History Theses and Dissertations
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Item Nigerian War - American Politics(2005-05-23) Cole, Steven R; Gordon, David M; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Nigerian Civil War or the War of Biafran Secession began on May 27, 1967 and ended on January 12, 1970. The war cost an estimated 500,000 to one million lives, and had a particularly devastating effect on the civilians living in the Eastern Nigeria (Biafra). From its colonial beginnings, Nigeria seemed destined for regional conflict. After independence, two military led coups in 1966 highlighted the regional problems inherent in the Nigerian Federal governmental system. Less than a year after the second coup, the eastern region seceded from Nigeria and plunged the nation into a civil war for nearly three years. The United States, a reluctant participant in the war, deferred all responsibility in the resolution of the war to the British or the Organization of African Unity (OAU) until photographs of starving Nigerian children became a political liability for the U.S. government.Item MOVEMENT MATTERS: AMERICAN ANTIAPARTHEID ACTIVISM AND THE RISE OF MULTICULTURAL POLITICS(2004-06-07) Hostetter, David L.; Gilbert, James B.; History; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)American organizations that opposed apartheid in South Africa extended their opposition to racial discrimination in the US into world politics. More than three decades of organizing preceded the legislative showdown of 1986 when Congress overrode President Ronald Reagan's veto to enact economic sanctions against the apartheid regime. Drawing on the tactics and moral authority of the civil rights movement, the antiapartheid movement mobilized public opinion with familiar political symbols while increasing African-American influence in the formulation of US foreign policy. Three conflicts in particular shaped American antiapartheid activism: the debate between those holding an integrationist vision of the civil rights movement versus the advocates of a Pan-Africanist view as expressed in the Black Power movement; the tension between the antiracist credibility American leaders sought to project to the world and the anticommunist thrust of American foreign policy which led to a tacit alliance with South Africa; and the dispute over whether nonviolence or armed liberation provided the best strategy for ending apartheid. Three antiapartheid organizations that debated and dealt with these conflicts were the American Committee on Africa (ACOA), the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and TransAfrica. Each group worked against apartheid for more than a decade, combined direct action with other tactics, and included antiapartheid activism in larger efforts concerning Africa and US foreign policy. The efforts of these organizations provide a window through which to examine the conflicts that marked the antiapartheid struggle. Cultural expressions reinforced public sentiment against apartheid. Novels, plays, movies and music provided a bridge for Americans who strove to understand the struggles of those who lived under apartheid. Via the page, stage, screen, and recording studio, apartheid's opponents found a platform to transmit their message to a broad audience of Americans. The similarity of apartheid to American racial segregation provided activists with metaphors to mobilize constituencies that had opposed American racism. Direct action in particular helped dramatize American entanglement with apartheid. By extending the moral logic of the civil rights movement, the antiapartheid movement was able to invoke the themes of equality and freedom central to American civil religion.Item The Eyes of the World Were Watching: Ghana, Great Britain, and the United States, 1957-1966(2004-01-08) Montgomery, Mary E; Olson, Keith W; HistoryThis study explores the relationship that developed amongst Ghana, Great Britain, and the United States from Ghana's independence in 1957 to the coup d'état that ended the regime of Ghana's first post-colonial leader, Kwame Nkrumah in 1966. Ghana's position as the first self-governing nation in sub-Saharan Africa captured the attention of the world. Aspiring nationalists, colonial rulers, and Cold Warriors anticipated the impact of Ghana's experience on colonial Africa, and the global balance of power. For Ghana, the transition to independence brought tremendous possibility and complex challenges. While possessing the economic, political, and administrative resources for success, the management of those resources posed rigorous obstacles for Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah attempted to unify and strengthen Ghana, making it a leader in African affairs and the world community. For Great Britain, the transfer of power in Ghana began the dismantling of its African empire. The peaceful transition to self-government across British Africa depended upon the results of the Ghanaian experiment. Britain intended to prepare Ghana for success and stability by providing training and governmental models before independence, and securing Ghana's introduction to Western society during its transition. To provide longer-term support for Ghana, Britain enlisted the assistance of the United States. This coincided with an increased US interest in Africa, especially Ghana, as the newest vulnerable front in the Cold War. The United States hoped that positive relations with Ghana would prevent a Soviet foothold in Africa. Despite a rhetoric of support for democracy and self-determination, the United States favored stability above all else in Ghana, even when this came at the price of decreasing freedoms for Ghanaians and the growing authoritarianism of Kwame Nkrumah. The relationship amongst the three nations continued to develop across the 1960s, bringing periods of prolonged mutual interest and success as well as intervals of heightened tension, culminating in the CIA-aided overthrow of Nkrumah's regime. By exploring the goals and strategies of each country, this narrative contributes to an understanding of the transition from colonial rule to independence; the international context of American foreign relations; and the impact of the Cold War in Africa.