The 1930s was a decade of tremendous turmoil, which was reflected in the drama. Playwrights such as Maxwell Anderson and Lillian Hellman wrote plays calling for social or political reform. Yet the most popular form of play was the wise-cracking comedy, of which the playwriting team of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart were past masters. Kaufman and Hart's plays are frequently dismissed as escapist, which they undoubtedly are, but the plays also contain recurring messages that reveal the authors' concerns for America and her people, particularly the middle class and its belief in the "American Dream." These concerns, or social philosophy, are illustrated by a number of themes and devices that recur throughout their plays. / While one obvious reason to examine this philosophy is to understand Kaufman and Hart's plays better, there are other, more compelling reasons as well. First, and most important, by unifying the plays through a social philosophy, we see that they are not just escapist, but also socially critical. Further, nuances that do not necessarily come out in production of the plays become apparent by identifying the social philosophy within the texts, particularly through the authors' use of topicality. / George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart are adept at "reading" the American public from their very first collaboration, which is most apparent in an extensive use of specific environmental detail. Various themes that tie into their beliefs and attitudes regarding the United States are revealed through these specific topical details. Influenced by President Roosevelt, Kaufman and Hart's plays offer reassurance to people that the Depression would end with a stronger, better America. Big business, politicians, and the government are frequent targets for the authors' satiric barbs, but it is the men running the government that Kaufman and Hart are criticizing, not the democratic form of government or America itself. Indeed, there is a very strong patriotic theme running throughout their plays, which is not surprising since their audiences were not only worried about the Depression, but also about impending war. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2389. / Major Professor: Stuart Baker. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The 1864 presidential election in the United States was a watershed event in American history. In this dissertation the issues resolved by that event are discussed in detail including: the continuation of the United States as one nation indivisible; the survival intact of the democratic government established by the founding fathers of the American republic less than a century earlier; the efficacy of a perpetual union of states defined by a written constitution as opposed to a voluntary association of independent states for purposes of commercial advantage and national defense; the exercise of the right to vote as the most fundamental right of the citizen of a democratic government; the emancipation of four million slaves; the permanent abolition of slavery in the United States as a matter of constitutional law. It was the issue of slavery and Lincoln's assertion of the war power to proclaim emancipation that threatened his ability to hold the border slave states in the Union in 1862-1863 and jeopardized his re-election in 1864. / In 1864 the last remaining possibility for Confederate victory was the prospective defeat of the Lincoln administration at the polls. Both the Confederate government and the Democratic party worked toward that goal. In some instances joint ventures were attempted, giving rise to the domestic treason issue that played a critical role in the election. At the same time President Lincoln's popular standing, largely because of emancipation but also due to the lack of military success by Union armies, reached an all-time low. It was then that the pressures on him to withdraw emancipation became almost irresistible. He did not yield, even though he expected to lose the election, and shortly thereafter a dramatic reversal in battlefield fortunes caused a major shift in voter perception of the war. Lincoln saved emancipation plus the life of the nation, making possible the growth of the United States into the powerful twentieth century democracy it is today. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: A, page: 3178. / Major Professor: Joe M. Richardson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This dissertation describes the American effort to rearm West Germany and integrate it into NATO during the Cold War. The large Soviet advantage in European ground forces convinced the Truman administration to seek a German military contribution to NATO, especially after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 provoked widespread Western fears of a world-wide Communist onslaught. Accordingly, Truman directed Secretary of State Dean Acheson to propose the creation of German military forces at the September 1950 New York Conference of the NATO Council. Most of the NATO Allies reluctantly accepted the American proposal, but France remained vehemently opposed. French opposition to German rearmament and the American attempt to overcome it spawned a series of diplomatic conferences which culminated in the European Defense Community treaty of May 1952. This EDC treaty was designed to integrate German units into a unified European Army. During 1953 and early 1954, though, the French turned away from the idea because they did not want to sacrifice their national military traditions and independence. The French National Assembly defeated the European Defence Community in August 1954. President Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, then met with the NATO ministers at the September 1954 London Conference and developed a plan for West Germany's full membership in NATO and the Western European Union. The NATO Allies, including France, accepted the proposal and Germany entered NATO in May 1955. