The University of North Texas Libraries invite applications for the 2016 The Portal to Texas History Research Fellowship. Research using the Portal is relevant to studies in a variety of disciplines including history, journalism, political science, geography, and American studies. We encourage applicants to think creatively about the opportunities that research with large digital library collections can enable. Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate the greatest potential for publication and the best use of The Portal to Texas History.

The Portal to Texas History 2015 Research Fellowship Awardee

Evan C. Rothera

Project Title

‘There are in Texas men who have suffered much’: Reconstruction in the Lone Star State

Project Description

In contrast to studies of Reconstruction that focus on national politics, my project, “‘There are in Texas men who have suffered much’: Reconstruction in the Lone Star State,” examines how Reconstruction unfolded, at the state and local levels, in Texas. This analysis allows me to make comparisons with reconstructions in Argentina and Mexico and consider broader questions such as: did the fact that the United States had a fully functioning two-party system have anything to do with differing attitudes toward violence in the three countries and what role did the Constitution of each country play in this process? This project will shed new light on Reconstruction in the United States as well as placing Reconstruction in comparative perspective with other reconstructions in the Western Hemisphere.

Biography

Evan C. Rothera is a doctoral candidate in the History Department at The Pennsylvania State University. His dissertation analyzes reconstructions in the United States, Mexico, and Argentina. He has presented his research at numerous conferences and received the Outstanding Paper by a Graduate Student Award from the Society of Civil War Historians for his paper “‘Our South American Cousin’: Domingo F. Sarmiento and the Case for Comparative Reconstructions.” He has published an article in The Journal of Mississippi History, as well as numerous book reviews.