History 494 Senior Thesis Seminar

Permanent URI for this collection

https://mcstor.library.milligan.edu/handle/11558/838

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Reconciling Hitlerian Aggression to Taylorian Diplomatic Narrative
    (2024-04-18) Kearney, Arran; Dillon, Tim
    In seeking to morally defend the work of AJP Taylor one must demonstrate that properly assessing the diplomatic weight of Allied blunders, and the extent to which they helped bring about the Second World War, does not in turn inevitably lead a historian to forget or diminish Herr Hitler’s role in instigating the conflict. Instead it might enable a historian to better understand how both the Allies and Axis powers came to a place in September 1939 where they committed to a war over Poland that neither side seemed to anticipate or desire at that given moment. Using the the Munich Pact, the zenith of Allied appeasement, as a locus point, this paper will argue that (following that moment) Allied blunders and Hitlerian opportunism were made indistinguishable within the formation of a single diplomatic system. Examining this and the events that ensued shows Taylor’s judgements on Allied policy to hold a great deal of water, so long as they are modified to contain the fixed historic principle of Hitlerian Aggression. In studying the erroneous precedents Great Britain established under the Munich Agreement, together with the further blunders she committed from that point and the German invasion of Poland, she might be said to have, in a diplomatic sense, contributed at least as much as Hitler’s own aggression towards the joining of general war in Europe as it happened at that specific place and specific time.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Orosius' use of Vergil in The Seven Books of History Against the Pagans
    (2024-04-19) Kastens, Marlee; Blackburn, Lee
    In 418 C.E., Orosius published his Seven Books of History Against the Pagans: one of the first universal Christian histories. Previous scholarship regarding Orosius has centered on his contributions to historiography, but not as much on the historical influences affecting him. Vergil is one such influence, whom Orosius uses to attempt a synthesis of his Christian history with the legacy of Roman imperial history. His presence within the work points to Vergil's lingering influence in Roman society long after the coming of Christianity and provides context for Vergil's role within late antiquity Rome. He was not seen as simply a valued historian, but also as an unmatched rhetorician and a testament to the ideals of Roman society. Vergil’s appearance within Orosius' history speaks to these ideals, providing a way to synthesize the influences of the pagan past with the present Christian reality. Orosius’ use of Vergil also points towards the impact which Roman civilization had on its subjects, one which seeped into almost every part of their lives. Ultimately, Orosius' use of Vergil reveals him to be walking a thin line between respect and reverence for Vergil and the Roman Empire he represents.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Time and Time Again: Exploring Standard Railway Time and its Effect on America
    (2024-04-19) Arendale, Samuel; Dillon, Tim
    A 494 project on Standard Railway Time, a system created by the railroads in the 19th century that has a strong effect on America's growth.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Who is Affecting Whom?: A Reevaluation of the Impact of Media Coverage During the Vietnam War
    (2022-12) Wagner, Megan; Dillon, Tim
    This thesis dives into the impact of television coverage of the Vietnam War on the domestic reaction within the United States. It is no coincidence that the first war to enter living rooms all over the country cultivated such an intense response. From showing the atrocities of war itself to unveiling the lack of disclosure from the government, the media controlled how the public viewed the war. For the first time in our history, war could no longer be romanticized. It is difficult to ignore the violence and the death when you can tune in to the reports at any time. Did the media have an impact on the antiwar movement? Was the television coverage of the war enough to poke the paranoia of the U.S. government? Who did the media coverage of the war affect the most?
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Breaking the Silence: Robert O. Fife’s Work to End Racism
    (2022-04-22) Messner, Emily; Messner, Emily
    Dr. Robert Oldham Fife, who lived from 1918 to 2003, was an influential member of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ during some of its most formative years. He began as a pastor and became a professor of church history at multiple Stone-Campbell institutions. Fife always emphasized the importance of the unity and role of the Church even as the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ completed its split from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). As part of these emphases, Fife, who was white, talked repeatedly and publicly during the 1960’s about the role that he thought the Church should play in ending the cycle of racism in the United States. He especially focused on this issue as it related to the Stone-Campbell Movement. While his interpretations and solutions often stood at least somewhat in contrast to both the nonviolent and violent movements for civil rights taking place at the time, Robert Fife’s voice was in and of itself an anomaly when compared to the general reaction of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. The majority of this constituency was white and generally remained silent throughout the course of the Civil Rights Movement. Fife was able to break this silence through his efforts to tie the theological importance of ending racism through reconciliation to the work of the Church, an institution especially critical for both him and the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ movement as a whole. In his works, Fife advocated for the Church to end racism by emphasizing the necessity of white Christians’ empathy for Black Americans through an understanding of their circumstances, the necessity of the removal of racism to create true unity in the Church, and the importance of ending racism as a key part of the work of the Church.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    C.H. Spurgeon and the Downgrade Controversy
    (2018-05-02) Stanley, James
    In 1887 C.H. Spurgeon launched what forever became known as the Downgrade Controversy. He would take on the Baptist Union of England over the issue of the infallibility of the Bible in a battle that would continue from 1887 until his death in 1892. This paper provides an account of the controversy as seen through the eyes of C.H. Spurgeon who has gone into history as "The Prince of Preachers."
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item