The Evolution of Frederick Douglass’ Slavery Debate: An Examination of his Rhetoric

From leading the Abolitionist movement to holding a lecture tour abroad, Frederick Douglass is well known for championing racial justice and leaving a legacy of exposing the evils of slavery. Scholars have primarily focused on Douglass’ actions as an abolitionist but not on the evolution of his thinking about slavery. While Douglass’ actions, such as in the Abolitionist movement, are discussed in-depth amongst academic circles, there is oversight regarding looking at his arguments about slavery. Douglass’ rhetoric was impacted by his experiences traveling abroad when he gave lectures in the British Isles between 1845-1847. This thesis examines speeches given by Frederick Douglass between 1841 and 1894 illustrating the evolution of his slavery rhetoric. Using content analysis, 14 speeches are coded to understand how Douglass framed the issue of slavery across his lifetime. This thesis improves our understanding of Douglass as a person, an orator, and his views about the human condition. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate how Douglass’ slavery rhetoric changed before, during, and after his lecture tour in the British Isles. Before Douglass went abroad (1845) his speeches showed more religious framing, during his time in the British Isles (1845 - 1847) he used moral framing, and after 1847 he used political framing

Without Local Newspapers, Can We Save Our Democracy? An Analysis of Political Culture, Voter Turnout, and Civic Engagement

Since the 1830s, newspapers have been accessible to all members of the public in the United States regardless of socio-economic status. Newspapers are important political information providers. Local journalists provide invaluable expertise for the community they serve about community-level problems, local elections, and help hold government accountable. If news organizations cannot afford to sustain a local newspaper and its staff, the result is a news desert for the community. While recent research has examined the decline of local newspapers, little has been done on how the decline of local newspapers affects civic engagement and voter turnout across the United States. To what extent do local newspapers contribute to civic engagement? Using Daniel Elazar’s (1966) typology of a state’s political culture, this thesis hypothesizes that moralistic states have fewer news deserts, higher voter turnout, and higher civic engagement than individualistic and traditionalistic states. This thesis did not find a clear distinction of moralistic states being the highest in voter turnout, in civic engagement, and lower in news desert concentration, but it appears that moralistic states have higher voter turnout in the 2014 midterm election across the board and have news deserts growing at the slowest rate compared to the individualistic and traditionalistic typologies. The health of our democratic republic requires civic engagement, and people need access to quality information to participate and cast their ballots

How do Black Congressional Members Frame the Issue of Gun Violence? An Analysis of Twitter Posts, Speeches, and Press Releases from the 117th Congress

Black Americans are disproportionately affected by gun violence. In fact, in 2022 Black Americans were projected to be ten times more likely than White Americans to die by gun homicide.1 One of the responsibilities of Congress is to represent people within their district by developing and voting on legislation that protects constituents by making their communities safer. It is the responsibility of Congress to address the issue of gun violence because it is an issue that jeopardizes the safety of many American communities, as there are roughly 100,000 victims of gun violence each year.2 Research has shown that the race of a Congressional member impacts how they frame issues that constituents face in their districts, especially issues that disproportionately affect minority groups. Most scholarship focuses on whether minority Congressional officials are more concerned with minority issues. Through researching Black Congressional members’ communication surrounding gun violence, this thesis will fill a gap in the literature by focusing on how Black Congressional members specifically frame the issue of gun violence, an issue that disproportionately affects Black American citizens. This thesis asks the question of how members of the 117th Congress, who identify as Black, frame the issue of gun violence? Using content analysis, this thesis analyzes speeches, press releases, and Twitter posts published by Black members of the 117th Congress. The results of this thesis suggest that Black Congressional members are more likely to frame the issue of gun violence as it pertains to the Black community if they represent an urban district that suffers from gun violence at a higher rate than the national average. This thesis contributes to the literature about how racial identity affects how elected officials frame issues, specifically issues that pose more of a threat to people of color

