Browsing by Author "Winling, LaDale C."

Now showing 1 - 18 of 18
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    20,000 Fewer: The Wagner-Rogers Bill and the Jewish Refugee Crisis
    Walters, Kathryn Perry (Virginia Tech, 2019-07-11)
    In the fall of 1938, Marion Kenworthy, child psychologist, and Clarence Pickett, director of the American Friends Service Committee, began designing a bill that would challenge the United States's government's strict immigration laws and allow persecuted children to come to the United States and live in American homes. The Wagner-Rogers Bill, named for Senator Robert Wagner of New York and Representative Edith Rogers of Massachusetts and introduced in February 1939, sought to allow the entry of 20,000 refugee children from Germany. At the time, multiple domestic factors limited the willingness of American politicians to meet this problem head on: high unemployment rates after the stock market crash in 1929, an isolationist sentiment after the impact of World War I, and xenophobia. These factors discouraged the lawmakers from revising the quota limit set on obtainable visas established by the 1924 Immigration Act and allow outsiders into the United States. These few actors who supported the Wagner-Rogers Bill reflect a hidden minority of the American public and political body that fought to help Jewish refugees by standing up to the majority of citizens and politicians against higher immigration into the United States, and the story of the this Bill demonstrates what might have been possible and illuminates 20th century models of American humanitarianism and its role in creating international refugee protection.
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    Connections Between Present-Day Water Access and Historical Redlining
    Sterling III, Charles W. (Virginia Tech, 2023-12-20)
    Although challenges in water and sanitation access are often assumed to be issues of low- and middle-income nations, over 400,000 homes in the United States still lack access to complete indoor plumbing. Previous research has demonstrated that the remaining plumbing challenges are more prevalent in communities with high Black and brown populations. This study hypothesizes that the 1930s practice of redlining by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), which systematically denied loans to minority populations, is linked to present-day inadequate plumbing access (i.e. defined as incomplete plumbing above the national average). Digitized HOLC maps for 202 urban areas across the country and US Census data from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey were combined to interpolate the modern-day plumbing access for historic neighborhoods (n=8871 communities). Analysis via binomial logistic regression demonstrated that nationally, redlined communities (HOLC Grade "D") are significantly more likely to have a rate of incomplete plumbing above the national average as compared to greenlined communities (HOLC Grade "A") (0.1352; CI= +0.036). This finding was also observed for three of the nation's four census sub-regions (Northeast, Midwest, West). Slight differences by region in relationships between the proportion of specific racial/ethnic populations on rates of incomplete plumbing demonstrate the need for targeted place-based interdisciplinary examinations of exclusionary practices. The demonstration of the present-day impacts of redlining after nearly 90 years emphasizes the need to intentionally mitigate past injustices to ensure modern-day equity. 
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    Consuming Beauty: The Impact of Prescriptive Beauty Literature on College Women, 1940-1950
    Zlokas, Rosemary E. (Virginia Tech, 2015-06-17)
    My thesis looks at prescriptive beauty messages generated during 1940-1950 by using a case study of Margaret Morrison Carnegie College. I look at formal prescriptive beauty messages (advertisements, beauty manuals) and informal beauty messages (college yearbooks, newspapers, and beauty queen campaigns) to see what types of messages were created and why. I situate changes in these messages in a timeline of national culture, as it existed before, during, and after World War II. I then compare these messages by looking at which prescriptions were adapted by MMCC women as a group. I argue that these young women adopted an adapted version of the two prescriptions by following the advice given on a national level but also shaping their appearances based on what was occurring on campus. I infer that one set of prescriptions cannot exist in a vacuum; there will be a set of overarching goals to strive for, as well as a set based on standards within her immediate environment. The digital component to this project is available at www.consumingbeauty.com.
