History Undergraduate Theses

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The Myth of “Shikata Ga Nai:” The Japanese-American Community of Bainbridge Island, 1941-42
(2026) Havera, Freddie; Barnes, Gordon R. Jr.
From the 1920s onward, the U.S. government planned to incarcerate Japanese-Americans in the event of a war with Japan. Once hostilities between the two countries broke out, federal authorities imprisoned Japanese immigrants in order to destabilize the Japanese-American community. Then the U.S. government removed all people of Japanese descent from the West Coast. Most of whom were confined in remote concentration camps, while others fled their homes. In the time since, people of Japanese descent have often described their attitude towards incarceration with the Japanese term “shikata ga nai,” which translates to “it cannot be helped.” However, historians have misinterpreted “shikata ga nai” to portray the incarcerees as passive subjects of state violence. This project centers on the Japanese-Americans of Bainbridge Island, who were the first community the government imprisoned during the war. It focuses on how they exercised their agency through various methods in an effort to avoid being incarcerated. Between the outbreak of war and the day the U.S. Army removed the Bainbridge Islanders from their homes, they affirmed their loyalty to America, joined the army, cooperated with the authorities, and tried to negotiate with the government. Through these actions, the Islanders attempted to achieve inclusion by proving that they deserved to live in America.
Tổi Là Người Viet (I am Vietnamese): The Construction of Third-Wave Vietnamese Identity in the United States
(2020-03-13) Pham, Eric; Nicoletta, Julie
This paper focuses on the third wave of Vietnamese migration to the United States, which occurred from the 1980s to the 1990s, and how this group of immigrants constructed their identity in a new country. From a Western perspective, particularly an American one, it is easy to categorize all Vietnamese immigrants under the same umbrella. Although there are similarities among all three waves, one significant element that differentiates the third wave from the other two is the United States' enactment of the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1987, which facilitated an influx of Vietnamese Americans to the U.S. mainland. This allowed Vietnamese-Amerasian children, whose fathers were U.S. servicemen, to migrate to the United States years after the end of the Vietnam War. Thus, this wave is unique compared to the previous two. In arriving almost twenty years after the war and under specific guidelines, the third-wave immigrants constructed a hybrid identity that was negotiated between being Vietnamese and American through various mediums. Primary sources, such as personal interviews of third-wave Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Amerasians, help define the distinct identity of third-wave Vietnamese immigrants. This project argues that the third wave had economic, cultural, generational differences and similarities compared to the first and second waves because it consisted mainly of Vietnamese-Amerasians as opposed to the Vietnamese migrants of the earlier two waves. The examination of this wave in a historical context allows for the understanding of identity construction, as well as providing a snapshot of Vietnamese immigration history in the United States.
Women's Impact on Cooking Culture during the Great Depression: Limited to Being a Homemaker, Unlimited in Their Authority on Nutrition in Their Communities
(2020-12-18) Molina, Michelle; Nicoletta, Julie
This paper examines American cooking culture of the Great Depression, as the impact it had on everyday people's diet was much greater than one may initially think. By analyzing interviews, photographs, and newspaper advertisements, and conducting archival research, I illuminate the public history of the Great Depression's impact on diet and the roles women played during it. The existing scholarship on the Great Depression typically focuses on the relief efforts made to help people affected by this economic downturn, but this paper will focus more specifically on the cooking culture that involved women during this desperate time. Harsh conditions experienced during World War I, societal expectations of domestic roles, and technological advancements shaped the cooking culture to not only focus on the cost effectiveness of foods, but also the interconnected community and foodways surrounding women. The conditions that limited food availability, the spread of information, preparation of food, and variety of meals all show how the cooking culture was involved with far more than just saving money during hard economic times. The significance of my research on women's impact in authoritative roles as homemakers and home economists is that we see how the Great Depression acted as a catalyst to nutrition consciousness in the United States, causing people to consider more carefully what nutrients they received, and if what they ate was sufficient for survival.
