Master of Arts in History
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10474/3176
The Master of Arts in History degree extends students' expertise in the discipline by effectively preparing them to
apply their skills in a variety of professions and contexts. Students deepen their knowledge of the process of "making"
history, through analyzing primary and secondary sources, evaluating historiography, applying research methods,
defining and researching a specific area of history, and effectively defending and articulating theses. Students have the
option of exploring history through traditional coursework, focused on research and writing, or by investigating subjects
pertinent to public history, such as understanding the latest technology for preserving and digitizing history. Emphasis
is also placed on strategies to keep the student on the cutting-edge of the field, such as using quantitative reasoning in
historical analysis and information systems to promote the dissemination of meaningful interpretation of the past.
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Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Evangelical Revivalism and the Expanding Women’s Domain: The Eastern Half of the Yankee Belt, the 1820s to 1840s(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-09-06) Morgan, Merritt A.; Bartee, Seth; Denning, RobertThe focus on the Protestant women’s role in American religious history during the religious revivalism of the early nineteenth century continues to gain an increasing amount of attention. Generally regarded as the family economy and frontier generation: conferences, houses, outdoor meetings, and crowded churches created the religious revivalism that became known as the Second Great Awakening. Following 1790, the New England revivals that swarmed Massachusetts and Connecticut swept waves of religious zeal primarily westward across the Yankee hill country. The revivals penetrating New York and western Pennsylvania reached a grand climax in western New York between the 1820s to the early 1840s. These peaking decades promoted evangelistic mission networks that followed the contours of trade routes which intertwined with economic trends and Yankee inheritance. During this period, women who were most active in the revivals wisely used resources and gained support in the spreading of missionary work, and voluntary and benevolent endeavors. They embraced the waves of revivalism to expand the lines of gender and class first in the Yankee belt that shifted the family and community life, which definitions still leave scholars perplexed and are highlighted.Item Open Access The Impetus of Castle Construction: To Fortify or Aggrandize?(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-09-07) Gold-Pambianchi, Jayson Daniel; Ricker, James; Denning, Robert; Petriello, DavidAs demonstrated by the work of historian Charles Coulson, modern revisionary trends in castle studies have questioned the defensive functionality of medieval European castles. Debates have arisen on whether these structures were erected to primarily function as fortified residences or to enhance prestige. This analysis, centered on English medieval castellology, disputes the revisionary sentiment that castles were not frequently constructed to serve as fortifications, but to instead substantiate affluence. To comprehend the adaptations and morphologies of the castle studies community, historiographic analysis identifies the notable historians and interpretations which have shaped the discipline. The dichotomy between traditional and revisionary works is discussed to shed light on the varied perceptions held by historians throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st century. Source analysis on castles erected between the 11th and 14th centuries suggests their primary function in the British Isles was rooted in fortification, whereas status enhancement was significant, albeit subsidiary. This claim is advocated with literature and a digital exhibition concerning popular styles in English medieval castle architecture and the events which propagated their developed — portrayed through notable structures: The White Tower of London, Dover Castle, Caerphilly Castle, Caernarfon Castle and Castle Bodiam.Item Open Access Federalists and Republicans: How Liberty Influenced Political Parties(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-09-16) Sullivan, Brenna Kay; Sullivan, Brenna KayThomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton knew that the fate of the new nation would depend on how to implement government with the size and authority that would best suit the 13 states of the new union. What these men did not realize is that the meaning of liberty would become subject to interpretation as it served as a principle of the new government. After the American Revolution, Jefferson and Hamilton no longer shared the same definition of personal and civil liberty, and those differences formed the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties. What many may not know is that the majority of the ideas adopted in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution derive from ideas of the Enlightenment Era, a philosophical movement Jefferson and Hamilton both believed in. This capstone project was created in order to determine what happened when the framers were faced with decisions about creating a sustainable government, and how liberty played the major role in the differences of opinion between men like Jefferson and Hamilton. The historiography has yet to pinpoint liberty as a major player in the reasons that created political divisions and shifts in the United States. Historians using political and social lenses to present their own arguments only vaguely reference liberty as an aspect of government, but not as the main reason for why disagreements became as prevalent as they were after the American Revolution. With the assistance of archival repositories such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, and state historical