University of Oklahoma Historical Journal

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The University of Oklahoma Historical Journal features the very best work produced by our undergraduate students. The Historical Journal testifies to the intellectual values our department espouses: hard work, rigorous thinking, distinctive style, and academic integrity. Published annually, this peer-reviewed journal is governed by five undergraduate editors who are nominated and elected by the history faculty. Their election to the editorial board recognizes their excellence in a broad variety of history courses at OU and marks their transition from students to intellectual leaders.

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Open Access
An Ambivalent Revolution: A Review of Capitalism, God, and a Good Cigar
(4/1/14) Rodriguez, Monique; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Any analysis of postrevolutionary Cuba, the first socialist republic to rise in Latin America, is inherently political. The volatile and lively debates surrounding the island nation's successes and failures spark up with new vigor each time a study is published, like a flame fed gasoline. Lydia Chávez, a professor at the University of California, brought a group of journalism students to Cuba to teach them how to report on foreign affairs in 2001. This visit became the basis for this book. It portrays Cuba as still in the midst of a transition that should have been concluded soon after the end of the revolution in 1959. To merely say Cuba is between capitalism and socialism would not quite capture the complex reality on the ground. Socialism developed unevenly in the decades following the revolution; aspects of capitalism disappeared and reappeared in new forms as the US embargo and fall of the USSR took its toll on the country. Chávez sees this uneven development best embodied in her memory of poor children with eyeglasses begging for dollars. People who are starving still receive other types of healthcare. Cuba is full of seeming contradictions. This book, a collection of impressions of Cuban society written by her students, has much to contribute to the debate but falls short of providing a complete view of Cuban society in the twentieth century.
Open Access
The American Media and the Soviet Union at the Onset of U.S. Intervention in World War II
(4/1/16) Joyce, Anthony W.; Otto, Jon; Strachan, Kiersten; Thompson, Rita; Hurd, Elizabeth; Cole, Emily; Smith, Robert; Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Otis, Franklin; Clark, Matthew; Folsom, Raphael; Olberding, Garret; Griswold, Robert
1942 was a crucial year for America and the Soviet Union. For the past twenty years, the United States had been fearful of the U.S.S.R. and the possibility that communism would spread. However, World War II forced Americans to change their perceptions of Russia. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, which included the Soviet Union. Furthermore, with Hitler threatening to conquer Europe, America had to unite with the U.S.S.R. in order to defeat him. At this point, the U.S. supported a country that it had recently viewed as its enemy. But were Americans completely supportive of the Soviet Union during this time period, or did they remain suspicious of it? This paper will focus on the reaction of the American media to Russia within the first year after the United States entered the war. It will study articles from three major news publications: the New York Times, the Chicago Daily Tribune, and Time magazine. The New York Times and the Chicago Daily Tribune represented two distinct regions of the country (the East Coast and the Midwest, respectively), and Time magazine reached the nation as a whole.
Open Access
American Support of the Iran-Iraq War: A Pyrrhic Victory
(4/1/14) Glickstein, Daniel; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
The Iran-Iraq War lasted from 22 September 1980 until 20 July 1988, cost over $1 trillion, and resulted in anywhere from five hundred thousand to one million deaths. This conflict caused irreparable damage to both countries and the aftershocks are still felt today. But this devastating war is often overlooked; overshadowed by the 1991 Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless this war is worth reexamining. This paper seeks to answer how heavily the United States supported both parties of the war, and whether its’ long-term goals were achieved. Evidence suggests that while America publicly touted a neutral stance, it instead very clearly tilted to each country throughout the conflict. Furthermore, given over twenty years of distance and perspective, the United States’ intended strategic outcomes in tampering with the war were never realized. If anything American involvement catalyzed long-term repercussions that are still grappled with today. A careful examination will support the above reasoning and draw out a cautionary lesson for future American foreign policy.
