Brunswick School & Greenwich Academy's Magazine of History 2023 (Volume 20)

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Brunswick and Greenwich Academy

Magazine of History

2023 Volume 20

The Brunswick and Greenwich Academy Magazine of History

2023 Editor Dr. Brian Hoffman

Editorial Office

Department of History

Pettengill Campus

Brunswick School

100 Maher Avenue

Greenwich, CT 06830

E-mail:bhoffman@brunswickschool.org

Contents

Volume 20, 2023

National History Day Projects

Research Paper:

The Evolution of Government: A Comparison of Locke and Rousseau by McKenna Brewer ’26

Egotism Equals Profit: Adam Smith’s Economic Frontier, The Wealth of Nations by Henry Graham '26

Documentary:

African American Directors: A New Frontier in Film by Will Schmitz ’24

The Development of One of Mankind’s Greatest, but Deadliest Creations: The Manhattan Project by Sean Ryan ’25 and Oliver Leonard ‘25

Apollo 11 by Jack Scafidi '25 and Jack O’Connor ‘25

Performance:

Salem’s Secrets by Eva Solano ‘26 and Alexandra Zummo '26

Website:

Televised Debates, Nixon v. Kennedy by Nina Lux ‘26

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During the 2023 Spring Semester, the Brunswick History Department participated for the second time in the National History Day program. Created in 1974 to encourage the development of historical research skills, the National History Day program provides an opportunity for students to submit their research at local and state contests to win prestigious prizes and to advance to the National Contest. Over 500,000 Middle School and High School students compete each year around the nation. At Brunswick, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors enthusiastically selected their topics, spent weeks doing primary source research and then creating their projects. Exhibiting creativity, thorough research, and excellent writing, the work of several Brunswick and Greenwich Academy students advanced to the state level and even to the National Contest!

This volume of the Brunswick and Greenwich Academy History Magazine will highlight the many different ways that students presented their historical research. In addition to accepting the traditional history research paper, the National History Day program invites students to submit research as an “exhibit,” “documentary,” “website,” or “performance.” Each project category has its own unique rules while requiring all students to use research skills to work with primary sources, develop a strong thesis statement, and to carefully organize and present their conclusions. The exhibit category, for example, restricts the words students can include in their trifold and asks students to craft a narrative through the way they arrange their sources, similar to an installation in a museum. The documentary allows students to share their research as a dynamic ten minute video presentation narrated in their own voice. A website also restricts the words and multimedia students can use in order

to focus students’ efforts on formatting their research to be presented digitally. The Performance category asks students to act out their research, incorporating primary sources into their costumes, sets, and dialogue. Brunswick and Greenwich Academy students participated with great results in each category. This Volume of the Brunswick and Greenwich Academy Magazine of History, as a result, has adopted a new digital format to better present these highly interdisciplinary and creative projects.

Another change in this Volume of the Brunswick and Greenwich Academy Magazine of History is the publication of both individual and group projects. Students can chose to compete in the National History Day program with another student or individually. This introduces the benefits and challenges of collaboration. The opportunity to divide tasks, to take advantage of different skill sets, and to share ideas produced wonderful student work. The projects also all engage the National History Day’s required 2023 theme of “Frontiers in History: People, Places, and Ideas.” The theme encouraged students to conduct research on a variety of historical events and debates in American and World history and to craft arguments about their significance in shaping history. Each student project published in this Volume includes a “process” paper, a 500 word explanation of their research and how it engages the year’s theme. Please enjoy reading and viewing the incredibly creative, interdisciplinary, and well-researched projects of the students at Brunswick and Greenwich Academy.

From the Editor’s Desk

McKenna Brewer ‘26

The Evolution of Government: A Comparison of Locke and Rousseau Process Paper

This year’s theme, Frontiers: People, Places, Ideas, gave me the opportunity to talk about Enlightenment thinkers who expanded frontiers with their ideals. I ended up choosing to focus on two specific philosophers. John Locke, and JeanJacques Rousseau, both believed in a government based upon a social contract, something that was far from the status quo of Absolute Monarchies. In my essay, I argue their key differences lay in their beliefs on individual rights, and that Locke’s take resulted in a better functioning government. Locke believed human beings had natural rights that predate

government, the rights to life, liberty and property. He said that people enter into a social contract with their government in which they give up some of their freedoms in exchange for the protection of their natural rights. Rousseau believed that the purpose of a social contract is to create a government that represents and acts upon the general will. For Rousseau, government is legitimate if it does what most people in the society want. He believed that by entering this social contract one is prepared to submit to the general will. I use the effects of the social contract theories in different revolutions to prove my argument. Locke's ideas would be most influential in the American revolution (1775-1783), laying the foundations for success. Rousseau would be most influential in the French revolution (1789-1799), empowering the government to implement terror.

I began my research by watching videos and reading encyclopedia type articles to understand each of the theories and grasp their impact they had on the world. After this initial research I connected the ideas to the American and French revolutions, and then I read encyclopedia articles on them. I then started looking through Locke’s Two Treatises of Government and Rousseau's Social Contract to understand their ideas in their own words. I then started reading more articles to find mentions of primary sources that would give me a wider range of perspectives on the effects of these ideas, and I used their “works cited” pages to find more scholarly sources. I then looked for the founding documents of the American and French revolutions. I ended up using the Bill of

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The Declaration of Independence, and The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen.

Using my research I started telling the story of the social contract theories and their effects. I started by explaining the social contract theories. I then explained how they affected the founding documents of each revolution and how they affected the events of each revolution.

McKenna Brewer ‘26

Third Place, Paper Senior Division

Torrington Region

Connecticut History Day

“That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part” - Thomas Jefferson.{1}

In Medieval Europe, the political structure placed power in the hands of monarchs and lords. There was no form of consent from the governed in this political society. However, beginning in approximately 1650, an intellectual and cultural movement called the Enlightenment offered reason as a way to approach civilization, and caused people to question the monarchies. Two prominent Enlightenment thinkers, John Locke (1632 - 1704) and Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1712 - 1788) explored different structures of political society based upon a social contract. Both Locke and Rousseau pushed the frontiers of governments' role in society through their respective social contract theories. Locke advocated for a government created to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. Rousseau on the other hand, theorized a government that would promote the greater good of society without preservation of individual rights. In late 18th century America, Locke’s theory provided America’s revolutionary government with a foundation for success. In France, however, Rousseau’s theory resulted in tyranny and the end of their revolution’s movement.

