The subject of this thesis is the Sit-Down Strike in Flint, Michigan in 1936-1937. The main purpose is to examine the story of the strike as told by the strikers themselves, to explore the role that Communists played in the strike along with how the workers responded the Communism and other political ideologies of the day. The final chapter then examines the many anti-Communist forces that surrounded the autoworkers before, during, and after the Sit-Down Strike, which may account for the strikers' reluctance to admit their affiliation with the Communists.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt inspired the Allies with memorable speeches in their fight against the Axis Powers during World War II. These speeches resulted from their personalities, preparation, and correspondence; and the speeches directed Allied conduct and challenged Axis aggression. The speeches examined here pertain to Lend-Lease in November, 1940-March, 1941. The author consulted the collections of Churchill's and Roosevelt's speeches and correspondence and drew from memoirs and newspapers. The first two chapters examine Churchill and Roosevelt's rhetorical abilities; the third chapter looks at how their correspondence shaped their speeches; and the fourth chapter looks at the Lend-Lease rhetoric. Roosevelt and Churchill's speeches contributed to the success of the Lend-Lease bill and strengthened the Anglo-American alliance. Their words and actions led to the emergence of America as the leader in the alliance and affected Hitler's perception of the Anglo-American relationship and policy.

This thesis examined Elizabeth Eloise Kirkpatrick Dilling Stokes, an American anti-war writer of the 1930s who attempted to get rid of the possible threat of Communism from spreading to the United States. Outside of her written works, she knew that it was important to introduce herself to persons of great importance to receive praise from the far-right community. Without these types of personal connections, Elizabeth Eloise Kirkpatrick Dilling Stokes might not have been an important figure among members of the far-right. It was through these intimate connections that her fan base began to grow. Her various books, articles, and pamphlets reached well over 100,000 people throughout the world. Today, her work is no longer in print but is found in many libraries. In this thesis, one will find the details of Elizabeth Eloise Kirkpatrick Dilling Stokes' life in connection with the various personal encounters in relation to her speeches and writings.

East Tennessee, though historically regarded as a Unionist monolith, was politically and ideologically divided during the Civil War. The entrance of the East Tennessee and Virginia and East Tennessee and Georgia railroads connected the economically isolated region to Virginia and the deep South. This trade network created a southern subculture within East Tennessee. These divisions had deepened and resulted by the Civil War in guerilla warfare throughout the region. East Tennessee's response to the sectional crisis and the Civil War was varied within the region itself. Analyzing railroad records, manuscript collections, census data, and period newspapers demonstrates that three subdivisions existed within East Tennessee - Northeast Tennessee, Knox County, and Southeast Tennessee. These subregions help explain East Tennessee's varied responses to sectional and internal strife. East Tennessee, much like the nation as a whole, was internally divided throughout the Civil War era.

Since its founding, the economic opportunities and quality of life present in the United States of America have drawn millions of people across the oceans to seek out a better existence for themselves. America's Founding Fathers believed that the country needed as large a population as possible to become a strong nation. The capitalistic economy of the new nation caused immigration to become critically important in the expansion of its manufacturing infrastructure. Once the growth of the nation's population began to exceed that of the economy's needs, the federal government attempted to limit further immigration. The government focused on restricting how many people of certain ethnicities could enter the country each year, ignoring the problems facing those immigrants who were already in the United States. Even worse, the policy, through various quota restrictions and fees, encouraged people from Canada and Mexico to enter the country illegally. This paper is intended to analyze the flaws of the major immigration acts passed between 1882 and 1952.

The postwar children coming of age in the late 1960s in West Germany mounted a widesweeping socio-political protest against what they saw as the strangling silence of their parents, the Nazi generation. These protesters, referred to as the 68ers for their pivotal year, continued their struggle in following decades, incorporating an important and controversial exhibition, and finally culminating in their own administration thirty years from their defining moment. Using such diverse kinds of information as parliamentary debates, interviews, and contemporary criticism, this thesis explores the impact of the 68ers' initial protest and the influence they ultimately had on their nation and society. The 68ers changed the face of German society by forcing a dialogue with the past that made a full exploration of the Nazi generation possible in Germany. They also incorporated gender politics into their protest and forced a social revolution that allowed a woman to be elected Chancellor.

The evolution of America's religious liberty was birthed by a separate church and state. As America strides into the twenty first century the origin of separation of church and state continues to be a heated topic of debate. Conservatives argue that America's version of separation of church and state was birthed by principles of Christian liberty. Liberals reject this idea maintaining that the evolution of a separate church and state in America was based on enlightened thinking that demanded rational men should have religious liberty. The best way to achieve this was by erecting a wall of separation between church and state. Sources used in this study include The Letters of Roger Williams, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and the Diary of Isaac Backus, along with many other primary and secondary sources. This study concludes that America’s religious freedom, conceptualized in its separate church and state is a creation of both reason and religion.

Throughout the late nineteenth century, into the twentieth century, and the twenty-first century, Black Americans have faced displacement, segregated housing, and limited economic prosperity. Due to this inequality, Black American’s face difficulties as they try to resurrect their hopes of the American Dream. To assess the experiences of Black Americans and the impact of racially segregated housing on Urban America, an examination of legislation, state-funded segregation, structural and systemic racism, and the acts of individuals in creating barriers to success for Black communities becomes necessary. This thesis works to understand and answer the question: to what extent does racially segregated housing impact Black Americans in urban America in the twenty-first century? When examining the historical, political, and social aspects of urban America for Black Americans, the disparities and inequalities come to the forefront. Within this study, authors address the systemic and structural issues that continue to diminish Black individuals within urban America. As policymakers, authors, and researchers work to tackle race, economic inequality, and the lack of economic mobility. This thesis brings attention to organizations that impede progress for those historically harmed.

However, for the purpose of this thesis the presidential campaign of 1936 began with the June nominating conventions. At those times the candidates were selected. (Although there was never any doubt as to whom the Democrats would choose.) After the conventions the public had its first opportunity to weigh one nominee against the other. The conventions were the first big political shows. They also offered the country the official platforms upon the principles of which the candidates were supposed to stand. In short, with the conventions the big fight was on.

In the days when the United States of America was struggling to establish itself as a nation, the prevailing type of popular song was naturally patriotic. Walt Whitman in his article “Slang in America” observes that folk songs, like language, are not an abstract construction of the learned, bu something arising out of the work, needs, ties, joys, affections, tastes, of long generations of humanity, and has their bases broad and low, close to the ground; because the final decisions of folk songs, like those of language, are made by the masses, people nearest the concrete, having most to do with actual land and sea.