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In Alumni Files

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Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

This thesis explores is aimed at understanding the domestic influences on American foreign policy. More specifically, this thesis focuses on the role of ethnic lobbies and their ability to influence the crafting of American foreign policy. This thesis will take an in-depth look at two of the most prominent ethnic lobbies operating in the American political arena today: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF). The goal of this thesis is to establish an understanding of the structure and root power of these groups in order to understand their influence on American foreign policy. Specific foreign policies of the United States will also be thoroughly explored in order to diagnose the influence of these lobbies on such policies. The two foreign policy positions that will be examined are the Cuban Embargo and the United States aid package to Israel. This thesis will explore the reasons for the perpetuation of these policies considering their fundamental failures at achieving their stated objectives. The basic conclusions unearthed in this thesis is that these two ethnic lobbies have achieved levels of power and influence that is unrivaled in their respective spheres of influence and it is this unbalanced power that has helped these organizations garner support for illogical policies. Finally, this thesis will offer some brief insights into what can be done to curb the power of overzealous ethnic lobbies.

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In Honors Theses

Abstract

Historians have spent considerable time discussing American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny, with good reason. American Exceptionalism is the belief that since its creation, the United States of America and its citizens possess exceptional qualities setting them apart from the rest of the world. Manifest Destiny is the belief that the nation was destined to extend its boundaries from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean for its citizens’ benefit. Though both topics have been extensively studied, the historical literature lacks a thorough discussion regarding the connection between these two concepts. This thesis links them by explaining how Jeffersonian ideology shaped notions of American Exceptionalism, which in turn would influence United States policy significantly in early America. By the 1840s, American Exceptionalism continued to flourish as a widely accepted concept and was articulated in geographic terms as Manifest Destiny. Together, American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny provided the nation and its citizens with an acceptable rationale for aggressive expansion, which culminated in the Mexican War. The evidence presented in this thesis can be categorized as either public or political sources. Small, partisan newspapers provide a sense of public opinion related to these two concepts. An understanding of the political realm comes from political and military leaders’ public statements, private correspondence, and memoirs, as well as Congressional debates. Analyzing sources from both the public and political spheres is important because political documents contain explicit statements regarding controversial policies, whereas newspaper editorials reveal the implicit motives behind those policies. Before it developed into a powerful program of expansionism, American Exceptionalism had to be characterized in such a way that it would appeal to Americans. Thomas Jefferson accomplished this by simply asserting that virtuous, autonomous citizens were required in order to maintain a successful republic. American Indian policy based on land acquisition was deemed necessary, by first trying to “civilize” American Indians and then expelling the “uncivilized” Indians to create room for the republic and its citizens to prosper. The latter was pursued vigorously under Andrew Jackson’s leadership. The support of expansion by Americans is chronicled in newspaper coverage of the intense election of 1844 that declared Democrat and expansionist James Polk the victor over Whig Henry Clay. Although not all of Polk’s supporters had exceptionalism as their motive for expansion, notably southern slave owners, a considerable amount of northerners wanted to spread republicanism and therefore voted for Polk and the Annexation of Texas, a republic eager to join the United States. In 1845, John O’Sullivan asserted that the exceptional citizens of the U. S. still needed to grow as he declared that the Manifest Destiny of the nation was to extend to the Pacific Ocean. Exceptionalism then took on an aggressive aspect with the onset of the Mexican War. Using Manifest Destiny as both justification and propaganda, the United States waged war against Mexico, certain that the land would be better managed and populated as part of its own Republic. The U.S. government settled for the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny rather than overthrow a sovereign republic. Thus, American Exceptionalism prevented the U.S. from seeking the entirety of Mexico and preserved its identity as a republic inherently superior to a colonial empire.