Open Access
At the Intersection of Natural, Theological, and Political Practice in 16th Century Northern Europe: Tycho Brahe's and Philipp Melanchthon's Astrological Adventures
(4/1/15) Vieth, Paul; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Perhaps never has someone written so commendable a compliment which could, with as much accuracy, describe him- or herself as Tycho has done here. There is a popular misconception afoot concerning science, namely, that it and theology are fundamentally mutually-exclusive modes of thought and have almost inevitably antagonistic truth-procedures to the point that science is seen as waging a war against religious belief. This misconception, though perhaps more comprehensible in this day and age, is never more obviously false than when the early modern period, through the telescope of history, if you will, is under examination. Throughout the narrative of sixteenth-century astronomy, Tycho Brahe’s personal and professional opinions, as well as those of his political and academic peers, run contrary to these modern misconceptions. As will be seen herein, the codependent enmeshing of religion and politics holds as truly for natural inquiry and religion. Rather than being combative alternative routes to higher truth, theology and natural philosophy in this period, rather, for some early modern scholars and theologians, operate in conjunction with one another. Not only do the theological and scientific cohabitate in the minds of sixteenth-century scholars, they cooperate to such an extent that any acuteness of understanding in natural philosophy is consequently and necessarily an exercise in scrutinizing the divine. This is neatly, though not uniquely, evident in Tycho Brahe’s program of astronomical empiricism, its prognostic applications, and Philip Melanchthon’s encouragement of and the Danish court’s patronage of such an endeavor.
Open Access
Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis
(4/1/14) Hamilton, Brooke; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
In “Bad Neighbors: A Look into the Complex Relations within the Creek Nation through the Acorn Whistler Crisis of 1752,” Brooke Hamilton unveils a gripping mid-eighteenth century tale of intrigue and deception, in which an enduring property dispute almost ends in open hostilities between the Creek Indians and the Georgia government. The origins of the plot, hatched by the devious Bosomworth family to take greater control of the eastern trading path from Charleston to Creek country, tap deeply into disagreements between two neighboring tribes, the Cowetas and Cussetas, both striving to be the predominant clan among the Lower Creeks. Masterfully engaging current scholarship, Hamilton narrates how greed and tribal resentments precipitated the vicious sacrifice of an Upper Creek headman, Acorn Whistler. –Garret Olberding
Open Access
Benjamin Franklin and George Adams, Jr.: Enlightened Entrepeneurs
(4/1/14) Wilson, Connor; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
In “Benjamin Franklin and George Adams, Jr.: Enlightenment Entrepreneurs,” Connor Wilson shows us that in the Early Republic, science was used to capture both the public’s imagination and pocketbooks. Making deft use of the writings of two Enlightenment scientists, Wilson shows that his subjects were not simply acting on altruistic motives, but worked to create a scientific literature that could be marketed to mass audiences. Examining an issue that historians have long overlooked, Wilson demonstrates that science in the Enlightenment created a tradition of a profitable and educational inquiry that has had lasting effects on scientific practice. –Morgan McCullough
Open Access
Continuity in Care: The History of Deinstitutionalization in Oklahoma's Mental Healthcare System
(4/1/16) Capps, Sarah; Otto, Jon; Strachan, Kiersten; Thompson, Rita; Hurd, Elizabeth; Cole, Emily; Smith, Robert; Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Otis, Franklin; Clark, Matthew; Folsom, Raphael; Olberding, Garret; Griswold, Robert
Sarah Capps has approached the subject of the deinstitutionalization of Oklahoma’s mental health system with great attention to detail and tenacious research. She has also made connections from the act of deinstitutionalization to its effect on the way Oklahoma’s mentally ill are served today. As society’s most vulnerable population left institutions, they faced many unique challenges. However, the shift in the way people began to deal with the mentally ill was both a reaction to new attitudes and helped shaped them as this population left institutions and was integrated into society. Sarah Capps, through an examination of a diverse array of primary sources, has succeeded in demonstrating the complexity of the endeavor with superb writing and research. - Rita Thompson
Open Access
The Deepest Circle of Hell: Sex Crimes Propagated at Unit 731 During the Pacific War (1931-1945)
(4/1/16) Strachan, Kiersten; Otto, Jon; Strachan, Kiersten; Thompson, Rita; Hurd, Elizabeth; Cole, Emily; Smith, Robert; Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Otis, Franklin; Clark, Matthew; Folsom, Raphael; Olberding, Garret; Griswold, Robert
