Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), writer and lecturer, provided philosophical guidance to the feminist movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, During a career spanning the years 1890 to 1935 she published eleven books, wrote articles for popular magazines, and lectured throughout the United States and Europe. Between 1909 and 1916 she wrote, edited, and published a monthly magazine entitled The Forerunner. Gilman's efforts dealt primarily with the status of women, but she described herself as a humanist rather than a feminist. She explained that her interest in women arose from a concern that, as one-half of humanity, their restricted role in society retarded human progress. Thus, Gilman's contribution to feminism must be viewed within the context of her humanist philosophy. Gilman's contribution to feminism lies in her diagnosis of woman's predicament as ideological rather than political and, hence, subject to self-resolution. The uniqueness of Gilman's approach is in the autonomous nature of her solution: Woman, through the full use of her human powers, could achieve the equality that decades of political agitation had failed to accomplish. The rationale for this dissertation lies in the premise that Gilman's humanist approach to feminism made a significant contribution in her own …

The Farmers' Alliance in Wise County, from its introduction in 1880 to its demise in 1897, endeavored to improve the mental, moral, social, and financial conditions of small agrarians in the north central Texas county. This paper details the Alliance's efforts, in cooperative ventures and political activism and third-party politics, to place farmers in a better economic position. Additionally, the paper focuses on the Alliance's attempts to provide educational and social opportunities and moral guidance to the membership. Source materials include government documents and publications, contemporary accounts, the county Alliance's official newspaper, area newspapers, and the original minutes of the county Alliance from 1893 to 1897.

This study is concerned with the problem of determining the nature of impeachable offenses through an analysis of the English theory of impeachment, colonial impeachment practice, debates in the constitutional convention and the state ratifying conventions, The Federalist Papers and debates in the first Congress, In addition, the precedents established in American cases of impeachment particularly in the trials of Judge John Pickering, Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson are examined. Materials for the study included secondary sources, congressional records, memoirs, contemporary accounts, government documents, newspapers and trial records, The thesis concludes that impeachable offenses include non-indictable behavior and exclude misconduct outside official duties and recommends some alternative method of removal for federal judges.

American politics from 1832 to 1848 underwent a profound transformation. Whereas in the early years of the republic politics had been based on deference and elitism, by the early 1830's a definite change in the political arena had occurred. With the coming of the "Age of Jackson, " the political rules and styles of the older era began to change. The politics of deference began to give way to the politics of "availability." Because this study is a discussion, examination, and analysis of Webster's and Clay's "appeal to reason, " the sources most heavily consulted were the published and microfilmed correspondence, speeches, and papers of these two statesmen. Other personal papers, correspondence, memoirs, and biographies of other central personalities of the middle period, both protagonists and antagonists, were used in order to place Webster and Clay in proper historical perspective. This dissertation is organized chronologically, and it traces and analyzes the evolution of the candidacies of Webster and Clay for the presidency from the early 1830's through the four presidential elections from 1836 to 1848. Each chapter includes an examination of Clay's and Webster's attempts to secure the Whig nomination and gain the presidency through forceful appeals to the voters' …

This study examines the relations of white Baptists with racial and ethnic minorities in Texas from the beginning of organized Baptist work in Texas in the mid-nineteenth century, through the United States Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Topeka case in 1954, Emphasizing the role of attitudes in forming actions, it examines the ideas of various leaders of the chief Baptist bodies in Texas: the artist General Convention of Texas, the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas and the American Baptist Convention. The minorities included in the work are the Negroes, the Mexican-Americans, non-Anglo-Saxon Europeans, American Indians, Orientals, and Jews. Several factors tend to justify a study of this subject. First, there is the prominence of race relations in the nation which has aroused interest in the effect which race relations have had upon affairs in Texas, Second, the widespread changes which have taken place in Texas during, the last two decades suggest the feasibility of a study of that phenomenon, and the fact that many consider the race problem to be a moral and religious issue indicates the relevance of the churches' relationships to these changes. As the largest religious denomination in the state, the Baptists offer a viable …

Presidential reconstruction in Texas proceeded under the direction of provisional governor Andrew Jackson Hamilton, a Texas Unionist. Texas Unionists had deep political roots in pre-war politics and sought to reconstruct along moderate lines. Following the constitutional convention of 1866, conservative James Webb Throckmorton won the gubernatorial race against Unionist Elisha Marshall Pease. Throckmorton's administration did very little to curb the intense violence directed at Unionists in Texas, and the conservative legislature passed legislation repressive to blacks. Texas Unionists grew increasingly radical, and Throckmorton clashed with the federal military over the question of authority. After the Radicals in Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts, Throckmorton was removed as governor, and E.M. Pease was appointed in his place, ending presidential reconstruction in Texas.

