<p> Little has been written about Mary Easton Sibley, the founder of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, which until its acceptance of men in the mid-20^th century was the oldest women's college west of the Mississippi River and stands today, a thriving private coeducational institution, as the second oldest college west of that demarcation. This dearth of literature seemed unwarranted since Sibley was as progressive as her more famous East Coast contemporaries (Mary Lyon, Catharine Beecher, et al). All were motivated by the socially progressive Protestant evangelical movement known as the Second Great Awakening and by the founders' quest for an enlightened citizenry. Sibley particularly embraced the founders' notions of a useful, practical education. She was a strong-willed and generally admirable educational leader who founded a long-lived college during a cholera outbreak and in the face of criticism (for teaching young women to be independent and also for educating slaves at the St. Charles Sabbath School for Africans). </p><p> This study shed new light on Sibley's educational leadership through a comparative analysis using her spiritual journal and a book titled <i> Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge</i> (1985, 2007) by USC professors emeriti Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus. The researcher examined whether evidence of Bennis and Nanus' four leadership strategies or competencies could be found in Sibley's journal, which she wrote primarily during the founding of Lindenwood (circa 1831), the rationale being that if contemporary leadership theory was evidenced nearly 200 years ago, it would likely be relevant 200 years hence, and therefore could be considered valid for today's educational leaders. The analysis required the creation of decontextualized researcher statements that enabled the iii coding of an historical document using contemporary theory. The study showed strong evidence of most of the researcher's statements (e.g., Leaders are singularly focused on their agenda and produce results, Leaders know what they want and communicate that clearly to others, Leaders challenge others to act, etc.) There was moderate evidence of competencies involving an awareness of strengths and weaknesses, and evidence of social scaffolding was weak, largely because of the nascent state of the college during the period studied.</p>

<p> Barbara Deming was active in the U.S. nonviolent movement from 1960 until her death from cancer in 1984 at age sixty-seven. A complex understanding of the intersections between gender, sexuality, feminism, and nonviolence can be gleaned by following her pilgrimage through nuclear disarmament activities, the African American Freedom Movement, the efforts to end the war in Viet Nam, Women's Liberation Movement actions, and her involvement in the Gay Liberation Movement. Deming had become well-known by the mid-1960s as a journalist for <i>The Nation,</i> an associate editor of the pacifist magazine <i>Liberation,</i> and the author of <i> Prison Notes</i> (1966), the first of her eight books. Despite her name recognition at the time and the leadership roles she often took in these social movements, she has nearly disappeared from the historical record. </p><p> Deming's story has been both preserved and erased because of her focus on integrating nonviolence with feminism, lesbianism, and androgyny in the 1970s and 80s. Deming identified as a lesbian as a teenager, but being white and upper-class shielded her from some oppression. By the 1970s she came to see her gender and sexuality as central to her involvement in the nonviolent movement. As she began living openly as a lesbian and writing about the connections she saw between feminism and nonviolence, she gained a new audience, primarily women, while losing the wider readership she had cultivated in the 1960s. Some men in the nonviolent movement continued to support her work, but it was pacifist women and those in the Women's and Gay Liberation Movements who helped archive her papers at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute. </p><p> Understanding Deming's activism helps to explain the oppressive role of heterosexism in the United States and highlights the possibilities and limitations of merging feminism and nonviolence, a strategy that has been neglected by historians of peace and feminism. Reclaiming Barbara Deming's perspective expressed in a quarter-century of writing about nonviolence, and investigating the continuity and change of her arguments, reveals a hidden history of the Women's Liberation Movement and the broader nonviolent movement. </p>

