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Introduction

This issue marks the fifteenth anniversary of Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review, the award-winning, student-run e-journal published by the Alpha Mu Gamma Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. Despite the difficulties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, the class of 2023 managed to continue their studies with diligence and motivation, successfully completing these exceptional examples of undergraduate research.

We would like to express our gratitude and thanks to Kristin Laughtin-Dunker for her support in guiding us through the publication process and managing the digital platform. Her efforts are and have been essential to the success of this journal.

We would also like to thank our faculty advisor Dr. Shira Klein, as well as Chapman’s History Department as a whole. Their passion, mentorship, and wisdom form the beating heart of our program and motivated us to challenge ourselves and open our minds to the vast world of knowledge and opportunity. Dr. Jennifer D. Keene, Dr. Robert Slayton, Dr. Alexander Bay, Dr. Charissa Threat, Dr. Kyle Longley, Dr. Lily Hodges, Dr. William F. Cumiford, Dr. Jeffrey Koerber, Dr. Marilyn J. Harran, Professor Michael Fraga, Dr. Mateo Jarquin, Dr. Luke Nichter, Dr. Liam O’Mara, Dr. Jana Remy, Dr. Adwoa Opong, Dr. Vivian Yan-Gonzalez, and Dr. Patrick Cecil have all been instrumental in the journeys of the class of 2023, and none of these stellar papers would have been possible without their enthusiastic support and encouragement.

Finally, we would like to thank our hard-working team of student editors who were willing to devote their time to this journal, and especially recognize our Junior and Sophomore editorial board members, without whom this issue could not exist.

The authors selected for this issue have dedicated themselves to producing impressive bodies of historical literature through analyses of primary and secondary source material and hours upon hours of physical and virtual research. These papers are the culmination of extraordinary diligence and exemplary of the high-caliber research and education Chapman’s History Department is renowned for.

Haleluya Wondwosen & Tyler Drake, Senior Co-Editors