APUS Richard G. Trefry Archives | Home: History

Timothy Y. Ahern
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: October 2022
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Kimberly Rush
Abstract: The Hellenistic period revolutionized Greek culture in just about every way imaginable. One of the things that began changing was the Greek sense of self. Generally speaking, before Alexander individual Greek identity was often associated with a specific city state. Yet, as Alexander’s army expanded the Greco-Macedonian world, which Hellenized the lands that Alexander conquered, with that geographical extension came a broadened sense of citizenship that with the individual often embraced a much larger world. Arguably, the Hellenistic age began with Alexander’s father, Philip II’s unification of the Greek city states, but this brave new Hellenized cosmos had an Achilles heel. Upon Philip II’s death in 336 BCE Alexander inherited a Macedonian court that when compared to a Medieval European counterpart was remarkably egalitarian. Alexander’s death accordingly left an insidious power vacuum in the center of the Hellenized world. The historiography of this period has tended to focus on the ensuing wars fought among Alexander’s successors over his conquered land. However, the strife among his successors, his diadochoi, was not merely over territory, but equally important in their day was the battle over Alexander’s legacy. This evolved into a polemic that went on in iconography. There was a background to this struggle for the mind. Considered hubris for the day by ancient authors, Philip II deified himself in 336 BCE, and Alexander followed suit in 332 following the proclamation of the oracle of Siwa that announced that Alexander was the son of Zeus-Amun Ra. Accordingly, that laid down a challenge to Alexander’s successors. To a relative degree, by 323 BCE, a legitimate claim to the legacy of Alexander was culturally necessitated to have to have some kind of claim of divinity. Consequently, the death of Alexander did not just initiate wars over land, but it also launched an apotheotic polemic among the diadochoi. Often overlooked by scholars, this semiotic polemic expressed itself in apotheotic iconography through the Hellenistic Age. It was a tug of war through symbolism over who had the rightful claim to the legacy of Alexander, and this thesis will document some of the key elements to this battle over image as it was conducted through Hellenistic iconography.

Garry James Hallman, Jr.
Program: History: Capstone- Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: April 2020
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Heather Thornton
Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to fill in a gap in the research of Michael Herren and Shirley Ann Brown in their Celtic Church theory as expressed in Christ in Celtic Christianity. Among other conclusions, Herren and Brown assert that the Celtic Church from the fifth to the seventh century was influenced heavily by Pelagian thought. However, their work did not use Gildas’ De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae to prove or disprove their theory which is a major oversight given this work’s almost solitary nature as a primary source from this time period. Using the basic structure of the theory started by Herren and Brown, this thesis begins by understanding the major components of this world and exploring the original rift between Augustine and Pelagius to find the fundamental differences between the two. This thesis then analyzes the text for evidence of Pelagian thought or influence, or the absence therein. Upon detailed analysis, this thesis concludes that such evidence does exist to support a Pelagian influence and thus supports the Celtic Church theory of Herren and Brown. With this conclusion reached, further extrapolations of this theory and the broader implications this has on understanding Christianity and the medieval world are discussed.

Jonathan Dupuis
Program: History: Capstone- Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: April 2020
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Leatherwood
Abstract: This thesis examines the impact of General Irvin McDowell and the First Battle of Manassas. The General was the scapegoat for the loss at First Manassas while others escaped blame for their part in the disastrous outcome on July 21, 1861. The information provided will serve to vindicate the actions of McDowell, as well as the blame placed on him for the Union loss. By utilizing both primary and secondary sources, I will show the cause and effect of all his decisions made prior to, during, and after the battle commenced. The great impact of others in the Union will be a centerpiece to show that McDowell was in fact given an impossible situation without the proper resources and support to win the first major campaign of the Civil War. The timetable that was established by the Union to engage the Confederacy will also shed light on important factors that are often overlooked when examining the Union defeat. This thesis will also cover the great impact that General Robert Patterson had on McDowell and his plans, by allowing General Joseph Johnston to move his 12,000 man force from the Shenandoah Valley to the fields of Manassas. The actions of McDowell’s subordinates provides key information showing how an untrained army failed to maintain tactical and numerical advantages during the battle. The mass confusion of both armies is another key overlooked point showing the impact of logistical accuracy and its effect on the battle. The ability of the units to maintain their positions, properly conduct military maneuvers, and hold their lines shows the results of utilizing an untrained army with political appointed leadership forced to engage an enemy before they are ready. This thesis challenges the general consensus among historians that General McDowell and his actions are the reason that the Union lost at First Manassas.