<p> This dissertation describes the emergence and expansion of U.S. government motion picture work over the first four decades of the twentieth century. It situates the early history of federal filmmaking within the long progressive drive to reshape representative government into a more active proponent of the welfare of its citizenry and argues that despite reigning critiques to the contrary, institutional sponsorship actually gave social meaning and efficacy to this mode of social documentary. Indeed, I argue that U.S. government film production can be understood as a kind of social activism that was simultaneously propelled and limited by the contours of the federal bureaucracy. Envisioning government film work as &ldquo;bureaucratic activism&rdquo;&mdash;with all the power as well as the inefficiencies, entrenched rigidities, red tape, politics and establishment loyalties implied by the term &ldquo;bureaucratic&rdquo;&mdash;is useful here. It helps capture the contradictory nature of a pragmatic enterprise that actively and optimistically sought social change from within the confines of the status quo. </p><p> Federal films are examined in this history as spaces of complex negotiation&mdash; as points of contact between the structure(s) of the American democratic state and the imaginings of progressive bureaucrats about both their relationship to that state and its relationship to its citizens. Relying largely on original research in little-mined federal collections, I argue that the interpretations of social problems and solutions attempted in and by these film texts represent more than attempts to bolster institutional authority and reinforce the status quo (though, of course, they were such attempts). These aims were mediated by a will&mdash;evident both within the film texts and in the extemporaneous correspondence of their administrators and producers&mdash;to explain or justify such authority claims by literally and figuratively visualizing them as not arbitrary but rather in the interest of nurturing or protecting the common good. Federal films, seen in this way, don&rsquo;t automatically obviate social change but instead represent attempts to relate social change to the ideal of democratic government. Viewed in the context of the specific change initiatives they were produced to aid, federal films were reflections of and on democratic governance itself.</p>

<p> Deposits of coal silt are significant because they provide archaeologists a baseline for investigating changes in pre-industrial and post-industrial landscapes in Pennsylvania. Beginning in the 1790s, miners extracted coal from seams near the surface with a pick and shovel. Over the next 120 years, coal mining evolved into a booming industry. In 1917, production peaked at over 100 million tons. By 1950, geologists discovered reserves of crude oil and natural gas, leading to the overall decline of the anthracite coal industry. Today, coal is no longer a dominant part of the local economy. Coal mining generated enormous quantities of waste, including small pieces of unburnt coal and other non-economic materials. Waste from mines entered the Susquehanna River, mixed with naturally occurring sediments, and formed deposits of coal silt along the banks and mid-channel islands of the river. To understand the effect of coal silt on the river, I use processual archaeology to characterize and examine the Anthropocene - an informal geologic era defined by human induced changes to Earth's ecosystems. What led to unburnt coal in the Susquehanna River? When did unburnt coal enter the Susquehanna River? I use data collected during a ten-week internship to answer these questions and define the occurrence and chronology of deposits of coal silt along the river. Archaeologists generally agree deposits of coal silt date to the late nineteenth century, but fine-tuning the date of deposition is not easy (Stinchcomb et al. 2013). To help solve the problem, I investigated two archaeological sites along the river - Fort Halifax and Calver Island. This thesis highlights reasons why archaeologists should take deposits of coal silt seriously. Considering the importance of energy to human economic and social life and the urgency of addressing contemporary energy problems, this thesis draws on evidence from the stratigraphic record to incorporate anthropological and archaeological perspectives for studying the past, present, and future of energy development and industrialization. </p>

<p> Focusing on the relationships between agriculture, industry, and sense of place, this thesis explores the dynamic landscapes and identities of the Verde Valley from the establishment of Anglo settlements in 1864 to the agricultural renaissance in 2014. It argues that agriculture remains an important part of the Verde Valley's physical and cultural landscape that should be better represented in public history exhibits. Using a methodology featuring interviews, archival research, and public history theory, this thesis takes an agri-ecological approach. This perspective internalizes the effects of farming upon the landscape, and situates it within the region's socio-economic-environmental ecosystem. This thesis also analyzes the valley's public history sites and the absence of its agri-ecological narrative. Renarrativization and the incorporation of living history techniques are two methods that can integrate agriculture into an existing site, such as Slide Rock State Park, or a future site, such as the Verde Valley Agricultural Heritage Center.</p>