In a previous paper on the subject of Unit 731, I argued that Japan, before and throughout the Pacific War (1931-1945), attempted to systemically bolster its imperial credentials as a colonizer by developing its scientific establishment, in an attempt to display that it had surpassed Western nations. The experiments conducted at Unit 731 contributed to this goal. Japanese medical professionals used Unit 731 as an opportunity to conduct experiments on humans, which social stigma and global scientific ethical standards had previously prevented. The results of the Unit’s experiments were disseminated worldwide in order to prove Japan’s capacity to contribute to global scientific establishments. Additionally, a broad range of sex experiments were also conducted using (mostly) female and child prisoners. When reviewing primary source material that relates to sexual experiments conducted at the facility, it seems that though the scientific or rational motivations underpinned some experiments, other sex crimes cannot be justified as anything other than gross excesses of senseless violence. While non sexual experiments could be justified as attempts to solve disease, display Japanese modernity, or collected research for the development of advanced biological weaponry, the obscenity of some sex acts committed cannot be justified by these motivations. Why were sex experiments unique? Why were women, whose limbs were black with disease, raped by multiple guards at once? Why were prisoners abused and defiled, as their children, who were the result of forced impregnation, watched? In terms of the abuses that occurred at Unit 731, it is easy to homogenize ‘sex experiments’ and ‘sex crimes’ as the same thing. However, when analyzing these grotesque incidents, it becomes clear that the guards of the facility were motivated by different factors during experiments, which I will contrast with sexual violence propagated against the inmate population. The distinction I will argue in this paper is that it was the guards, staff, and independent medical practitioners who perpetuated crimes against humanity (expressed in sexual form). In regard to this violent, they acted as individuals, independent from the military-scientific establishment that operated and conceived of the Unit and the clinical sex experiments.
Open Access
The Enduring Persecution of Queerness in Germany from Hilter to Adenauer
(4/1/15) Manek, Parker; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
In The Enduring Persecution of Queerness in Germany from Hitler to Adenauer, Parker Manek etches a disturbing picture of the 20th-century landscape in which gay Germans lived and died. Manek explains how the disasters and political drama of these years first opened a space for queer life to flourish, and then slammed that space shut with often-rabid violence. He writes with an admirably philosophical style, analyzing the community of victims into various categories and identifying fascinating exceptions, intersections, and ironies. Manek also takes the time to reflect thoughtfully on how gay individuals have, or have not, added to the chorus of the voices of Holocaust survivors, and what it means for them to return in this way to that inhuman era. –Austin Scheller
Open Access
Federalists, Songs, and the Populist Ratification of the Constitution
(4/1/15) McCullough, Morgan; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Despite elitist tendencies of the Federalists they used songs as a way to gain popular support for the Constitution. In order to ensure the ratification of the Constitution, Federalists published and performed songs to create the impression of a national movement towards the ratification of the Constitution. Though they used popular politics, Federalists tended to distrust the people at large and, as David Waldstreicher states, saw republican government “in terms of elite leadership and popular spectatorship.” Songs were a pithy and memorable way to package political ideas. Often a part of street culture such as parades and festivals, songs were easily learned and spread as well as widely published in newspapers. Their publication and use in public places meant that songs were accessible to people at all levels of American society. The use of songs to create popular support during the ratification process was part of a long tradition of employing songs for political purposes. Ballads and songs had long been a part of British culture and American colonists continued to use political songs in America. Throughout the American Revolution, and continuing on into the party years of the nineteenth century, songs filled an important role in the popular political life of early Americans. From the distribution of songs during the New-Hampshire Grand Procession to the printing of songs in various newspapers throughout the American states, songs played an important role in the success of the Constitutional ratification process.