societies, various correspondence and notes taken by the Founding Fathers will be used and displayed as an online exhibit. The exhibit will show how the term liberty and political factions evolved in the men most responsible for the outcome of our government, permanent institutions, and economy.Item Open Access The Forty-eighters in Davenport: The Germanizing of a City(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-10-02) Cabage, Daniel Adam; Chung, Yun Shun Susie; Denning, Robert; Petriello, DavidImmigrants have played a pivotal role in the transformations of communities across the globe. Davenport, Iowa, experienced a large influx of Germanic immigration during the middle of the 19th century which altered the course of the area both socially and culturally. The early arrivals into the area were known as the Forty-eighters, as many emigrated from the Germanic states due to political unrest surrounding the many revolutions of 1848. The online exhibit The Forty-eighters in Davenport: The Making of a New German Home (located at gahc.omeka.net), along with the accompanying thesis, will highlight the changes that came about within the city of Davenport, Iowa, by examining the impact that these early immigrants had on the social and cultural levels. The end result will be a usable exhibit for the German American Heritage Center and Museum in Davenport, Iowa.Item Open Access Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Forgotten Son(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-10-04) Lewis, Jason; Chung, Susie; Denning, Robert; McConnell, StephanieThe presidency of Franklin Pierce is often overlooked by history. Regarded as one of the country’s least known, least liked, and least successful presidents, Pierce’s administration (1853-1857) covered an unsettling period in the life of the nation. The polarization between the North and the South reached new extremes, the Kansas-Nebraska Act made civil war possible, possibly even inevitable, and Pierce’s southern sympathies only widened the crack of the nation. However, Pierce “was a politician of limited ability, and instead of growing in his job, he was overwhelmed by it.” Franklin Pierce’s failed presidency cannot be blamed entirely for the tumultuous events of the 1850’s, the emotional tone of the decade did not coincide with the president’s Constitutional principles. Through political, social, and cultural lenses, Pierce and his Constitutional beliefs will be reexamined. This research and online exhibit on Omeka will look further into Pierce, the president and the man, and hopes to educate residents of New Hampshire, as well as tourists to the state. The online exhibit will be made with the help of the New Hampshire Historical Society, whose goal is to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts from New Hampshire history in satisfaction of its mission “to educate a diverse public about the significance of New Hampshire’s past and its relationship to our lives today.”Item Open Access New Nationalism amidst Old Nations: A Comparative Expansion of the Definition of Nationalism in Premodern City-States(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-10-24) Bolland, Eric Andrew; Denning, Robert; Reed, Charles; McConnell, Stephanie W.The current scholarship on the topic of nationalism limits the existence of the political philosophy to only the modern era, from the eighteenth century up through to the present. This thesis postulates that the view of nationalism as a purely modern concept is unnecessarily limiting to the definition of nationalism and its application across time. By utilizing the foundation of questioning the scholars that adhere to the concept of nationalism as purely modern set down by writers such as Azar Gat, Caspar Hirschi and Travis Roberts, this thesis sets out three case-studies with the intention of demonstrating how each possesses the qualifications for being considered nationalist: one of nineteenth century Imperial Germany used as a baseline to which the other, less widely accepted examples can be compared; one of the city-state of Florence during the Renaissance; and one of the ancient Spartan city-state. The examination and conclusion that each of these societies classify as examples of nationalism throughout time is enacted through the comparison of nationalist tendencies expressed in each case-study with the definitions of nationalism presented by the authors who have contributed to the topic’s historiography. Finally, this thesis uses the results of the case-studies as evidence as to why the current, modern definition of nationalism is too limited and must be expanded to include premodern nations.Item Open Access St. Louis, Missouri: The Early Greek Community(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-10-28) Pohtos, Robert Nicholas; Bartee, Seth J.; Chan, ChristopherThe Greek migration history and heritage is rich, dating back to antiquity. However, Greeks were relatively minor participants and latecomers in coming to the United States. This study’s general focus is early twentieth century Greek immigrant American communities. The specific concentration is on the Greek settlement in St. Louis, Missouri, including the Greek padrone system, the odious indentured servitude and exploitation of early Greeks by other Greek immigrants. The study expands the scant written history of the early St. Louis Greek immigrant community. Further, examining early Greek immigrants’ imported values, this study reconciles the amoral Greek padrone system to the usually positive and moral business and family attributes ascribed to first and second generation Greek-Americans in the existing historiography and in other cultural portrayals. Finally it demonstrates that attributes of the Greek padrone system are very much akin to those of twenty-first century human trafficking. How the Greek padrone system was combatted and ended contains lessons for confronting the present-day immigrant exploitation found in human trafficking.Item Open Access Making Their Mark: Italian Immigrant