” was the defense of the land, the defense with Pflug und Schwert (plow and sword) by Wehrbauern, an ‘Űberbauer-fusion' of soldier and peasant. In order to accomplish these goals, new settlements had to be established while moving from west to east. The specific focus of this study is on the original Hegewald resettlement ideas of Richard Walther Darré and how his philosophy was taken over by Himmler and fit into his personal needs and creed after 1941. It will shed some light on the interaction of Darré and Himmler and the notorious internal fights and power struggles between the various governmental agencies involved. The Ministry for Food and Agriculture under the leadership of Darré was systematically pushed into the background and all previous, …
Date: May 2007
Creator: De Santiago Ramos, Simone C.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Reformation-Era Church Courts of England: A Study of the Acta of the Archidiaconal and Consistory Court at Chester, 1540-1542

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Much work has been done over the last fifty years in the study of the English ecclesiastical courts. One court that thus far has escaped much significant scholarly attention, however, is the one located in Chester, England. The author analyzes the acta of that court in order to determine what types of cases were being heard during the years 1540-42. His analysis shows that the Chester court did not deviate significantly from the general legal and theological structure and function of Tudor church courts of the period.
Date: May 2000
Creator: Mitchener, Donald Keith
System: The UNT Digital Library
General Nathan Twining and the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II (open access)

General Nathan Twining and the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II

General Nathan F. Twining distinguished himself in leading the American Fifteenth Air Force during the last full year of World War II in the European Theatre. Drawing on the leadership qualities he had already shown in combat in the Pacific Theatre, he was the only USAAF leader who commanded three separate air forces during World War II. His command of the Fifteenth Air Force gave him his biggest, longest lasting, and most challenging experience of the war, which would be the foundation for the reputation that eventually would win him appointment to the nation's highest military post as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cold War.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Hutchins, Brian
System: The UNT Digital Library
Extermination Warfare? The Conduct of the Second Marine Division at Saipan (open access)

Extermination Warfare? The Conduct of the Second Marine Division at Saipan

Historians John W. Dower, Craig Cameron, and Ronald Takaki argue that the Pacific War was a war of extermination fueled by race hate. Therefore, the clash between the military forces of the Japanese Empire and United States of America yielded a "kill or be killed" environment across the battlefields of the Pacific. This work examines the conduct of the Second Marine Division during its campaign of conquest against the Japanese held island of Saipan from June 15, 1944-July 9, 1944. It is based upon traditional military history sources to test their theories in context of the conduct of Marines toward Japanese soldiers and civilians during the Saipan campaign. Did Marines practice a war of extermination or conduct themselves in a humane manner?
Date: May 2008
Creator: Hegi, Benjamin P.
System: The UNT Digital Library

The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Oran M. Roberts

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This thesis analyzes the political career of Oran M. Roberts during the critical period from 1850 to 1873. Through a reassessment of Roberts's extensive personal papers in the context of modern historical scholarship, the author explains how Roberts's political philosophy reflected the biases and prejudices typical of his era, as well as his own material interests and ambitions. Topic areas covered include Roberts's position on the Compromise of 1850, his constitutional philosophy, his involvement in the secession movement in Texas (including his service as president of the state secession convention), his military career during the Civil War, his participation in Presidential Reconstruction, his views on Congressional Reconstruction, and his role in the process of "redemption" in Texas.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Klemme, A. Christian
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of the Status of Widows in Eighteenth-Century England and Colonial America. (open access)

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

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 manifested itself in Colonial America because of the land centered economy. These two types of inheritance form the background for the argument that upper-class women in Colonial America had more legal and economical freedoms than their brethren in England.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Jones, Sarah E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Amon Carter: The Founder of Modern Fort Worth, 1930-1955 (open access)

Amon Carter: The Founder of Modern Fort Worth, 1930-1955

From 1930 to 1955, Amon Carter, publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, exerted his power to create modern Fort Worth. Carter used his stature as the publisher of the city's major newspaper to build a modern city out of this livestock center. Between 1930 and 1955, Carter lobbied successfully for New Deal funds for Fort Worth, persuaded Consolidated Aircraft to build an airplane plant in the city, and convinced Burlington Railways to stay in the city. He also labored unsuccessfully to have the Trinity River Canal built and to secure a General Motors plant for Fort Worth. These efforts demonstrate that Carter was indeed the founder of modern Fort Worth.
Date: May 2005
Creator: Cervantez, Brian
System: The UNT Digital Library
Connecting Ireland and America: Early English Colonial Theory 1560-1620 (open access)

