Information Studies Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2780
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Item WAITING ON “THE HIGHER LAW”: HENRY MASSEY AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST PHILADELPHIA’S FUGITIVE SLAVE COURT(2023) LaRoche, Matthew David; Bonner, Christopher J; History/Library & Information Systems; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Philadelphia’s preeminence as an historical hub of Underground Railroad activity, popularized through the exploits of William Still, is well established. However, a series of archival gaps have virtually erased Philadelphia, and particularly the early years of its fugitive slave court, from the wider historiography of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This work attempts to re-center Philadelphia, as well as its white-led abolitionist organizations and its African American community, in the scholarly discussion over the Act’s origin, intent, and effect. Attempting to overcome archival limitations, this work reconstructs the city’s first fugitive slave court, overseen by Commissioner Edward D. Ingraham from December of 1850 until his death in November of 1854, through the eyes of its participants. Using a close-reading approach, this thesis considers Philadelphia’s resistance to both the Ingraham court and the Act in toto from three perspectives. By comparing the case of Adam Gibson (the first victim of the Ingraham court) to that of Henry Massey, a Maryland freedomseeker and the last person sentenced before Ingraham’s death, this thesis establishes a documentary baseline through which one can trace the court’s evolution across the opening years of the Act’s enforcement. Through recreating the personal and institutional histories of Commissioner Ingraham, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and the abolitionist lawyers who represented Gibson, Massey, and other freedomseekers, this thesis provides context to evaluate the legal, social, and religious moves made by the city’s elite in response to the Act’s passage. Finally, by drawing out indications of black organization and agency hidden within the internal records of the Abolition Society itself, this thesis attempts to delineate the practical limits of interracial abolitionist cooperation within Philadelphia at the time. Ultimately, this thesis finds that a combination of geographic pressures and ideological guardrails particular to Philadelphia prevented a stronghold of abolitionist outrage from forming an effective counter to the Act, even while comparable cities (Boston, Syracuse, Harrisburg) developed legal and illegal strategies for shutting down their resident fugitive slave courts.Item Under Purityrannical Pressure: The Free Press Resolution to Information Crises(2023) Adams, Andrew Alan; Jaeger, Paul T; Gorham, Ursula; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Government information changed by a keystroke to serve political ends. Millions of Americans unable to access the Internet because telecom companies lobby state governments. The banning of books, closing of libraries, and criminalization of librarians suppress LGBT voices. The actions abuse power while hiding behind “fair and balanced” government information, “unfair competition” with government services, and “protecting children” from corrupting, sexual literature, making the actions purityrannical. The resolution to these crises come from an old understanding of the First Amendment’s freedom of the press, not as institutional journalists, but as an infrastructure that moves free speech through publishing, transmitting, and distributing the information to the people. The Constitution, laws and agencies passed and established by Congress, and the holdings of numerous Supreme Court cases reveal this infrastructure, but it must be formally recognized to resolve these crises and protect the First Amendment from future purityrannical attacks.Item "It's not just all about the technology": Understanding the role of statewide legal information websites in expanding access to justice in the United States(2015) Gorham-Oscilowski, Ursula; Jaeger, Paul T.; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the past fifteen years, there has been a dramatic increase in the availability of online legal resources and information specifically targeted toward low-income individuals. A network of statewide legal information websites now plays a central role in the access to justice movement in the United States. While these websites now exist in some form throughout this country, it has been more than a decade since they were last studied in depth. This study uses the perceptions and experiences of individuals involved in developing, implementing and maintaining statewide legal information websites (the "Information Providers") as the primary lens through which to explore how these websites facilitate self-help users' access to vital legal information. Three general research questions guided this study: RQ1: What are the principal activities that Information Providers engage in with respect to statewide legal information websites? RQ2: What are the different ways in which states have approached these activities? RQ3: What program development and operational issues have Information Providers faced? Data collection involved three interrelated efforts: a pilot case study, an online survey, and interviews. Themes related to infrastructure, design and implementation strategies, and operational practices emerged and evolved throughout these data collection efforts. Key themes include 1) the role of collaboration in several key areas; 2) barriers to information access faced by target users (and Information Providers' strategies to overcome these barriers); and 3) Information Providers' existing knowledge about users and site usage. In terms of policy and practice, the prevailing lack of connection between Information Providers and their users is perhaps the most significant current challenge. This lack of connection impedes efforts to conduct meaningful program evaluations, thus calling into question the ability of Information Providers to demonstrate the effectiveness of their websites. Thus, this study concludes with a proposed framework for user-centered program evaluation that leverages existing collaborative relationships to provide Information Providers with the information they need in order to provide effective assistance to self-help users.Item The Future of Freedom of Information: An Analysis of the Impact of Executive Orders on the Freedom of Information Act National Security Exemptions(2010) Kaminer, Joan Gibson; Jaeger, Paul; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") was enacted in 1976 to provide access to government information while balancing the interests of privacy and national security. A constant theme in court interpretations has been the extent of FOIA's national security exemptions in preventing disclosure. These interpretations are based on both FOIA and current Presidential Executive Orders addressing the classification of national security information. This paper analyzes the changes between President Bush's and President Obama's Executive Orders. Furthermore, this paper examines the relevant case law regarding FOIA national security exemptions and possible impacts from the changes in Executive Orders. This paper also makes recommendations on how to better implement the policy presented in the Executive Order. This paper concludes that President Obama's Executive Order, while clearly stating the intended policy of open access and addressing prior problems in internal agency procedures, fails to provide adequate changes that will impact FOIA litigation.