Contributions to the Cultural Fabric of Northeast Minnesota(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-10-30) Tucci, Patrick Andrew; Reed, Charles V.; Denning, Robert; Irvine, RobertThe voice of the Italian immigrant has been largely absent from Minnesota’s immigration history. Scholarship on the topic has tended to focus on the larger numbers of immigrants from Scandinavian countries who immigrated to the state. This study works to give voice to the underrepresented group of Italian immigrants who came to northeast Minnesota at the turn of the twentieth century seeking opportunities in the newly established iron ore mining industry. By putting the experiences of Minnesota’s Italian immigrants at the forefront of the writing, this study works to fill a gap in the historiography of the state’s immigration history. This study will argue that despite encountering prejudice and discrimination, Minnesota’s Italian immigrants made enduring contributions to the culture of northeast Minnesota. To provide evidence for this argument, the fundamental methodology of this study is the use of primary sources from the turn of the twentieth century. Oral histories are used to provide a first-person account of the immigrants who came to Minnesota during the era. Additionally, this study employs the extensive use of newspapers from the time period to illustrate how the media outlets of the region wrote about the immigrants within the context of northeast Minnesota at the time. Finally, this study utilizes scholarly monographs and journal articles to provide a framework in which to situate the original argument of the study.Item Open Access Wings of Battle: The United States Army Antisubmarine Command and the Battle of the Atlantic(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-08-17) Pollok, Travis Jarnagin; Bartee, Seth J.; Denning, RobertThe Army Antisubmarine Command has been overlooked and understudied in the larger historiography of World War II. The Army Antisubmarine Command demonstrated the importance of airpower and airpower doctrine in relation to antisubmarine warfare, created numerous political debates, and a military doctrinal gap between the United States Army and Navy. The offensive military strategy of the Army Antisubmarine Command was key to the Allied victory in the Atlantic, signified the global impact of the Battle of the Atlantic to other Allied military operations in Europe and the Pacific, and created a tipping point against the German U-boats, ultimately leading to a turning point and Allied victory in World War II. The offensive strategy of the Army and the defensive strategy of the Navy created a political and military debate that overshadowed the Army Antisubmarine Command for its entire operational history and significantly impacted the Allied perception and military strategy against the German U-boats operating in the Atlantic. The significant role and contribution of the Army Antisubmarine Command to the Allied victory during the Battle of the Atlantic and World War II becomes apparent using a variety of primary sources, such as, the Army Antisubmarine Command unit history, Allied and German combat narratives, attack reports, and after action reports, along with secondary sources that discuss the current historiography on the Battle of the Atlantic. The success of the Army Antisubmarine Command cannot be measured in the number of German U-boats sunk, but the impact offensive antisubmarine operations had on the German U-boat tactics and military strategy. Until topics, like the Army Antisubmarine Command, are acknowledged and studied the significant impact of World War II cannot be completely understood.Item Open Access The Rapid Progression of Cultural Property Protection 1790 – 1863: The Crises Faced by Cultural Property(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-12-19) Lovett, John C.; Chung, Yun; Denning, RobertThis paper addresses the catalysts which created the rapid acceleration of the protection of cultural property 1790 – 1863. The recent destruction of iconic cultural property, along with the intensified legal struggles of repatriation of displaced cultural property gives rise to the need of more stringent and enforceable protection laws for all cultures’ iconic art, artifacts and edifices. The years 1790 – 1863, a period in the heart of the Age of Revolutions, reveal the causes, catalysts and basis for which cultural property protection policies and laws are founded. Framed by the most influential law of nations treatise of that time, Emer de Vattel’s The Law of Nations (1758), this study uses some of the turbulent, revolutionary events of 1790-1863, as the landscape of cultural property protection’s rapid acceleration. Jacob Burckhardt developed his theory of historical crises and fathers the lens of cultural history during this period. The study uses both, method and lens, respectively. Like Burckhardt, and in early cultural history design, it is not the events which this study is concerned with, it is the impression, interpretations and implications. The protection of cultural property advanced from idea, Emer de Vattel, to law, Francis Lieber’s The Lieber Code, in this relatively short period. It was because of the loss and displacement, which cultural property was subjected to. Hopefully, the current crisis state of cultural property loss and destruction can be curbed with a renewed, passionate approach to understanding culture and cultural property. A PowerPoint© presentation, to be used in conjunction with lectures, is based on the narrative of this thesis. It illustrates the dynamic and rapid changes that can occur to international policies and laws during times of crises, specifically regarding cultural property. The presentation is designed to accompany lectures for graduate or undergraduate students of international law, world heritage, and cultural property. The narrative and project are formed to fit the National Humanities Center’s “Resources for Educators” website.Item Open Access “The People of California