The British Occupation of Southern Nigeria, 1851-1906 (open access)

The British Occupation of Southern Nigeria, 1851-1906

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.
Date: December 1979
Creator: Igbineweka, Andrew O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Farmers' Alliance in Wise County, Texas, 1880-1897 (open access)

The Farmers' Alliance in Wise County, Texas, 1880-1897

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.
Date: December 1979
Creator: Riney, James E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Presidential Reconstruction in Texas 1865-1867 (open access)

Presidential Reconstruction in Texas 1865-1867

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.
Date: December 1979
Creator: Chapin, Walter T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Roger Fry: Critic to an Age (open access)

Roger Fry: Critic to an Age

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.
Date: December 1979
Creator: England, B. Jane
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Whigs and the Presidency: National Issues and Campaign Tactics, 1840-1848 (open access)

The Whigs and the Presidency: National Issues and Campaign Tactics, 1840-1848

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.
Date: December 1979
Creator: Baker, Beverly Jeanne
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
British Socialists and the Second International, 1885-1914 (open access)

British Socialists and the Second International, 1885-1914

The purpose of the present study is to identify the participants in the British socialist movement who worked in the Second International. The Second International was a confederation of socialist groups from over twenty nations who tried to carry on the work of Marx in the years of its existence, from 1889 to the outbreak of World War One in 1914. the study explains the political work of the Independent Labour Party, the Social Democratic Federation, and the Fabian Society, all of which gained focus from their membership in the International. The findings of the present study are that the focus of the British socialist movement in the period from 1889 to 1914 came from the Second International, an organization that British socialists helped to form and through which they were able to formulate an effective political party that lasted long after the world war they were powerless to prevent. It was this triumph which gave evidence of their special kind of optimism.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Nash, Carolyn Sue Kirby
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Uneasy Alliance: the Relationship Between Jefferson and Burr: 1791-1807 (open access)

An Uneasy Alliance: the Relationship Between Jefferson and Burr: 1791-1807

Papers, memoirs, diaries, letters and autobiographies from 1791-1807 are studied to determine the relationship between Jefferson and Burr. A limited examination of congressional records for the same period was made. Monographs and biographies of Jefferson, Burr and their contemporaries were studied. This study shows that the relationship between Jefferson and Burr was one of political expediency and that Jefferson's antipathy toward Burr began in 1791 and not as a result of the House presidential election of 1801. The thesis concludes that Jefferson used Burr's political influence in New England to achieve Democratic -Republican control of the federal government and then used the alleged conspiracy between Burr and the Federalists during the House election of 1801 as an excuse to begin Burr's political destruction.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Helms, Dorcas K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
American Prisoners in the Barbary Nations, 1784-1816 (open access)

American Prisoners in the Barbary Nations, 1784-1816

Between 1784 and I8l6, all four Barbary nations had captured and enslaved Americans. Generally the pirates treated the imprisoned Americans harshly, but the aid the United States forwarded to them alleviated much of their suffering. During this period the prisoner issue played an important role in formulating American foreign policy in the Mediterranean because of America's keen commercial interest in that region and its benevolent attitude toward its own citizens. In return, those captive Americans in North Africa supplied their government with valuable intelligence, and, after liberation, some continued to serve their country in the Mediterranean area.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Wilson, Gary Edward
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Politics of Expansion: Texas as an Issue in National Politics, 1819-1845 (open access)

The Politics of Expansion: Texas as an Issue in National Politics, 1819-1845

The American movement to acquire the region known as Texas has "been the subject of countless monographs and journal articles. Although the literature on the Texas movement is voluminous, no historian has produced an interpretive synthesis based on that literature and the extant documentary sources. This work is intended "to fill that void "by offering speculative analysis as well as a chronological narrative on the total movement. The scope of this work is comprehensive. It traces the American government's handling of the Texas issue from 1819—-the year President James Monroe agreed to drop the American claim to Texas in the Adams-Onis treaty—through 1845—the year President James K. Polk signed a congressional resolution granting Texas statehood. Throughout these years the countervailing political forces of antebellum America had more influence on the government's Texas position than did diplomatic considerations. Consequently, the theme of this dissertation is that the American movement to acquire Texas was primarily a political movement. Indeed, the Texas Republic became an American state only when the annexation issue became inextricably linked with the party trammels and political philosophies of Jacksonian America.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Saxon, Gerald D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sam Rayburn: Trials of a Party Man (open access)

Sam Rayburn: Trials of a Party Man

Several books have been written about Sam Rayburn, but thus far there has been no attempt to analyze Rayburn's rise to power. No one has delved sufficiently into his political philosophy, his motivations, and his personal convictions regarding the pivotal events of the turbulent 1930s. This dissertation endeavors to fill that void by tracing the course of events which led Sam Rayburn to the speakership of the United States House of Representatives. It records his triumphs, his shortcomings, the concessions he made, and the people he served in order to achieve his life's ambition. The scope of this study ranges from Rayburn's first expression of interest in the speakership to his elevation to that position in 1940. Brief coverage is given to his three terms in the Texas Legislature, beginning in 1906, and his election to Congress in 1912. A more extensive analysis is made of his early congressional association with John Nance Garner and its pivotal influence on his career. A brief analysis is offered of Rayburn's political and legislative activities prior to the election of 1932. The primary emphasis of this study, however, revolves around Rayburn's activities during the years 1932-1940-- the first two terms of President Franklin …
Date: May 1979
Creator: Daniel, Edward O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Confederate Military Operations in Arkansas, 1861-1865 (open access)

Confederate Military Operations in Arkansas, 1861-1865

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.
Date: December 1978
Creator: Fortin, Maurice G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
James Keenan, United States Consul to Hong Kong (open access)