Wobblies in Washington: The Radicalism and Downfall of the IWW in the Northwest
(2014-06-13) Smith, Zachary A.; Brumbach, David
This paper is an examination of the radical philosophy and propaganda of the Industrial Workers of The World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies, during the period of 1909-1919. in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on the State of Washington. In order to accomplish this, the paper examines several key Wobbly political cartoons, and explains the impact that their propaganda had on union organizing and labor movements in the Northwest. Additionally, The political atmosphere of the time period and the many clashes between the radical IWW and the mainstream American society of the time. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the way in which the radicalism of the IWW led to its downfall in Washington State, which was originally a Wobbly stronghold.
The Truth is in the Lye: Soap, Beauty, and Ethnicity in British Soap Advertisements.
(2014-06-12) Parker, Michelle I.; Sundermann, Elizabeth; Moore, Ellen
This paper explores the connection between historical soap advertisements and perceptions of race. It begins by exploring the history of advertising, beauty, and the Industrial Revolution. It analyzes four advertisements, three from the late nineteenth century and one from the early twenty-first century. It discusses the link between racial perceptions and acceptance of "The White Man's Burden." The focus of this paper is on soap brands owned by the contemporary company Unilever.
Think of the Children: Child Labor through the Progressive Era in Early Twentieth-Century America
(2017-12-01) Clark, Thomas; Morrow, Alex
Child labor in America was a pivotal component of the Progressive reform movement throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Beginning my research, I looked into the role of child labor in the creation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The FLSA was the first federal law to abolish child labor successfully. Throughout my research, I noticed a trend of law passage and Supreme Court denial. The most referenced events involving child labor as an evil to society came in the early part of the twentieth-century. The two most famous events were Mary "Mother Jones" Harris and her "March of the Mill Children" and photographs taken by Lewis Hine. I knew I had to include these events, for my research to be complete, so I set out to find a connection between these early events and those of the FLSA. This led me to notice the Progressive Era was not one continuous era, but rather an era split in two parts. The first Progressive reform movement lasted from 1900-1917, and then the Progressive Era was broken apart by the Conservative Counter Movement until somewhere around 1933 when Franklin Roosevelt took office. FDR brought Progressivism back in style as he would eventually culminate the era of Progressivism with the FLSA. A final conclusion is that child labor is the only major issue to last from the beginning of the Progressive Era to the end.
The Rise of the New White Nationalism in America
(2019-03-10) Padgett, Megan; Nicoletta, Julie; Burghart, William
White nationalism has been a part of United States history since the dawn of the nation but remained a secondary issue in comparison to white supremacy. Within the last thirty years however, white nationalism has been on the rise in the United States, and is slowly becoming mainstream rhetoric within politics, as well as in social and economic discussions. What has caused this rise in white nationalism? Has the popularity of social media and the internet since the 1990s influenced its growth? With the use of primary sources such as speeches, books written by white nationalists, and insider internet sources, one can see that the motivations behind white nationalism have shifted away from the oppression of other races, with underlying ideas of white superiority, to a view of victimhood, with racial protection cited as a primary justification. Using academic journals and scholarly books analyzing the history and development of white nationalism, it is apparent that white nationalism has risen and fallen through American history, with the most recent development being a result of social media and meme culture that has brought it out of the fringes of society and into mainstream society and discussion. The importance of this topic is reflected in the fact that what was once considered dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric has become something more accepted and embraced in a society that used to be labeled as post-racial and color-blind.
The Truth Behind the Lies: The Canadian Federal Government's Intentions Behind the Creation of Residential Schools
(2023-03-01) Metz, Sara; Sundermann, Elizabeth
In this paper I discover the intentions of the Canadian federal government behind the creations of residential schools, educational institutions that were erected to control and alter the identity of Indigenous children and assimilate them into Canadian society. While assimilation was the promoted product of the federal government's actions, there has remained an inconsistency with the belief that assimilation would occur as intended. In truth, there would always remain a divide between the Indigenous people and the forming Canadian nation whether this be racially, spiritually, or culturally. These elements would weigh upon the formation of a cohesive nationalistic identity, something that the Canadian government wanted desperately as they tried to form their own nation separate from the French and British. Through the exploration of federal government legislation, government department reports, survivor testimony, photographs from within the schools, and statements from federal leadership, it is clear that the government's intentions were never to make Canada a cohesive entity with shared principles and an equality for all. Rather, the Canadian federal government sought to exert control over the Indigenous people in a desire to alter and mold who they were, with the aims of making them into subservient beings that would not cause dissidence but ones that would instead provide Canada with compliant members of the unified nation.
