Curl, Donald W.

This thesis concerns itself with an examination of
the relationship between social class background and the
study of history.
Chapter One includes an §varview of previous research
done in this area and the effects of different social
class backgrounds on students' educational development.
It was hypothesized that in as much as the social class
an individual emerges from can greatly influence his
general attitudes, educational achievement , and political
ideas, it therefore should influence how a student views
historical problems.
A survey was administered to all 180 second year
history students at Broward Junior College to determine
their socio-economic status and their attitudes on ten
selected historical problems. A modified Warner method
was used and the results correlated.
There appears to be a relationship between social
class and historical attitudes but it is not clear what
this relationship is. Only on questions concerning
communism was any pattern apparent. Further research
would be necessary to determine the exact relationship.

The social, economic, and political changes created by the Meiji Restoration triggered Japanese emigration. Economically distressed farmers, planning on staying in America a short time, accounted for most of the Japanese on the Pacific Coast. Most history of Japanese immigration to America focuses on the Pacific states and their anti-Japanese stance. Florida's Japanese colony, Yamato, however, presents a different perspective of the Japanese immigrant experience in two ways. Instead of farmers, Yamato's first settlers included college-educated, ex-samurai men who came to America with every intention of staying. These men shared a common vision based on the unique Christian education that they had received at Kyoto's Doshisha College. At odds with the political conservatism Japan adopted in the mid-1890s, these young men hoped to build new lives in America. Secondly, in the beginning, Florida, a newly developing state, warmly welcomed and supported the establishment of Japanese colonies in the state.

Florida Atlantic University library was planned to be the most modern, efficient, and impressive in the world, the model for the library of the future. Edward M. Heiliger, its first director, was the world's leading authority on library automation during the 1960s. He assembled a team that solved many problems using the computer technology of the time. The library received a Herculean task: to design and implement a new system while establishing a collection. Administrators, educators, and students came to FAU to take part in a different concept in education, a place where advanced technology would be merged into the learning process, but they brought traditional views and values. Despite the best of intentions and bold prognostications, insufficient funding and the ingrained ideas of its users prevented the realization of the library's potential.

The architecture of the Bahamas was affected by the influx of fleeing American loyalists to that country in the late 1700s. They imported the Georgian style of architecture to the Bahamas popular in southern America's colonial towns. Fallacies over the exact nature of many Bahamian structures have dominated many discourses on this subject. By tracing the direct line of influence, using old, colonial structures these mistakes can be rectified. The loyalists managed to reshape the Bahamian capital of Nassau and develop many of the small Out Islands. Although their influence lasted only a short while, the loyalists altered the nature of the identity of the Bahamian people.

In the late nineteenth century, when representatives of America's urban elite began spending their winters in newly created southern resorts, they brought the game of golf with them. Golf appeared in Palm Beach County simultaneously with the creation of Henry M. Flagler's luxurious, new resort hotels. Early in the twentieth century, golf developed into more than simply a game, it represented an emerging American lifestyle. As a game, golf embodied the values of individual competition and fair play; as a lifestyle, it required a modicum of wealth, leisure time, and frequently led to the creation of private golf-course communities. Golf played a particularly significant role in Palm Beach County's history. By 1987, after ninety years of growth interrupted by periods of stagnation, Palm Beach County boasted of having more than one hundred courses, with over sixty golf-course communities--a haven for residents of elite enclaves.

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a large, conservative, evangelical church. The church has gained national and international recognition for several reasons. Beginning in 1965 and for several years, the church was the fastest growing Presbyterian church in the United States. The pastor, Dr. D. James Kennedy, developed a lay evangelism program called "Evangelism Explosion," and churches in over 160 nations have adopted the method. Kennedy also has a television ministry. Additionally, Coral Ridge developed a large and active music ministry, built a Christian day school, and founded Knox Theological Seminary. These ministries are a result of Kennedy's leadership, Coral Ridge's approach to lay evangelism, and the application of Calvinism.

Juno Beach is a small municipality located in Palm Beach County on the southeast coast of Florida. Although it was incorporated in 1953, the Town is part of the sweep of history of Florida before European contact and thereafter. Its location and population growth are representative of significant changes in Florida. These links to the past are set forth in a narrative that utilizes people and events connected with Juno Beach to point out the relation of broader events to the history of a small Florida community as sand hills developed along the seashore. Nineteenth century efforts to control nature led to twentieth century efforts to save it.

Walter Reid Clark was the colorful and controversial sheriff of Broward County from 1933 until 1950. The son of poor dirt farmers, Clark won a surprising upset victory in the 1932 election and began serving the first of five consecutive terms in office. Noted for his personal generosity toward residents, Clark became politically powerful in the state and used his influence to provide economic benefits for the county. He also permitted illegal gambling because it provided revenue and jobs for residents. After the Second World War, many residents wanted illegal gambling to end. Clark was suspended from office by Governor Fuller Warren after a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee investigation exposed his ownership of the Broward Novelty Company, which allegedly owned slot machines and administrated an illegal lottery.

This thesis discusses Edward Riley Bradley from his birth in 1859 until his death in 1946. Bradley lived a very full and diverse life. He was, in turn, a mill worker, gold miner, gambler, businessman, and philanthropist. Bradley was most noted for owning Idle Hour Farm, the home of four Kentucky Derby winners. Furthermore, he was the owner of the Beach Club of Palm Beach, possibly the most exclusive gambling casino in American history.

One of the first accomplishments of the Planning Board was to contract with prominent city planner John Nolen to re-design West Palm Beach. As Nolen conducted his surveys and prepared a general plan, various political machinations in the city frustrated the planning process. Nolen's plans were never implemented because of the Florida land boom of the 1920s and because of the city's lack of commitment to planning. West Palm Beach in the 1920s was a mix of planning advocates and developers. With reckless capitalistic zeal, subdividers shaped the physical structure of West Palm Beach with only the most primitive of plans. The Planning Board was only an advisory panel and lacked the ability to enforce planning decisions. There was little public support for the city to have strong police powers over private property. The city adopted zoning regulations in 1926 when zoning consultant, Robert Whitten, drafted a zoning law based on legal precedents. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)