Asymmetric Threats: Analyzing the Future of Nuclear Terrorism & Cyber Attacks; The Value of Deterrence Theory for Addressing the Challenges of Nuclear Terrorism in the age of 21st Century Cybersecurity

Given the rapid development and ease of access to technology, the threat of extremist organizations utilizing cyberspace as a means to target critical American strategic infrastructure is of increasing concern. The risk posed by the acquisition of fissile material, sabotage, or use of a nuclear device by an extremist organization has been exasperated due to technological development outpacing strategy. Despite policy-makers’ attempts to protect the public from cyber-attacks and nuclear terrorism, the federal policies in place have failed to account for the continual evolution of technology and the gaps in security that this advancement brings. Through examining documents from congressional and bureaucratic agencies using content analysis, this study examines whether or not policymakers, congressional or bureaucratic, use deterrence theory when they make policy, suggestions, rules, and guidelines. This thesis asks how U.S. policy regarding nuclear terrorism has changed given a rise in cyberthreats? This thesis also asks a second question: Which federal agency is most capable of dealing with cyberthreats concerning nuclear terrorism? The findings of this research concluded that as cyberthreats continued to develop, policymakers using deterrence theory shifted to using previous waves of deterrence theory, primarily dealing with rivalry and competitive threats. In addition, this research finds that intelligence agencies are the most capable federal agencies in proving guidelines and informing future policymakers

Presidential Rhetoric about Immigration from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump

The United States is known as the “land of opportunity” where many seek safety, economic prosperity, and freedom. The U.S is a nation built by immigrants. While achieving the American Dream has never been easy, the U.S has a population of over 45 million migrants. Immigration policy is a federal responsibility and, as such, requires presidential leadership. Presidents have had to address the issue and have done so differently. For example, during one of the 1980 Republican primary debates, George H.W Bush and Ronald Reagan both agreed that building a relationship with its Mexican neighbor was important for the United States to do. Yet, in 2016, Donald Trump entered into the presidential election using anti-immigration rhetoric, calling Mexican migrants criminals and rapists and blaming Mexico for sending them to the United States. Research has shown the use and power of presidential rhetoric. Understanding how presidents have talked about the issue of immigration is important and this thesis asks: How have presidents both as candidates and once in office talked about immigration policy? Using content analysis, I examine inaugural addresses, policy speeches, presidential debates and statements from 1981 to 2020 to understand how Democratic and Republican presidents have talked about immigration policy as candidates and once in office

Perception vs. Reality: The Influence of Civic Experiences in High School on Adult Civic Engagement

Research on political socialization has shown that individuals’ families and education play a significant role in their later political actions and attitudes, but more needs to be understood on how large the role of education is and, specifically, what impact secondary education has on people’s political socialization. Literature suggests that educational standards that require more civics or social science courses are more effective in creating civically engaged individuals, and curriculums that employ service learning and experiential learning techniques are even more effective at increasing civic engagement, but to what extent does a person\u27s perception of their educational experience factor into their adult civic engagement? This thesis examines how young adults perceive the impact of their high school social science and civics curriculum on their adult civic engagement. Specifically, this thesis asks to what extent do young adults view their secondary education as being the primary impact on their civic engagement? This study uses a survey of young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 that asks questions about their civic education and civic experiences in high school and post-high school to understand what they perceive to have had the largest impact on their engagement now that they are adults. There are two hypotheses for this thesis: H1: People who had a civically involved high school experience will participate in more civic activities after high school and H2: People who had civically involved high school experiences will identify education as being the main influence on their later civic engagement. This study supported both hypotheses. It found that people who had a civically involved high school experience, either through extra classes or civic activities, were more likely to participate in a higher number of civic activities as young adults than people who did not have a civically involved high school experience. It also found that those who had more civically involved high school experiences named education as the main influence. The role secondary education plays in political socialization is crucial to understand as states continue to adapt standards and curriculums to promote civic engagement to further energize our democracy in America

Emigrants\u27 Stories of Foreign Aid and their Reasons for Emigration: Guatemalans on the Move

