1,721,011 research outputs found
The Emancipation of Slaves in Civil-War Maryland: An American Epic
No full textThe story of Maryland’s polarized citizenry, and their journey to emancipation is an exciting model that many Civil War historians have explored. The state was the epitome of the “brother vs. brother” scenario often mentioned in reference to this conflict. However, the importance of the media, and of an editor’s influence in shaping public opinion is what this thesis adds to our understanding of how the “brother vs. brother” tensions were gradually put somewhat to rest. The Baltimore American is an invaluable resource for deconstructing the shifting loyalties of divided Marylanders and for examining the nuances of the eventual dominance of Unionist factions over politics and social policy
If these walls could talk : museum interpretation in theory and practice
No full textThis thesis is an exploration of interpretation at Historic House Museums in the Philadelphia region. Interpretation is the process through which museums examine their historical content and present a version of their history to the public. While museum professionals ultimately decide their museum's mode of presentation, museum associations, public consulting groups, and historians and scholars also promote interpretive ideas through programs and publications. Interpretation has been changing over the last twenty years because of new notions of museums' role in public education and the demand for representation of all ethnic and lower class histories. Wyck Home, Pennsbury Manor, Harriton House, and Elfreth's Alley exemplify the different modes of interpretation that are practiced in material culture museums today
Elite Environmentalism: The Roots of the Modern Environmental Movement in the 19th Century Whig Philosophy of George Perkins Marsh
No full textThis thesis examines the link between Whig philosophy and environmentalism, which can be seen in the writings of George Perkins Marsh. Marsh is thought of by many as the "fountainhead of the\ud
conservation movement," but he is often removed from his 19th century context and forced into the mold of the modern environmental movement.\ud
By seeing Marsh in his own political and philosophical context, we learn a great deal more about him and his legacy in the modern\ud
environmental movement
"Growing up Quaker" in the Civil War era
No full textWhat does it mean to grow up in a Quaker community- at home, at school, and in the weekly meeting- and what happens when external events challenge the values and the identities learned in these institutions? Through the lens of the development of two young men raised in Quaker families, with a long-standing tradition in the Society of Friends, this essay explores the context of family life and a college founded by and for Quakers, Haverford College, as the conflict between the southern slave states and the northern non-slave states erupted in Civil War, spurring a “crisis” within the Society of Friends. There were three main contexts that formed the world of young people going to Haverford during this time, the boys themselves and their familial background, the “guarded and liberal education” of Haverford College, and the wider Quaker community in which they were raised. A look at the lives of two bright young Haverford students from Quaker families, one of whom went on to fight in the war while the other did not, encourages us to look at influences beyond their common background, that shaped their attitudes about the war and other external events. This leads us to question to what extent growing up in a Quaker community influenced the view of the outside world by these two men and their peers at Haverford
Varying Accounts on the Freedmen's Bureau 1865- 1866: How Reports on the Freedmen's Bureau Developed Perspectives on the Bureau's Role in America's History
No full textNeither Pro-War Nor Pro-Peace: Sydney George Fisher, John and Leo Faller, and Their Perspectives on Civil War Pennsylvania.
No full textMy thesis focuses on the lives of two Pennsylvanians in the Civil War. Sidney George Fisher was an aristocratic Philadelphian. He was educated at Dickinson College and originally worked as a lawyer. By the time of the war, he was retired, so he spent his time with family and friends. He also wrote books on political theory. During the Civil War, he kept a diary of his thoughts, opinions, and interactions with other people. \ud
John and Leo Faller were two young soldiers from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1861, they enlisted in the Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves. In 1862, they fought in the battles of the Seven Days, Second Bull Run, and Antietam. Leo was killed at Antietam, but John continued to serve with his regiment until he was captured in 1864. After spending time at Andersonville, he returned home in 1865. They sent many letters home about their experiences in the army.\ud
For my thesis, I look at both of their documents. I use them as a means to examine what Pennsylvanians thought about the Civil War. Did the people in the Keystone State support the Civil War? What did they think about it? Did they want to fight in the war or not? I attempt to answer these questions and similar ones by looking at Fisher and the Fallers. More specifically, I look at what Fisher and the Fallers thought about Pennsylvania politics, the military, and humanitarian aid. \ud
My conclusion is that Pennsylvania had a few outspoken supporters of the war, and a few people who were outspoken in opposition against the war. Such polarized people, however, were in the minority. Fisher’s diary and the Fallers’ letters suggest that many Pennsylvanians had more moderate views and fell between the two extremes of completely pro-war and completely pro-peace. Sometimes they supported the war effort and agreed with some of the Union Party’s (the pro-war party) political beliefs, but other times the same people opposed the war effort and agreed with the Copperhead Party (the pro-peace party)
"Remind Them of Their Lofty Ideals": The Friends Neighborhood Guild's Struggle for Public Housing in the Post-War Moment
No full textIn 1949 the Friends Neighborhood Guild, a Quaker Settlement House, began construction on the 8th and Brown Co-operative in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of East Poplar. The motivation for the project came from the pressing need for housing after WWII, a desire to provide decent housing to East Poplar's poor residents and creeping urban blight in the neighborhood. The 8th and Brown Co-operative incorporated a number of innovative and avant-garde features, including that most of the construction work would be completed by the future tenants, the use of European inspired communitarian design and tenant ownership and operation of the building. The unique project came out of both the Friends Neighborhood Guild's own infatuation with the ability of avant-garde housing to radically improve the housing situation of the country's poor and the post-war Federal public housing programs which provided the Guild with the necessary material support. Despite the Guild's optimistic attitude at the outset of the project, it met a number of unforeseen problems in part due to the pioneering nature of the project. These problems resulted in the Guild's increasing disillusionment with the promise and potential of avant-garde public housing. As such the Guild's subsequent projects during the post-war period-–the urban renewal of East Poplar in 1961 and an elderly public housing unit completed in 1966--displayed a decidedly pragmatic and conventional style. The Guild's shift from idealism to pragmatism mirrors a broader decline in the country's faith in the ability of the government and public housing to solve the problem of urban decay
Quaker Education, Morality And Business Practices In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania From 1850-1900: The Legacy of Joseph Elkinton (1794-1868) and The Philadelphia Quartz Company
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