John Locke’s social contract theory was individualistic in nature. It created a government that, unlike the absolute monarchies dominating at the time, had limited power under which the preservation of individual rights was the foremost concern. The second treatise of John Locke's Two Treatises of Government outlined his social contract theory. Locke described a hypothetical state of nature that existed before political society. Locke stated that men are in “a state of

perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they see fit,” and they exist in a “state of equality.”{2} As such, every man follows a “natural law” that “all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” Locke asserted that if anyone were to break that law and infringe upon another’s rights, the offended man would have the right to punish the transgressor.{3} However, Locke believed that people cannot be trusted to punish offenders on their own. Locke explained,

In the State of Nature, everyone has the Executive Power of the Law of Nature, I doubt not but it will be objected to, that it is unreasonable for Men to be the judges of their own Cases, that Self-love will make Men partial to themselves and their Friends. And on the other side, that ill Nature, Passion and Revenge will carry them too far in punishing others. {4}

For this reason, people must form a government to enforce the natural law, protect the natural rights of its individual citizens, and to “restrain the partiality and violence of Men.” {5} Locke acknowledged the necessity for peoples inadequacies to be restrained, so he carves out protections for individual rights in his social contract. Locke’s government maintains its legitimacy by protecting the people’s rights to life, liberty and property. Locke explained, “Whenever the Legislators endeavor to take away, and

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people, or reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” {6} The intention of Locke’s government was to protect individual rights.

Rousseau’s social contract envisioned a world where individuals submit to the general will. Similar to Locke, Rousseau described a state of nature before government. In Rousseau's state of nature, men lived in harmony. Eventually, men came together and formed civilization in order to survive.{7} Rousseau presented the challenge of structuring political society as, “to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force of the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before.” {8} Rousseau proposed the solution was to create an association of the general will. This social contract would contain, “the total alienation by each associate of himself and all his rights to the entire community.”{9} The rule of the majority will allows people to come together and decide to do what is best for society. Everyone has power in the actions of the state while also being subject to the effect of those actions. As an Article in the Harvard Law Review explains it:

Since this will of the State is the general will, it is the will of all, and accordingly it is in the individuals themselves

who create such restrictions upon their own wills. They are not, therefore, in submission to a will superior to their own. They are in submission to a general will formed by their own wills. They thus remain perfectly free. {10}

Rousseau attempted to create a society where individuals remain free, and he assumed the general will, because it represents the opinions of people, will not infringe upon that freedom. As a result, Rousseau, unlike Locke, did not create rights that his government was obliged to protect. In his vision, the social contract creates an executive to carry out the general will. This government would be legitimate if it represented the will of the people, however there were no limits on what the executive could do.{11}

The individualism of Locke's social contract saturated the foundations of American government and played a large role in the success of America’s revolution. American colonists rejected Britain's rule after they levied excessive taxes on their property without their consent by arming themselves and fighting back. The revolutionaries adopted Locke’s pioneer social contract theory in the creation of their new government. In the most famous line of the of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson stated, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and

the pursuit of Happiness.” These principles extend from John Locke. According to Locke, individuals have “unalienable rights” the government cannot infringe upon, and should be there to protect. This fundamental idea permeates the founding documents of the United States of America. The Declaration continued saying, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” {12}

The American founders did not establish a government that, even created in complete democratic fashion, could be trusted with excess power. As James Madison said in Federalist #51: “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” {13} American founding fathers implemented this government limitation within the Bill of Rights. The first amendment stated “congress shall make no law” infringing upon the freedom of speech and protest of the people. Amendments four and five protect the people from abuse by law enforcement and the judicial system and guarantees them a fair trial should they be accused of a crime. Amendment 8 protects Americans from “cruel and unusual punishments” that may be inflicted by the state. {14} The Bill Of Rights protects the individual rights of Americans from

the government with very few exceptions. In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville articulated that the American government protects individuals, saying, “Moreover, however carried away the national majority can be by its passions, however ardent it may be in its projects, it cannot make all citizens in all places, in the same manner, at the same moment, bend to its desires.” {15}

Of course, America did not universally implement Locke's philosophy of individual rights. It would take time for those rights to be extended beyond white men. However, the Lockean protection of individual rights in America’s founding documents created a government different from those preceding it. The American constitution eventually extended, through much debate and amendment, natural rights to all of its citizens including women and minorities. {16} Locke’s philosophy of a government created to protect natural rights permeates the journey America has taken and continues to take in the extension of those rights. That experience contrasts with the French Revolution, in which the revolutionary government was flawed from the beginning by its failure to protect individual rights over the will of the “majority.”

Before the French Revolution, France’s Old Regime was feudal with special privileges for the few at the expense of the many. The French revolution attempted to remedy the inequality of the feudal system with a new form of

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of government. Ultimately, this attempt failed due to the revolution’s reliance upon Rousseau. Collectivism seen in Rousseau’s version of the social contract influenced the tyranny that is the legacy of the French Revolution. In the revolution's wake, Rousseau became a prominent political thinker. In 1790, just one year after the start of the revolution, four different editions of Rousseau’s The Social Contract were published, three more were published in 1791 and between 1792 and 1795 it was published 13 times. Members of the National Assembly and the revolutionary press frequently quoted Rousseau. Revolutionary ceremonies and political clubs regularly displayed a bust of him. {17} Maximilien Robespierre, who ruled during the infamous Reign of Terror, wrote a dedication to Rousseau where he said, “Divine man! You taught me to know myself; quite young, you made me appreciate the dignity of my nature, and reflect on the great principles of the social order.”{18}

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, issued by the National Assembly in 1789 reflected Rousseau’s limitless general will. Article six of the Declaration placed the general will in charge saying, “Law is the expression of the general will.” Additionally, the Declaration permitted every individual right it provided to be curbed by the government. In article one the declaration states, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” The Declaration attempted to preserve equality of men under the law, however the second sentence rendered the first meaningless.