Connecting Ireland and America: Early English Colonial Theory 1560-1620

This work demonstrates the connections that exist in rhetoric and planning between the Irish plantation projects in the Ards, Munster , Ulster and the Jamestown colony in Virginia . The planners of these projects focused on the creation of internal stability rather than the mission to 'civilize' the natives. The continuity between these projects is examined on several points: the rhetoric the English used to describe the native peoples and the lands to be colonized, who initiated each project, funding and financial terms, the manner of establishing title, the manner of granting the lands to settlers, and the status the natives were expected to hold in the plantation. Comparison of these points highlights the early English colonial idea and the variance between rhetoric and planning.
Date: May 2005
Creator: Nelson, Robert Nicholas
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Reluctant Partisan: Nathanael Greene's Southern Campaigns, 1780-1783 (open access)

The Reluctant Partisan: Nathanael Greene's Southern Campaigns, 1780-1783

Nathanael Greene spent the first five years of the American Revolution serving as a line and field officer in the Continental Army and developed a nuanced revolutionary strategy based on preserving the Continental Army and a belief that all forces should be long-service national troops. He carried these views with him to his command in the southern theater but developed a partisan approach due to problems he faced in the region. Greene effectively kept his army supplied to such an extent that it remained in the field to oppose the British with very little outside assistance. He reluctantly utilized a partisan strategy while simultaneously arguing for the creation of a permanent Continental force for the region.
Date: May 2005
Creator: Liles, Justin S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An unjust legacy: A critical study of the political campaigns of William Andrews Clark, 1888-1901. (open access)

An unjust legacy: A critical study of the political campaigns of William Andrews Clark, 1888-1901.

In a time of laissez-faire government, monopolistic businesses and political debauchery, William Andrews Clark played a significant role in the developing West, achieving financial success rivaling Jay Gould, George Hearst, Andrew Carnegie, and J. P. Morgan. Clark built railroads, ranches, factories, utilities, and developed timber and water resources, and was internationally known as a capitalist, philanthropist and art collector. Nonetheless, Clark is unjustly remembered for his bitter twelve-year political battle with copper baron Marcus Daly that culminated in a scandalous senatorial election in January 1899. The subsequent investigation was a judicial travesty based on personal hatred and illicit tactics. Clark's political career had national implications and lasting consequences. His enemies shaped his legacy, and for one hundred years historians have unquestioningly accepted it.
Date: May 2006
Creator: Pitts, Stanley Thomas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Clarence R. Huebner: An American Military Story of Achievement (open access)

Clarence R. Huebner: An American Military Story of Achievement

In the eyes of the American public excellence is often overshadowed by brilliance of personality. This is particularly true in the portrayal of many of the country's military leaders in World War II. A prime example of this phenomenon is Douglas MacArthur, whose larger than life persona made him a newspaper fixture during the war despite a series of strategic and tactical blunders that would have led to the sacking of a less visible (and publicly popular) leader. At the level of divisional commanders, this triumph of brilliance over excellence is best exemplified by the two primary leaders of the country's 1st Infantry Division, Terry de la Mesa Allen and Clarence R. Huebner. One was a hard-drinking, swashbuckling leader who led by almost the sheer force of his personality; the other, a plain spoken, demanding officer who believed that organization, planning and attention to detail were the keys to superior battlefield performance. The leadership differences between Allen and Huebner have been documented in multiple publications. What has not been documented is the life of the truly overshadowed general - Huebner. Huebner's transition to the leadership of the 1st Infantry Division (1st ID) constitute only a small period in a military …
Date: May 2006
Creator: Flaig, Steven
System: The UNT Digital Library
With their hearts in their hands: Forging a Mexican community in Dallas, 1900-1925. (open access)

With their hearts in their hands: Forging a Mexican community in Dallas, 1900-1925.