are devoted to the Constitution and Union” California During the American Civil War(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-01-31) Harris, Brendan; Reed, Charles; Denning, Robert; McConnell, StephanieThis paper explores the contribution of California to the Union effort during the American Civil War. Historians claim nothing of consequence happened in the Pacific Region during the American Civil War. This paper will show that Californians kept the Confederacy from expanding to the Pacific Ocean by expelling secessionists from the region, blocked Confederate invasions and infiltrations into California, and sent troops to the Eastern Theater to support other states quota for volunteers. Another argument presented in this paper is that California volunteers stopped warring Native American tribes from destabilizing the region. The primary sources used in this paper are official military records, personal communications, and personal diaries of individuals. Additional primary sources include newspaper articles, political speeches, and official government statutes and proclamations at the state and federal level. The paper examines the admittance of California as a state in 1850 and how Congressional politics surrounding the state's admittance set the country on the path to war. The discussion then shifts to how secession almost split California into two states in 1860. The paper then moves into how California prepared for war and how volunteers were sent to different regions of the country to support the Union war effort. The final two sections of the paper cover the Civil War and Reconstruction within the borders of California and the Civil War in memory.Item Open Access Behind the Scenes of Tudor Dynasty & Spanish Monarchy & The Consequences of Their Inner Workings(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-04-07) Knepp-Holt, Constance Marie; Cornell, HerbertIn the mid-1400s due to several fortuitous events two great nations were conceived: England and Spain under the leadership of the Tudors and the Catholic Monarchs. However, with greatness comes conflict. My research consisted of scouring through various books written throughout the centuries, private papers, national archives, other documents from the period and even modern-day medical journals. The intent behind the research is to demonstrate how the interactions between these great houses impacted both monarchy’s way of thinking and resulting strategies and counter moves in what could be described as an elaborate game of chess. There is plenty of resources today that center on the key individuals and the major events they are known for but there are not many that address all of the “characters” and soap-opera-like details behind the scenes leading up to the better-known major ones. For example, we have all heard about Henry VIII and the great divorce and reformation but, the majority do not know what was going on in the background and the part that Spain played. Spain attacked England with the Armada and Elizabeth came out the victor, however there are reasons why Philip attacked England one of them being Elizabeth and her pirates. It is these smaller inner workings between the Tudor dynasty and the Spanish monarchy that I want to join into one piece. The Tudors and the Spanish monarchies were all very strong, intelligent, high strong, complex entities and in 1488, the groundwork for a 123-year long feud between England and Spain was laid. This was a feud that had very personal undertones culminating with Elizabeth I and Philip II.Item Open Access The Creation of a Church Community out of the 1960s Counterculture and Jesus People Movement: Exploring the Formation of Covenant Life Church out of Two Significant Movements(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-02-19) Spiro, Gabriel J.; Chung, Yun Shun Susie; Denning, Robert; Irvine, RobertThe Evangelical Right that is present in the United States today was born out of the Jesus People Movement (JPM) of the 1970s. Understanding how the JPM came about and the effect that it had on a particular population will be the focus of this thesis. Connecting the events that happened in California, with a local church that sprouted in Maryland, will provide a new understanding of the JPM and its growth across the United States. Understanding this small community’s relationship with the much larger JPM and the Evangelical Right will present new understandings of how local churches were affected and effected (respectively). Connecting the historical underpinnings of the Jesus People Movement with the resulting Covenant Life Church and how that church, as part of the broader Religious Right, has affected its community will result in new research in an evolving historical space. Working with Covenant Life Church to bring this lecture to life will bring together interested community members along with members of the church who are interested in the subject. It will build upon a strong historical understanding of the 1960s but add to the growing literature on the Jesus People Movement and the scant research on Religious communities.Item Open Access The Shift: The Political Moderation of The Texas State Board of Education, 2007-2019(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-03-17) Goldsmith, Kevin Matthew; Bartee, Seth; Denning, RobertThis study compares and contrasts the politics of the Texas State Board of Education from 2007 to 2019. Scholars and activists routinely claim that the SBOE has been a hotbed of conservative activism. However, this study argues that these detractors have missed a recent historical development: conservative Republicans on the Texas State Board of Education have politically shifted towards the center from 2007-2019. This can be demonstrated by examining state standards (“TEKS”) and textbooks (both of which have moderated); the professionalized temperament of the SBOE; the election of moderate Republicans and the defeat of more conservative Republican candidates and incumbents; the appointment of more moderate