It gave the government, controlled by the general will, the power to cast aside that right. In article 4 the declaration stated, “Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.” By saying the “limits can only be determined by law” the declaration is saying individual rights come from the government, and no limitations are set on what this government can do. The declaration repeats this contradiction in four more articles.{19} These contradictions, combined with the power of the general will, allowed for a tyrannical majority to emerge. In 1790 Edmund Burke, an English statesman, economist and philosopher, in his book Reflection on the Revolution in France predicted the outcome of this principle. He said, “of this I am certain, that in a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority.” {20}

As the revolution unfolded, majority rule quickly became the order of the day. In September 1793, in order to bring stability to the country, the National Convention suspended the natural rights of citizens to have dissenting opinions. {21} Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, a member of the national convention declared: “We must either destroy [France’s] enemies, or they will destroy us… They have stirred up Agitation… Today, the mass of the People, who are without

and willpower.” {22} The National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, with Robespierre at its head, to destroy these “enemies.” The method of destruction was execution by guillotine. Those who posed a threat to general good by expressing discontent with the revolution were targeted as internal enemies. {23} In the following year the committee arrested 200,000 - 300,000 people. {24} 17,000 people were executed. Another 10,000 of those arrested died in prisons. {25} In 1794 Robespierre justified his use of terror saying, “Terror is nothing other than justice: prompt, severe, inflexible. It is therefore an emanation of virtue… a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our country’s most urgent needs.” {26} Thus, Robespierre, found empowerment in the Rousseauian doctrine that individual rights could be suspended for the general good. On that basis he justified disposing of tens of thousands of people for the crime of disagreeing. Towards the end of 1794 those who had once been on Robespierre's side ended up on the guillotine. George Danton, a firm ally of Robespierre, was executed for suggesting that the government lessen the terror and make some changes.{27} Camille Desmoulins, an old school friend of Robespierre’s, was sent to the guillotine along with Danton, and he wrote before his death: “I have dreamed of a Republic such as all the world would have adored. I could never have believed that men could be so ferocious and so unjust.”{28} These executions, among others, marked the end for Robespierre.

During the coup d’etat of 9 Thermidor, men who were next on Robespierre’s guillotine list convinced the National Convention to arrest Robespierre. In July 1794 Robespierre and 20 of his followers were rounded up and sent to the guillotine themselves. After the fall of Robespierre, the moderate Thermidorians took control and created a new government called the Directory. Although less brutal, that government proved unable to manage the economy and the rampant corruption, and therefore governed ineffectively for the rest of the revolution.{29} They eventually fell to the popular Napoleon Bonaparte who established a dictatorship. {30} France would become nothing like a republic for another half century. Robespierre was able to implement the Reign of Terror because the French government was not limited enough to protect individuals. The terror Robespierre inflicted caused the failure of France's attempt at a republic.

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau crossed frontiers in political thought with their social contract theories that pushed the boundaries of ideas surrounding government’s role in society. Locke promoted a government established to protect citizens' natural rights. Rousseau argued for a government that would advance the interests of society as a whole, without protection for the individual. In the late 18th century, the idea of a social contract between the people and their government was in direct contrast with the status-quo, and the people behind the revolutionary movements in France and America used these theories to attempt to cross frontiers in their respective countries. In

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empowered their new government to implement terror and oppression, eventually leading to the movement’s failure. In the end, it was Locke’s ideas that ultimately helped bring about a new nation, unlike any other before it that would become the most powerful and inspiring nation in the world.

NOTES

[1] “Founder’s Folio: On Education, Virtue and Civic Engagement.” (Milford LIVE! - Local Delaware News, Kent and Sussex Counties, 1 June 2022), milfordlive.com/ founders-folio-on-education-virtue-and-civic-engagement.

[2} John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge UP, 1988), 269.

[3] Locke, Two Treatises of Government, 271.

[4] Locke, Two Treatises of Government, 275.

[5] Locke, Two Treatises of Government, 276.

[6] John Locke, Two Treatises of Government (Cambridge UP, 1988), 412.

[7] Benjamin B Taylor, Second Treatise of the Social Contract: A Comparative Analysis of Locke and Rousseau - College of Wooster (The College of Wooster, 2015), 6.

[8] Edward Lorraine Walter, and Jean-Jaques Rousseau, The Social Contract: Or, The Principles of Political Rights (G. P. Putnam's sons, 1893), 20.

[9] Walter, and Rousseau, The Social Contract: Or, The Principles of Political Rights, 21.

[10] Léon Duguit, Harvard Law Review, Vol. XXXI, No. I: The Law and the State; French and German Doctrines, November, 1917 (Leopold Classic Library, 2015), 28.

[11] Benjamin B Taylor, Second Treatise of the Social Contract: A Comparative Analysis of Locke and Rousseau - College of Wooster (The College of Wooster, 2015), 8.

[12]“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” (National Archives, Jan. 31, 2023), www.archives.gov/founding-docs/ declaration-transcript.

[13] The Avalon Project: Federalist No 51, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed51.asp.

[14] “The Bill of Rights: A Transcription.” (National Archives, Jan. 31, 2023), www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-ofrights-transcript.

[15] Alexis Tocqueville, Democracy in America (University of Chicago Press, 2002), 250.

[16] Ben Shapiro, The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great (HarperCollins, 2019), 94.

1945), www.jstor.org/stable/2707363? seq=16#metadata_info_tab_contents.

[18] “Wikiwand - the Social Contract,” Wikiwand, www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Social_Contract.

[19] Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp.

[20] Ben Shapiro, The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great (HarperCollins, 2019), 128.

[21] Christopher Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 145, 193, 330-332.

[22]“Terror Is the Order of the Day” (LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, revolution.chnm.org/d/416.

[23] Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 236.