The Mau Mau Insurrection: The Failed Rebellion That Freed Kenya
(2017-04-01) Scullin, Joshua; Sundermann, Libi; Allen, Michael
During the British Empire's colonial occupation of Kenya, which began in 1895, a new sense of Kenyan nationalism emerged. Between 1952 and 1956, the combined Kenyan tribes-united for the first time and calling themselves the Mau Mau-launched a violent guerilla war against the occupying British forces. Militarily, the Kenyans were no match for the seasoned soldiers, yet the rebellion became a significant cause of the ultimate British decision to withdraw from the Kenyan colony. Policy makers in the British metropole-the political and cultural center of the British Empire-grew concerned that any reprisal against further Mau Mau insurgent action would lead to socio-political repercussion that the dwindling empire could ill afford. By 1954, in response to their own political fears, the colonial government, in full cooperation with the Home Office, increased the repression of the native Kenyans in an attempt to cover up the abuses the Kenyans suffered under British rule. It was not until 2005 that investigative historians uncovered evidence of these abuses, and by 2011 thousands of documents offered incriminating evidence of both colonial abuse and the complicity of the central government. This paper examines how fears of socio-political repercussions over colonial abuses in Kenya led directly to the decision to decolonize. At the core of this anxiety lay the Mau Mau rebellion and the British governments attempts to obfuscate the true nature of the insurrection.
The Memetic Evolution of Alchemy From Zosimos to Timothy Leary
(2014-05-13) Hutchinson, Ryan J.; Kucher, Michael; Cheak, Aaron
The subject of alchemy is often only relegated to a footnote of the history of modern chemistry. When framed as a discussion of the history of ideas and mankind attempting to understand their position in the universe, the language of alchemy is seen present in the writings of ancient Greece to 20th century counterculture. But how did this obscure art survive such a long journey over time and space? This paper explores alchemy as a meme (as defined by Richard Dawkins) that changed over time to fit the needs of its proponents. We find that the ideas in alchemy had established a relationship with astrology, Greek gods, Christianity, The scientific revolution, and cultural rebellion through a succession of historical thinkers.
The Irish Ordnance Survey's Six Inches to One Mile Map of Ireland: Anglicization and Otherness
(2015-03-17) Hentges, Reese C.; Sundermann, Elizabeth
By examining the power maps and language have over a nation this research reveals a correlation between the creation of the 1846 Six Inches to One Mile Maps of Ireland and the decline of the Gaelic language at the expense of the English language. By examining Irish Ordnance Survey maps, Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, and other documents from the Irish Ordnance Survey while the Six Inches to One Mile Maps of Ireland this thesis demonstrates that the Six Inches to One Mile Maps of Ireland was a tool of imperialism used by Great Britain to culturally assimilate Ireland by changing the Gaelic place names of towns in Ireland to a new Anglicized form and promoting the use of English in Ireland.
The Role of Continuing Revelation in the Early Latter Day Saint Church Under the Leadership of Joseph Smith
(2018-06-11) Wood, Robbie; Nicoletta, Julie; Burghart, William
This history capstone paper examines the role that the concept of Continuing Revelation played in the early Latter Day Saint church. The paper examines previous scholarship about Continuing Revelation in American religion, historical scholarship of the Latter Day Saint movement, and primary source analysis of early documents and scripture. Joseph Smith, the founding prophet and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, utilized the concept of Continuing Revelation to legitimize his revelatory power and constantly changing theology. The movement is analyzed chronologically from its beginning in upstate New York, to Kirtland, Ohio and finally ending in Nauvoo, Illinois. Nauvoo proved to be the period of Smith's most peculiar teachings, including polygamy and his uniquely evolved concept of God. While a small number of Saints dissented in Nauvoo, the vast majority of Smith's followers remained in the religion because of their faith in his revelatory power. Smith used Continuing Revelation to sanction his own authority, introduce concepts completely divorced from traditional Christianity, and keep the vast majority of Saints in the religion. Continuing Revelation continued as a central tenet to all churches tracing their roots back to Smith and the early Latter Day Saint church.