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    Germans on the Western Waters: Artisans, Material Culture, and Hybridity in Virginia's Backcountry, 1780-1830
    Slough, Spenser David (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-13)
    This study examines the socioeconomic lives of artisans of German descent who worked within Wythe County, Virginia from 1780 to 1830. It is particularly concerned with how a distinct German-American culture manifests over time as seen through these artisans' produced materials and structures. This thesis traces this manifestation through a careful examination of Wythe material culture, wills, probates, inventories, court records, account books, receipts, invoices, census records, personal correspondence, and personal property tax assessments. Scholars of early America and the southern backcountry have often narrated German cultural identity transformations along the lines of language and marriages. This work diverts from those tendencies, thereby complicating prior understanding of German-Americans settlement and development patterns in early America. Beginning in the 1780s entire German families, neighborhoods, and communities left their prior American homes and settled within a relatively unsettled area of southwest Virginia. These predominately second-generation German descendants brought with them to the backcountry a culturally-constructed material culture lexicon passed onto them by their ancestors. This thesis argues that artisans of Wythe County operated as major agents of economic and social development while also providing a hybridized cultural resource for their neighbors and surrounding Great Road communities. These German families and congregations, composed of farmers, hausfrauen (housekeepers), and craftsmen by trade, sought to maintain a familiar and distinct cultural landscape and ethos through the many wares and structures they produced. These German neighborhoods accommodated and diversified their trades to fit within a burgeoning early-American society while still aware of their predominately German community's cultural character and needs.
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    The Gerrymander: The politics of redistricting
    Fralin, Scott; Winling, LaDale C. (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-15)
    Gerrymandering is as old as Congress itself. Patrick Henry, the anti-federalist governor of Virginia, drew a Congressional district from five counties -- Orange, Albemarle, Spotsylvania, Louisa, and Culpeper -- to try to dilute federalist support for James Madison in 1788, the first Congressional election. The term gerrymander comes from an 1812 cartoon depicting a legislative district in Massachusetts devised by governor Elbridge Gerry that snaked through several counties inland from Salisbury. One newspaperman said it looked like a salamander, while a cartoonist called it “a Gerrymander,” and drew the cartoon that is the featured image of the exhibit. In an era of partisan polarization, the specter of the gerrymander looms over American politics, at multiple levels. Redistricting is a legal process of reshaping geographical districts to keep up with a changing and moving population, but gerrymandering draws district boundaries to favor one party. This exhibit, by students in the graduate course in Digital History, uses spatial research techniques and digital media with historical research to explore some of the issues of federal and local gerrymandering. 2019/04/15 - 2019/07/08
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    Heritage Cities and the Encroaching Seas: The Preservation of Venice with Reference to Rhodes Town, Edinburgh Castle, and Old San Juan
    Cooper, Kelly Lee (Virginia Tech, 2019-09-19)
    This thesis examines the preservation challenges heritage cities face because of climate change, with Venice as a case study and references to Rhodes Town, Edinburgh Castle, and Old San Juan. Dominant literature and scholarship on Venice compete with one another, restricting opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and dialogue in producing a more efficient preservation approach to the city. Through a study of the brief history of Venice, the materials, and past and present approaches to preservation, this research signifies the need to understand and preserve building materials. Following an analysis of the scholarship on Venice, this paper reveals the role of building materials in discourse on the city, as materials can bridge the gap among competing literature. Therefore, this thesis makes a key contribution to the understanding of urban history and preserving historic cities. In exploring preservation techniques and considering how the discourse can more effectively address the challenges of sea level rise of historic cities, this thesis argues the history of materials is key to a cohesive preservation approach for Venice's built heritage. The building materials are at the center of the preservation issue, and by serving as the core of dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, a more efficient approach to preserving the city's local and global heritage will occur. This thesis shows historic building materials can become central to Venice's preservation approach with increased vocal concerns about the building materials from restorers/conservators, non-governing residents, art historians, scientists, and global onlookers to Venice's local government, the Italian government, and international preservation bodies. In exploring preservation techniques and considering how the discourse can develop to address the challenges of sea level rise more effectively on historic cities, this thesis argues the history of materials is key to a cohesive preservation approach for Venice's built heritage. The building materials are at the center of the preservation issue, and by serving as the core of dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration, a more efficient approach to preserving the city's local and global heritage will occur. This thesis shows historic building materials can become central to Venice's preservation approach with increased vocal concerns about the building materials from restorers/conservators, non-governing residents, art historians, scientists, and global on-lookers to Venice's local government, the Italian government, and international preservation bodies.
