University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal: Volume 1, Issue 1
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2017-24-04
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Ward Bosses and Reformers: An Analysis of Boston’s Irish Political Machine, 1884-1914
Marton, Andrew
This essay examines the rise and fall of Boston’s ward-based Irish political machine, from the 1880s to its demise in the 1914 municipal elections. The bosses who ran the machine, though initially successful, undermined themselves by limiting their outreach to the city’s Irish population. Meanwhile, the machine fractured at the turn of the century, with bosses fighting for power, weakening the machine. With waning support and the rise of factional bickering, the machine was weakened by the reformist 1909 city charter, then destroyed by the unforeseen dark horse victory of Irish politician James Michael Curley in the 1914 mayoral election.
Popular Literature in the Abbasid Caliphate: How It Represented and Defined the Culture of the Abbasids
Weidner, Genevieve
Often times, the study of history focuses on concrete events, such as wars or political measures. In a history classroom, this is usually not out of neglect, but for the sake of time. In order to cover the broadest timeline, history teachers often gloss over the culture of each region they study. However, the culture is an essential part of history. The culture explains what people valued, which contributes to the events that usually define the course of history. This paper examines two styles of popular literature during the Abbasid Caliphate. By examining poetry and the prose works of Kalila and Dimna and The Arabian Nights, the values of the Abbasids become clear. While there is no direct evidence that suggests these works caused a revolution, war, or political uprising, they certainly demonstrate the culture of this time period.
From The Meanest Man to King Charles I: The King’s Role in the Trial of King Charles I
Lerer, Benjamin
The House of Commons convened the High Court of Justice to try King Charles I for various high crimes and treason. The High Court of Justice found King Charles I guilty. But the High Court of Justice was illegitimate and could not try the meanest man in England. Ben Lerer analyzes civil lawyer Sir Edmund Pierce’s views on the King’s role, the views on the King’s role expressed by acts of the House of Commons, and the views on the King’s role expressed by the King himself, the crowd, and the High Court of Justice.
An Unending War: The Legacy of Agent Orange
Burrage-Goodwin, Miranda
During the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the United States military dropped nineteen-million gallons of a chemical defoliant commonly known as Agent Orange. In the direct aftermath of this conflict, many U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers, civilians, and related progeny experienced severe and often life threatening diseases and birth defects. This paper seeks to establish a more concrete link between the chemical defoliants and these diseases. Despite the overwhelming evidence, many scholars and scientists are reluctant to acknowledge this connection. In the years following the Vietnam War, the abortion rate in Vietnam saw a drastic increase. This study provides evidence for causation, not just correlation, between chemical warfare and the resulting spike in pregnancy termination due to developmental defects. In addition, the paper highlights concentrated efforts to improve widespread knowledge about the physical and environmental effects of chemical warfare, as well as the ways the United States and Vietnam have addressed the issue in the forty years since the end of the war.
From Hellenism to Hitlerism: The Use of Sport as an Ethnic and Cultural Identifier
Schwartz, Ethan
From antiquity onwards, sports and competitive athletic events have been used as an area to implement othering strategies. Othering is the attempt to differentiate a societal group by some determining factor. Evidence of athletics being used as an othering medium, is prevalent throughout ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and early 20th century Britain.