The War of 1812: The Rise of American Nationalism
(2016-01-01) Hanseling, Paul; Allen, Michael
On June 18, 1812, United States President, James Madison, signed a Declaration of War against Great Britain. What brought these two nations to such a dramatic impasse? Madison's War Message to Congress gives some hint as to the American grievances: impressment of American sailors; unnecessary, "mock" blockades and disruption of American shipping; violations of American neutral rights; and incursions into American coastal waters.[1] By far, the most vocal point of contention was impressment, or the forcible enlistment of men in the navy. For their part, Great Britain viewed every measure disputed by Americans as a necessity as they waged war against the Continental advances of Napoleon and for maintaining the economic stability of the British people. However, the war erupted despite repeal of the contentious British Orders-in-Council on June 23, 1812. And while Madison cited impressment and maritime rights as the primary causes, what other factors influenced this march to war? How do national honor, Canada, Native Americans, the western frontier, and internal politics also play a significant role? [1] James Madison, "War Message to Congress," in The War of 1812: Writings from America's Second War of Independence, ed. Donald R. Hickey (New York: The Library of America, 2013), 1-9.
The Aleut Kayak: How Aleut Technology Shaped History
(2015-06-12) Wilson, Andrew M.; Allen, Michael
If Russian and American imperialism in the north Pacific was the lever that turned the wheel of circumpolar history then the Aleut kayak, or "baidarka," was the fulcrum. Without Aleut technology, and the labor of the Aleuts, the Russian-American Company would not have been able to derive tremendous profits from high value otter pelts. After the otters were nearly driven to extinction, the fur business transitioned to focusing on extracting a high volume of less valuable fur seal skins. Fur bearing animals were the most easily extractable form of wealth, and this wealth formed the basis for the United States justification of purchasing Alaska from Russia.[1] The role played by Aleut technology and labor appears to be insufficiently appreciated. Aleut technology and labor, and how they were exploited by Russia and the United States, will be the subject of this thesis. [1] James R. Gibson, "Russian Dependence on the Natives of Alaska," An Alaska Anthology Interpreting the Past, ed. Stephen W Haycox and Mary Childers Mangusso (Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1996) http://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed February 8, 2015), 21-42.
The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine's Influence on Nineteenth-Century Middle-Class Women
(2020-12-15) Cook, Amber; Sundermann, Elizabeth
Depictions and study of women's fashion from mid-nineteenth-century England have largely focused on upper-class women and suffragettes. The purpose of this research is to highlight another group, middle-class women, and their fashion choices through analysis of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. This magazine not only gave fashion advice and instruction but guided middle-class women's choices on what materials to purchase and where to purchase them. The fashion columns steered women into building a new middle-class identity that was unique and set them apart from the extravagant upper class. By examining the articles printed in the magazine I was able to derive key factors in the fashion advice being given to middle-class women: maintaining class values, budgeting, and setting themselves apart from both the working and upper classes. With the use of secondary scholarship about mid-nineteenth-century English women's fashion, along with digitally archived copies of the original magazine, we can see that literature such as the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine was crucial in building a new identity for the middle-class Victorian woman. Over the three decades of publication, this magazine underwent an evolution through its content and tone which reflected the values of the growing middle class and helped build the identity of the new middle-class woman.
The Evoluion of Pacific War Cinema
(2014-03-20) Eldridge, Dylan; Allen, Michael
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th 1942, the United States became involved in World War II. Over the last seventy years film makers have attempted to chronicle the events of this war. As society changed and grew so did the interpretations of the Pacific War. Today we are left with four distinct eras of Pacific War cinema.
