This year’s issue of Past and Present represents a new chapter for the journal. With the retirement of Paul Doutrich, who for many years lovingly guided the student editors through the process of the journal’s creation, I have stepped into the large shoes he left vacant. As was the case annually under Paul’s leadership, this year’s Past and Present reflects the stellar scholarship produced by York College students. I am indebted to all of my departmental faculty colleagues who have mentored students in the research projects that were submitted for consideration, whether or not the papers ultimately were accepted for publication; faculty devotion to nurturing students at every step of the research process has direct bearing on the quality of the final projects. I am also grateful to all of our department’s students for providing their scholarship, which serves as a foundation for the journal. I was blessed to work with four outstanding student editors, all of whom have been an absolute joy to work with, and I appreciate their unceasing hard work, dedication, and care with which they approached this endeavor. After difficult deliberations, the editors have selected eight exceptional manuscripts that reflect the broad research interests and high quality of scholarship of our department’s students, and have spent many hours reading and preparing the manuscripts for publication. This year marks the college’s 50th anniversary, and, as the editors note in their explanation for the cover art, it was deemed fitting to highlight this milestone in this issue of Past and Present. I must thank Karen Rice-Young, Archivist at the Schmidt Library, for her extensive assistance in providing the editors with images from York College’s early years and advice for constructing the cover design. Finally, in perhaps a glance to the future as well as to the past, Past and Present now will also be produced in an electronic version, in a project spearheaded by Jacqueline Beatty working with student editor Cody Little. I am likewise very thankful for their hard work on the project.
-Ilana Krug, Past and Present faculty advisor
The Past and Present Journal is published annually by the Department of History and Political Science at York College of Pennsylvania.
Department of History and Political Science Faculty and Staff:
John Altman, Chair
Deb Staley, Administrative Assistant
Julio Javier Aguayo
Nicholas Anspach
Jacqueline Beatty
Corey Brooks
David Fyfe
Mary Graham, Emerita
Padraic Kennedy
Ilana Krug
Peter Levy
Xiaofei Li
Kay McAdams
Sung-Wook Paik
Jennifer Pomeroy
Kwasi Sarfo
Robert Terry, Emeritus
John Weaver
Copying by Rosanna Wood and Mildred Martin, York College Academic Printing Services
Binding services performed by Wolf Printing, York, PA