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: A, page: 1065. / Major Professor: Neil Jumonville. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The dissertation examines the life and work of Ruth Bryan Owen, Florida's first woman to serve in Congress, and the first woman to represent the United States in a foreign country as Minister of a diplomatic legation. Born the daughter of William Jennings Bryan in 1885, her early career included work in several arenas: Bryan's presidential campaign secretary and manager, 1908; Chautauqua lecturer, 1919-1928; World War I nurse; author; activist; University of Miami Board of Regents and faculty member, 1925-1928; and Florida's first Congresswoman, 1928-1932. / The dissertation chronicles Owen's congressional causes which ranged from agricultural protectionist legislation, child welfare, citizenship issues, sponsorship of the Everglades National Park and a cabinet-status Department of Home and Child, to education and world peace. Recognizing Owen's leadership abilities, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed her U.S. Minister to Denmark. She served in that diplomatic position from 1933-1936 during the tumultuous era of European nationalism, Nazi fascism, and world-wide depression. In 1945, President Harry Truman appointed Owen as special assistant to the San Francisco Conference to create the United Nations. She later served as an alternate delegate to the 4th United Nations General Assembly. In 1949, Owen received Denmark's Medal of Merit for her role in strengthening Danish-American relations and, in 1992, she was posthumously inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. / The dissertation analyzes not only Owen's life but also a complex country in transition. Although facing many obstacles in achieving political power, women began to organize and to educate one another and the public about their capabilities. The dissertation demonstrates how women employed traditionally male techniques to gain access to the system including: networking, lobbying, political patronage, special interest groups, fund raisers, publicity stunts, and personal appearances. Their strategies, causes, and victories established them as active, competent, and indispensable parts of the American political tradition. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: A, page: 1075. / Major Professor: William W. Rogers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This dissertation deals with a series of events occurring in central Georgia in the late 1890s, which culminated in the lynching of Sam Hose. Hose, a black man accused of rape and murder, was burned at the stake at Newnan, about thirty miles southwest of Atlanta. Another black man, Lige Strickland, said to have been named by Hose as his accomplice, was hanged. Whites later claimed that Hose and Strickland had plotted to avenge the deaths of five black men lynched in an earlier arson case. These related events were the perhaps inevitable results of an atmosphere of distrust, hatred, and fear in a region that lacked a tradition of respect for the law. The spectacle at Newnan was widely and graphically publicized in the national press, and was discussed in the European press as well. The South was subjected to intense scrutiny from every quarter as politicians, church, and civic leaders debated the problem of racial violence in the region. The lynching and its aftermath spawned similar crimes in the region as blacks and whites reacted to the event and were further polarized by it. There is great interest in the role of violence in Southern history, but the story of Sam Hose's macabre and brutal death has not been fully researched before now. This study examines these events and their surrounding circumstances in an effort to determine their impact on racial conditions in the South, and on how the South was perceived elsewhere. It also looks at the extent to which the Hose lynching (and related incidents) typified and reflected the state of black/white relations in the late nineteenth century South. Furthermore, it examines the underlying conditions and motivations that resulted in the horror of lynching. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3650. / Major Professor: Valerie Jean Conner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor December 7, 1941, the lives and fortunes of resident Japanese Americans changed dramatically. Over 120,000 West Coast Japanese Americans--over half of them US citizens--found themselves ordered into War Relocation Camps for the duration of the war. / Virtually unknown until now is that the United States also pursued similar goals with several Latin American governments. The United States actions, it was felt, required deporting Peruvians of Japanese, German and Italian background to the United States. For the German and Italians a return "to their home of ethnic origin" awaited. The fate of the Japanese from Peru and other Latin American countries however, was different. Under a plan crafted by General George C. Marshall, they were to be exchanged for non-official Americans currently held by the Japanese in recently conquered territories across Asia. / This dissertation explores the machinery of the United States and Peruvian program that saw several thousand Japanese deported from their homes and placed in Immigration and Naturalization camps in Texas, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota pending trade for Americans. However, following the end of hostilities 1945, the United States attempted to return the deported Japanese to Peru and Peruvian officials refused to accept the Japanese back--although they had no difficulties with the return of their Germans and Italians. Peruvian Japanese waited another ten years in the United States before resolution of this very difficult legal and political problem occurred. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: A, page: 0824. / Major Professor: Neil Betten. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 01-01, page: 0008. / Thesis (M.S.)--The Florida State University, 1956.