This study traces the history of debutante presentations in Dallas, Texas, from 1884 to 1976. Manuscript materials, organizational collections, interviews, and published sources were used to document and establish past and present information. The problem is organized topically and treated in chronological order within each subject. The role of four bachelors' clubs, Idlewild, Terpsichorean, Calyx, and Dervish, is emphasized and the influence of a business known as Party Service is considered. The evidence gathered for this work suggests the following conclusions: that a complicated and lavish process has evolved, that the influence of heritage and family prominence has gradually eroded, that emphasis centers now on the recently financially successful families, and that despite these changes, the ritual of debutante presentations in Dallas remains strong.

Arkansas occupied a key position in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. It offered a gateway for Confederate troops to move north and secure Missouri for the Confederacy, or for Union troops to move south towards Texas and Louisiana. During the war, Union and Confederate armies moved back and forth across the state engaging in numerous encounters. This paper is a year by year study of those encounters and engagements occurring in Arkansas between 1861 and 1865. Emphasis is necessarily placed on the significant campaigns and engagements. Actions which occurred in adjacent states but which militarily affected Arkansas are also discussed. The majority of the material was compiled from the Official Records.

Economic reform completely dominated the later half of the nineteenth century. Cooperation proved the more dominant of alternatives. This study examines the significance the English working class perceived in their own Rochdale cooperation. The American labor press reveals the philosophy by which Americans adapted the English idea peculiar to their own cultural traditions. The Sovereigns of Industry are most representative of genuine cooperative practices in labor. The Texas Cooperative Association represents the largest agricultural cooperative undertaking. Both organizations have been examined primarily through their own records. The class fidelity among English workers and the need for class survival necessitated successful cooperation. The American worker, free of permanent caste, experienced no such solidarity and instead opted for individual advancement and upward social mobility.

Classic Maya civilization which flourished A.D. 250- 900 fell from causes unknown. This study traces the evidences and interpretations of those who sought to explain the downfall. Discussion begins with treatment of the ideas of pre-archaeological travellers to the region and then shifts to the twentieth century. Themes of internal collapse are explored, first focusing on such catastrophes as earthquakes and epidemics, followed by an examination of Maya gricultural technology and its possible failure. The fifth chapter, on internal violence and external influences as causes of Maya collapse, analyzes theories of peasant revolt, wars between autonomous Maya city-states., and the strong possibility of outright invasion by other aboriginal peoples.

This study seeks to determine Roger Fry's position in the cultural and aesthetic dynamics of his era by examining Fry's critical writings and those of his predecessors, contemporaries, and successors. Based on Fry's published works, this thesis begins with a biographical survey, followed by a chronological examination of the evolution of Fry's aesthetics. Equally important are his stance as a champion of modern French art, his role as an art historian, and his opinions regarding British art. The fifth chapter analyzes the relationship between Fry's Puritan background and his basic attitudes. Emphasis is given to his aesthetic, social, and cultural commentaries which indicate that Fry reflected and participated in the artistic, philosophical, and social ferment of his age and thereby contributed to the alteration of British taste.

The study indicates that the motives which impelled the creation of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria were complex, variable, and sometimes contradictory. Many Englishmen within and without the government, indeed, advocated the occupation of the area to suppress the slave trade, but this humanitarian ambition, on balance, was not as significant as political and economic interests. The importance of the Niger waterway, rivalry with France and other maritime nations, andmissionary work, all led Britain to adopt a policy of aggrandizement and to proclaim a protectorate over the Niger districts, thereby laying the foundation for modern Nigeria. The London government acquired territory through negotiating treaties with the native chiefs, conquest, and purchase. British policy and consular rule between 1851 and 1906 was characterized by gunboat diplomacy, brutality, and flagrant disregard for treaty rights; nonetheless, the British presence has made a positive impact on Nigeria's historical, political, economic, intellectual, and cultural development.