[24] “The Reign of Terror.” (Mizmenzies, 31 Dec. 2014), mizmenzies.wordpress.com/the-reign-of-terror.

[17] Gordon McNeil, “The Cult of Rousseau and the French Revolution.” (JSTOR, University of Pennsylvania Press,

[25] Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 225, 226.

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[26] History, Alpha. “Robespierre Justifies the Use of Terror (1794).” (French Revolution 18 Jan. 2018) alphahistory.com/ frenchrevolution/robespierre-revolutionary-terror-1794.

[27] Christopher Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 333.

[28]“Camille Desmoulins Quotes.” (Quote.org) quote.org/ quote/it-is-marvelous-that-i-have-walked-621801.

[29] Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 292-297.

[30] Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution (Penguin, 1989), 333-335.

Egotism Equals Profit: Adam Smith’s Economic Frontier, The Wealth of Nations Process Paper

Capitalism is an economic system that supports the free-flow of capital and the exchange of goods without governmental interference. Adam Smith, the father of capitalism and economics, provides a beginning structure for free markets, selfinterest, and industrialization in his cutting-edge work, The Wealth of Nations. In my research paper, my main objective is to analyze the teachings of Smith’s piece and to decipher how those ideas impacted the rise of commercialized economics and the fall of other systems. As a proud American, I was keen to dive deeper into the origins of the United States’ current methodology of economics.

Peter Hanns Reill and Ellen Judy Wilson’s, The Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, was crucial for providing insight into Adam Smith’s life as a professor, tutor, and philosopher. They skillfully analyzed Smith’s two texts, A Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. When examining the former, the authors described Smith’s philosophy of humanity feeling sympathy for others, but focused on the outstanding acclaim he received for his 1759 work. Reill and Wilson correlated the fame and recognition Smith gained to a grand tour of Europe from 1764-1766 in which Smith met famous physiocrats François Quesnay and Voltaire. Upon return from this trip, Smith used his newfound knowledge to begin his masterpiece, The Wealth of Nations. In The Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Garrett Sheldon provided an opposing perspective to Smith, by explaining Karl Marx’s philosophy of communism. As the system is reactionary to capitalism, Sheldon describes Marx’s belief that capitalism provokes unwanted competition and conflict; meanwhile, Marx explains property should be owned by the government in a society that is just, happy, free, and productive. The Wealth of Nations was the most valuable source of my project. Without a true primary source, there is only so much information a researcher can find on Adam Smith. The physical text provides words to Smith’s ideas and covers a wide range of topics including competition, incentives, and the distribution of wealth.

Through the guidance of 17th and 18th century Enlightenment philosophers that molded into The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Adam Smith influenced individuals who disagreed with him and provided a beginning blueprint for future successful free market societies. My research on Smith’s ascent to prominence and the philosophers that aided his rise supply a direct correlation between Smith’s two pieces of literature. Karl Marx’s beliefs on

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Through the guidance of 17th and 18th century

Enlightenment philosophers that molded into The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Adam Smith influenced individuals who disagreed with him and provided a beginning blueprint for future successful free market societies. My research on Smith’s ascent to prominence and the philosophers that aided his rise supply a direct correlation between Smith’s two pieces of literature. Karl Marx’s beliefs on an alternative to capitalism and England’s First Industrial Revolution accentuate Smith’s influence on opponents and supporters of his cause.

On a frontier of new thinking, Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations expresses novel anti-imperialist views, a shift into industrial production, and how free markets attempt to bestow economic equality through self interest. The Wealth of Nations was the beginning of a modernized economy and its impact in both communist and capitalist nations is implausible.

Ultimately, the revolutionary thinking of Smith’s The Wealth of Nations punctured mercantilist empire’s domination and paved the way for the common individual to thrive in a free market economy.

Third Place, Paper Senior Division Torrington Region

Connecticut History Day

“[Without trade restrictions] the obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord. Every man...is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.... The sovereign is completely discharged from a duty [for which] no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient; the duty of superintending the industry of private people, and of directing it towards the employments most suitable to the interest of the society.”{1} In this excerpt from Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, the Scottish economist discusses the benefits that absolute freedom holds to all of society. Individuals who labor in their own economic self-interest without regulations put on businesses will prosper and increase productivity. The Wealth of Nations is an exceptional frontier; shifting societies from a system of economic privilege to a more equitable model and introducing a cuttingedge way of thinking about free markets for the welfare of individuals. Through the guidance of 17th and 18th century Enlightenment philosophers that molded into The Wealth of Nations in 1776, Adam Smith provided an alternative to mercantilism, supplied a beginning industrious blueprint for Western nations, and influenced individuals who disagreed with him.

Mercantilism, the system in practice prior to Adam Smith’s revolutionary free market teachings, was connected to the absolutism and colonialism that engulfed the Age of Exploration and Discovery. In this popular economic system, a “mother country” sought to acquire many colonies to boost its own economic, political, and military power. A successful mercantilist society was one that produced the most wealth, quantified in gold and silver. From this system in practice in primarily the 15th to 17th centuries, the colonies were beneficial by giving the nation raw materials to be made into products and a market for manufactured goods to be sold. Industrialization was required to maintain the amount of goods produced under this system; however, the profits made and the resources accumulated were kept in the hands of the dominant country’s government. Therefore, a mercantilist

relationship was seen as oppressive, with the “mother country” authoritative and the respective colonies submissive. One of the earliest European powers during the Age of Exploration and Discovery, Spain intended to create a private trading relationship with its colonies with mixed results due to contraband and smuggling that exposed the country’s perforated mercantile system. Spain also lacked an industrious backbone to support the surplus of manufactured goods their diligent New World colonies were producing. Unlike the Spanish, Great Britain was able to find notable success in this practice. In 1651 and 1660, the English passed a series of Navigation Acts that forced their own colonies to exclusively trade with Britain only. However, similar issues from the Spanish system eventually came to fruition, portraying a system that was constantly riddled with loyalty issues. With many instances connected to these complications, it was apparent that mercantilism was flawed.{2} In the face of the most popular practice of the time, Adam Smith expressed courage by expressing new thoughts for a more industrialized capitalist model without the colonizing power. His ideas highlighted a new age coming in the field of economics; a system changing from rewarding dominance to celebrating hard work.

