A Moment in History Relevant to the Modern Era

April 6, 1917 is a date that deserves great recognition and remembrance in the United States. On that day, the United States chose to enter a war that it had previously so ardently tried to avoid. Upon entrance, the United States forged a new national identity that looked past racial and religious barriers with a new mission to protect global democracy. On April 6, 2017, the 100th anniversary of America entering the First World War, news and other media throughout the United States seemed to care so little about the significance of the date and unfortunately passed over an excellent history lesson. Despite the current division in the United States, the country has dealt with it before. Reforging a new national identity was the solution in 1917. Perhaps it is the solution needed in 2017

Best of Intentions?: Rinderpest, Containment Practices, and Rebellion in Rhodesia in 1896

Rinderpest was a deadly bovine virus that plagued cattle herds across Europe and Asia for centuries. In the late 1880’s-early 1890’s, the virus found its way to the African continent where it wreaked immense havoc among the unimmune herds of African pastoralists and agriculturalists. By February 1896, the virus had crossed the Rhodesian border along the Zambezi River and began killing off cattle owned by ethnic groups like the Matabele and Shona, as well as those owned by white settlers. In an effort to contain the virus, the British South African Company consulted with colonial officials from the Cape Colony, who in turn advised the local police in Rhodesia to practice quarantines of cattle herds and to begin legal mass killings of sick and healthy cattle to create a buffer zone. The harsh practices of legalized killings of cattle, coupled with an already pre-existing tense political situation, convinced the Matabele to take a stand against the colonial state in an act of rebellion

Saving Grace on Feathered Wings: Homing Pigeons in the First World War

Soldiers of the First World War came in all shapes and sizes. The humble homing pigeon is one of the more unique and critical examples of such. They served in the armed forces of both the Allies and the Central Powers. Used as a last-ditch form of communication, the homing pigeons were exceptional in the work of sending messages back and forth between the battle lines. Little has been written about their vital role and even less in the rigorous training the birds and their handlers both endured. Understanding their training is critical to understanding how the homing pigeons performed so well under the extreme conditions of combat

Saving Grace on Feathered Wings: Homing Pigeons in the First World War

Soldiers of the First World War came in all shapes and sizes. The humble homing pigeon is one of the more unique and critical examples of such. They served in the armed forces of both the Allies and the Central Powers. Used as a last-ditch form of communication, the homing pigeons were exceptional in the work of sending messages back and forth between the battle lines. Little has been written about their vital role and even less in the rigorous training the birds and their handlers both endured. Understanding their training is critical to understanding how the homing pigeons performed so well under the extreme conditions of combat

Best of Intentions?: Rinderpest, Containment Practices, and Rebellion in Rhodesia in 1896

Rinderpest was a deadly bovine virus that plagued cattle herds accross Europe and Asia for centuries. In the late 1880s to early 1890s, the virus found its way to Africa, where it wiped out thousands of non-immune cattle herds belonging to African pastoralists and agriculturalists. By February 1896, the virus had crossed the Rhodesian border along the Zambezi River and began killing off cattle owned by ethnic groups that included the Matabele and the Shona, as well as cattle owned by white settlers. In an effort to contain the virus, the British South African Company consulted with colonial officials in the Cape Colony, who in turn advised the local police in Rhodesia to practice quarantines of cattle herds and authorized the shooting of sick and healthy cattle in order to create a buffer zone against the virus. The harsh practices of the legalized killing of cattle, coupled with a pre-existing tense political situation, convinced the Matabele people to take an armed stand against the colonial state

Exercise in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Before 1980, the effects of exercise on people with rheumatoid arthritis was considered negative, even though no research substantiated this belief. Medical professionals prescribed rest and passive exercise as the activity level for people with rheumatoid arthritis. So, the patients rested and developed many of the problems associated with inactivity. This resulted in more disability and less people with rheumatoid arthritis in the work force. This paper is a literature search which examines current research on exercise in rheumatoid arthritis. It attempts to answer many of the questions asked about exercising with rheumatoid arthritis. Discussed are the topics of deconditioning, the effects of inactivity, effects of exercise, how to exercise, and whether exercise causes joint damage. It was concluded that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are severely deconditioned. They can exercise both safely and effectively. Exercise, when completed under controlled conditions, affects an increase in flexibility, strength, cardiovascular endurance, work capacity, mental status and the patients ability to cope with their disease. No joint damage was found as a result of exercise, and evidence exists that exercise can reduce the severity of the disease

Oppression and Dispossession out of Fields of Plenty: Colonialism and Indigenous Agricultural Transformation

Colonial encounters generate incredible degrees of societal transformation. Such transformations most often occur at the expense of the colonized majority and ultimately serve as means to benefit the colonizer minority. A specific case where this kind of unbalanced societal change can be observed is colonialism-induced transformations to indigenous agriculture. In this paper I use both ancient and modern examples of colonial encounters —Roman Gaul and French West Africa—to show that a number of conclusions can be drawn on how colonialism impacts indigenous agriculture. I argue that in both Roman Gaul and French West Africa, colonial-induced changes to agriculture brought forth negative consequences for the indigenous populations because they lost their sovereign control over the means of agricultural production and crop production was altered in such a manner that rarely benefited rural farming populations

Letter from the Editors

In the midst of social unrest and a global pandemic, we, the editors of the Gettysburg Historical Journal, could not forget our duty to publish undergraduate academic scholarship. Although this task may seem trivial considering greater issues, historical discourse deserves its place

Letter from the Editors

The Gettysburg Historical Journal embodies the History Department\u27s dedication to diverse learning and excellence in academics. Each year, the Journal publishes the top student work in a range of topics across the spectrum of academic disciplines with different methodological approaches to the study of history. In the words of Marc Bloch, author of The Historian\u27s Craft, history is neither watchmaking nor cabinet construction. It is an endeavor toward better understanding. In the spirit of this maxim, our authors strive to elucidate the many facets of human societies and cultures. Whether this research is focused on politics, religion, economics, environmental history, or women, gender, and sexuality studies, the editorial staff is consistently proud of the diverse subject matter we select for publication. [excerpt

Letter from the Editors

The Gettysburg Historical Journal embodies the History Department’s dedication to diverse learning and excellence in academics. Each year, the journal publishes the top student work in a range of topics across the spectrum of academic disciplines with different mythological approaches to the study of history. In the word of Marc Bloch, author of The Historian’s Craft, “history is neither watchmaking nor cabinet construction. It is an endeavor toward better understanding.” In the spirit of this maxim, our authors strive to elucidate the many facets of human societies and cultures. Whether this research is focused on politics, religion, economics, environmental history, or women, gender, and sexuality studies, the editorial staff is consistently proud of the diverse subject matter we select for publication