Doctoral Dissertations

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Browsing Doctoral Dissertations by Department "History"
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    Alabama reaction to the Brown decision, 1954-1956 : a case study in early massive resistance /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1978) Harris, James ; History
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    All Roads Lead: From Ancient Silk Road to Multinational Synthetic Fibers Industry in a Southern Appalachian Town
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2017-11-08) Simpson, Lydia Bodine ; West, Carroll ; Hoffschwelle, Mary ; Martin, Christopher ; Haas, Louis ; History
    In the late nineteenth century, the silk industry came under threat, inspiring chemists to seek out alternative means of production. The pursuit of “artificial silk” ultimately gave rise to a whole new category of textiles – man-made synthetics. Synthetics entered the market just as the shape of global industry shifted east and south, and became a significant feature in the industrialization of twentieth century southern Appalachia. As a multinational, technologically advanced industry, synthetics initially struggled to find their place in the market among more trusted natural fibers, but with the rebranding of artificial silk to “rayon” in the 1920s, manufacturers soon prospered and began expanding into American markets just as the textile industry began concentrating in the South. The junction of the “fabric of the future” and the modern industrial design philosophies developing at the time left behind a unique landscape of which few examples survive. The Milan-based rayon mill constructed near Rome, Georgia in 1928 provides an ideal, intact landscape for understanding the industry, its impact, its place within the larger context of global industrial development, and the creation of public memory and collective identity in an era of environmental regulation and economic destabilization.
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    The American upper class and the American horse industry from 1865 to 1929 /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2005) Beisel, Jennifer ; History
    This dissertation examines how particular individuals, between 1865 and 1929, used their wealth, leisure time, and participation in recreational activities as a distinctly new method to establish their social identity within a new American national upper class while creating the conceptual and physical framework for the American horse industry. During that process, participants in this multifaceted recreational, leisure, and competitive activity utilized emerging corporate and industrial business practices to create a nationally based professionalized sporting industry and to establish equestrian-oriented country house and rural estate properties. Participants adapted scientific agriculture and model farming principles and hired architects and landscape designers to create new cultural landscapes from the vernacular equestrian horse management tradition resulting in the development of stable complexes that included twenty-six specific elements gathered together and defined here for the first time for historians, preservationists, and curators.
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    An Exploration of Tennessee's Historic Hotels as Cultural Heritage Tourism Assets
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2017-10-20) Cannon, Virginia Foster ; West, Carroll Van ; Evins, Mary ; Martin, C. Brenden ; Sikes, Kathryn ; History
    Partnerships are the foundation on which public history is built. As federal funding waivers, public historians must seek out partners whose interests are aligned, have access to capital and possess robust platforms to reach the public. This dissertation illustrates the intersecting interests of public historians, cultural heritage tourism professionals and historic hotel professionals namely their focus on compelling stories, preservation and authenticity using Tennessee as an example.
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    Anglo-American rivalry at the Cairo and Teheran Conferences, 1943.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1983) Dressler, James ; History
    This study focuses upon Anglo-American rivalry and its manifestation of the Cairo and Teheran Conferences. A brief examination of the history of Anglo-American relations with special attention given to the period between the outbreak of World War II in Europe and American entry following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is included. Careful attention is given to the development of the special Churchill-Roosevelt relationship and its implications for Anglo-American affairs. Major areas of friction between the two nations and their leaders are noted, and the conferences at Cairo and Teheran are examined as case studies, illustrating the effects of such conflict upon the conduct of World War II.
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    Apocalyptic rhetoric in the old Southwest /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2007) Fletcher, David ; History
    Apocalyptic Rhetoric in the Old Southwest inquires how end-of-the-world and millennial language was used by those who inhabited or visited the nation's southwest frontier in the early 1800s. Emphasis is placed on the use of apocalyptic language in relation to two key events the revivals of 1800 and the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812-and the social and political changes of the early antebellum period, particularly in Tennessee. During the early nineteenth century, apocalyptic language in the Old Southwest came predominantly from Protestant or Christian sources, and its use by non-Christian sources was negligible. What is argued chiefly is the inherent ambiguity of apocalyptic language as represented by antithetical interpretations of the same event. This uncertainty is to be expected, because apocalyptic rhetoric is religious language filled with symbol, metaphor, and hyperbole. The fluidity of apocalyptic thought also illustrates the complex evolution of opposing millennial ideas, religious and political, that developed during the antebellum era. Eight illustrations, seven examples of primary texts, and a bibliography are included.
