VULCAN VOLUME 2I HISTORICAL REVIEW20I7 VHR COVER.indd 1 4/22/17 6:36 AM The Vulcan Historical Review Volume 21 2017 Chi Omicron Chapter Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society University of Alabama at Birmingham The Vulcan Historical Review Volume 21 2017 2017 Editorial Staff Executive Editors Zoe Zaslawsky Grace Larkin Graphic Designer Brandon Wicks Editorial Board Chris Bertolini Alice Grissom Laura Michaela King Lance Ledbetter Faculty Advisor Dr. John Van Sant Co-Sponsors The Linney Family Endowment for The Vulcan Historical Review Journal Dr. Linda Lucas, Provost, UAB Dr. Suzanne Austin, Vice Provost or Student & Faculty Success, UAB Dr. Robert Palazzo, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, UAB The Department of History, UAB The Vulcan Historical Review is published annually by the Chi Omicron Chapter (UAB) of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. The journal is completely student-edited by undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. ©2017 Chi Omicron Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society, the University of Alabama at Birmingham. All rights reserved. No material may be duplicated or quoted without the express written permission of the author. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, its departments, and its organizations disclaim any responsibility for statements in fact or opinion, made by contributors herein. Cover art, “Vulcan’s Birmingham,” circa 2017, courtesy of Tina McManama. All students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, including recent alumni, are encouraged to submit research articles, book reviews, film reviews, essays, oral histories, historical fictions, or other works of historical interest to be considered for publication. Submissions by any currently-enrolled history undergraduate or graduate student from other institutions are also welcome. Please send inquiries to: Phi Alpha Theta Advisor History Department HHB 360 University of Alabama at Birmingham 1401 University Boulevard Birmingham, Alabama 35294 Table of Contents Letter from the Editors ...............................................................................................................................................7 AUT CONSILIIS AUT ENSLE / BY COUNCIL OR BY SWORD .............................................................................9 ARTICLES Here and There: Labor History American Labor Union Comparison ...........................................................................................................................16 by Grace Larkin Jewish Labor and Ideology: Comparative Histories of Poland and New York ...........................................................26 by Zoe Zaslawsky Profits and Pride: The National Origins of Labor Restriction in Baseball and Football ...........................................37 by Lance Ledbetter Religion and Myth: Cultural History CúChulainn for the Modern Man:Influences of Celtic Myth in the Easter Rising of 1916 .........................................52 by Alice Grissom The Belief in Holy Bones: Preservation of Local Catholic Culture through Reliquary Tradition ..............................58 by Grace Larkin War and Peace: European History From the Disarmament Proposition of 1898 to the Willy-Nicky Telegrams: Looking at Nicholas II as Peacemaker of Europe .......................................................................................................72 by Grace Larkin The First World War, a Re(al)telling: The Christmas Truce as a Representation of Humanity and Soldiers’ Ability to Enact Peace in Wartime ...................................................84 by Rachel Smith Obstacle and Progress: Birmingham History Convict Lease: Continuing Slavery in the New Era South ........................................................................................100 by Haley Spence Quenette Shehane: The Abduction and Murder that Shook Birmingham ..................................................................114 by Laura King “The Difficult Way Breaketh Not Their Courage”: The Evolution of Unitarianism and its Role as a Liberal Bastion in Bellicose Birmingham ....................................123 by Lance Ledbetter Invited Essay Pussy Power, Pussy Rights: The Women’s March 21, 2017 .......................................................................................138 By Pamela Sterne King Book Review The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls ........................................................................................142 Reviewed by Haley Kendrick About the Authors and Editors The Vulcan Historical Review Letter from the Editors he Vulcan Historical Review stands as a long-running tradition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Having just celebrated our twentieth anniversary, our students and faculty continue striving towards academic T excellence and progressive research. Our love of history and dedication to our craft propels our research, analy- sis, and claims about the past. With the integration of new ideas and historiographical concepts, our current editors, authors, and faculty have taken up the mantle of serious scholarship which constitutes The Vulcan Historical Review’s legacy. Our current issue perpetuates the attention to detail required by the historian, as well as the critical examination of complex historical situations. We have also chosen to continue our use of Birmingham’s iconic statue, the mighty Vulcan, for our cover, in solidarity with many previous issues. We again embraced debate amongst our scholars in an argumentative section pertaining to a controversial issue. In the wake of the contentious and divisive 2016 presidential election, we asked whether the United States should keep the Electoral College. The twenty-first edition of the journal additionally explores various different types of history in the hopes to expand scholarly consideration beyond nation- alistic endeavors; our featured sections include transnational comparisons of labor history, cultural history, European history, and localized history. Keeping with tradition, the journal ends with an invited essay and a book review. This journal could not have been possible without the support and advice of several knowledgeable and excellent people. Our deepest gratitude goes to the History Department of UAB for developing the honest, keen, and variegated interests of its students, and instilling the skills necessary to succeed in academia. We would like to thank our faculty advisor, Dr. John Van Sant, for his careful guidance, support, and kindness. Our gratitude goes to Dr. Colin Davis, our Department Chair, for earnestly supporting our publication and student research. Our special thanks must be extended to our administrative staff, Alisa Dick, our Office Service Specialist, and Melanie Daily, our Administrative Associate, without whom we could not have succeeded. Timothy Granger, Stephanie Womack, and Nadejda Bontcheva-Loyaga each deserve special mention for their counsel and help as previous members of The Vulcan Historical Review’s edito- rial staff. Our academic journal depends on the efforts of our students, both undergraduate and graduate alike, and to them, we extend our thanks. Our efforts would have proven fruitless if it had not been for the financial support of all of our sponsors, especially the Linney Family Endowment, Dr. Linda Lucas (Provost), Dr. Suzanne Austin (Vice Provost) and Dr. Robert Palazzo (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences). Our heartfelt appreciation for all of our supporters can barely be expressed, but we hope that the continuation of the journal’s success will speak for us. Thank you all for the hard work, genuine encouragement, and unparalleled support. 7 AUT CONSILIIS AUT ENSLE / BY COUNCIL OR BY SWORD Should the United States Keep the Electoral College? Should the United States Keep the Electoral College? By Lance Ledbetter the president and eventually a form of monarchy justified by a mandate to rule directly from the people. onald Trump’s election to the highest office in Their fears may seem outdated to some but I per- the United States has been controversial to say sonally believe that they are not. The expansion of the the least. Trump gained his victory by winning D practice of unilateral action by the president is worry- the electoral college but losing the popular vote by al- ing. Even when they are pieces of legislation that I agree most three million votes. This has led to cries, signs, and with,bypassingthe legislative branch that was frustrat- hashtags of “not my president.” It has also led to a call ingly blocking actions for partisan reasons made me ner- for the abolishment of the electoral college as a system of vous about the reach of the executive branch.That power choosing our president and instituting election by popu- combined with a popular vote election could lead to can- lar vote. This argument appeals to American values of didates ignoring swaths of American citizens and focus- democracy, but in my opinion is a dangerous proposal ing only on population centers that could win them the that undermines the federalism that is the foundation of election, promising to ignore congress and push through our constitution, leads to a more reactionary democracy laws that cater to only regional interests and justifying and distracts from far more serious issues that are plagu- their overreaching legislation by a mandate of the people. ing American politics. The electoral college prevents this by forcing candidates The electoral