Jonathan W. Hackett
Program: History: Capstone- Thesis: Master of Arts (MA) CONC Ancient and Classical History
Awarded: February 2018
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Leslie Kelly
Abstract: The Phoenicians had a profound impact on every major civilization with which they interacted, permanently altering the cultural, linguistic, and geographic trajectory of Western civilization. This thesis demonstrates the unity of Phoenician civilization alongside others in the Near East, Greece, and Rome. While Phoenician history, culture, and language have been researched in the context of other Ancient and Classical civilizations, scholars have consciously brushed aside the study of Phoenicia as a single cultural entity over time and through space resulting in a deliberately incomplete understanding of Phoenician history as a whole. Specifically discussed will be the consistency and details of Phoenician identity shaped through the elements of civilization including government, language, religion, and artistic expression from its beginnings in the third millennium BCE through its later forms into the fifth century CE.

Brandon A. Pinkley
Program: History: Capstone- Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: February 2018
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Jon Mikolashek
Abstract: This research examines the relationship between Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) histories of the Iran-Iraq War and popular mobilization institutions supporting the Iranian state. This research draws on primary sources from the IRGC’s Center for Sacred Defense Documents and Research, an organization that began as a grassroots network of field histories for the IRGC Public Affairs Organization. Most political histories of the Islamic Revolution have focused on ideologies of elites; military histories of the Iran-Iraq War have focused on strategy or tactics; and only recently have scholars begun to examine the war’s impact on social welfare institutions or Iran’s administered mass organizations (namely, the Basij Organization of the Oppressed). This research connects the Islamic Revolution to Iran’s political and social welfare institutions through its military history.

Lukas J. Griffith
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: May 2017
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Jon Mikolashek
Abstract: This thesis will focus on the long-term consequences manifested by covert actions authorized by the Central Intelligence Agency and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, with a specific emphasis on coups d'état engineered by the American intelligence machine in various foreign nations between 1953 and 1973. With the aid of intelligence cables, White House memoranda, declassified documents, interviews, and decades of investigative journalism, the following will address how coups instigated by the Eisenhower administration established precedent for future presidents and intelligence leaders to utilize the act of government-toppling to complement Cold War policy. This specific covert action was brought to the forefront of Cold War methodology as a means of forging swift blows against “communist-friendly” governments. While not every coup pursued by the U.S. intelligence establishment was successful, those that achieved short-term success for American interests ultimately sparked negative long-term consequences.

Greg P. Balliet
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: February 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Mark Bowles
Abstract: This thesis will examine the history of labor along the U.S.-Mexico border. As a backdrop, the history of the border region as a whole will be used to show the development of industry in the region over the past several generations. Two types of labor will be specifically showcased, the Bracero Program (1942-64) and the maquiladora industry (1965-present). This thesis will pay particular attention to human rights, examining the condition of Mexican workers in relation to what would be universally acceptable. Secondary literature will be drawn upon, whose research has shown that these workers have been exploited and marginalized. With this as a basic premise, this thesis will explore the following questions: Why have these workers been so mistreated? Why have these workers been largely unable to improve their situation? What are the future prospects for workers in the border region? This thesis will argue, given the fact that industry along the U.S.-Mexico border was started by foreign investors who have long employed exploitative practices with little interference by regulatory bodies, the likelihood that workers will have it any better in the future is not good.

Joseph R. Carlson
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: May 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Mark Bowles
Abstract: Jefferson Davis attended West Point and fought in the Mexican American War. These qualifications influenced the South to ask him to be their interim president, to which he would later be elected. However, having those qualifications did not give Davis the experience needed to develop the grand strategy that would be required to win the Civil War. He was inapt at picking leaders, and subsequently removing them. He was not able to get ahold of the out of control inflation, which drove up food cost, which played inhibiting the confederacy in obtaining enough food later in the war. The laws that were being passed also played in bringing down the overall morale of the soldiers, as well as their loyalty to the Confederacy and their will to fight. The encompassment of these issues create, in part, a grand strategy, which Davis was lacking and therefore could not properly develop the offensive-defensive plan he hoped would be successful for the Confederacy.