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    Archives and historic buildings : a perfect match or a disaster waiting to happen? /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2012) Davis, Jane ; History
    The reuse of buildings and adaptation of an existing structure to a new purpose is not uncommon. A warehouse is converted to trendy loft apartments, a former school becomes offices for school administrators, a church becomes a theater; these are all fairly common reuses of existing buildings. While the idea of adaptive reuse seems simple, the decision to adapt a building to a new use that is far different from the original intended use can be quite complex. If the new use design has specific architectural requirements, a number of factors can influence the adaptive reuse of the building. Buildings to house archives have very specific architectural requirements and needs but in many communities, archives are housed in historic buildings adapted for this purpose. How does a community make the decision to reuse a historic building as an archival building? How does an archival facility differ from other adaptive reuse projects? Are certain building types better suited for reuse as an archive? What organizational structures best support an effective adaptive reuse of a historic building as an archive? What role does an archive in a historic building play in its communities? By examining case studies of communities that have dealt with issue of adaptive reuse of historic buildings for archives, we can hopefully answer these questions and set forth a discussion of best practices to guide future projects.
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    'The best thing that ever happened' : the Civilian Conservation Corps and South Carolina's state park system /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2007) Mielnik, Tara ; History
    Prior to 1933, the state of South Carolina had no state parks. With the advent of the New Deal and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the state suddenly found itself able to use this federal labor and the guidance of the National Park Service to construct a system of state parks throughout the state, providing the genesis of a successful state park system today. This dissertation examines CCC work in South Carolina's fledgling state park system, including the experimental Recreational Demonstration Areas and Wayside Areas. Tangible evidence of the CCC, as well as other New Deal programs, in South Carolina demonstrates programs that changed the landscape of the state while these programs simultaneously improved the living conditions of the state's citizens. The dissertation synthesizes administrative and social history with architectural history to fully examine the impact of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina, both on the people and the landscape, and concludes that the CCC was successful in both endeavors.
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    Black Americans and their contributions toward Union victory in the American Civil War, 1861-1865.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1983) Mays, Joe ; History
    The central focus of this study is to provide a comprehensive survey of the history of black Americans during the Civil War, 1861-1865, and to demonstrate the role they played toward helping the Union win the war. Both the direct involvement of black Americans in the war and their contributions behind the Union lines are discussed.
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    Blacks in American history textbooks : a study of selected themes in post-1900 college level surveys.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1983) Mitchell, Reavis ; History
    This research surveys selected college level United States history textbooks published after 1900 to focus on several themes related to the treatment of black Americans in history textbooks. In the period after 1900, historians revealed that black Americans comprised an essential element in American history. The aim of this research is to examine the depiction of black Americans in United States history survey textbooks during three distinct periods of the nation's history. The targeted periods are the Reconstruction era, the vogue of Social Darwinism in America, and the era of the New Deal. This research examines textbooks to discover if the period when the textbook was written was significant to the author's presentation of black Americans.
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    Building Tennessee: The McAdams Family Trade and Identity in the Southwest Backcountry
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2015-03-27) Clawson, Amber Marie ; West, Carroll ; Hoffschwelle, Mary ; Nelson, Lynn ; Williams, James ; History
    Cultural historians investigate issues of identity and regionalism through objects, places, and traditions. How do pieces of history both reflect and create culture? This study focuses on the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century decorative arts in the Nolichucky River Valley of East Tennessee to better understand how craftsmen expressed and created regional identity through neoclassical and agrarian symbolism. In Tennessee, the McAdams family of cabinetmakers produced a world of goods for consumption, the most conspicuous of which was the "rope and tassel" inlaid furniture group. The work of the McAdams family creates a valuable perspective on what frontier life was like in material terms. This dissertation describes the objects that these artisans made for over a generation and contextualizes them with a range of interdisciplinary primary source evidence. The multi-directional influences of democratic experiments, extensive trade networks, and familial connections along the Great Wagon Road gave rise to the "cultural palette" of the Nolichucky River Valley. The cultural palette reveals the imagery and symbolism of the backcountry that regional stereotypes have long overshadowed. Ultimately, the rope and tassel maker's world offers museums fertile ground for renewed interpretation of the early Republic in Appalachia.