Florida State College for Women existed for only forty-two years, from 1905 to 1947, but in that short time it became the second-largest state college for women in the United States; nearly 10,000 women graduated from the school. Among state-supported women's colleges, it was the first to be admitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and the first to be placed on the approved list of colleges and universities of the Association of American Universities. Florida State College for Women offered the women of Florida a superior liberal arts education for minimal cost. Its solid academic program provided a substantial foundation for the achievements of its successor, Florida State University. / Despite the national prominence of Florida's only state college for women, until now there existed no formal study that encompassed the history of the entire school. Both traditional research methods and oral history techniques have been incorporated in this documentation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1500. / Major Professor: Edward F. Keuchel. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study examines the public and private careers of a dedicated public servant, William Valentine Knott. From the Progressive Era through the New Deal, Knott served Florida as Auditor, Comptroller, State Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner, and Director of the State Mental Hospital in Chattahoochee. As a Cabinet officer, he was on the major boards of Florida's government. Of special interest are his contributions to the Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund. He lost one of Florida's most controversial gubernatorial elections, in 1916. / In addition to a career in politics, Knott developed a private career which mirrored the economic development of the state for a seventy year period. He grew citrus in the 1880s, managed phosphate mines in the 1890s, and speculated in south Florida land from the 1920s through the 1950s, while investing in lumber, "truck farming," an ice factory, cemeteries, and numerous other ventures. Many details of his personal finances have been destroyed, but some notable connections between his public and private lives are apparent. / Knott's family life embodies as much history as his professional life. His wife, Luella Pugh, was highly visible as a community reformer at a time when most Southern women shunned public roles. She bridged the gap between the ornamental Victorian woman and the Progressive Era activist. Her published and unpublished writings describe Southern society during the first half of the twentieth century, and the ambivalence of women as they created public lives for themselves. One of their sons occupied a nearly unique position in Tallahassee society through his close relationship with the northerners who transformed area plantations from "cotton to quail" following the Civil War. As a family of some wealth, they employed servants and tenant farmers. A description of race and class relations is included. / The emphasis is on the forty years Knott served in state government, between 1897 and 1941. A chronological approach is employed, using traditional methodologies. Primary sources include fifty cubic feet of family papers, governors' papers, legislative reports, newspapers, and other government documents. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-11, Section: A, page: 3623. / Major Professor: John H. Moore. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

Since the founding of the United States, the relationship between religion, particularly Christianity, and the economic system has been viewed as both complementary and antagonistic. Theologians have opted to view Christianity as either religiously legitimating aspects of the economic system or as a prophetic judge of the economic system. / This dissertation examines the various Christian interpretations of the American economic realm, including Puritanism, social Christianity, Catholic economic social teachings, liberation theology and neoconservativism. Special attention is given to how these various Christian interpretations of economics view autonomy, commutative justice and distributive justice. An assessment is made as to why these various interpretations have failed or succeeded in significantly influencing the structure of the American economic system. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-01, Section: A, page: 0421. / Major Professor: John Kelsay. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.