"The verdict is in: the Civil War was won in the West--that is, in the nation's heartland, between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. Yet, a person who follows the literature on the war might still think that it was the conflict in Virginia that ultimately deci…
Presenting the case for the decisiveness of the Civil War's western theater, Woodworth provides a fast-paced overview of the conflict between the Appalachians and the Mississippi.
This dissertation examines how voters reward politicians for the provisioning of a new service. Using new data on the expansion of access to electricity under the Tennessee Valley Authority, this study asks if voters reward politicians based on how much benefit they receive from…
This thesis investigates three technological attributes of prehistoric pottery production in the Sequatchie Valley of southeastern Tennessee at Sites 40SQ115/40BS101, 40BS103, and 40BS107 as a means to understand the sociopolitical influences on residential populations during th…
This thesis is a case study of African American entertainment venues and vernacular music culture in Rutherford County, Tennessee from the 1860s to the 1960s. The study utilizes spatial analysis of geolocated maps to understand the social, cultural, and historical contexts of th…
The purpose of this project was to discover ways in which associate ministers from Missionary Baptist churches in Tennessee are utilized by senior pastors for the ministry of spiritual development of their congregation. The design of the project included the administration of a …
For decades, the American Civil War has captivated academics, researchers, and the inquiring U.S. citizen. The allegiances of the states have unfortunately been grouped based on geographic location such as the North vs. South. As historians have discovered, this label does not a…
This dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of health issues among Black people in Memphis from the antebellum period through the early twentieth century. Throughout this period, slavery and Jim Crow had an inescapable effect on black Memphians’ lives. Race and gender we…
Habitat selection is an important aspect of a species' natural history, with applications specifically in the management of at-risk organisms. This study assesses habitat usage of the timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) at three different spatial scales (landscape, home range…
The purpose of this project was to write a premarital counseling curriculum for Christians preparing to get remarried. In order to write an effective curriculum, seventeen Christian couples in second marriages were interviewed. Their life experiences and how they overcame the ad…
Popular narratives and public history institutions purposefully or incidentally erase Native contributions to Tennessee’s geography. However, the settlement and mapping of Tennessee was built on Native precedents. White settlers followed Native settlement patterns and early Tenn…
This thesis explores the challenges faced by rural county seats across the South as consumer and travel preferences have changed throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. I used the case study approach, selecting Hickman County, a rural county in Middle…
Households provide a glimpse into the everyday life of a small group of individuals. When studied systematically we can learn how households fit into the social, economic, and political systems practiced by the larger community. I explore socio-economic household status in the M…
Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau played host to some of the most dramatic military maneuvering of the Civil War. Straddling the entire state of Tennessee, the formidable tableland proved to be a maze of topographical pitfalls and a morass of divided loyalties. As Federal forces so…
Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau played host to some of the most dramatic military maneuvering of the Civil War. As Federal forces sought to capitalize on the capture of Nashville, they moved into a region split by the most vicious guerrilla warfare outside Missouri. The bitter co…
The Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Scopes Trial and the battle over evolution and creation in America's schools In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the twentieth century's most contentious courtroom dramas, pitting…