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    Indian and American Demography, Expertise, and the Family Planning Consensus: 1930-1970
    Bolin, Nicholas John (Virginia Tech, 2019-11-19)
    Indian population policy in the twentieth century was shaped by a blend of unique Indian concerns about population growth, legacies of British colonialism, and American foreign aid. This blend of influences resulted in the first national family planning program in the world.
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    Indigeneity on Display: Ethnographic Adventure Film in Amazonia
    Attridge, Jeffrey Nathaniel (Virginia Tech, 2017-05-18)
    This paper seeks to explore the early twentieth century trend of ethnographic adventure filmmaking. A subgenre of the ethnographic film, these works blended ethnographic observations with scripted and staged adventure stories, advancing popular tropes of indigenous first contact and the superiority of Western civilization. Focusing on a 1931 expedition to the Amazon which resulted in the creation of the first sync-sound ethnographic adventure film, titled Matto Grosso: The Great Brazilian Wilderness, I argue that despite flaws in its conception, production, and media coverage, this film serves as an example of how non-academic sources of knowledge production can still create important primary documents for indigenous source communities.
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    Making Their Mark: World War I Memorial and Commemoration Formation by Veterans in Johnson City, TN, 1922-1935
    Ailstock, Mason Blevins (Virginia Tech, 2018-02-01)
    Soldiers and civilians alike sought to make sense of the war following the silencing of the guns with the signing of the armistice in 1918. One of the foremost veteran groups leading this effort was the American Legion, founded in 1919. This World War I veteran organization would provide an outlet for Great War veterans to share camaraderie, interact with their local communities, and ultimately pay homage to their fallen brothers in arms. In line with the national organization's agenda and programs, the American Legion Kings Mountain Post No. 24 in Johnson City, TN executed two very different versions of WWI memorialization, one built in 1922 and another in 1935. These two memorials served the community in vastly different ways throughout the 1900s. The first was a commemorative marker and the second was a community centerpiece. In this paper, I argue that the differences between two World War I memorials in Johnson City are demonstrative of how the community progressively oriented its identity and infrastructures around Great War veterans following the conflict. Johnson City's physical and memorial landscapes changed as the city sought to reconcile the war and its survivors. Each memorial served veterans and the larger community in ways that aligned with both the veterans' needs and larger social contexts of Johnson City at the times of their creations. Ultimately, the memorials were intended to serve very different purposes within the community. Both veterans and nonveterans in the community responded more favorably to the 1935 Johnson City WWI memorial initially, and then continued to utilize it much more frequently throughout the twentieth century. It was a memorial that was intended to be interacted with regularly. The second memorial's central role in the community was cemented by how the memorial's placement and style differed from its predecessor. The second memorial was more accessible to the public, partnered with a more prominent municipal facility, had an expanded scope, and utilized nationalistic iconography. These key differences are a result of the community's increased dedication to Great War veterans by 1935. As care for World War I veterans became a central component of the city, so did memorializing the conflict.