Cecilia E. Corujo
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: November 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Brett F. Woods
Abstract: The following is an examination of Sun Tzu’s principles, articulated in The Art of War, as overlaid onto the operations of Douglas MacArthur in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. General MacArthur was a brilliant tactician, an exceptional strategist and remains one of the most decorated members ever to serve in the United States Armed Forces. MacArthur was architect of some of the most successful campaigns in U.S. history: the arduous Battle of Cote de Chatillon in WWI; the wildly successful Island Hopping Maneuvers in WWII; and the brazen amphibious landing at Inchon in the Korean War. He also experienced defeats and setbacks; the devastating destruction of his Air Force by the Japanese bombing of Clark Field in WWII and the grisly Pusan Perimeter fight in the Korean War are two examples. A review of MacArthur’s campaigns, viewed through the lens of Sun Tzu’s war doctrine, reveals that application of the principles preceded victory, whereas not adhering to the laws led to defeat. These timeless truths, written 2500 years ago, hold value in shaping tomorrow’s wars.

Noah S. Hutto
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: February 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Mark Bowles
Abstract: This thesis will examine the role of Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great, in the unification of Germany. After a review of existing historiography, the thesis will show that Frederick’s actions as the King of Prussia were instrumental in establishing the very foundation for a unified Germany. Unfortunately, his achievements, as applied to this end, are outshined by the historiography that paints Otto von Bismarck as the true unifier of the individual German states. This thesis will concentrate on the timelines of war and peace of both men, and then more specifically on the actions they took domestically and diplomatically. During this compare and contrast of Frederick and Bismarck, their actions as captured in their own hand, their contemporaries, and modern historians will all serve in answering the following: Outside of military prowess, what exactly were their domestic and foreign policies? Within the context of these policies, where does Frederick serve as the greater visionary for Prussia’s role in Central Europe? How does shifting credit for unification of Germany under Frederick’s ideals and policies impact modern German historiography? This thesis will argue that Frederick’s policies were the true baseline of a unified Germany, and that its progressive thinking established roots that Bismarck either completed or perverted, ultimately forcing Germany’s complete transformation to Frederick’s initial ideals.

Charles F. Sill Jr.
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: August 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Dawn Spring
Abstract: In 1997, the Red River of the North flooded Grand Forks, North Dakota leaving thousands homeless and nearly destroying the city. Unlike community reactions after major flooding there in 1950, public sentiment following the 1997 event vacillated between disbelief, disappointment, and even anger. Despite the millions of federal disaster dollars spent between 1950 and 1997 and the efforts of thousands of emergency management workers, many Grand Forks residents believed the federal government had failed to protect them. A historical analysis of period newspaper articles, private correspondence, disaster response, and related legislation determined that public sentiment evolved between the 1950 and 1997 floods. Moreover, prominent federal disaster legislation introduced after the midcentury flood and continuing throughout the Twentieth Century created both a moral hazard and a false sense of security within the populace. Increasingly generous federal disaster aid lulled Grand Forks residents into denial of geological and meteorological realities spurring greater development in flood plains and increasing reliance on government intervention. Federal, state and local flood control efforts after 1950 further reinforced this paradigm. Those actions, while well intentioned, may have only postponed greater devastation in Grand Forks and the surrounding area from a larger flood in the future.

Lewis A. Taylor II
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: May 2016
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Brett Woods
Abstract: The following is a study of the life and writings of Mercy Otis Warren. Warren was not only a revolutionary, but was also a writer and political thinker—a satirist, a poet, and a historian—who had watched the sparks of insurrection grow into the flames of a full-blown revolution, and used her writings to help arouse the passions of the citizenry and fan the flames of revolution. Because she was a confidant to many of the central characters of the American revolutionary period and believing that the colonists were losing their rights and freedoms, she took pen to paper and became a leading advocate of colonial independence in a period where women, for the most part, were not politically active. Through her satirical plays, her poetry, her voluminous correspondence, and her three-volume history, we can observe the patriot movement from the viewpoint of someone who lived during the period, and just as importantly, through the eyes of a woman—a republican woman.

