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The congressional speeches of Gerrit J. Diekema are the basis of this study and have been transcribed directly from the Congressional Record. Only those speeches and comments which were deemed illuminating as to the political and personal philosophy of Diekema are included. The speeches are of historical value for two reasons. First, they provide insight into the attitude of a Conservative Republican during the Progressive period. Secondly, the speeches indicate that a Congressman could be swayed in his support of party causes by the needs of his home district. Thus, the picture emerges of the typical congressman paying less attention to the great debate among Congressional leaders and showing more concern over parochial issues than is generally indicated in the histories of the period.

Throughout most of the modern history of the Western hemisphere, explorers, engineers and merchants have been interested in finding or building a waterway that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. By the early part of the sixteenth century most of these people had settled their attention on the Central American Isthmus. Several major commercial nations showed an interest in the project at one time or another, including France, Spain, Great Britain and the United States. Serious attention to building a canal started in the late nineteenth century with two areas, southern Nicaragua and central Panama becoming the two most logical sites for canal construction. By the middle of the 1880's the United States had private interests trying to start a canal in Nicaragua, while· the end of that decade saw the formation of a French canal in Panama. The United States seemed committed to a Nicaraguan canal.as late as 1901, yet the U.S. government eventually bought a concession, interceded in a revolution and built a canal through Panama. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major characters in the struggle to determine a canal route and to build a canal, and to investigate the role played by the several presidential commissions established to discern both the feasibility of any canal and in the final analysis determine which canal route would be the best. Special emphasis was paid to the Isthmian Canal Commission of 1899-1901, popularly known as the Walker Commission.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1965 M11 / Master of Science

This thesis attempts to construct a complete study of John F. Kennedy's senatorial years. The study uncovers relevant material pertinent to Kennedy's senatorial involvement. By examining a vast amount of material, it was possible to construct an overview of Kennedy's career in the United States Senate. This thesis accurately indicates John F. Kennedy's ideology, record, and role within the Senate.John F. Kennedy is depicted as the political man. The pressures that influenced his decisions are discussed. Decisions are not made without consequences and, therefore, the consequences of his decisions are included. He was a man motivated by power, and power became one of his major ambitions. Kennedy's career was evolutionary, and as the years passed, he became a well-known senator. As his career broadened, so did his perspective. This paper develops a picture of Kennedy's aspirations as opposed to his political successes.

Congressional roll-call votes are often used to investigate legislative voting behavior. To depict adaptive roll-call behavior in response to demographic changes that occur during redistricting, I use issue specific interest group scores from the ADA, NFU, and COPE. This exploits the bias in the selection of the issues that interest groups utilize to rate U.S. representatives, by using them to reflect changes in response to significant demographic fluctuations in the constituency population. The findings indicate that while party is the most significant factor in whether legislators adapt their voting in favor of certain groups, they do notice group composition changes within district and adapt their voting accordingly. This illustrates the impact of redistricting on policy and legislators' adaptation to changes in district composition.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1958 B76 / Master of Science

Degree awarded with distinction on 8 December 1993. Johannesburg 1993. / This dissertation begins with an examination of the salient principles and doctrines that have shaped American foreign policy. Since the end of the Second World War, the doctrines of American foreign policy have all been manifestations of the concept of containment that constituted the bedrock of U.S. policy towards its principal adversary the soviet Union. The Reagan Doctrine exhibited many of the traditional characteristics of its predecessor but, in reflecting shifting global realities, the Reagan Doctrine was also innovative and represented a new policy direction. Through the two selected case studies (Nicaragua and Afghanistan) the application of the Reagan Doctrine is evaluated with a view to determining its objectives, successes and failures.

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