Tom (Thomas) Isern - Thesis Committee

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    But the Roots Remain: The Wisconsin Progressives in the Great Depression and Post-War Era
    (North Dakota State University, 2012) McCollum, Daniel David
    This work is concerned with the development of the Progressives, a political faction of the Republican Party which was active in Wisconsin during the first half of the 20th century, throughout the Great Depression, and the Post-War era. It was during this period that the Progressives broke with the Republican Party, formed the Progressive Party and gained control of the state from 1934 through 1938, before finally dissolving in 1946, with many members moving into the Democratic Party, where they rejuvenated that moribund state party. This work, furthermore, focuses on the those Progressive leaders who operated in Wisconsin’s northern counties, a region which had a long tradition of Progressivism, the influence they had upon the creation of the Progressive Party and the political realignment which followed its dissolution.
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    Construction, Adaptation, and Preservation of Earth Homes on the Northern Plains
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Kurtz, Robert Kevin
    The earth home, in its many varieties and styles, played an important role in the development of the American Great Plains during the mid-nineteenth century. However, the lack of further study into the material culture of these homes has allowed many of these homes to be misrepresented in the historical record as temporary shelters. Not all of the earth homes constructed during this period were temporary. Further study of the materials used, the locations in which they were built, and their construction methods suggest that many of these homes were built to last. The three case studies used in this thesis represent a large number of earth homes still standing today. The findings of this study enhance the history of the region and open up new avenues for further research on earth homes as well as the possibilities and the importance of their preservation.
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    Drought, Depression, and Relief: The Agricultural Adjustment Wheat Reduction Program in North Dakota during the Great Depression
    (North Dakota State University, 2012) Gostanzik, Brent Alan
    The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Agricultural Adjustment Wheat Reduction Program functioned in North Dakota from May of 1933 to January of 1936, why it ran so smoothly, and why it was such a success within the state. By using county Extension Agent reports that date from the time period this thesis uses an extensive number of primary sources that have not been used before. These reports, along with farmer journal accounts, newspaper articles, and Agricultural Adjustment Administration reports show that North Dakota wheat farmers openly embraced the policies of the Wheat Reduction Program and participated in it in higher numbers than any other state in the nation. The farmers embraced the program because the drought and economic depression they were facing left let them little choice, but also because the program did not seek to radically alter the structure of wheat farming in North Dakota.
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    "The Indians may be led, but will not be drove": The Creek Nation's Struggle for Control of Its Destiny, 1783-1795
    (North Dakota State University, 2016) Cummings, William
    History tends to portray the interactions between Euro-American settlers and native Indian Nations as one in which Euro-American settlers imposed dominance on the Indians. This work takes an in-depth look at the relationship between the Creek Nation and the Euro-American settlers of Georgia in the early years of the American republic and shows the Creeks in control of their own destiny, as well as the destiny of Georgia and the young republic. The core argument is that the nature of the Creek nation allowed them to maintain autonomy while affecting the physical development of the United States. From Massachusetts to Carolina various Native American nations had tried to fend off Euro-American expansion but were forced off their land in short order. The Creek Nation considered Georgia and its settlers to be usurpers without valid claim to Indian land, and put forth a near impenetrable defense of their claim for over a decade. The Creeks steadfastly maintained their claim to the land between the Ogeechee River and the Oconee River, and declared war to enforce the boundary on their terms. In their struggle, primarily with the state of Georgia, new leaders emerged and new polities replaced old traditions. This was a significant accomplishment when one considers the lack of any form of political unity around which to take a stand against the expansionist plans of Georgia. This study will show that the Creeks succeeded because a common determination united the nation in its opposition to Georgia’s attempts to take their land, while its political disunity prevented any group less than the whole from negotiating effectively concerning their land.
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    Petroleum Exploration History in North Dakota to 1951
    (North Dakota State University, 2013) Herz, Clarence Anthony
    The delayed discovery of oil in North Dakota resulted from remoteness, environment, and economic disadvantage, three of the six themes of Elwyn B. Robinson. Initially, lacking outside capital, the local explorers turned to their communities from 1917 to 1935 to raise the capital necessary to search for oil. As a result a complex group united to raise the capital necessary, but did not discover oil. The Great Depression ushered in the era of outside capital from 1937 to the successful discovery of oil on April 4, 1951. During this entire exploration period the state legislature, restricted by a lack of tax revenue, was unable to properly fund the North Dakota Geologic Survey. The survey achieved only marginal success throughout this exploration period. This history of early petroleum exploration not only enhances public knowledge but also lays the groundwork for further research toward a complete history of the industry.
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    “Read and Be Convinced”: The Image of the Nonpartisan League in Its Creative Production, the Early Histories, and Wider Popular Culture
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Hest, John
    In this thesis, I examine the image of the Nonpartisan League in several different contexts, arguing that the League carefully crafted their advocative political image and their opponents painted them as disloyal socialists. The Nonpartisan League was an agrarian radical political movement beginning in North Dakota in 1915, and both its proponents and opponents created powerful images of it. I first examine the creative output of two Leaguers, the poet Florence Borner and the cartoonist John Miller Baer. I then transition to four competing histories of the Nonpartisan League, published from 1920-21, by Herbert Gaston, Charles Edward Russell, William Langer, and Andrew Bruce, all of whom craft divergent images of the League dependent upon their vantage point. I close with a look at the image of the League within wider popular culture, examining Main Street by Sinclair Lewis, the public statements of Theodore Roosevelt, and the 1978 film Northern Lights.
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    The Upper Musselshell Valley: A Grassroots and Bioregional History
    (North Dakota State University, 2012) Lewis, Miles Dwight
    The Upper Musselshell Valley: A Grassroots and Bioregional History chronicles the history of central Montana's Upper Musselshell Valley in an attempt to craft a viable history of region. As a corrective measure or alternate explanation that revises not only historical interpretation, but also takes into account who, or what group, is the driving force behind each distinct narrative stream (i.e. grand narrative history--histories penned by professional scholars and academics--or grassroots perspectives, the history of region as told by local dwellers), which stream is or is not authoritative, and how to modify, adjust, or meld the various interpretations in order to arrive at a more judicious, perceptive, and democratic version of history. The New Regional History is a coalescence of the grand narrative, the grassroots perspective, bioregionalism, and memory studies that is concerned with humankind's interaction with the physical environment, and the succession of cultures within that environment. It examines the use of historical memory in the creation of regional identity in order to expose and explain regional anomalies while providing synthesis and maintaining a stance of critical scholarship. This is much more than a localized case study; it is a novel approach to the history of region that incorporates local and professional scholarship in order craft a much more viable and judicious history of place. The Upper Musselshell Valley of central Montana provides a strong proving ground for a New Regional History. It is a place rich in regional history and lore, provided by a long tradition of local narrators, while fitting within most of the grand narrative paradigms of Montana and the Great Plains in general. As with most comparable regions within the Great Plains, the Upper Musselshell Valley has never been held up to such a standard.