Adam Smith utilized his own professors and fellow Enlightenment thinkers to publish A Theory of Moral Sentiments, allowing him to gain recognition and influence within academia. Smith, a former student at the University of Glasgow, was taught by Francis Hutcheson, a professor of moral philosophy. Borrowing and modifying Hutcheson’s beliefs, Smith displayed in his work that humans are naturally able to observe things that are happening to others and react based on their severity. He argues that these different feelings provide the baseline for good, evil, pleasure, and pain. These relatively novel beliefs jumpstarted Smith’s path to fame after the text was published in 1759. In 1764, after many years of widespread acclaim, he became the tutor for the Duke of Buccleuch,

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severity. He argues that these different feelings provide the baseline for good, evil, pleasure, and pain. These relatively novel beliefs jumpstarted Smith’s path to fame after the text was published in 1759. In 1764, after many years of widespread acclaim, he became the tutor for the Duke of Buccleuch, with a lifetime pension.unterbalance to the Soviets. Hence, as their mutual interests became evident, openness to diplomacy became a viable option.

As a former professor at the University of Glasgow, Smith resigned and embarked on a two year grand tour of Europe with his young client. Across 1764 to 1766, he visited Versailles and Geneva, meeting the likes of Anne-RobertJacques Turgot, François Quesnay, and Voltaire. During these intellectual physiocratic congregations, Smith was deeply interested in widening his scope of philosophical thinking. Upon returning to Scotland, the profound impact of this trip was evident, shown through his immediate beginning of The Wealth of Nations.{3} A Theory of Moral Sentiments directly correlates to The Wealth of Nations through Adam Smith’s first experiences as a conceptual scholar. During a summit in 1764, Adam Smith gained quite a respect for the founder of physiocracy, François Quesnay, who advocated that agriculture was the main source of wealth for a nation, provoking Smith’s defense of commercial processes in The Wealth of Nations. In Quesnay’s system of the ordre

naturel (natural order), he argued that agriculture differed from industry in that farming processes actually made products and contributed to profits, while industrialization simply converted or distributed goods. Furthermore, he contended that industry and merchants were plainly middlemen in the economic process, only exchanging goods and wealth between sources. Meanwhile, farmers were true creators of wealth.{4} François Quesnay’s ordre naturel certainly stimulated Adam Smith’s progress into developing an industrial production system. Smith highlighted how Quesnay failed to consider the widespread economic wealth commercialization could provide. Throughout The Wealth of Nations, Smith upholds his position that a division of labor and specialization would increase efficiency and effectiveness in terms of economic productivity. “The labour, too, which is necessary to produce any one complete manufacture is almost always divided among a great number of hands. How many different trades are employed in each branch of the linen and woollen manufactures from the growers of the flax and the wool, to the bleachers and smoothers of the linen, or to the dyers and dressers of the cloth! The nature of agriculture, indeed, does not admit of so many subdivisions of labour, nor of so complete a separation of one business from another, as manufactures. It is impossible to separate so entirely the business of the grazier from that of the cornfarmer as the trade of the carpenter is commonly separated from that of the smith. The spinner is almost always a distinct person from the weaver; but the ploughman, the harrower, the sower of the seed, and the reaper of the corn,

are often the same. The occasions for those different sorts of labour returning with the different seasons of the year, it is impossible that one man should be constantly employed in any one of them. This impossibility of making so complete and entire a separation of all the different branches of labour employed in agriculture is perhaps the reason why the improvement of the productive powers of labour in this art does not always keep pace with their improvement in manufactures.” {6} Having many individuals who learn how to skillfully perform a single step in the manufacturing process will contribute to rapid profits and reduced production costs. Quesnay and Smith were both on the frontier of a shift in economics. They attempted to quell the shortcomings of mercantilism with their respective models of capitalist production. However, Smith saw the introduction of industrious processes as a way to push society into a modern era of assembly.

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith counters Quesnay’s belief on an alternative to mercantilism that champions self-interest and efficient commercial productivity. Smith comprehensively details the strenuous labor conditions of the British Industrial Revolution. He argued that the hard, industrious work completed in the employee’s own self-regard and without governmental interference allowed societies to prosper economically. From his experiences, Smith asserts that self-interest instills dedication, creativity, and industrious progress. Within a society in which all individuals try to live in their own self-interest, the capitalist will try to produce goods with the highest amount of demand for the greatest number of people. Therefore, selfishness garners productivity and harmony. {7} By 1776, revolution in the United States and the publishing of Smith’s storied piece displayed indignation with Great Britain’s mercantilist policies. Approaches

that were proposed by the industrial capitalist began to be supported over policies of the merchant capitalist. Citizens of Europe began to notice the extreme efficacy of the technological, socioeconomic, and cultural shifts that were occurring from the later eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century. Factories were instituting the utilization of iron and steel materials, power sources such as electricity, and the invention of novel machinery. As opposed to the former mercantile economic system, the distribution of wealth improved to represent the entire population, instead of simply the social elite. Instead of land being seen as a source of economic wealth, people focused on industrious processes and diligence.{8} This system is not pure “laissez-faire” economics, but it should prevent the rise of a singular person through exploitation in mercantilism. Smith stated, “What improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconvenience to the whole. No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.”{9}

Through the rapid First Industrial Revolution, a myriad of social changes were introduced, including urbanization, the emergence of the working class, and the heightened ability of factory workers. Under mercantile systems, individuals were unable to be compensated with gold and silver from their own government. With industrialization, people were confident and were able to use their own egotism to benefit themselves and society as a whole. The years of oppression and military dominance for the higher class of European powers was coming to an end. Smith’s ideas bravely supported the common individual and their opportunities to thrive in their own self-interest.

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unable to be compensated with gold and silver from their own government. With industrialization, people were confident and were able to use their own egotism to benefit themselves and society as a whole. The years of oppression and military dominance for the higher class of European powers was coming to an end. Smith’s ideas bravely supported the common individual and their opportunities to thrive in their own selfinterest.