The Whig party, which existed in the United States approximately twenty years, 1834-1854, was a coalition of diverse economic, political and social groups united by their disapproval of Jacksonian politics and methods. This minority organization derived its strength from powerful congressional leaders, who held strongly nationalistic ideas regarding economic policy and governmental function, which had a profound and lasting influence on American political and economic thought. In the battle for the presidency, however, Whig leaders sometimes resorted to the expediency of subverting their views and choosing military heroes as candidates in order to attract a larger electorate. This study examines the Whigs in the context of the presidential campaigns of 1840, 1844, and 1848, with major emphasis on the national issues which dominated each election and influenced the choice of candidates and development of tactics.

This thesis examines speeches made by Irish members of the British House of Commons concerning the Government of Ireland Bill (1912). The most significant source use was the Parliamentary Debates of the House of Commons, 1912 to 1914. The organization of the Irish political parties is outlined in Chapter One. The next two chapters deal with their view of Irish history during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fourth chapter focuses upon the bill in committee, and the fifth chapter examines the more general debate on the bill. The conclusions of the final chapter suggest that advocates of the bill were motivated by Irish nationalism, while opponents were motivated by economic ties to Great Britain.

The purpose of this study is to determine the circumstances surrounding the Quid revolt, to examine the intricate state and national politics of the period, and to observe how Jefferson handled this challenge to his authority.

This investigation is concerned with the determination of the exact nature of Anglo-Spanish relations during World War I. It examines the nature of these relations in an attempt to define Spain's commitment to her neutrality policy and the amount of pressure placed upon Spain by Britain in order to force Spain to adopt a policy of at least "benevolent neutrality." Most historical accounts heretofore have accepted the idea that Spain simply refused to abandon her neutrality policy.

This investigation is concerned with the amount of influence which women had on English politics at the close of the seventeenth century and during the early eighteenth century. Generally, it is assumed that women played a negligible part in politics until the twentieth century; a critical study of the Augustan period, however, shows this to be an invalid assumption. Women were, during that period, elevated to positions of leadership and ascendancy unparalleled until the twentieth century.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine Franklin D. Roosevelt's role as an anti-colonialist and his plan for a post-war world. Roosevelt believed that colonialism was the cause of hatred, discontent and war. With this in mind, he pursued an anti-colonial policy against the British and French empires, to him, the mainstay of colonial power.

This paper argues that George Orwell was a myth maker in the twentieth century, an age of existential perplexities. Orwell recognized that man is innately "patriotic," that the will-to-believe is part of his nature, but that the excesses of scientific analysis have disrupted the absolutes of belief. Through the Organic Metaphor, Orwell attempted to reconstruct man's faith into an aesthetic, and consequently moral, sensibility. Proposing to balance, and not replace, the Mechanistic Metaphor of industrial society, Orwell sought human progress along aesthetic lines. "Socialism" was his political expression of the Organic Metaphor: both advocated universal integrity in time and space.

From 1924 to 1929 the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State engaged in the crucial stage of a long-time struggle to determine whether the former would be independent of or subordinate to the latter. This thesis analyzes Church-State relations during this five year period and stresses the activities of President Plutarco Elías Calles, the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and more fanatic Mexican Catholics.

In 1900 the United States had more medical schools than the rest of the world combined. Many of them were commercial institutions devoted to making profits rather than to educating men to perform competently within the medical profession. The profit incentive precipitated low educational standards and made American medical practice decidedly inferior to medical practice almost anywhere else in the civilized world. By 1900 medical education had become pernicious, threatening the health of the nation and the future of the American medical profession. This thesis discusses the efforts to reform medical education practices.

The major concern of this study is an attempt to analyze the attitudes.of Henry Clay, United States Congressman and Senator from Kentucky, 1807-1852, and three time presidential candidate, concerning the institution of slavery by examining its effects upon his political career from 1798 to 1850. The major conclusions of this study are that early in his life Clay made an intellectual commitment that slavery was wrong and maintained this abstract view of the institution until his death. However, Clay never took an active stand against slavery for three reasons: he believed that an antislavery stand would destroy his political career; he realized the explosiveness of the slavery issue as early as 1799, and his misguided love for the Union forced him to attempt to suppress the issue; and Clay was a racist who did not wish to see the United States populated with a sizable number of free blacks.

The main objective of this study is to determine Martin Van Buren's views on slavery and the influence of the institution on his public career.

This study considers the nature of life and society in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories and the factors contributing to the narrow defeat of the women's suffrage proposal in the Constitutional Convention.