University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center HISTORICAL STUDIES JOURNAL Spring 2007 . Volume 24 PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through The Gilded Age and Progressive Era . FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender . SOVIET FAITH IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the 1920s–1930s . SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation Challenges of an Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory . THE POLITICS OF WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS: Controversies Concerning Rocky Mountain National Park . SIR WALTER RALEGH, Guiana, and the Conceptualization of the New World . PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through The Gilded Age and Progressive Era . FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender . SOVIET FAITH IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the 1920s–1930s . SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation Challenges of an Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory . THE POLITICS HISTORICAL STUDIES JOURNAL OF WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS: Controversies Concerning Rocky Mountain National Park . SIR WALTER RALEGH, Guiana, and the Conceptual- ization of the New World . PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through The Gilded Age and Progressive Era . FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender . S O V I E T William Dean Howells’s research of the paint industry and his familiarity with ITS FAITH IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the TECHNOLOGY added credibility to his novel The Rise of Silas Lapham. When Bartley 1920s–1930s . SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation Challenges of Hubbard interviewed Silas Lapham, the businessman exultantly described his paint as PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through The “a blessing to the world.” Was factory-produced paint like Lapham’s truly A BLESSING Gilded Age and Progressive Era . FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The TO THE WORLD? Rarely is a product or a process so perfect as to be considered a Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender . SOVIET FAITH blessing or so completely bad as to be considered a curse. As with most advances of IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the the industrial revolution, the RISE OF THE PAINT INDUSTRY and the increase in 1920s–1930s . SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation paint 2007 Spring use was more of a mixed shade, not just the extremes of black and white. Challenges of an Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory . THE POLITICS OF WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS: Controversies Concerning Rocky Mountain National Park . SIR WALTER RALEGH, Guiana, and the . Conceptualization of the New World . PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Vol. 24 Examination of One Industry Through The Gilded Age and Progressive Era FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender . SOVIET FAITH IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the 1920s–1930s . SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation Challenges of an Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory . THE POLITICS OF WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS: HISTORICAL STUDIES JOURNAL Spring 2007 . Volume 24 EDITOR: Paul Malkoski, Graduate Student EDITORIAL STAFF: Annette Gray, Graduate Student Amy Zimmer, Graduate Student Jeffrey Browning, Graduate Student Thomas J. Noel, Ph.D., Faculty Advisor DESIGNER: Shannon Fluckey Clicks! Copy & Printing Services Auraria Campus UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT DENVER AND HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER Downtown Denver University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Myra L. Rich, Ph.D., Department Chair U.S. Colonial and Early National, Women and Gender, Immigration History Frederick S. Allen, Ph.D., Emeritus Modern Europe, France, Germany Mary S. Conroy, Ph.D., Emeritus Russia/USSR Michael T. Ducey, Ph.D. Mexico, Modern Latin America, Colonial Borderlands and Chicano History Gabriel Finkelstein, Ph.D. Modern Europe, Germany, History of Science Mark S. Foster, Ph.D., Emeritus 19th and 20th Century United States, Social and Intellectual, Urban and Business History Rebecca A. Hunt, Ph.D., Sr. Intructor Public History, U.S. West, Gender, Immigration and Ethnicity Pamela W. Laird, Ph.D. U.S. Social and Intellectual, Technology, Business History, Public History Marjorie Levine-Clark, Ph.D. Modern Britain, European Women and Gender, Medical History Thomas J. Noel, Ph.D. Colorado, Denver, American West, Public History, Historic Preservation Carl Pletsch, Ph.D. Modern Europe, Intellectual History Alison Shah, Ph.D., South Asia, Islamic World, History and Heritage, Cultural Memory James B. Whiteside, Ph.D. 20th Century American Presidency, History Education James B. Wolf, Ph.D., Emeritus British Isles, British Empire, Ireland, and Modern Africa Adjunct Professor: James E. Fell, Jr., Ph.D. U.S. Early National and Civil War, American West University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center Department of History • Phi Alpha Theta, Alpha Gamma Chapter Campus Box 182, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, Colorado 80217-3364 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................v PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through the Gilded Age and Progressive Era .................................... 1 Jacqui Ainlay-Conley FROM TINKERERS TO GODS: The Electric Guitar and the Social Construction of Gender ...................................15 Monique Bourdage SOVIET FAITH IN TECHNOLOGY: Soviet Ideology and its Practical Application in the 1920s–1930s ............................................... 29 Nicholas Coombs SWEETS TO THE SUITES?—The Preservation Challenges of an Abandoned Sugar Beet Factory ................................................47 Debra Faulkner THE POLITICS OF WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS: Controversies Concerning Rocky Mountain National Park ................................... 55 Jean Kingston SIR WALTER RALEGH, Guiana, and the Conceptualization of the New World .................................................................. 63 Michael Lee Endnotes .......................................................................................................... 77 Bibliographies ...................................................................................................91 PREFACE istorians—as a group and as individuals—are innately curious. Their job is to engage H a pile of cold facts then fix their analytical gaze on issues lying just beneath the surface that tend to escape broader consideration. In fact, historians often take note of events, things or people whom others might find mundane, uninteresting or even silly. But it is far more than a recitation or chronicling of fact and data or even a recounting of narrative. Historians challenge the records; they ask penetrating questions. They want to know what the facts mean, what they can tell us about our past, and hopefully, how history illuminates our present. The History Department at University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center has made a habit of producing astute and curious history students who are unafraid to ask the tough questions and seek a broader understanding of our past. The academic year of 2006-2007 is no different, and this year’s authors are as diverse as one could imagine. Our authors ask us to examine the effects of technology on our society from the way we paint our houses to the impact and meaning of the invention of the electric guitar on culture and gender. What role did technology play in shaping the Soviet Union and its economic policies as partially seen through the lens of literature? Politics and economics are well-known forces, but what role did they play in shaping the European perceptions of South America in the seventeenth century or wilderness in twenty-first century Colorado? And finally, what are we to do with the remnants of an industry overtaken by technology and economics? It would be difficult to imagine a more diverse set of authors and subjects, but they all share space in this year’s Historical Studies Journal. Much thanks goes to the faculty members who challenged and encouraged their students and submitted papers they thought worthy of consideration. A special recognition goes to Dr. Rebecca Hunt and Dr. Michael Ducey for encouraging students and reading page proofs. The authors put in a considerable amount of extra time and effort refining their citations and honing their writing. The editorial staff poured over submissions, then made thoughtful recommendations and revisions, all the while learning a great deal about the publication process. A special appreciation goes to Shannon Fluckey, graphic designer with Clicks! Copy & Printing Services, whose thoughtful creativity shaped the cover and who endured ridiculously short deadlines. And many thanks to Dr. Tom Noel for his expertise and support through the entire process. The History Department at UCDHSC deserves special credit. For more than twenty years, the department has recognized the value the Historical Studies Journal provides students. Without the Journal, authors and editors would have fewer opportunities for practical publishing experience. We are all richer for the opportunities. Paul Malkoski Editor v PROGRESS IN A CAN: An Examination of One Industry Through the Gilded Age and Progressive Era Jacqui Ainlay-Conley illiam Dean Howells’s research of the paint industry and his familiarity with its Wtechnology added credibility to his widely read novel The Rise of Silas Lapham. When