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    New Town: Across the Color Line
    Winling, LaDale C.; Bolt, Carmen; Fralin, Scott (Virginia Tech, 2015-10-05)
    “Remembering New Town” is an exhibit project intended to describe and interpret one of Blacksburg’s African American neighborhoods. It will focus most heavily on the period 1900 to 1940. The exhibit is part of the VT Public History program’s ongoing engagement with local history and public audiences. In particular, VT PH makes efforts to excavate and bring to light the history of lost, forgotten, or marginalized groups and events. The New Town community was founded and grew along with VAMC/VPI through the better part of a century and eventually dissolved as Virginia Tech grew into the large university it is today. Virginia Tech led redevelopment of the area in the early 2000s and most of the traces of New Town are now lost to the history. The African American community was central to Montgomery County and Blacksburg history. Especially since New Town was so proximate to VT, this history will be of great interest to the VT community. Finally, this exhibit will emphasize the geography and spatial dynamics of New Town, which will lend itself to an engaging and experiential exhibit form. 2015/10/05 - 2015/11/20
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    Preservation Photography
    Fralin, Scott; Winling, LaDale C. (Virginia Tech, 2017-12-07)
    Photography exhibit that weaves together the history of photography, the history of historic preservation, and the career of a preservation photographer with the Historic American Buildings Survey, the late Jack Boucher. The preservation of the built environment relies upon the photographic image. Preservationists use photography to document conditions at particular moments in time and to make aesthetic and emotional cases for the veneration and preservation of buildings through compelling, nostalgic, or critical visual rhetoric. Though photographic technology has changed, the importance of photography to preservation remains undiminished. 2017/12/07 - 2018/03/02
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    Promoting Positivity: Securing Memphis's Image in Times of Crisis
    Nehrt, Jennifer Lynn (Virginia Tech, 2017-06-29)
    Situating the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis's long history shows how concern over Memphis's national reputation influenced how city leaders dealt with crisis. Throughout its history, Memphis government officials and business leaders promoted Memphis as a good city to do business, free from disease and racial strife. Despite their best efforts, they could not deny explosive incidents of racially-based violence or disease outbreaks. Instead, they tried to mitigate negative repercussions on the local economy during times of crisis. When the 1878 yellow fever epidemic struck, the Citizen's Relief Committee, the impromptu government formed by business leaders after outbreak, promoted Memphis as a functioning white city that was operating the best it could under terrible circumstances so the city could resume normal economic activity once the fever passed. This became the dominant narrative, repeated by newspapers across the country in 1878 and historians today. This narrative is problematic because it ignores black Memphians, who composed of 80% of the city's population after outbreak. Instead of recognizing black Memphians participation in relief activities, they promoted stories in the media about lazy or riotous African Americans to justify denying sufficient aid to the black community. Catholics had better luck earning the gratitude of Memphis's leaders. They worked with the white government and charities as nurses and fundraisers, and earned a glowing reputation in national newspapers. The inclusion of African Americans and Catholics in this thesis tells a more complete story and challenges white Memphians' carefully cultivated narrative.
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    Redlining Virginia: The Home Owner's Loan Corporation and Racial Segregation
    Fralin, Scott; Winling, LaDale C. (Virginia Tech, 2016-12-07)
    This exhibit explores the actions of Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) in Virginia and its impact on Virginia cities. Congress created the HOLC in 1933 to rescue the real estate industry and restructure the home mortgage market. The HOLC promoted racial covenants in deeds to prevent mixed-race neighborhoods and created color-coded maps of American cities that made race a key factor in assessing financial risk. 2016/12/07 - 2017/02/10
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    Shaping the City from Below: Urban Planning and Citizens' Battle for Control in Roanoke, Virginia, 1907-1928
    Harmon, Emily Blair (Virginia Tech, 2018-05-31)
    In 2017, urban planners in Roanoke, Virginia, created a plan to construct a new public space that will honor the city's first professional city planner, John Nolen. Nolen is now considered a founder of the urban planning profession in the United States. Roanoke officials hope to celebrate the city's connection with Nolen and emphasize his influence over Roanoke's development. Similarly, historical narratives about urban planning focus on male city planners while ignoring citizens' contributions. Urban histories, on the other hand, concentrate on large metropolitan areas in the urban North. By combining urban history, women's history, and southern history, this thesis seeks to understand how diverse citizens in a small city of Southwest Virginia shaped the city. Beneath the surface of John Nolen and professional city planning, upper-class white women, African Americans, and male city leaders and businessmen, engaged in a dynamic power play over Roanoke's built environment.  As they engaged in this battle for control, citizens shaped Roanoke from below. Wealthy Roanokers partnered with John Nolen to assert power over other citizens and to shape the city in their own interests. By uncovering the story of a southern city's development in the early twentieth century, this thesis exposes the ways in which southern citizens shaped urban spaces to exert power over other citizens and engage in a battle for control over the urban environment.