<p>This thesis explores the American Civil War in Indian Territory, focusing on how clashing visions of sovereignty within the Five Tribes&mdash;Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole&mdash;led to the one the most violent and relatively unknown chapters of the Civil War. Particular attention is paid to the first two years of the war, highlighting why the Five Tribes allied with Confederacy, and why those alliances failed over time. Chapter One examines Indian Territory as a borderland, unveiling how various actors within that borderland, including missionaries, Indian agents, white neighbors in Arkansas and Texas, and Indians themselves shaped Native American decision-making and convinced acculturated tribal elites to forge alliances with the Confederacy. These alliances, however, did not represent the sentiments of many traditionalist Indians, and anti-Confederate Creeks, Seminoles, and African-Americans gathered under the leadership of dissident Creek chief Opothleyahola. Cultural divisions within the Five Tribes, and differing visions of sovereignty in the future, threatened to undermine Indian-Confederate alliances. Chapter Two investigates the Confederacy&rsquo;s 1861 winter campaign designed to quell Opothleyahola&rsquo;s resistance to Confederate authority. This campaign targeted enemy soldiers and civilians alike, and following a series of three engagements Opothleyahola&rsquo;s forces were decisively defeated in December. During this campaign, however, schisms with the Confederate Cherokees became apparent. In the weeks that followed, Confederate forces pursued the men, women, and children of Opothelyahola&rsquo;s party as they fled north across the frozen landscape for the relative safety of Kansas. The military campaign waged in 1861, and the untold suffering heaped upon thousands of civilians that winter, exposes how a hard, violent war rapidly emerged within the Confederate borderland, complicating historians&rsquo; depiction of a war that instead grew hard over time. </p><p> Chapter Three documents the return of Federal forces to the borderland via the First Indian Expedition of 1862. Although the expedition was a military failure, the sudden presence of Union forces in the region permanently split the Cherokee tribe into warring factions. The Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole tribes spent the next three years fighting their own intra-tribal civil wars. Moreover, the appearance and retreat of Federal forces from Indian Territory created a geopolitical vacuum, which would be filled by guerrilla violence and banditry. The failure of either Confederate or Union forces to permanently secure Indian Territory left Indian homelands ripe for violence and lawlessness. The thesis concludes by evaluating the cost of the conflict. One-third of the Cherokee Nation perished during the war; nearly one-quarter of the Creek population died in the conflict. By war&rsquo;s end, two-thirds of Indian Territory&rsquo;s 1860 population had become refugees. Urged to war by outsiders and riven with their own intra-tribal strife, Native Americans of the Five Tribes suffered immensely during the Civil War, victims of one of the most violent, lethal, and unknown chapters in American history. </p>

<p> Historic markers, monuments and memorials (historic markers) are familiar sights in our towns, cities and parks. They can be found in an endless array of forms, shapes and sizes from the spectacular monuments on the National Mall to the bronze plaques attached to boulders, granite slabs and buildings in almost any community. They can be read individually or as a grouping, that articulates a historical narrative. Historic markers function as artifacts that express the historical elements of each marker, the historical context of their time and the values and forms of leadership involved in their construction. Historic markers provide a device to study how leaders, both formal and informal, have participated in the construction of public history through weaving historical narratives, the styles of leadership utilized for this purpose and the forms of leadership that society seemed to revere. </p><p> The historic markers in New Hampshire's original communities of Portsmouth and Dover serve as sample communities to survey, research and analyze what the community leaders and dominant culture sought to perpetuate as important aspects in the community's history. The historic markers in Dover and Portsmouth, N.H., provide insight into the various types of leadership at work in a community. They reflect the forms of leadership and the deeds of leaders that were valued as well as the different forms of leadership that operated in a community. The community leaders who contribute to the accumulation of historic markers and the construction of their community's historical narrative sought to perpetuate aspects in the community's history that they believed were important to the identity of the community and reflected their values. An analysis of the historic markers and historical narratives in communities reflect national trends in monument design and depict the changing trends in the community's and nation's values, ideals, culture and leadership.</p>