As the First Industrial Revolution passed and times became more modernized, Adam Smith’s teachings remained influential in British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s future policies. The thoughts on which Thatcher based her economic and political beliefs centered around governmental noninterference and the natural desire individuals had to better themselves. She certainly saw the principle of self-interest as a positive thing, as human nature sees collaboration with others as essential. {10} She explained in her memoir, “My economic policy was also intended to be a social policy.”{11} Thatcher agreed with Smith that the government should provide security only. She believed that issues became much more complicated if the government was involved in an increasing amount of policy decisions. Thatcher also concurred with Smith’s opposition to monopoly and the upper class having economic entitlement. They both thought that commerce and industrialization were negative towards the common person if the dealers “widen the market and narrow the competition.” These longstanding ideas of Smith translated into the prime minister’s perspective towards taxation, regulation, and the power of trade union leaders.

Smith’s now storied ideologies to address many of the problems in Great Britain over her leadership from 1979 to 1990. She instituted a uniform mortgage rate and requested that all tradesmen join their respective unions. {12} What was once brand new thinking, Adam Smith’s principles have been encapsulated by recent leaders via their political beliefs.

Karl Marx, the father of modern communism, was deeply affected by Adam Smith’s industrial capitalist model, shown through the reactionary nature of Marx’s system of utopian socialism. Growing up in a traditional Jewish family in the conservative country of Germany, Marx had an anti-tradition and anti-religion perspective that hindered his ability to be accepted into society. He compares human beings to production and explains how the way people work determines how they act. Throughout history, creativity has been hindered, and social institutions obstruct individuals from reaching their true potential. In a society under Smith’s capitalist influence, Marx argues that people should cooperate with others, but instead they compete for resources and wealth. By Marx’s belief, people who labor in a capitalist society work for people that have control and power over them.{13} “Communism deprives no man of the power to appropriate the products of society; all that it does is to deprive him of the power to subjugate the labor of others by means of such appropriation.” {14} Therefore Marx responds to the “injustices” within capitalism with a model for a free, productive, and happy society. He proposed a plan in which the government manages all private property and economics, which allowed people to focus on creative values and togetherness. According to the German philosopher, violence of all kinds is necessary to mold the

the old, greedy, and selfish capitalist into a generous, humane, and caring socialist. However, Marx swindled millions of people in communist nations with his idea of a perfect paradise. Communism fails to recognize incentives, causing economic inactivity and oppressive governments in nations such as Vietnam and Cuba. {15} On the contrary, Smith describes motivations as such: “Public services are never better performed than when their reward comes in consequence of their being performed, and is proportioned to the diligence employed in performing them.” {16} Like Smith states, human nature provokes individuals to work hard, make money, and provide for their families. In a socialist state, there is a lack of stimulus to complete those tasks. Unlike Marx, Smith recognizes that humans are naturally selfish and deeply wish to succeed. This concession displays Smith’s understanding of human nature and reality, while Marx simply longs to reside in a community that is nonexistent.

Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations is a product of philosophical encouragement, anti-imperialist beliefs, and industrial observations that has proved a useful benchmark in contemporary times. The text’s long-standing and two-sided influence not only touches the minds of its supporters, but also its opponents. The first to truly think about the free flow of capital without governmental interference, Smith was truly on the frontier of the advancement of capitalism. While others remained immature and undereducated, Smith realized the natural egotism of individuals and used it for good. Since the novel thoughts of Adam Smith were introduced into society, the selfishness that comes with economics provokes unbelievable profits.

1. (Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London, England: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776., n.d. 687)

2. (Schroeder, Michael J. "Mercantilism." Encyclopedia of the First Global Age (1450 to 1750). Facts On File, 2016. Accessed February 11, 2023. online.infobase.com/Auth/ Index?aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=243550., n.d.)

3. (Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. “Smith, Adam.” Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2004. Modern World History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=270251. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023., n.d.)

4. (Sheldon, Garrett Ward. "François Quesnay, Economic Theory of." Encyclopedia of Political Thought. Facts On File, 2001. Accessed February 11, 2023. online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=245501., n.d.)

5. (Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. "The Wealth of Nations." Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition. Facts On File, 2004. Accessed January 30, 2023.

online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=269742., n.d.

6. (Smith 1776, 4)

7. (Reill, Peter Hanns, and Ellen Judy Wilson. “Smith, Adam.” Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2004. Modern World History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=270251. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023., n.d.).

8. (Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Industrial Revolution." Encyclopedia Britannica, January 2, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/event/IndustrialRevolution., n.d.)

9. (Smith 1776, 96)

10. (“Conservatism: Margaret Thatcher & Capitalism (2012 Adam Smith Lecture)” 2012)

11. (Thatcher, Margaret. The Downing Street Years. New York: Harper Collins Pub., 1993. Text., n.d., 698

12. (“Conservatism: Margaret Thatcher & Capitalism (2012 Adam Smith Lecture)” 2012)

Notes

13. (Sheldon, Garrett Ward. “Karl Marx, Political Philosophy Of.”

Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Facts On File, 2001. Modern World History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=245804. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023., n.d.).

14. (Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto. London: Penguin Books, 2015., n.d., 24).

15. (Sheldon, Garrett Ward. “Karl Marx, Political Philosophy Of.” Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Facts On File, 2001. Modern World History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?

aid=101532&itemid=WE53&articleId=245804. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023., n.d.)

16. (Smith 1776, 719)

African American Directors: A New Frontier in Film Process Paper

The emergence of African American directors in the late 1960s/ early 1970s created a new frontier in American cinema that challenged early representations that linked people of color with negative stereotypes. Trailblazing directors like Melvin Van Peebles drew on the ideas of black power emerging from the civil rights movement to redefine African Americans as strong, proud, and willing to confront racial prejudice in America. Ultimately, their pioneering work paved the way for directors like Jordan Peele. The two films analyzed from the first half of the twentieth century marked new frontiers in the cinematic experience.

