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
Ad Fontes: A New Role for the Primary Sources in Anglo-Saxon History
(10/1/13) Renner, Scott; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
Scott Renner’s extraordinarily sophisticated article, “Ad Fontes, A New Role for the Primary Sources in Anglo-Saxon History,” is the winner of this year’s Griswold Prize for Excellence. Renner displays uncommon command of both qualitative and quantitative methods, spinning a facinating tale from the stuff of archaeological and genetic data. In his hands, ancient texts long thought to have exhausted by earlier generations of interpreters, are made fresh and revealing. –Raphael Folsom
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
The Bases The Story of Norman's Naval Bases during 1942
(10/1/12) Edwards, Breanna; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
This paper was selected because it exemplifies good storytelling. The author, Breanna Edwards, traces the establishment of several naval bases in Norman, Oklahoma through reports in the local newspaper in 1942. From the first reports of the coming construction projects, to the Navy Day parade in which the city and its new naval residents celebrated together, Edwards traces the story of the development of the bases and what they meant to the city of Norman at different points. “The Bases” demonstrates that good historical writing does not just point out facts, but connects them into a story that communicates to the reader how people of the day experienced the events and why. -Tessa Blanchard
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
A Church Divided: American Catholics and the Equal Rights Amendment
(10/1/13) Tenney, Lena; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
Religion and Equal Rights are topics that have been relevant throughout history up until the present day. Ms. Tenney’s thoughtful look at the divisions caused by the ERA within the Catholic Church is an excellent piece of both religious studies and historical scholarship. Her paper is an example of thorough research, quality writing and comprehensive analysis. –Madison Conklin
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 Death Dealer
(10/1/12) Carter, Michael Lewis; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
The post-war confessions of Rudolf Höss, who, as commandant of Auschwitz, supervised the mass killing of Jews, however, invite readers to re-examine the role of evil as part of the historical commentary on the SS. In Hössʼs memoir, The Death Dealer: The Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz, written in a Polish prison between October 1946 and April 1947, Höss makes no attempt to conceal his crimes. Placing them in the context of careerism and the values of military service, Höss posits that he and other soldiers are in many respects not dissimilar from us. Rather, his actions belong to the current of duty to country, self-sacrifice and obedience that remains an intrinsic, yet problematic, part of military culture in armies including our own.
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
Famine, Genocide, and Memory: Ukrainians and the Commemoration of the 1932-1933 Holodomor
(10/1/12) Schmidt, Taylor; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
History is political. Never has this been truer than in the former Soviet Union, where the past was subject to incessant ‘revisions.’ Mr. Schmidt takes on the Ukrainian famine, or Holodomor, from an international perspective, and does so quite thoroughly. As the paper unfolds, the reader comes to realize how inextricably entwined Ukranian identity is with this event. Genocide perpetrated on Ukranian people, or unintended pan-Soviet tragedy, the Holodomor’s political implications reach across oceans. The paper distinguishes itself with its in depth research and the author’s acute sensitivity to the gravity of the topic he so brilliantly explores. - Ryan Geary
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 Impact of Failed Lesbian Feminist Ideology and Rhetoric
(10/1/13) Shannahan, Katy; Scheller, Austin; Ross, Madeline; Tenney, Lena; Renner, Scott; Conklin, Madison; Long, Madison; Moore, Nathan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
"The Impact of Failed Lesbian Feminist Ideology and Rhetoric" is a sophisticated analysis of the politics of lesbian feminism. Lesbian feminism, a radical feminist separatist movement that emerged as part of second-wave feminism, advocated that all feminists should embrace a lesbian identity in order to break apart the chains of patriarchy.By examining the writings of lesbian feminists such as Radical lesbians and the Leeds Revolutionary Group (and their critics), Shannahan, convincingly argues that lesbian feminism was not solely "an isolated and outdated form of feminism," but rather a movement that served as a gadfly that "helped to shape the direction of the mainstream feminist movement." –Sandie Holguín
Open Access
The Influence of Indigenous Artistis in the Maps of the Relaciones Geográficas
(10/1/12) Brockway, Mark; Blanchard, Tessa; Carter, Michael; Geary, Ryan; Renner, Scott; Riley, Meghan; Folsom, Raphael; Holguín, Sandie; Levenson, Alan
In the late sixteenth century the Spanish cosmographer López de Velasco ordered maps of cities and towns in America to be produced and returned to Spain to gain a more accurate understanding of Spanish territory in the New World. His instructions known as the Relación Geográfica questionnaire was disseminated to local officials in towns across the Viceroys of New Spain and Peru. In some cases Spanish government officials living in the Americas enlisted indigenous artists and cartographers, particularly those in New Spain. As a result, the maps vary in distinct ways from Spanish and European maps of the same time period. By analyzing the differences in the two types of maps, it becomes possible to gain a unique perspective into spatial viewpoints of native peoples in early colonial America. My research is aimed at describing specific spatial patterns of representation used by indigenous artists in depicting early Latin American towns. These maps communicated many aspects of indigenous art and thought back to the Iberian Peninsula.