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    The Steep Climb to Low Earth Orbit: A History of the Space Elevator Community's Battle Against the Rocket Paradigm
    Pearson, Derek J. (Virginia Tech, 2022-06-13)
    This thesis examines the growth of the space elevator community in America from 1975 to 2010. It argues that the continued practical failures of the space elevator, a proposed technology for efficiently transporting payloads and people into space without conventional propulsion sources, resulted from a technological paradigm built around the rocket and supported by a traditional engineering culture. After its triumph in landing men on the Moon from 1969 to 1972, the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sought to advance novel concepts for further space exploration, but it fumbled in pursuing nontraditional notions of escaping the atmosphere such as the space elevator. Employing interviews with space elevator advocates Bradley Edwards and Michael Laine and other primary and secondary sources, this thesis also draws on concepts such as technological paradigms, engineering cultures, and the technological sublime. It concludes by demonstrating how success eluded the marginalized space elevator researchers who found themselves grappling with the vast social and technical system that supported the rocket's hegemony.
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    Virginia Tech GIS & Remote Sensing 2014 Research Symposium - The Spatial Turn and GIS in U.S. Urban History: The Case of Redlining Dr. LaDale Winling, Assistant Professor, Department of History
    Winling, LaDale C. (2014-05-13)
    The Spatial Turn and GIS in U.S. Urban History: The Case of Redlining Dr. LaDale Winling, Assistant Professor, Department of History. The annual 2014 Virginia Tech GIS and Remote Sensing Research Symposium provides a venue to share information about recent advances in geographic information systems and remote sensing applications and research. The Symposium focuses on interaction among participants and the sharing of data, applications, and techniques. It includes both presentation and poster sessions as well as a keynote speaker.
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    We don't want them in our schools: Black School Equality, Desegregation, and Massive Resistance in Southwest Virginia, 1920s-1960s
    Dean, Amanda Brooke (Virginia Tech, 2023-05-23)
    This project examines the activism of Black parents, students, and citizens who fought to obtain school equality and desegregation from the 1920s until the 1960s in southwest Virginia and consequently the resistance from White residents and officials. Resistance to the status quo of inequality between Black and White schools in Pulaski County, Virginia began as early as the 1920s. This activism continued through the 1930s and 1940s, with it finally leading NAACP attorneys Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson collaborating with Pulaski citizens in 1948 to file a discrimination lawsuit in the case Corbin v. School Board of Pulaski County. The activism did not end here as once the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional, Black residents in southwest Virginia localities such as Floyd, Galax, Grayson, and Pulaski worked together with NAACP attorney Reuben Lawson to file multiple lawsuits so Black students could attend White schools. Many of these lawsuits faced staunch resistance from White residents of these localities, even with the threat of closing schools due to Virginia's policy of Massive Resistance. I argue that looking at localities such as Pulaski, Floyd, Galax, and Grayson helps situate southwest Virginia into the larger context of Virginia history in terms of examining resistance, fighting for equality, and pushing desegregation in the area during the middle of the twentieth century. Black citizens in the western part of Virginia faced resistance from the White citizens, but they persevered with their activism in the courts and hometowns which ultimately contributed to the dismantling of segregated schools in Virginia. They pushed for equality within segregation and then for desegregation in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Examining the historiography of school equality and desegregation in Virginia demonstrates that there is an overgeneralization about the resistance which occurred in the western half of the state. Historians argue that the eastern part of the state saw more modes of resistance, especially Massive Resistance, due to the higher population of Black residents. On the other hand, they ignore the western part as they believe the same resistance did not occur due to a lower population of Black residents. I reject these notions as Massive Resistance found its way into southwest Virginia through either the threat of or action of closing schools. I have dug more deeply into the sources, such as trial transcripts, legal correspondence, school board records, petitions, court cases, testimony, newspapers, and oral histories to understand the avenues Black residents in southwest Virginia used to fight inequality and segregation.