Open Access
Henry IV: Faith's Power in Politics
(4/1/15) Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Until the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic faith of the kings and queens of Europe was an assumption, not a debate. As the fragment grenade of the reformation exploded across Europe, however, what was once assumed was now questioned. Many lesser nobles across Europe found the Reformed religions appealing and converted to Lutheranism and Calvinism, thereby destabilized the political order of Europe and often causing both political and social turmoil. These issues came to a point only in the French Wars of Religion, however, when a Calvinist prince became heir apparent to the throne of France.
Open Access
Heterogeneous Exiliados, Permanent Exilios, and Imagined Patrias: Modern Exile from Argentina and Chile
(4/1/15) Dixon, Arthur; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Arthur Dixon’s “Heterogeneous Exiliados, Permanent Exilios, and Imagined Patrias: Modern Exile from Argentina and Chile” sheds new light on a subject well known to scholars of Latin America. His detailed analysis demonstrates the ways in which Argentine and Chilean exiles in the 20th century were different from those of earlier times. Theirs was a uniquely modern form of exile. Dixon tracks patterns in a complex historical period, noting differences between Argentine and Chilean exiles while maintaining a cohesive narrative throughout. Dixon’s eloquent analysis of a challenging topic marks his work as the best among many outstanding submissions. –Sarah Miles
Open Access
Hugo Falcandus, the History of Tyrants, and the Normalization of Norman Sicily
(4/1/14) Dixon, Arthur; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
In “Hugo Falcandus, the History of the Tyrants, and the Normalization of Norman Sicily,” Arthur Dixon tackles a complex period in history with concise analysis and provides unexpected insight. He elucidates the ways in which Norman Sicily, once distinct from other models of medieval European civilization in the twelfth century, was transformed during the reigns of William I “the Bad” and William II “the Good” by increasing presence of Latin Christians from mainland Europe and the influence of the Sicilian elite. The normalization in Sicily is a story of nobles plotting against “abnormal” leaders and orchestrating the creation of a politically, culturally, and socially typical European kingdom. His sophisticated analysis and inventive use of sources that many would cast aside makes this paper exceptional. –Monique Rodríguez
Open Access
The King and I?: An Analysis of Social Class and Loyalty in the Sagas of the Icelanders
(4/1/16) Farris, Caleb; Otto, Jon; Strachan, Kiersten; Thompson, Rita; Hurd, Elizabeth; Cole, Emily; Smith, Robert; Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Otis, Franklin; Clark, Matthew; Folsom, Raphael; Olberding, Garret; Griswold, Robert
Caleb Farris’s The King and I?: An Analysis of Social Class and Loyalty in the Sagas of the Icelanders, describes the role of social hierarchies in Viking society. It is not only brilliantly written, but underscores the utility of non-traditional sources in analyzing ancient society. -Sarah Miles
Open Access
A Lengend in the Making: The Evolution of the Conquest Accounts of Al-Andalus
(4/1/15) Foster, Kiley; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Kiley Foster’s paper, A Legend in the Making: The Evolution of the Conquest Accounts of Al-Andalus, on the conquest accounts of Al-Andalus is well constructed, consistently interesting, and unique vis-à-vis the other articles we publish here. It is unique because of its subject and the approach she took in examining it. While Foster provides sufficient historical context to the reader, and a general story, what makes her article interesting is her analysis of the minute details of the primary sources, her placement of those details in historical context, and the way she maps the evolution of accounts of the conquest. While Foster maintains a consistent focus, her article also presents the reader with historiography, context, and a brief introduction to the sources. This is important because most readers have no background in the Muslim conquest of Al-Andalus. This must have taken Ms. Foster an incredible amount of time and shows her command of the methods of history. -Richard Blake Romines
Open Access
The Liberal Libertine: Gender and Revolution in the Writings of Francisco de Miranda
(4/1/16) Dixon, Arthur; Otto, Jon; Strachan, Kiersten; Thompson, Rita; Hurd, Elizabeth; Cole, Emily; Smith, Robert; Miles, Sarah; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Otis, Franklin; Clark, Matthew; Folsom, Raphael; Olberding, Garret; Griswold, Robert
Francisco de Miranda's life embodied the contradiction which was central to the Age of Democratic Revolution: to what extent could the liberal ideologies emerging from the Enlightenment replace the old order? Just as other pre-Revolution social and cultural systems like slavery and monarchy survived democratic revolution, patterns of gender relations endured radical political insurrection and emerged relatively unscathed. This paradox is exemplified in Miranda’s simultaneous subversive political acts and conformity with existing libertine forms of masculinity. – Elizabeth Hurd