Mexican immigration to the United States increased tremendously from 1900-1925 as factors such as the Mexican Revolution and the recruitment of Mexican laborers by American industry drew Mexicans north. A significant number of Mexicans settled in Dallas and in the face of Anglo discrimination and segregation in the workplace, public institutions, and housing, these immigrants forged a community in the city rooted in their Mexican identity and traditions. This research, based heavily on data from the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census enumerations for Dallas and on articles from Dallas Morning News, highlights the agency of the Mexican population - men and women - in Dallas in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Mercado, Bianca
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wyatt Cephas Hedrick: Builder of Cities (open access)

Wyatt Cephas Hedrick: Builder of Cities

Wyatt Cephas Hedrick, builder and architect, was born in Virginia in 1888 and came to Texas in 1913. At his death in 1964, Hedrick's companies had managed construction projects worth more than $1.3 billion. Hedrick's architectural business designed and built edifices of all kinds, including educational facilities, hotels, military bases, railroad terminals, courthouses, and road systems. His companies built all over the United States, and in some foreign countries, but primarily in Texas. The purpose of Hedrick's structures and their architectural styles changed to accommodate historical events. This can be seen by examining many of the commissions he received during the 1920s and 1930s. Hedrick had a unique opportunity to participate in years of great change and development in Texas, and he played a vital role in the history of those times. This thesis examines the career of Wyatt C. Hedrick from his beginnings in Virginia through his years in Texas, closing in 1940. As a builder, he played a major role in changing the skylines of Texas cities, especially Fort Worth.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Liles, Deborah M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Actions and Operational Thinking of Generals Stratemeyer and Partridge during the Korean War:  Adjusting to Political Restrictions of Air Campaigns (open access)

The Actions and Operational Thinking of Generals Stratemeyer and Partridge during the Korean War: Adjusting to Political Restrictions of Air Campaigns

Airpower played an important supporting role in the Korean War, and as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur pursued victory in the war and President Harry S Truman's objectives altered throughout the first year of the conflict, tension arose between the two men. One issue in these frictions was the restriction of airpower. Not only MacArthur, but also his admiring subordinate Lieutenant General George E. Stratemeyer commanding the Far East Air Forces, and Fifth Air Force commander Major General Earle E. Partridge opposed the restrictions which had been imposed on airmen from the outset of the conflict. Stratemeyer did so partly because of his loyalty to MacArthur, who wanted latitude in coping with the situation in the field and defeating the Communist enemy. Partridge did so because he thought they endangered his personnel and limited the effectiveness of airpower in the war. These commanders had a fundamentally different opinion from Washington regarding the likelihood of overt Soviet intervention in the war, and because they did not think the Korean War would become a world war, they were more willing than Washington to prosecute the war more aggressively. MacArthur's conflict ended with his removal in April 1951, and Stratemeyer (who suffered …
Date: May 2008
Creator: Sambaluk, Nicholas Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library
A weak link in the chain: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Truman-MacArthur controversy during the Korean War. (open access)

A weak link in the chain: The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Truman-MacArthur controversy during the Korean War.

This work examines the actions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first year of the Korean War. Officially created in 1947, the Joint Chiefs saw their first true test as an institution during the conflict. At various times, the members of the JCS failed to issue direct orders to their subordinate, resulting in a divide between the wishes of President Truman and General MacArthur over the conduct of the war. By analyzing the interaction between the Joint Chiefs and General Douglas MacArthur, the flaws of both the individual Chiefs as well as the organization as a whole become apparent. The tactical and strategic decisions faced by the JCS are framed within the three main stages of the Korean War.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Sager, John
System: The UNT Digital Library
"Victory is Our Only Road to Peace": Texas, Wartime Morale, and Confederate Nationalism, 1860-1865 (open access)

"Victory is Our Only Road to Peace": Texas, Wartime Morale, and Confederate Nationalism, 1860-1865

This thesis explores the impact of home front and battlefield morale on Texas's civilian and military population during the Civil War. It addresses the creation, maintenance, and eventual surrender of Confederate nationalism and identity among Texans from five different counties: Colorado, Dallas, Galveston, Harrison, and Travis. The war divided Texans into three distinct groups: civilians on the home front, soldiers serving in theaters outside of the state, and soldiers serving within Texas's borders. Different environments, experiences, and morale affected the manner in which civilians and soldiers identified with the Confederate war effort. This study relies on contemporary letters, diaries, newspaper reports, and government records to evaluate how morale influenced national dedication and loyalty to the Confederacy among various segments of Texas's population.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Lang, Andrew F.
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