This single instrumental case study was designed to learn about emigrants’ reasons for emigrating, situated within the challenges and available opportunities in their home country of Guatemala. Eight emigrants (two women and six men) were interviewed to better understand their personal experiences and to examine the role of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investments, Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and Guatemala’s domestic conditions and development in participants’ decisions to emigrate to the U.S. The study was guided by the following central questions: (1) How do emigrants explain their reasons for leaving? (2) What motivates emigration in Guatemala’s domestic conditions? (3) And how are these reasons related to U.S. policies, if at all? Data were drawn from multiple sources. The literature on Guatemala’s history, and current USAID investments and impacts provides an understanding of the present context in Guatemala for emigration, and interviews with emigrants in the U.S. and Guatemala provide data on personal experiences with emigration. Primary findings were that significant economic hardship and lack of opportunity motivated emigrants’ decisions to go to the U.S. All participants, except for one, had received no development aid, and for the one who had received aid, it did not factor into his decision to emigrate. Half of the participants indicated that they would not have emigrated if development programs had offered educational opportunities and jobs. RESUMEN Este estudio instrumental de caso único está diseñado para conocer los motivos que tienen los migrantes para emigrar, en el marco de los desafíos y las oportunidades existentes en Guatemala, su país de procedencia. Se entrevistó a ocho emigrantes (dos mujeres y seis hombres) para comprender mejor sus experiencias personales y también para analizar el papel que tienen la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID, por sus siglas en inglés), el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos y Centroamérica (CAFTA, por sus siglas en inglés) y las condiciones internas de Guatemala en las decisiones que tomaron los participantes de emigrar a los EE.UU. El estudio estuvo Este estudio instrumental de caso único está diseñado para conocer los motivos que tienen los migrantes para emigrar, en el marco de los desafíos y las oportunidades existentes en Guatemala, su país de procedencia. Se entrevistó a ocho emigrantes (dos mujeres y seis hombres) para comprender mejor sus experiencias personales y también para analizar el papel que tienen la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID, por sus siglas en inglés), el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos y Centroamérica (CAFTA, por sus siglas en inglés) y las condiciones internas de Guatemala en las decisiones que tomaron los participantes de emigrar a los EE.UU. El estudio estuv

The Fragility of Democracy: The Rise of Authoritarianism in Hungary and Poland

Hungary and Poland have attempted to establish democratic systems of government since the end of Soviet occupation in 1991. Recently, both states have elected leaders who have started to manipulate their democratic institution into one that seems not so democratic; both Hungary and Poland have manipulated their judicial branch into one that now serves only their own interests. Leaders in Hungary and Poland have shown their support for regimes such as those in Russia, China, and Turkey. What factors contribute to democratically elected officials shifting towards authoritarianism in post Eastern-Bloc countries? From Samuel P Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations, to Levitsky and Ziblatt’s How Democracies Die, scholars have examined key factors that contribute to the stability and downfall of democracies. This thesis examines the countries of Hungary and Poland, whose democracies are in decline. The study expected a correlation between the loss of democracy in Hungary and Poland, as a result of their recent history as satellite states of the USSR. The case study found no direct correlation between the two countries’ history as part of the Eastern-Bloc; their authoritarian leaders were able to exploit the weaknesses of Hungary and Poland in the precise ways that allowed them to gain more power

Reclaiming the political : emancipation and critique in security studies

The critical security studies literature has been marked by a shared commitment towards the politicization of security – that is, the analysis of its assumptions, implications and the practices through which it is (re)produced. In recent years, however, politicization has been accompanied by a tendency to conceive security as connected with a logic of exclusion, totalization and even violence. This has resulted in an imbalanced politicization that weakens critique. Seeking to tackle this situation, the present article engages with contributions that have advanced emancipatory versions of security. Starting with, but going beyond, the so-called Aberystwyth School of security studies, the argument reconsiders the meaning of security as emancipation by making the case for a systematic engagement with the notions of reality and power. This revised version of security as emancipation strengthens critique by addressing political dimensions that have been underplayed in the critical security literature