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    China as depicted by western novels.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1991) York, Virginia ; History
    The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the use of novels to supplement reading lists for American undergraduates studying the history of China. This study advocates that professors should seriously consider interspersing scholarly nonfictional works with fiction. An evaluation of the nine historical novels analyzed in this dissertation demonstrate that students can obtain a more realistic and accurate view of China by reading prudently-selected novels. The representative novels are: Manchu by Robert S. Elegant, Mandarin by Robert S. Elegant, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, Jade by Patricia M. Barr, The Warlord by Malcolm Bosse, From A Far Land by Robert S. Elegant, The Three Daughters of Madame Liang by Pearl S. Buck, Dynasty by Robert S. Elegant, and Spring Moon by Bette Boa Lord.
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    College textbooks on the American West : 1910-1997.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1998) Lowman, Michael ; History
    This dissertation examines frontier and western history undergraduate college textbooks published between 1910 and 1997 to determine to what extent and in what manner textbooks reflected the historiographical thought current at the time of their publication. The study is divided into four major time periods: 1893-1930, 1930-1945, 1945-1960, and 1960-1997. Textbooks published in each time period are analyzed in light of the historiographical thinking of their era. Questions considered include: (1) Which textbooks are Turnerian, and which are anti-Turnerian or neo-Turnerian? (2) Which textbooks are chronological, which are thematic, and which take an inquiry approach? (3) Which textbooks deal with the frontier movement and which focus on the West? (4) Do the textbooks conclude at 1890, or do they extend their study into the twentieth century? (5) To what extent and with what degree of comprehensiveness do the books include any persons other than white Anglo-Saxon Protestant males--Indians, women, blacks, Asians, and other ethnic groups? (6) Which books are limited to traditional political and economic history and which deal significantly with social, cultural and environmental history?
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    Comparative feudalism: feudalism in Western Europe, Japan and the Ottoman Empire.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2002) Pimentel, George ; History
    Over the centuries, the term feudalism has come to encompass a variety of definitions. This has led to numerous works concentrating on the subject of feudalism, with a majority of them focusing on western European feudalism. However, a definitive definition of feudalism that encompasses all of the variations and regional complexities does not exist.
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    The contributions of Carl D. Perkins on higher education legislation 1948-1984.
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 1990) Damron, Donald ; History
    Carl D. Perkins was the representative from the Seventh Congressional District of Kentucky. At the time of his death on August 3, 1984, he was among the top three in seniority in the House of Representatives having served as the representative from his district since 1948.
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    CREATING A COMMEMORATIVE SITE ON THE HERITAGE AND MEMORY OF COTTON PICKERS IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA: A COMMUNITY DRIVEN HISTORICAL PRESERVATION MOVEMENT
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2016-06-22) Turnipseed, Cassie Sade ; West, Carroll ; Bynum, Thomas ; Hoffschwelle, Mary ; Woods, Louis ; Stephenson, Joseph ; History
    Interpreting the economic impact of the cotton pickin’ culture in the Mississippi Delta presents challenges few scholars have taken on without trepidation and few public historians have ever addressed. Cotton pickers of pre-and post-Reconstruction eras are rarely depicted in public arts exhibits, history exhibits, or educational institutions. When interpreted the myopic recollections of the planter society dominate, thereby relegating cotton pickers to an insignificant role. Such marginalization ultimately distorts the memory of American history, giving cause for reconsideration of the “American exceptionalism” narrative, and our collective commemoration of “greatness.”
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    Crossing the rivers of the state : the role of the ferry in the development of South Carolina, circa 1680-1920s /
    (Middle Tennessee State University, 2009) Salo, Edward ; History
    Often overlooked by historians and archaeologists, ferries played an important part in the transportation network that developed during the colonial period and continued to operate until the twentieth century. Ferries in South Carolina, for instance, were the local connection to the larger Atlantic world network within which South Carolina operated and developed. Without ferries, South Carolina would not have developed as an economic partner in the Atlantic world network. Ferries served as the connection between maritime and inland culture.
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