D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film, The Birth of a Nation, was the first Hollywood blockbuster, and it was intended to shock the world. In his film, he highlighted clear moments of racism and

practically sparked a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s using blackface and targeting specific, obvious racial stereotypes that villainize blacks. The film was not only a huge success, even being endorsed by president at the time Woodrow Wilson. Alan Crosland’s 1927 film, The Jazz Singer, marked a new frontier in film as it was the first “talkie”. The film, about a Jewish boy seeking to ditch his roots for modern American culture, was destined to be successful because it was the first movie to have spoken words. Blackface was once again used prominently in this film. However, in The Jazz Singer, blackface was used as a representation of American culture. Crosland suggested that white people painting their faces black and mocking African American culture is what made Americans, Americans.

During the Civil Rights Movement, following the lead of Malcolm X, the BlackPanther’s jumped on the scene. The group believed that African Americans had the right to stand up against white oppression and violence, and that nonviolent resistance would not lead to progress in equality. Melvin Van Peebles followed the lead of the Black Panthers and created a new frontier in cinema, one where African American directors responded to racial injustice. His 1962 film, Watermelon Man, responded to the troubles that African Americans experienced everyday, demonstrated when a white man wakes up in a black body. The shift in the film industry played a significant role in the fight for equality, and racial injustice is still being advocated for in the industry in modern day America. Similarly, Jordan Peele’s 2017 film, Get Out, built on Van Peebles's pioneering work, to continue to expand the frontier by bringing attention to subtle microaggressions and challenging the assumption that America has entered into a post-racial society after the election of Obama.

film industry played a significant role in the fight for equality, and racial injustice is still being advocated for in the industry in modern day America. Similarly, Jordan Peele’s 2017 film, Get Out, built on Van Peebles's pioneering work, to continue to expand the frontier by bringing attention to subtle microaggressions and challenging the assumption that America has entered into a post-racial society after the election of Obama.

Cinema created new frontiers to communicate ideas with mass audiences. When the cinematic frontier was dominated by white directors, it proved unwelcoming to minority groups. The emergence of African American directors in the context of the civil rights movement seized control of cinema, and transformed how the film industry viewed African Americans. These directors were able to find a new method of powerfully communicating social movements to all Americans.

National History Day Documentary by Will Schmitz ‘24

Winner Best Individual Documentary (Torrington Region) Senior Division

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Sean Ryan ’25 and Oliver Leonard ‘25

The Development of One of Mankind’s Greatest, but Deadliest Creations: the Manhattan Project Process Paper

The Manhattan Project, or the code name given to the process of developing the atomic bomb, made immense contributions to science and ethics. The United States began the process to defend itself from the Axis Powers and consolidate its position as a world power. Although their goal focused on the bomb itself, the work that was put into its creation resulted in many discoveries within the science community.

We chose the Manhattan Project after hearing about a movie that will come out this July titled “Oppenheimer” which explores J. Robert Oppenheimer’s role during the creation of the

atomic bomb. This movie initially caught our attention because it stars one of our favorite actors, Cillian Murphy, and our favorite director, Christopher Nolan. Additionally, when we watched the trailer and saw a recreation of the Trinity Test or the first test of an atomic bomb, we were further hooked on this topic. When we, science enthusiasts, researched this topic further and discovered that science played a vital role in the bomb’s development, we discovered that this would be the perfect topic to explore.

Before we dove into research, we decided to plan out a methodical process that would ensure we would use our time efficiently. First, we decided to gather as much information as possible about the scientists who worked on it, along with where and when the bomb was developed. Afterward, we gathered information about what events prompted the creation of the bomb and the history of our knowledge of nuclear science prior to the project. We concluded our research by learning about the aftermath of the Manhattan Project. This information included negative impacts, like the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and positives, such as nuclear energy’s role as a clean energy source. Most of the research we collected was from secondary sources, such as websites or YouTube videos, or primary sources, like pictures or letters.

We chose to convey our project as a documentary because it contains the best balance between expressing our information through both words and images or videos. Also, we knew we would have a lot of information to display and did not want to be held back by a word count or the inability to utilize images. A documentary helps both visual and auditory learners retain the information that is presented. To create our documentary, we began by crafting a written script, which we then recorded and

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We chose to convey our project as a documentary because it contains the best balance between expressing our information through both words and images or videos. Also, we knew we would have a lot of information to display and did not want to be held back by a word count or the inability to utilize images. A documentary helps both visual and auditory learners retain the information that is presented. To create our documentary, we began by crafting a written script, which we then recorded and edited using iMovie. This allowed us to combine our recorded voiceover with carefully selected images.

The Manhattan Project was significant in discovering a different energy source and changing the world of science forever. It also helped end the second World War and land a man on the moon. This made it a frontier because it accomplished something that was never done before. The Manhattan Project is an example of how scientific discoveries can be used to bring about positive or harmful changes, depending on the intentions of those who wield the technology.

National History Day Documentary by Sean Ryan ’25 and Oliver Leonard ‘25

Winner Best Group Documentary (Torrington Region) Senior Division

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Apollo 11: Expanding the Frontier of Space Exploration Process Paper

Given this year's National History Day theme of frontiers in history, we were instantly intrigued by the frontiers of space exploration, as the field of planetary science interests both of us. We decided to narrow our topic to the Apollo 11 mission of 1969. We felt that researching and devoting our time to understanding how Apollo 11 was a frontier would be useful for our personal knowledge, but also to demonstrate how important this mission was in the field of space exploration for the United States of America. We were excited when we found numerous trusted sites with great information on the

topic, such as the vast amount of photos and videos available on NASA’s website.

In order to fully understand what occurred around the Apollo 11 mission and what effect it had, we set out to find information online. First, we used google to find solid background information on Britannica. After fully grasping the concept of who was involved in Apollo 11, where it took place, and why it took place, we began researching the significance of the mission. We carefully selected several primary sources such as an interview from a former NASA employee who was involved in Apollo 11, as well as dialogue from NASA’s website. Then, we found a handful of secondary sources to develop a strong analysis of why Apollo 11 was so important, and what made it a frontier. Luckily, during our research process, we did not run into many issues, as there is a plethora of information on Apollo 11 online. Overall, the most useful source throughout this project was NASA’s website because of its detailed, trusted information, and use of primary sources.

