Date of Award
8-1961
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
First Advisor
Dudley T. Cornish
Keywords
Riots, Texas -- Brownsville, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), United State, Race Relations
Abstract
The Brownsville affair is an excellent example of the racial problem as it existed in the United States in the first decade of the twentieth century. A study of this affair shows how the racial problem was closely related to the political life and the social problems of that day. The affair further gives an insight to the status of the Negro and the growth of Negro leadership in the period in which the controversy over the affair took place.
Despite the fact that the Brownsville affair is not mentioned in many of the historical works pertaining to the period in which it occured, there is a sufficient amount of primary material dealing with this subject. A good part of this primary material has been utilized in preparing this study. The most valuable single source of primary material has been the five volumes of the Senate Documents, 60th Congress, 1st. Session which are subtitled, "The Brownsville Affray." These volumes contain all official reports, communications sent and received by the War Department, court-martial proceedings of the two officers in command of the Negro troops involved, and the complete transcript of the Senate Investigating Committee along with majority and minority reports. The Congressional Record for the 59th Congress, 2nd. Session and The Congressional Record for the 60th Congress, 1st. Session were valuable in that they contain the major speeches that were made in the Senate during the debates concerning the handling of the Brownsville affair.
As far as determining President Theodore Roosevelt's opinions and stand on the affair, the best single source was The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, edited by Elting Morison. Volumes V and VI of this work contain many letters and notes which make clear the President's position on the matter. For the other principal actor's (Senator Joseph Foracker) side of the story, his autobiography, Notes On A Busy Life, was complete in its coverage of the Brownsville affair.
Although a number of secondary works were used in providing background material, there were several biographies that were extremely useful. Theodore Roosevelt, A Biography by Henry Pringle and The Life And Times of William Howard Taft by the same author gave an adequate as well as critical coverage of the Brownsville affair. Another important secondary source was From Slavery To Freedom, A History of American Negroes by John Hope Franklin; this is very good on social conditions and attitudes of the Negro during the period in which the Brownsville affair took place.
It was not possible to use newspapers as source material in this study because they were inaccessible, but the summaries of the press coverage contained in issues of Current Literature and Literary Digest compensated for this handicap. Several other articles from periodical material were used, but with the exception of a very good article by Emma Thornbrough in the December, 1957, issue of The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, none of these was outstanding.
Since most of the other controversies connected with the administration of Theodore Roosevelt have been given sufficient coverage by historians, one is surprised that no notable study has been done on the Brownsville affair particularly when one considers its importance and the fact that there are abundant materials for such a study.
Recommended Citation
Bowie, Chester V. Jr., "The Brownsville Affair: A Reappraisal" (1961). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 503.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/503
Comments
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