Wichita State University: Electronic Journals Hosted by University Libraries
Not a member yet
330 research outputs found
Sort by
Britain\u27s New Form of Imperialism: Raffles and the Foundation of Singapore
Get PDFThe founding of Singapore by the British in 1819 had a tremendous impact on the economic and political environments of the region. These transformations brought on changes not only for the small island but also the region. Such forces had great impact upon other European powers trading in the area and had implications for the trading patterns of China and Europe
Drake\u27s Role in the Spanish Invasion of England
Get PDFOpinions regarding Sir Francis Drake are almost never mundane. In the past, the English sentiment towards Drake has been very favorable, and understandably so; Drake was seen as a hero and an explorer. More recent accounts of Drake are much more objective. In Spain, Drake was hated, although it was admitted that he was an interesting historical figure, as well as clever and worthy of respect. Some accounts hesitate to use the word "pirate" to describe Drake, and yet, this is an accurate description of him. The purpose of this paper is to examine this uneasy relationship between Drake and Spain, and England and Spain, at this period in history. Did Drake\u27s piracy on Spanish ships exacerbate conditions more than usual? Were Drake\u27s actions a contributing factor to the attempted Spanish invasion of England in 1588? This question seems to be worthy of some study
Sympathy for the Devil: Simon Girty, the Frontier Captive Experience, Loyalty and American Memory
Get PDFHe was fifteen. In those fifteen years he had witnessed and experienced things which only those growing up on the fringes of a frontier society could. He had been raised at a place known as Chambers\u27s Mill in what is now south central Pennsylvania, a settlement rough even by frontier standards. Nineteenth-century historian Consul Willshire Butterfield tells us, "Indeed, it had few, if any, rivals, for its wickedness, in the province."
When Lady Liberty turns a Blind Eye: United States Foreign Policy during the Invasion of Greece, 1940-1941
Get PDF"I remember hiding in an oven when I was ten," she lamented. "The Germans had broken down our door and were demanding to take all the children away from our parents, probably to kill us first. When they peeked in oven window, I held my breath and prayed that the pots and pans were piled over my head because if not, I would be burned alive. That\u27s when I first knew of fear."1 The months that followed Thomai Stephan\u27s first encounter with German "hunters" as she deemed them, were no less frightening or menacing than the day she hid in the oven. Soon after the hunters left her village in northern Greece, Thomai and her family labored through a series of barriers to escape her now occupied community. "Oh it was petrifying. They stole all of our animals so that we\u27d starve; we ran into the caves and hid for days so they wouldn\u27t find us; and when more came in from Macedonia, everyone dug a secret trench with a wooden cover piled under dirt and waited for their footsteps to soften,that day I almost suffocated to death."
A Look into the Past of America\u27s Pastime
Get PDFAmidst the cheers a familiar crack, the sound of bat meeting ball, resounded throughout the stadium. Silence ensued as the fans held their breath in anticipation; suddenly the roar of their voices resumed as the ball sailed gracefully over the wall. As the crowd chanted his name, the batter trotted around the bases, wondering if one day his legacy would join the historic players in the baseball Hall of Fame. The names of baseball\u27s greats,Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson to name a few,are known throughout the country. The mere word baseball conjures up patriotic sentiments, images of cheering crowds joined together, singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and of fathers and sons playing catch. Yet the actual history of baseball is not mere grand slams; baseball gathered quite a few strikes against it throughout its days as America\u27s pastime. Two examples of negative experiences in baseball are the Black Sox scandal of 1919 and the modern day steroid scandal. Neither of the events were isolated incidents, but instead were a significant part of baseball\u27s development. While differences existed between the ways the baseball industry eventually addressed these two issues, a closer look reveals that during the early twentieth century and during the modern era, baseball\u27s initial response toward them was disregard. In both instances the baseball industry\u27s reactions were intimately linked with protecting the sport\u27s national image and the management\u27s investments within it
Understanding Homosexuality in Postwar Kansas
Get PDFIn U.S A. Confidential, a sensationalist book of immoral criminal activities published in 1952, the authors stated that "when Kansas does anything, it means the rest of the country did it years ago."1 This statement seems to apply to the way authorities and the general population viewed homosexuality in postwar Kansas, which was similar to the way homosexuality was viewed in the bigger cities of the United States at an earlier time of the century, and at odds with some of the changes that were occurring in other parts of the country
No Taxation Without Representation!!! (and only if both can be within the bounds of our legislative control)