At the beginning of building our project, our first goal was to choose a topic. In order to inspire us, we ran through a list of example topics and were happy to find Apollo 11 on the list.

Our interest in planetary science led us to choose Apollo 11 as our topic going forward. After extensive research and thinking, we were able to determine that a documentary best fit our topic because of its ability to display the large

the large collection of pictures and videos that we found. To create our video, we used iMovie. After compiling all the videos, images, recordings, and music, we finally finished our documentary. The most frustrating part of this process was the fact that we could only use one computer to make and edit the video. Apollo 11 paved the way for future missions conducted by NASA. The successful mission being televised enabled citizens of the United States of America to experience the excitement and frontier firsthand. Apollo 11 helped to advance space exploration and make the United States known as the dominant force in planetary science and exploration. Therefore, Apollo 11 was an impactful frontier of the United States' involvement in space exploration.

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National History Day Group Documentary

Jack Scafidi ’25 and Jack O’Connor ‘25

Winner 1st Place Group Documentary (Torrington Region) Senior Division

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Salem’s Secrets Process Paper

A particularly unique source we found was a historical record from nearby where our research took place. Misogynistic elements are intertwined into this primary source. It refuses to acknowledge women’s names, referring to them as “wi[ves] of” their husbands or not mentioning them at all. Women were viewed as inferior, undeserving of even their name on a document. This subtle yet significant detail shows how deeply incorporated misogyny was into every aspect of society. We also found excerpts from the trials of Hutchinson and Good that introduced us to different perspectives on why Hutchinson and Good were convicted. We used the exact words of Puritans to incriminate them of misogyny, making it a trial for Winthrop and Hawthorne instead. These sources allowed us to turn their own tool used to silence women against them, shutting down their false words.

Our topic explores Massachusetts in the 1600s, with a focus on misogyny and how it was combated. We researched early feminist figures Anne Hutchinson and Sarah Good, discovering their contributions in battling misogyny during their trials. This topic caught our attention because of how prevalent feminism is today. Through our project, we hope to highlight the incredibly brave actions of Hutchinson and Good and emphasize a need for more feminists like them.

We focused on how Massachusetts in the 1600s was rich with frontiers, including negative frontiers like the Salem Witch Trials and feminist frontiers like Hutchinson and Good. We found that 78% of the Salem Witch Trials targeted women. This clear bias towards women proves that the main purpose of the trials was to punish women simply for being women. Additionally, most accusations involved women over forty or without a current partner in their life. This suggests the prejudiced idea that Puritans considered a woman’s only role in society to bear children and be wives, and when they did not fulfill those duties, they were disposed of in these trials like broken objects.

In response to these negative frontiers, feminist frontiers arose to combat misogyny. Hutchinson and Good both represent feminist frontiers who stood up to a society that pushed them down. They questioned norms set by men, including both social and religious rules, which was unheard of at the time. Puritans answered back by punishing them in Hutchinson’s antinomianism trial and Good’s Salem Witch Trial. Through our project, we want to give a voice to the figures silenced by the misogyny of the time period.

The prejudice of Massachusetts in the 1600s serves as an ideal example of why feminists are so vital. They spread awareness on concepts like the pink tax, which is an increase in prices of products marketed towards women, and differences in work salaries based on gender. Feminists like Good and Hutchinson emphasized inequalities, especially in a time period where misogyny was so common. They helped kickstart the feminist movement, creating opportunities for future women to speak up, and are therefore inspirations to modern feminist activists.

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National History Day Group Performance Eva Solano ’26 and Alexandra Zummo ‘26

Winner 2nd Place Group Performance (Torrington Region)

Connecticut History Day Group Performance Submission (State Level)

Senior Division

Televised Debates, Nixon v. Kennedy Process Paper

I chose my topic because I have always been interested in film and mass media. The first 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate was always described to me as a pivotal moment in television history and I was interested in understanding what the real effects of that debate were.

This debate opened a new frontier in mixing politics and television. In the past, news segments about politics involved interviews or press conferences. Political debates were mainly consumed by voters through radio broadcasts or

newspaper articles. The Nixon-Kennedy debates changed that forever by bringing politics, unfiltered, into the home of American voters.

To research this topic I started by watching a recording of the debate and a few recent reviews and analysis of it. Then I read through the New York Times archives, looking for interviews or opinion pieces to get a sense of what people were saying about it, if they liked the debate televised and if it affected their candidate preferences or not. I also used the archives at the Museum of Broadcast Communications and both the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the Richard Nixon Library and Museum website collections. I emailed the Nixon archives looking for transcripts from audio recordings, but got no response. While reading secondary sources, analysis articles, about the effects of the debate on the election, I noticed a history professor, Luke Nichter, who was mentioned quite often, so I also reached out to him for advice and suggestions for sources. While he recommended some useful sources, his email did not provide any direct quotes. Lastly, I looked at records of the polling numbers and approval ratings in the archives at Gallup and the Pew Research Center to understand how the debate affected the candidates from a numbers perspective.

I decided to construct a website because of how important visuals information is to my topic. When creating the

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website, first I picked out important images and clips from the debate and then I wrote out all of the content that came from my research.

My project shows that Nixon's appearance during the debate did not have as large an effect on the outcome of the election as people think. Instead, it changed the way that voters and politicians interacted with each other and with the campaign process. Rather than dramatically changing the direction of the 1960 election, it actually had more of a long-lasting effect in reviving public participation in politics and set a new precedent for political communication that we can see in presidential campaigns today.

Winner 1st Place Individual Website Submission (Torrington Region)

Winner 1st Place Individual Website (Connecticut State Contest) Outstanding Affiliate Winner at National History Day Senior Division The First Televised Debate National History Day Individual Website by Nina Lux ‘26

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Brunswick School 100 Maher Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 (203) 625-5800 brunswickscgool.org Greenwich Academy 200 North Maple Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 (203) 625-8900 Greenwichacademy.org

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