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In Honors Theses

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Since the reign of James I in the sixteenth century, African corsairs have been considered “the common enemy of mankind.”1 In the past two years, the waters off the coast of Somalia have become the maritime piracy capital of the world and have challenged the fundamentals of the international political and economic communities. The increasing frequency and severity of piracy off the Horn of Africa is unrivaled by any period in modern maritime history. In fact, piracy has in the last year become one of the most profitable and booming industries in the failed state of Somalia; employing thousands domestically and internationally. By the end of 2008, 111 pirate attacks were reported off the eastern coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. In that same time, Somali pirates successfully hijacked 42 vessels and had taken 815 crewmembers hostage. In the first quarter of 2009, Somali pirates committed 61 acts of piracy, hijacked nine vessels, and 157 crewmembers were taken hostage. As of March 31, 2009, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) suspected that Somali pirates were holding 10 vessels for ransom and 160 crewmembers as hostages.2 The economic impact of maritime piracy off Somalia is estimated in the tens of millions affecting individuals, multinational corporations, and governments of over twenty nations. The fundamental inefficiencies and inadequacies of the international political community will allow Somali piracy to thrive unless major multilateral policy actions are taken to address this nontraditional global security threat.

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Rights Statement

In Honors Theses

Abstract

Libertarians, both the intellectuals and members of the political party, claim that America does not provide for its citizens the freedom and liberty promised by the founding of the nation. They argue that the federal government has asserted too much power over the private lives of individual Americans, and that growths in federal power at the cost of state and individual autonomy have abandoned Federalist principles upon which our nation was founded. In order to determine if libertarians are correct in asserting that American liberty has been corrupted, I examined how several relevant political thinkers defined liberty, and then how the founders intended to balance liberty of the citizens with the power of the government. I determined that the founders intended on protecting negative liberty, as Libertarians assert, but that they also accounted for a type of positive liberty—the attainment of collective benefits as described by the Constitution and the people themselves—that Libertarian arguments fail to take into account. I then examined liberty in the modern context, by first investigating the libertarian critique, and then turning to an examination of the relationship between the American citizenry and the government, to find out how the liberty of the citizens and the power of the government have been reconciled throughout modern history. I examined the growth in legislative and executive power to try and determine if our liberty has been compromised. I found that it has not been compromised in the legislative branch, but certain growths in executive power are troublesome to the balance between positive and negative liberty, and the liberty of the citizens compared to the power of the government.

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In Honors Theses

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This thesis examines the role of Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., the highest ranking Jewish official in FDR’s administration, in the United States government’s failure to intervene on behalf of the European Jews from 1938-1945. The analysis of Morgenthau’s role relies on documents from his diaries and the Special Collection concerning the Holocaust and Refugees, both located at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library. This thesis provides a more balanced account of Henry Morgenthau’s role than that of previous scholars. It justifies Morgenthau’s failure to challenge the State Department and President Roosevelt to relax immigration measures during the late 1930s, by discussing Morgenthau’s highly secular upbringing that stressed distancing himself from his Jewish heritage. Learning in the fall of 1942 of the Nazis’ systematic murder of European Jewry, and of an opportunity to authorize payments in France and Romania to save Jewish lives, Morgenthau devoted more energy and Treasury Department resources to helping the Jewish refugees. Throughout 1942, Morgenthau worked with the State Department trying to help the European Jews. Not until December of 1943 did Morgenthau gain knowledge of the covert opposition to his efforts from within the State Department. Upon learning this information, Morgenthau took control of the situation, and pushed FDR to establish the War Refugee Board. He then directed the board’s efforts from behind the scenes. In doing so, he was forced to re-evaluate his stance toward his own Jewish identity. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that Morgenthau should not be held to a higher standard than the other officials within the Roosevelt administration because of his lack of a Jewish consciousness. Despite the fact that his efforts were too little, too late, Morgenthau should be commended for his actions, which forced the United States to make some semblance of an organized effort to aid the Jews of Europe.

