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The Department of History is excited to share news from our amazing majors!
Noah Allen-Darden has been awarded a UTC Council of Scholars Scholarship for his multi-archival thesis project examines campaign records, public correspondence, and personal testimonies to trace the roots and impact of the Southern Strategy within the Democratic Party. Mr. Allen-Darden’s thesis, a geopolitical biography, chronicles the political lives of five prominent national political figures from 1952-1960, including Governor Adlai Stevenson, Senators Harry Byrd and Hubert Humphrey, and Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy in the Democratic South. His research seeks to uncover the role that internal divisions and irreconcilable differences played in the downfall of the Southern Democratic establishment. Mr. Allen-Darden’s thesis measures politicians’ performance by considering senate debates, polling data, political donations, and newspaper coverage, especially in conjunction with the Young Democrats and High School papers. Historians identify Richard Nixon’s 1968 Southern Swing as a watershed moment in the realignment of Southern American politics. Mr. Allen-Darden’s thesis recasts this historical shift by tracing the fractures within the Democratic Party before prominent 1960s liberals dominated the political landscape. By tapping into senatorial, gubernatorial, and presidential archives, Mr. Allen-Darden’s research delivers a more comprehensive history of the Democratic party’s campaign strategies, regional nuances, and different leadership styles.
Sophie Barton was admitted to and will be attending Vanderbilt’s Peabody College to pursue an MA in Teaching with a focus in History.
Congratulations to both Noah and Sophie!