Open Access
The Lie in the Teapot: China, China Export Porcelain, and the Construction of Orientalism during the American Republic
(4/1/15) Strachan, Kiersten; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
The Lie in The Teapot: China, China Export Porcelain, and the Construction of Orientalism during the American Republic, by Kiersten Strachan is an original and provocative contribution to our understanding of early American culture. Strachan has navigated the difficulties of transnational and comparative scholarship by drawing upon material culture. By using physical objects to help make her argument, Strachan explores a type of primary source that many historians do not draw upon. As she considers these ceramics, she participates in a critical discussion about orientalism and the way trade, travel, and racial stereotypes influence one another. Additionally, we have all seen the pottery that her essay discusses, because chinaware is still a major part of American culture in some regions of the United States. Strachan's essay critically examines the origins and consequences of this cultural borrowing and forces us to do the same. – Sarah Capps
Open Access
Much to Lose by Revolution: Nothing to Dread from Reform: Education Reform as a Means of Class Alliance in Victorian England
(4/1/15) Stringer, William; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
Many historians agree that the Victorian period was crucial in the development of education in England. In fact Dinah Birch, in her 2008 book Our Victorian Education goes so far as to say that it was the genesis of the current English education system. However, the reasons for these education reforms and developments is a topic that is much less agreed upon. The reasons put forth by different historians are varied; ranging from increases in the need for a scientific knowledge to stress brought on by various religious sects and dissenters clamouring for their own schools and headmasters. Yet another factor commonly discussed is simply the drastic decrease in the infant mortality rate brought about by the industrial revolution and the subsequent increase in the amount of children living long enough to attend school. While I don’t dispute any of these influences, I would argue that the driving force behind changes in education at the time was class interests. By that I mean that class conflict, and attempts to dissuade it, was the engine which drove the Victorians to reform first their choice of enfranchised and then their secondary education system.
Open Access
Mussolini the Revolutionary: The March on Rome
(4/1/15) Christensen, Brittany; Capps, Sarah; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; McCullough, Morgan; Miles, Sarah; Robertson, Terrence; Rodríguez, Monique; Romines, Richard; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
The English language press appears to have been fascinated by the “March on Rome” – the peaceful Italian revolution – which is highly convenient, as it gives us a day by day account of the event, allowing us to see how the dispute in Italy was playing out, and what was expected to happen as the days went on. The one constant throughout the ordeal was that nobody seemed entirely sure what the end goals of the Fascisti were, much like the contradictory and unclear nature of their ideology. Similarly, while the Fascisti praised war and its purifying effects, Mussolini did his best to portray the period prior to the revolution as peaceful, even though the Fascisti “terrorized” the population. Conversely, he portrayed the revolution itself as more much more fraught with tension than it actually was so that it appeared that he had saved Italy from civil war purely out of the goodness of his heart. The march therefore fits in quite well with the entirety of fascism: revolutionary, confusing, violent, and portrayed as something different than it actually was.
Open Access
The National and International Responses to the Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
(4/1/14) Hogan, Mallory; Collins, Adriana; Dixon, Arthur; Hamilton, Brooke; Rodríguez, Monique; McCullogh, Morgan; Scheller, Austin; Folsom, Raphael; Griswold, Robert; Olberding, Garret
“The National and International Responses to the Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg,” by Mallory Hogan, analyzes a controversial episode in American history from a global perspective, discussing the reactions of the public and the press to the polemical trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The author considers responses to the trial within the United States and then the international backlash against the couple’s conviction to death, drawing on accusations of American fascism, anti-Semitism, and “war hysteria.” The paper’s mastery of its source material—contemporary journalism from around the world, as well as the revelatory Venona documents—help to make it an important reevaluation of an event that had repercussions far beyond the United States of the Cold War. – Arthur Dixon