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In Honors Theses

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The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the petrologic conditions of the magma chamber beneath Volcán Barú in western Panama. Volcán Barú is an andesite stratovolcano that experienced a large sector collapse during the Late Pleistocene, which destabilized the southwestern flank of its edifice. Samples were taken from the cores of hummocks and megaclasts deposited as a result of this sector collapse, which are inferred to have been intact wall rock from the pre-collapse edifice. These samples range in composition from 51.8 to 61.7 wt. % SiO2 and have a geochemical signature that is consistent with adakites. Adakite lavas at Barú are thought to have formed by the combination of melting the subducted slab, the opening of a slab window, and the upwelling of primitive mantle melt. Numerous disequilibrium mineral textures were observed in samples taken from hummocks and megaclasts. Reaction rims on hornblende phenocrysts in conjunction with mafic glomerocrysts and dusty sieve-textured plagioclase suggest disequilibrium possibly due to the injection of a hotter mafic batch of magma into Volcán Barú's andesite storage chamber. Opacitization of hornblende phenocrysts further suggests that hornblende was raised out of its stability field by decompression during ascent. The combination of an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, and a reduction in dissolved water content of the pre-existing andesite magma may have possibly triggered eruptive activity at Barú. Processes associated with mafic recharge, such as volatilization and pressurization, may have further implications for the origin of the sector collapse at Volcán Barú during the Late Pleistocene.

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In Honors Theses

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Those who first stumbled across the steaming, bubbling land of Northwestern Wyoming in 1860s and early 1870s described it as "Hell on Earth." Over the course of a few decades, the land underwent a vast transformation, which replaced "Hell" with "Wonderland" in visitors' minds. The year 1872 represents a turning point in environmental legislation and marks the conception of Yellowstone, America's first national park. While creating a national park preserved, for the first time, the country's natural wonders, the 1872 act included no direction for management, no allocation of funds for upkeep, and no system set in place to manage tourists. This thesis examines the darker past of America's Wonderland, demonstrating that the vagueness of the original act affected the first four decades of Yellowstone's history for the worse, which led to a multitude of problems that plagued the park from 1872 to 1916, when the National Park Service was established. Through the examination of park superintendent reports, legislative acts, newspapers, and personal accounts, this thesis reveals the way political and commercial interests shaped Yellowstone's first forty years. These documents tell of the difficulties of protecting a vast area with no laws and minimal funding. Poor management led to poaching, widespread vandalism and a lack of respect for park administration. Until the passage of the Lacy Act twenty-two years after the park's creation Yellowstone lacked legal consequences for wrongdoers. Administration represents one of many areas in which the Department of the Interior failed in its understanding of a national park.

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In Honors Theses

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This thesis constitutes an attempt to better comprehend and understand the People's Republic of China (PRC) effort to consolidate territory it believed rightfully belonged to China and its implications moving forward. China is a fascinating, complicated and confusing country. It is the most populated country in the world with 1,349,585,8381 people, 91.5% of whom are ethnic Han Chinese. The remaining 8.5% of the population is split amongst 55 ethnic minorities.2 While 8.5% may seem like a small number, 8.5% of 1,349,585,838 is just under 115 million people. That is over one-third of the population of the United States. If the 55 minorities were to be considered their own country they would be the thirteenth most populated country in the world.3 Most of the minority population lives on China's periphery and were incorporated into China by the expansionistic Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Typically they do not speak Mandarin, the official state language of the PRC. In this regard ironically roughly 400 million PRC citizens do not speak Mandarin either and millions of others speak it poorly.4 Millions of Han Chinese speak one of the over 1,500 dialects of Chinese, most notably Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaineese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minna (Hokkien-Taiwanese) along with the Xiang, Gan and Hakka dialects. Beijing seeks to unify the citizens of the PRC through Mandarin.

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This thesis investigates the factors that helped Americans come to a vote choice in the 2008 presidential election. After an in-depth analysis and presentation on the existing literature, I then present key moments in both McCain and Obama's campaigns looking at the context, campaigns, and candidates. I then break down the turnout and vote choice of each major social group and demographic in the United States, juxtaposing it with the group's historical voting trends and turnout. In 2008 there was a large nationwide Democratic shift. Chapter four seeks to defend whether it was the context of the election or the campaigns of the candidates that mattered most in the vote decision process. After arriving presenting the evidence, I concluded that it was impossible to isolate the effects of the contexts and the campaigns. Nevertheless, this paper investigates all that matters during a presidential election.