Christopher P. Sheline
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: August 2015
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Heather Thornton
Abstract: Helots are a well-known part of ancient Greek society, yet there remains much debate regarding the definition of a helot, their identity, and their overall influence on Sparta. Most modern scholars generally refer to a helot as a serf, or tend to classify them alongside chattel slaves. They insist that their history and identity was lost during the persistent wars, causing later historians to fill in the blanks with fabricated or generalized associations. There is even heated debate on their value to the Spartan economic system, questioning the plausibility of the agrarian system. This study posits that a helot was neither a serf nor a chattel slave, but prisoners of the many efforts of Sparta to subdue its capable neighbors through war. As prisoners of war from the same cultural background, helots responded as such by revolting and seceding to formerly owned territories. Their presence connected directly to the development of the Spartan political and economic systems of Lycurgus, which caused conflict and war throughout Greece and amongst Spartan allies. Furthermore, this study clarifies that the helot’s identity never truly faltered, and that their contributions to warfare both on side of Sparta and especially against were examples of their desire for freedom. It concludes that the Messenian helot’s persistent efforts to regain their freedom and lost territory, coupled with Sparta’s constant dependency on helotry, inevitably led to Sparta’s demise.

Robinlynn W. Stewart
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: May 2015
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Anne Cipriano Venzon
Abstract: The following is a comprehensive study of the creation of the 1917 Threats Against the President Act. This study investigates the necessity of the legislation in the months preceding America’s entrance into the Great War, its introduction and rapid passage through both Houses of Congress, its role in quelling potential dissent in the hyper-patriotic American home front, and the measure’s effects upon a series of wartime infringements of civil liberties. By noting the social and political factors that influenced growing threats against the President in the pre-war period, to include Wilson’s Americanism campaign and anti-war movement, this measure’s creation and varied interpretation in the Federal court system can be more clearly ascertained.

Bethany L. White
Program: History: Capstone-Thesis: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: February 2015
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Robert Young
Abstract: The following is a study of the impact that one specific city had upon not only Virginia, but also upon the entire Confederacy throughout the four years of the American Civil War. The study takes a careful look at how Lynchburg, a small city located in south-central Virginia played a very significant part and provided tremendous support to the military and Confederate government. The paper includes a review of the early years and how the introduction of the tobacco crop brought the small town in 1786 to a booming city that rivaled both Richmond and Petersburg in wealth and exports by the 1850s. When the war began, Lynchburg sent men to serve in infantry, cavalry, artillery and home guard regiments. Lynchburg also served as a major transportation hub for the Confederacy with three railroad terminals, canal boats and river travel. There were thirty-two hospitals established throughout the city that served thousands of wounded soldiers from both sides. Following the surrender at nearby Appomattox and the beginning of Reconstruction, Lynchburg citizens began the slow process of rebuilding as did thousands of communities across the defeated South. From its humble beginnings in the late 1780s through the war years of the 1860s to the Reconstruction efforts of the 1870s, I would argue that the community of Lynchburg has made a significant impact upon not only the Commonwealth of Virginia, but throughout the South.

Aida Dias
Program: History: Capstone-Practicum/Critical Reflection: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: August 2014
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Anne Millbrooke
Abstract: Oral history projects are a powerful history resource, but they present a unique set of challenges to museum professionals and are often neglected or inadequately structured as a result. My internship at the Pacific Aviation Museum in Pearl Harbor allowed me to work with a mostly digital collection of oral history interviews through the stages of cataloguing, preservation, and preparation for an exhibit. Using best practices as a guide, I addressed the challenges posed by museum’s own circumstances and availability of resources, and organized the collection in order to preserve it and make it useful and accessible. When working with similar projects, a simple organizational system can go a long way in ensuring the collection is not only preserved, but also accessible and manageable. Planning for the future concerning matters of obsolete technology, transcribing, and potential exhibits can simplify the work of museum professionals and make the best use of the invaluable resource that is oral history.

Brent A. McKee
Program: History: Capstone-Practicum/Critical Reflection: Master of Arts (MA)
Awarded: March 2014
Capstone Instructor: Dr. Anne Millbrooke
Abstract: My practicum was an online photograph exhibit, designed primarily for a prospective labor history museum, displaying the accomplishments of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Maryland, between the years 1935 and 1943. This project consisted of (a) the selection of 24 historic photographs from the University of Maryland College Park Archives (as well as some supplemental images from other sources), (b) a review of WPA literature and resources, (c) a review of exhibit label literature, (d) a review of some online exhibits from leading institutions, (e) the creation of exhibit labels, and (f) the creation of the actual online exhibit. My practicum totaled over 200 hours of research and exhibit work.