There is no abstract available for this thesis.

The political career of Roger Branigin, Governor of Indiana from 1965 to 1969, was the subject of this study. For the most part, the work is an oral history. The writer dealt with four main themes of the Branigin administration, his activities in the area of educational reform, and his participation in the 1968 primary.Branigin dealt, at one time or another, with several of the social issues that confronted political leaders throughout the nation. For example, the General Assembly passed measures that would have legalized abortion and abolished the death penalty. The Governor vetoed both items. Highway safety was an issue that received top priority from Branigin. At his urging, the most widesweeping legislation in the state's history was passed. In the area of prison reform, Branigin was an activist governor. Through executive decree and countless hours spent reviewing the files of the imprisoned, Branigin advanced the cause of Hoosier prisoners. Finally, Branigin was an activist governor in the area of conservation, expanding the state's park system and dealing with the issues of clean air and water.The tone of the Branigin administration was set by his fiscal policies. Because of the inauguration of the sales tax in 1963, the Branigin administration had more money available than any previous administration. But while Branigin spent a great deal of money, he spent it frugally. In addition, he attempted to eliminate waste in government. As a result, he ended the practice of full maintenance and placed a ceiling of one trip per person per year on travel costs.Much of Branigin's activity in the area of educational reform revolved around efforts to cut back on fiscal excess. For example, at his urging a programmatic budgeting procedure was implemented which ensured a full and open disclosure of the fiscal policies of the state universities. In addition, he was able to enact legislation which required university foundations to open their books to the State Board of Accounts. Finally, Branigin succeeded in establishing the Hoosier Scholarship Commission, which provided grants with no strings attached to needy and talented students.Shortly before leaving office, Branigin participated in the 1968 presidential primary. This participation stemmed from an agreement between the Hoosier Governor andPresident Johnson. Branigin, on the one hand, wantedto upgrade Indiana's political posture; Johnson wanted Branigin to run as a stand-in candidate. As a result, Branigin agreed to participate in the primary after Johnson consented to fulfill twenty-one Branigin proposals. Johnson's later decision to drop out of the contest blunted Branigin's political clout. Branigin still ran well, though, defeating Senator Eugene McCarthy but coming in second behind Senator Robert Kennedy.As governor, Branigin tended to be guided by a conservative political philosophy. Thus, he refused to encroach upon the doctrine of" the separation of powers. In fulfilling his duties as the state's chief executive, though, he was a dynamic leader.

The purpose of this study was to determine, record, and interpret the history of the Whig political party in Indiana from 1834 through 1843. Emphasis was placed on the history of the administrations of Whig governors Noah Noble, David Wallace, and Samuel Bigger and the Nineteenth through the Twenty-seventh General Assemblies. Those Whigs who were the elected members of the executive and legislative branches of Indiana government were the principals of the study.These subject Whigs were analyzed and characterized in terms of (1) geographic origin, (2) age, (3) ancestry, (4) formal education, (5) religious preference, (6) military service, and (7) occupation. The philosophical basis for Whiggery in Indiana was considered an important element in the study.Findings1. These Whigs were a comparatively youthful and nomadic group coming from allareas of what was then the United States but principally from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, and Virginia.2. Virtually all were native to the United States with an ancestry traceable to northern and western Europe.3. Little formal education was found beyond the common school except among those who were professionals.4. Whigs dominated the executive and legislative branches during the period studied and were frequently elected officers in the Indiana Militia.5. Much diversification existed in Whig vocation, occupation, and profession. Whigs universally had undertaken numerous economic pursuits.6. Nearly all were Protestant; however, only a minority were associated with institutionalized religious groups. Religious persuasion was little related to Whig political success.7. Philosophically Whigs stood with national doctrine but, within Indiana, only local and state matters were of concern to them.Conclusions1. The Indiana Whigs differed little from Democrat or other political or economic groups within the state. They were not solely Federalist or neo-Federalist or Jeffersonian in practice.2. They were strivers who were bourgeois in their attitudes, but who gave no indication of having achieved economic or social success before coming to Indiana. They represented no organized social or economic group and were not members of an aristocracy.3. The Whigs were popular individuals who were deemed capable of best implementing an internal improvements program within the state. The Whig party rose and declined on that issue.

This thesis has demonstrated that Indiana played a major role in the American reform movement usually associated with the Populist and Progressive eras. Through an analysis of the issues brought before the Indiana General Assembly and a discussion of successful and unsuccessful progressive legislation, this study has shown that Indiana was a progressive state and therefore in the mainstream of the American reform movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition, the thesis explored the voting records of the various legislators between the decades from 1890 to 1910 and arrived at some general conclusions concerning the origins and development of progressivism in Indiana. Finally, brief biographies of some of the outstanding progressive legislators were included in the study.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

This thesis looks at the public career of Walter March. A native of Massachusetts, March moved to Muncie, Indiana, in 1841. A lawyer, March would serve as a delegate to the state's Constitutional Convention of 1850-51 and would later recodify the laws of the state to comply with its newly drafted constitution. March's life mirrored the political turbulence of the 1850s in Indiana. Originally a Democrat, he would switch political affiliations in the mid 1850s and eventually serve as one of the founders of the Republican Party in Indiana. While this study looks at the entirety of March's life, its focus is one March's contributions to Indiana's political life from 1850-1864.Historian Richard Jensen's modernization theory as spelled out in Illinois:Bicentennial History is utilized to assess March's contributions to the state's political life. / Department of History

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the fall of 1917, between 30,000 and 40,000 Indianapolis women registered to vote. The passage of the Maston-McKinley partial suffrage bill earlier that year gave women a significantly amplified voice in the public realm. This victory was achieved by a conservative group of Hoosier suffragists and reformers. However, the women lost their right to vote in the fall of 1917 due to two Indiana Supreme Court rulings.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Although the main emphasis of this study is Lane and his part in the Republican Party, another important part to this thesis is the examination of Indiana and national politics in the 1850s. This thesis studies the development of the Hoosier Republican Party and the obstacles the young organization experienced as it transformed into a major political party. Party leaders generally focused on states like New York and Pennsylvania in national elections but Indiana became increasingly significant leading up to the 1860 election. Though Hoosier names like George Julian and Schuyler Colfax might be more recognizable nationally for their role in the Republican Party, this thesis argues that Lane played a guiding role in the development of the new third party in Indiana. Through the study of primary sources, it is clear that Hoosiers turned to Lane to lead the organization of the Republican Party and to lead it to its success in elections. Historians have long acknowledged Lane’s involvement in the 1860 Republican National Convention but fail to fully realize his significance in Indiana throughout the 1850s. This thesis argues that Lane was a vital leader in Hoosier politics and helped transform the Republican Party in Indiana from a grassroots movement into a powerful political party by 1860.