The Everett Massacre: Solidarity, Brutality, and Tragedy
(2024-12-13) Shoot, Ayrek; Burghart, William
The Everett Massacre of 1916 was a fatal tragedy , a gun battle between members of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Sheriff's deputized vigilantes. The shooting left at least 7 dead and many more injured. Historians past have explored the Everett Massacre and its contextual events to better understand the causes of this bloody labor conflict, but I seek to show that the Everett Commercial Club is ultimately responsible for the strife and crippling the Timber Workers' Union. By November of 1916, the Commercial Club had undergone three schisms after which only the mill owners, bankers, industrialists, doctors, and other privileged Everett citizens remained. The interests of labor, once represented in the Commercial Club, were suppressed by the mill owners who used strikebreakers, hired ruffians, city ordinances, and law enforcement to undermine union efforts. Sheriff Donald McRae was a member of the Everett Commercial Club, and he sourced his deputy vigilantes from the Club. Mayor Dennis Merrill, a member of the Commercial Club, illegally passed a city ordinance forbidding public speaking along Hewitt Avenue. This ordinance was used as justification for the unlawful violence against and deportation of the IWWs. The massacre ended the ongoing Timber Worker's Union strike which lasted six months. Who fired the first shot cannot be determined definitively, but the Sheriff and his deputies were trained, armed, and positioned for battle before the shooting began. Their fellow Commercial Club members benefited financially from the massacre which ended the strike and severely weakened the interests of labor within the city. "By 1921 there was no significant labor movement in Everett at all", the mill owners had removed or silenced all opposition to their greed.
The Forgotten Floods: Examining the Consequences of the Yellow River Disaster, 1938-1947
(2022-06-13) Mantle, Ryan; Sundermann, Libi
This paper examines the shortcomings of Western academia's coverage of the Guomindang's decision to breach the Yellow River dikes in 1938. The catastrophe is discussed in individual segments by many in Western academia and lacks a comprehensive view of the event, which this paper will provide. Flood waters inundated the plains of the Henan, Anhui, and Kiangsu provinces, killing hundreds of thousands of people, and creating a massive refugee crisis. The lack of arable land and labor, the damaged agricultural infrastructure, and a major drought led to the Henan Famine of 1942-1943 which killed millions more. After Japan's surrender in 1945, considerable effort was made to plug the breach with substantial international support in the form of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. The repair effort was steeped in politics as a civil war between the Guomindang and the Communists erupted. When the breach was repaired, it flooded refugee settlements relocated into the old riverbed. Frustrated with how they had been treated, the people of northern China assisted the communists in their defeat of Chiang Kai-shek's regime. This research consisted of primary and secondary source material that was available through online archives. The United Nations archives were utilized to acquire the monthly reports regarding the repair of the breach. Included in the study is a report from the Chief Engineer of the repair which contained a map of the flooded areas. To supplement these sources, newspaper and magazine articles were obtained from the ProQuest Historical Newspapers archive.
The City of Destiny's Darkest Hour: Tacoma and the Depression of the 1890s
(2015-08-03) Clogston, Ian W.; Sundermann, Elizabeth
The Panic of 1893 and subsequent economic depression was significantly detrimental to the economy of Tacoma, Washington. This work details the economic growth in the years preceding the Panic of 1893 in Tacoma as well as the effects the Depression of the 1890s had on Tacoma's economy, including the numerous business and banking failures, a lack of employment, lack of money, and the miseries of the community's life during the depression.
The Dixie Mission, Patrick J. Hurley, and America's Diplomatic Failure in China, 1944-45
(2022-12-16) Moody, Sarah; Burghart, Will; Hanneman, Mary; Newcomb, Amy
This paper examines the American diplomatic effort in China in 1944-45 including the attempts at military coordination with Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government as well as the "Dixie Mission," which was the first official American contact with the Chinese Communist Party. I argue that the personalities of the American diplomats, the structural issues endemic to the China-Burma-India Theater, the fractured and complex Chinese political situation, and the lack of clear and rational foreign policy on China all culminated in the diplomatic efforts failing. While acknowledging the numerous contributing factors that led to diplomatic failure, this paper also suggests ways in which negotiations could have been more productive.

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