James Keenan, United States Consul to Hong Kong

James Keenan served as United States consul to Hong Kong for eight years beginning in 1853. Keenan's career demonstrated the difficulties faced by United States consuls in the Far East. Many of the problems Keenan faced during his career resulted from the juxtaposition of a man predisposed to controversy with one of the most ambiguous posts in United States consular service. Keenan's career involved him in difficulties with a United States naval commander, British authorities in Hong Kong, a United States commissioner to China, his temporary successor in Hong Kong, and even the State Department. During his career, Keenan anticipated legislative changes regarding United States consuls. Nevertheless Keenan's colorful career won him many British and American friends. However, his predeliction for controversy damaged his effectiveness as United States consul.
Date: August 1978
Creator: King, Amelia Kay
System: The UNT Digital Library
Martin Luther: Father of Freedom or Father of Authoritarianism (open access)

Martin Luther: Father of Freedom or Father of Authoritarianism

This thesis endeavors to reveal that Martin Luther's dogmatic adherence to one absolute interpretation of the Word of God restricted man's freedom, both religious and personal. His intolerant and authoritarian attitude toward individualistic groups, called into existence by his polemics stressing Christian freedom, is broadly discussed. Luther's theology denied man responsibility for his salvation, either through works, the exercise of divine reason, or through living a lifestyle in the imitation of Christ, leaving man with the inability to accept responsibility for his actions. The authoritarian religions that developed after Luther brought confusion and indifference regarding the nature of religion, leaving modern man in search of alternate authorities in which to place his faith and assume responsibility for his actions, thereby limiting his independence and freedom.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Mays, Gladys Dezell
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Venture into Internationalism: Roosevelt and the Refugee Crisis of 1938 (open access)

A Venture into Internationalism: Roosevelt and the Refugee Crisis of 1938

Prompted by international ramifications of Jewish migration from Nazi Germany, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a world conference on refugees in March 1938. The conference, held at Evian, France, in July, established the Intergovernmental Committee on Political Refugees. The committee, led by American diplomats, sought relaxation of Germany's discriminatory practices against Jews and tried, without success, to resettle German Jews abroad. World War II ended the committee's efforts to achieve systematic immigration from Germany. The American, British, and German diplomatic papers contain the most thorough chronicle of American involvement in the refugee crisis. Memoirs and presidential public papers provide insight into Roosevelt's motivations for calling the conference. Although efforts to rescue German Jews failed, the refugee crisis introduced Americans to intervention in Europe.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Mannering, Lynne Michelle
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.
System: The UNT Digital Library
National Monarchy and Norway, 1898-1905: a Study of the Establishment of the Modern Norwegian Monarchy (open access)

National Monarchy and Norway, 1898-1905: a Study of the Establishment of the Modern Norwegian Monarchy

The study then focuses on the Bernadotte candidacy as the practical expression of a Norwegian desire for a national monarchy. Reaction to the candidacy is analyzed and, although it proved unsuccessful, the strength of the idea is again evident when the government shifted its focus to the secondary candidacy of Denmark's Prince Carl. During the debate over the candidates for the throne, the underlying theme which developed was the question of Norway's form of government-- monarchy or republic.
Date: May 1978
Creator: Leiren, Terje Ivan
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Appeal to Reason: Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Whig Presidential Politics, 1836-1848 (open access)

An Appeal to Reason: Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and Whig Presidential Politics, 1836-1848

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' …
Date: December 1977
Creator: Teague, William Joseph, 1941-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Classic Maya Collapse: A Review of Evidence and Interpretations (open access)

The Classic Maya Collapse: A Review of Evidence and Interpretations

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.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Wood, Jeffrey Clark
System: The UNT Digital Library
Economic Cooperation: American Labor's Alternative to Modern Industrialism (open access)

Economic Cooperation: American Labor's Alternative to Modern Industrialism

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.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Rainwater, Patricia Hickman
System: The UNT Digital Library
A History of Debutante Presentation in Dallas, 1884-1977 (open access)

A History of Debutante Presentation in Dallas, 1884-1977

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.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Lindley, Melinda A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Impeachment as a Political Weapon (open access)

Impeachment as a Political Weapon

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.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Collins, Sally Jean Bumpas
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Catholic Henri IV and the Papacy, 1593-1610 (open access)

The Catholic Henri IV and the Papacy, 1593-1610

This study explores Franco-Papal relations, and their effect on the French Church and State, from Henri IV's conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1593 until his death in 1610. Because Henri IV's primary concern, even in matters involving the Papacy or the Gallican Church, was to protect his kingdom from Habsburg encroachment, he was willing either to abandon his Protestant allies abroad, or to adopt reform measures, such as the decrees of the Council of Trent, that might weaken his own authority or disturb the peace of his kingdom. This caused repeated conflicts with the Counter-Reformation Popes Clement VIII and Paul V, to whom the primary enemy was always the infidel and the heretic. Nevertheless both sides realized that they needed each other to maintain their independence of Spain.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Fling, William Jackson
System: The UNT Digital Library
James K. Polk and Slavery (open access)

James K. Polk and Slavery

As a plantation owner, James K. Polk had economic interests which were bound to that peculiar institution. Consequently, many of his decisions as a politician were influenced by his southern background. Although his partiality toward"southern rights" was evident, he did not let his personal bias interfere with his determination to preserve the nation. Throughout his public career, he maintained that slavery was being exploited as a "political question" to divide the United States. Even though his opponents branded him a "sectionalist" for his position on the issues of Texas annexation, the Mexican War, and slavery in the territories, he still remained a staunch nationalist. This study proves that James K. Polk's "southern convictions" were secondary in importance compared to his concern for the preservation of the Union.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Marsh, Richard Dean
System: The UNT Digital Library