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In Honors Theses

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The United States has long been considered one of the most successful examples of democracy, with success measured in the quality of representation, the duration of our polity, and the ease for political regime change. However, it is necessary to question whether our democratic ideals are still prevalent in today's society. The unfortunate response is that they are not. The revolutionary notions that marked the founding of the American republic have been misplaced. Our government seems to have experienced a devaluation of its founding principles, where now, our government participates in actions that do not represent the vital tenants of democracy, but rather, undermine basic rights. This thesis will examine the processes that have led to the deterioration of our democratic values. Through analyses of distinct military interactions, institutional creations, and individual contributions, which endorsed ethically questionable practices and policies, we will determine how these specific milestones contributed to the propagation of the political decay. For the purpose of this analysis, this thesis examines three periods of American history, The Cold War Era, The Globalization of Low-Intensity Conflict, The War on Terror, and the ways that rising tolerance for questionable policies appear to have contributed to the progression of the deterioration. Hannah Arendt's concept of the "backlash phenomenon" will be used to examine how these deteriorative processes have occurred, and why they've continued. It will become evident that these policies have disempowered the American people by praying on their most vulnerable weakness: the fear of a threat to their security.

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LANGE, JUSTIN M. Make America Great Again? American Conservatism and Donald Trump. Department of Political Science, June 2019 ADVISOR: Prof. Clifford W. Brown, Jr. It might seem difficult to imagine now, but once upon a time it was possible to feel shocked by political developments. We've become so desensitized, especially in the last few years. Yet in 2016, there was a profound sense of disbelief over the results of the American presidential election. How could Donald Trump, a complete political outsider who'd never before held office, defeat an opponent who seemed to hold every office except for the presidency she sought? How could someone with Trump's particular brand of politics, of nationalist tendencies and unabashed populist appeals, experience unprecedented success? Upon closer examination, an explanation emerges. I trace the history of conservatism and the Republican Party in the United States, along with its many evolutions, and contrast it with the stories of the populist and demagogic politicians who paved a path Trump so expertly followed. What becomes clear is that Trump does not represent something entirely new, but rather something newly successful.

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In Honors Theses

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With the allure of the famed Erie Canal deteriorating as swiftly as its traffic and physical condition by the latter half of the nineteenth century, New Yorkers gave serious thought to the future of the waterway. As the commerce of the state and its renowned metropolis of New York City declined relative to its rival states and ports during this period, many questioned if enlarging the canal system would lead to its revival and produce similar results for the economy of the state at large. An ever frequent scene of partisan conflict, the proposals to radically enlarge the Erie Canal faced relentless antagonism from competing railroads, distrustful farmers, and wary upstate residents, while receiving the habitually vacillating and oftentimes divided support of canal advocates across New York State. Promoters championed the project as vital to the state and nation to ensure cheaper and adequately regulated transportation rates, resulting in heightened commerce and prosperity, just as it had in the past. Conversely, opponents decried the proposal as antiquated infrastructure and a colossal waste of public funds. Taking its final form as the Barge Canal and approved by referendum in 1903, the significantly enlarged waterway changed course through canalizing lakes and rivers, bypassing numerous cities that its predecessor helped found. In this new canal era, the Barge Canal soon became a stimulus for economic success and expansion throughout the region, just as the Erie Canal had been catalyst for New York State the century before.

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In Honors Theses

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The Friends of Irish Freedom were an Irish American nationalist organization that consisted of prominent leaders and members from other nationalist groups that also attracted more moderate Irish Americans. This thesis focuses exclusively on the leaders and activities of the Friends between 1916 and 1921. During these years, membership both skyrocketed and plummeted within a matter of months. Contributing to both their rise and fall was American public sentiment, the onset and conclusion of WWI, and interactions with nationalist leaders in Ireland. My Thesis shows how despite their seemingly radical nationalist activities and beliefs, it was the gradual Americanization of the Friends' leaders that ultimately led to a split within the group and a decline in their influence.

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A play based on the life and career of U.S. President, Jimmy Carter.

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Rights Statement

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument

In Alumni Files

Type of Resource

DigitalDocument