Get PDFA colonial New Englander wrote of the inherited birthrights of British citizens in the March 2, 1765, edition of the Providence Gazette in vindication of Governor Stephen Hopkins\u27 "The Rights of the Colonies Examined," that "the subject\u27s right of being represented where he can be taxed, lands almost the foremost." What did he mean? Though twenty-first-century textbooks have summarized his argument in the inherited colonial maxim of "No taxation without representation," this simplification of a prevailing eighteenth-century colonial ideological premise sheds little light on the intellectual milieu in which the concept operated.1 While even in the second decade of twenty-first-century American politics many have taken up this revolutionary slogan to support their ideologies, few understand what it actually meant within its contemporary usage. It will be the purpose of this analysis to examine this ideological concept, the framework from which it evolved, and more importantly, the construct within which it operated
Instant History: The Spanish-American War and Henry Watterson\u27s Articulation of Anti-Imperialist Expansionism
Get PDFThe two contradictions encompassed in the title of this essay reflect those to be found in Henry Watterson\u27s History of the Spanish-American War, Embracing a Complete Review of Our Relations with Spain. Published in 1898, with a preface dated a full two months before the signing of the Treaty of Paris that officially concluded the war, this "history" is one that Watterson freely admits was written concurrently with the events it purports to describe impartially. Watterson himself was something of a contradiction: a Confederate war veteran who supported a strong and undivided Union; a fervent southern Democrat who advocated expansion, though not imperialism, as a means of attaining free trade; and a longstanding editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal whose colorfully-worded and impassioned editorials impacted political discourse on a national level, but who scorned the trends of sensationalism and yellow journalism. Indeed, it should be noted that initially Watterson\u27s own opinions on the war and the acquisition of overseas territories were far from the crystallized viewpoint he presents in his not-unsubstantial 660-page volume. Nor were they as coolheaded as the book\u27s clear attempts to offer balanced accounts of motivations and causes of events in the war, which certainly tones down the enthusiasm Watterson had progressively developed for the war and the expansionist opportunities it presented.
Paramount Destiny: The Gender Consequence of Constitutionalizing Public Health
Get PDFRatified in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," including recently freed slaves. The Amendment also precluded states from denying to any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law," or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."1 However, within the initial rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court on the Amendment, that broad language was narrowly interpreted. Instead of expanding individual citizens\u27 rights, the initial cases only protected individual rights guaranteed under a newly designated federal citizenship, and protected the states\u27 rights to wield their police powers through industry regulation. The Court\u27s first case, Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)2 left intact new state legislation intended to clean up the New Orleans water supply. For those involved with sanitation reform, this early decision was a win. But for reformers working to earn legal equality for women, it was a loss as the second decision on the Amendment, Bradwell v. State of Illinois (1873)3, denied the rights of women to enter into the professions. Thus through the initial Fourteenth Amendment decisions, public health and sanitation were protected over legal parity for women
Whom Can We Trust Now? The Portrayal of Benedict Arnold in American History
Get PDF"Whom can we trust now?" asked General George Washington, commander in chief of the American Revolution, shortly after learning of the treason committed by the most brilliant soldier of the Revolution, Benedict Arnold. Arnold was Washington\u27s friend, his trusted comrade in the fight for independence. He had lent his considerable talents for leadership to the American cause time and time again since the onset of hostilities with Great Britain, making him one of the colonial army\u27s most valuable officers. In fact, the commander in chief frequently commended Arnold for his "enterprising and persevering spirit" and relied on him for advice and support during the conflict.1 After Arnold defected to the British, however, Washington was hurt and angry at his friend\u27s betrayal. He was not the only one. Patriots across America lashed out in fury in reaction to Arnold\u27s treason. Their trust had been broken, and to the present day, Americans have difficulty seeing beyond the word traitor when Benedict Arnold\u27s name is mentioned. In the years since Arnold\u27s death, many biographies and articles have been written about him. The tone and perspective of these writings have changed as cultures and attitudes of historians have changed. While examining the historiography of Benedict Arnold, the phrase "whom can we trust now" takes on a whole new meaning. To gain an accurate understanding of who Arnold truly was, scholars must not only study his life, but the forces that shaped his interpreters.