<p> This historical analysis focuses on the Lower Rio Grande Valley, particularly Starr County. It reviewed thousands of pages of archival records, historical news reports, feature profiles, city, state, and federal government documents, interviews, videos, and academic examinations. </p><p> This thesis borrows biographical, narrative, and borderlands history approaches to portray Dr. Mario E. Ramirez as a man who believed that he could make a difference in many Valley lives. It argues and demonstrates that he successfully and repeatedly realized that belief throughout the fields of medicine, politics, and education. </p><p> The thesis examines 1967's Hurricane Beulah as a dramatic example of how Ramirez --who assumed a leadership role in the medical relief efforts on both sides of the Rio Grande -- utilized his community standing, his professional standing as a South Texas doctor, and his familiarity with a predominantly Mexican-American population to improve his Starr County community. The Beulah relief efforts enhanced his image as a role model, as a legitimate community voice, and as a state and national representative of Valley needs. </p><p> Ramirez's political and professional achievements enabled him to guide thousands of Valley residents into medical careers. Many of them returned to the Valley, as he did, to care for their communities. His ambitions also made him a cornerstone of efforts to build and strengthen medical education and health care throughout South Texas.</p>

<p> West Virginia underwent significant changes in the four decades between 1880 and 1920. The Gilded Age and the Progressive Era witnessed political, social, cultural, and economic upheavals as industrialists looked to exploit natural resources and propel the Mountain State into a position of leadership in a modern national economy. Railroads opened up the remote interior counties, paving the way for the oil, coal, and timber industries. The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway, under the direction of Henry Gassaway Davis, scaled the highest peaks of the Allegheny Mountains. Davis and his business associates quickly took control of the timber and coal reserves in the mountain counties. Local elites allied themselves with larger capitalists, forming partnerships which enabled outsiders to dominate local political and economic life throughout the period. </p><p> Religious transformations characterized the period as well. Nation-wide, Protestant missionaries moved into the South, seeking to evangelize, educate, and uplift whites and blacks. Northern churches paid particular attention to the mountain South. However, West Virginia received significantly less money and manpower from national denominations than the other states in Appalachia. State and local religious organizations stepped in and ensured that the rapidly in-creasing population of the state would not go unreached. They used the railroad to their ad-vantage as well. </p><p> Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, the three largest Protestant groups in the country and in West Virginia, led the way. All three already had some presence in the mountains, and denominational networks ensured that these mountain churches had some ties to mainline Christianity. Missionaries working in the most remote regions reinforced traditional doctrine and practice while strengthening denominational ties. Churches attracted people of all social ranks, although Methodists and Baptists offered more opportunities for working class members. While the secular affairs of mountain communities and counties remained firmly in control of industrialists and their local affiliates, the sacred sphere remained open for all. </p><p> At the same time, churches across the state joined in increasingly loud calls for moral re-form, particularly for new Sabbath and temperance laws. Thus, Protestant churches across the state reflected a mainline yet conservative doctrinal outlook that emphasized denominational distinctives while championing a unified, broadly Protestant culture for the creation of sought-after Christian America. Industrialists such as Henry Gassaway Davis shared the vision of a Christian America and favored many of the same moral reforms. They worked together with churches to achieve common goals. However, despite the autonomy of the sacred sphere, the secular sphere had become dominant in the Alleghenies, in West Virginia, and in the United States. Thus, when the goals conflicted, as in the case of Sabbath reform, the secular usually won, thus further weakening and isolating the sacred.</p>

<p> Since its establishment as a mining camp, Denver was an integral part of life for many westerners, including homosexuals. Although Denver's early gay culture has received little scholarly attention, its history is unique and revealing, as its experience does not necessarily reflect those of other larger urban communities. This study examines how upper and middle-class white gay men navigated the boundaries of sexual morality to help define homosexual personhood for the public and form the basis of Denver's gay community between 1940 and 1975. Within the context of national discourse regarding "homosexuality," breadwinner liberalism, and the sexual revolution, the emergence and cohesion of Denver's gay community occurred during a transformation from homophile activism to the gay liberation movement. Subsequently, the history of gay Denver demonstrates the importance of politicization and sexuality in the construction and organization of gay scenes and the politics of moral respectability. Well before the materialization of a national "gay rights" movement and the gay liberation movement in the American twentieth century, Denver functioned as an example of how white gay men attempted to unify and create the basis of an early gay political movement.</p>