Republicans as Chairperson of the SBOE; and reduced number of news stories about the board (indicating less controversy). Indeed, despite activists’ protestations, a dispassionate examination will reveal that the SBOE has become relatively centrist. The main finding of this research is that the more conservative faction of the SBOE has, for a number of reasons and in a number of ways, moved to the political center. This has had the effect of distilling the moderate Republicans and Democrats from the more partisan factions in their respective parties. This historical development has further led to a phenomenon this author terms “compound moderation”: that is, the introduction of moderate Republican board members has resulted in the decline of one-party rule and has inaugurated a newfound relevance of coalitions, cyclically leading to even more moderation. What is remarkable is that this move towards the center has unfolded in a Republican state in the midst of very partisan times in American history.Item Open Access I Am Enough! The African American Female Soldier’s Fight to Be Acknowledged for Their Role During World War II(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-04-22) Briscoe, Justice Iyana; Chung, Yun S.; Denning, Robert; Reynolds, GlennThis thesis will examine the lack of commemoration on the involvement of African American female soldiers during World War II. This thesis will also reveal the struggles, treatment, and triumphs that African American female WWII soldiers endured during the war. It is important to examine this topic because public historians, historians, and their respective fields have neglected to do so. The research conducted in this thesis is from the Library of Congress, National Archives, autobiographies, journals, articles, and interviews. This thesis will build upon the primary sources stated above and secondary sources that will support the historical topic research. Included with this thesis is an online exhibit accompanied by a walking tour. The online exhibit will contain photographs and media interviews or their transcripts of African American female WWII vets from different military branches. The walking tour will align with the online exhibit. The tour will be in both audio and transcription format and it will instruct online users on how to view the online exhibit and guide them through the online exhibit. The project is proposing to be connected to two public history institutions, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial and the National Women’s History Museum. These are two institutions that honor all women who have served in the armed forces and women in general.Item Open Access Massacre of the Conestogas: Resulted from Relations that Began Between the Colonists Before, During and After the Seven Years' War(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-05-08) Lutz, Nicole; Denning, Robert; Holton, JamesIn December 1763 a horrible massacre of the Conestogas occurred in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was the result of frontier violence between Ohio Native Americans, French, British, and their allies. A group of men called the Paxton Boys, who felt that all Indigenous People were responsible for the frontier violence by the French and French allies massacred the Conestogas. Primary sources at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Lancaster County Historical Society provided significant proof of the difficult relationships the Delawares, Conestogas, Susquehannocks, Iroquois, and other Pennsylvania tribes had with the Provincial government. Religious factions including the Presbyterians and the Quakers were also very influential in aiding and complicating the relationships between Pennsylvania’s government and the Indigenous People. The French and Indian War caused continuous difficulty between the Indigenous People and British colonists, that relating the primary and secondary source aspects of the violence contained various reasons why the Paxton Boys sought to murder the Conestogas on top of why the Delawares and other tribes used violence across the frontier. Providing various situations involving the Seven Years’ War included land fraud by the Proprietors, Quaker interference with Indigenous conferences, and preconceived ideologies of the Indigenous savagery all perpetuated a vehement atmosphere. These new developments provide evidence to premeditative assumptions the new colonists had about the Indigenous People and governmental land deals.Item Open Access Lost Cause Collective Memory and the Perpetuation of Modern Inequality: A Social History Study(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-05-15) Holliday, Patrick Landon; Denning, Robert; Reed, Charles; Irvine, RobertThe Lost Cause ideology of the Civil War has created a distorted collective memory that established a pattern of lawful inequality and disenfranchisement that continues to exist today. The distortion of the legacy of the Confederacy was planted with heritage, honor, and patriotism instead of the legacy’s true racist roots which placed blinders on many in American society. The results found indicate that there is a correlation between the Lost Cause legacy and modern practices of inequality disguised as practices that are deemed fair or protective because of the fusion of US patriotism with the misunderstood Rebellion of the South. This social history project is based primarily in the social and racial lenses although the political, economic, and geographical lenses are major factors in supporting the argument that the Lost Cause, itself, was more responsible for modern racial problems than the racist policies that followed Reconstruction because memory enabled those policies to linger for a longer time. The literature used to promote the thesis draws from an array of scholarly sources that tie racism and the Lost Cause to modern practices of inequality and disenfranchisement by combining texts on Lost Cause mythology and legacy with those that pertain to the history of racism and