MA, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Arts and Sciences: Anthropology

This article uses critical race theory, archaeological data, and historical archives to examine enslavement and the social and economic dichotomy of slave owners and the enslaved at the Dinsmore plantation. Artifacts recovered from the archaeological excavation of a slave cabin and a geophysical survey (e.g., ground penetrating radar and magnetometry) of the Dinsmore cemetery demonstrate that the lives of slaves were not valued by the slave owners who referred to them as family. In reality, these data demonstrate that the Dinsmore family treated their slaves as property. Thus, it is important to give a voice to those who were enslaved at the Dinsmore plantation and accurately portray the historical consequences of slavery and systemic racism that continues to disproportionately affect African Americans in the United States.

Committee: Leila Rodriguez Soto Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kenneth Tankersley Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Archaeology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Arts and Sciences: History

This dissertation examines the evolving American landscape from the Early Republic to Reconstruction through the lens of one man's life. During James Dinsmore's lifetime, Americans experienced rapid change in all aspects of their lives. Industrialization created new opportunities just as the extension of democracy gave increasing numbers of white men decision-making powers within their government. As Americans like Dinsmore moved west to the frontier, they often confronted new conditions: economic, social, environmental, political, and cultural. How they, and he, chose to accommodate themselves to these new realities is fundamentally a story about creating cultural economies. Further, this dissertation analyzes Dinsmore's migrations. Raised in New Hampshire, he moved to Natchez in the Mississippi Territory, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and Boone County, Kentucky. In choosing these locations he confronted new conditions that he either adapted to or he risked isolation. His early life in New England encouraged him to be proud of its imagined free heritage; nevertheless, he accepted plantation slavery in the Southwest and created a mixed labor force in the border region. These economic realities were accompanied by social and cultural influences that were not always compatible with Dinsmore's own convictions, leaving him in an uncomfortable position. Dinsmore's adaptations to the regions he successively inhabited and his subsequent discomfort, offer a unique perspective on how those regions were changing. Educated at Dartmouth College to appreciate the economic contributions of all sections of the nation, the transformation of that region into a more competitive, urban, and industrial society influenced his decision to move south. Natchez and Terrebonne Parish represented the transformation of the Old Southwest from a frontier to a plantation-based, hierarchical cultural and social economy based on the labor of large numbers of slaves. Boone County, Kentucky, with a m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Phillips Ph.D. (Committee Chair); James C. Klotter PhD. (Committee Member); Wayne Durrill Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mark Lause Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History