segregation. The primary sources were retrieved from an assortment of newspaper articles, statistical databases, collections, and archives. Newspaper articles are sourced from publications like the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Richmond Planet, Spokane Daily Chronicle, and The Black Panther. Statistics are sourced from the US Census Bureau and the Prison Policy Initiative. Collections include the American Battlefield Trust, US Government Printing Office, the Atlanta History Center, and the RAAB Collection. Some archives sourced include Furman University, Texas State Library and Archives, and the Library of Congress.Item Open Access The Cemetery at Doug Russell Park: A Study of the Berachah Home and Its Place in History(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-05-21) Brosowsky, Lydia R.; Chung, Yun; Denning, Robert; Irvine, RobertThe Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls was founded by Reverend J. T. Upchurch and his wife Maggie Mae Adams in 1903. Located in Arlington, Texas, it was one of approximately 200 homes for unwed mothers found across the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Driven by religion and dictated by gender roles, this practice contributed to the stigma that continues to impact single mothers today. Even with such profound effects, little is known about the homes for unwed mothers. This project includes an online exhibit planned and produced for the Fielder House Museum. Utilizing primary sources from the Berachah Home archives from both the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries and the Church of the Nazarene International Headquarters in Lenexa, Kanas, this project places the home in its greater historical context. In doing so, it traces the evolution of the home from its impassioned beginning to the sociocultural changes that contributed to its closure and diminished importance. As such, this project adds another home to the existing historiography and provides an increased understanding of the issues that continue to impact contemporary women.Item Open Access World War II Prisoners of War in Texas: Filling the Labor Shortage and Re-educating the German Soldier(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-06-05) Hataway, Dennis James; Buchanan, Kate; Denning, Robert; Irvine, RobertFor as long as there has been war, there have been prisoners of war. Throughout history, prisoners of war have typically been enslaved, mistreated, or put to death. Only in the last few centuries have nations attempted to establish rules and protocols for the better treatment and eventual return of war captives. An international conference held at The Hague in 1899 developed the first set of treaties specifying the treatment of prisoners of war. The Geneva Convention of 1929 (Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War), was the guiding principle for the treatment of prisoners of war throughout the Second World War. Based on the Geneva Convention policies and principles, the United States War Department and the Provost Marshal General’s Office established their own guidelines for the handling of Axis prisoners of war. With no preparation prior to the war, the U.S. housed, sustained, and utilized nearly a half million Axis prisoners, mostly Germans, from 1942 through 1946 to alleviate a growing manpower shortage in agriculture, industry, and on military bases in the United States, all the while helping to strengthen the American wartime economy. Under pressure from the public and concern for the establishment of a stable, pro-democratic government in post-war Germany, the U.S. military undertook a secret re-education program in violation of the Geneva Convention. The re-education program did help reduce Nazi influence and violent activities in the prisoner-of-war compounds but did not achieve its ultimate goal of providing a group of people dedicated to the democratization of Germany. However, where the re-education program fell short, the utilization of prisoners of war as contract labor succeeded. Former German soldiers were brought into direct contact with the American public and the American way of life, influencing much of their thinking about government and economics.Item Open Access How the Black Death of 1347-1351 Changed European Perceptions of Death(Southern New Hampshire University, 2020-06-12) Koulesser, Markecia; Ricker, James; Denning, Robert; McConnell, StephanieThe Black Death of 1347-1351 in Europe wiped out nearly 60% of Europe’s entire population, killing men, women and children, young and old alike. It brought with it a wave of changes impacting everyday life and tradition, artistic expression, religious devotion and medical practice. Researchers have shown a fascinating interest in the who, what, where, when, and why of the Black Death, along with its many effects. Early studies of the plague investigated the instances in which the plague entered Europe, looking closely at the entry points and transmission. Other studies analyzed human social patterns, exploring the roles of men, women and children during the second wave of plague. Contemporary scholars are interested in looking at the victims of the plague, studying the bodies buried in plague cemeteries to investigate the state of health and hygienic practices at the time of death. These studies help us understand how to handle pandemics, and the risk they pose to different populations. In the wake of our newest pandemic, the Coronavirus, it is more important than ever to understand how the spread of infectious disease changes the lives of billions, and what those changes entail. In researching the effects of the Black Death, little information was found on how those effects impacted the human mind. How does the looming nature of disease change the way we think about ourselves, not only in life, but in death? This is a topic of little discussion as it relates to the history of the plague in Europe, and requires the attention of scholars to truly understand the history of Europe and the European identity.