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This dissertation appraises the role of white, middle-class businessmen as engineers of urban development, assessing the complexity of individual and group reactions to an array of economic, political, social, and environmental stimuli that residents of Kansas faced between 1870 and 1929 using Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City as case studies. I explore the social dynamics that evolved among these local businessmen – as well as with other townspeople and those who lived outside their communities – to consider how these social interactions affected each town's urban aspirations. This study traces the process of town-building from its inception when Abilene, Wichita, and Dodge City became cattle towns; through the towns' transition into commercial centers during the boom of the 1880s; their struggles to negotiate the agricultural and economic depression of the 1890s; and their resurgence in the early 1900s. Over the period of sixty years, businessmen responded to major shifts in the surrounding agricultural economy; regional and national politics; and evolving transportation systems. In examining how these men negotiated with one another, with other residents, and with their rural neighbors to respond to these changes, I conclude that the communities that proffered the most cogent visions for development – and those which devised the most solid strategies and programs to achieve these plans – were those where businessmen actively and consistently collaborated with one another. In so doing, I identify local promotional organizations as an important site for sustained collaboration and explore early formal and informal attempts to establish these groups, while examining how collaboration became increasingly institutionalized in the first decades of the twentieth century.

chapter 1. Immigration in the United States from the colonial period to 1980 -- chapter 2. Immigration law and policies since 1980 -- chapter 3. Current immigration statistics -- chapter 4. The worldwide refugee challenge -- chapter 5. Illegal immigration -- chapter 6. The costs and benefits of immigration -- chapter 7. Immigration's role in reshaping the United States -- chapter 8. The United States needs more tolerant immigration laws -- chapter 9. The United States needs tougher immigration laws.

ch. 1. Death through the ages : a brief overview -- ch. 2. Redefining death -- ch. 3. The end of life : ethical considerations -- ch. 4. The end of life : medical considerations -- ch. 5. Older adults -- ch. 6. Infant and child death -- ch. 7. Suicide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide -- ch. 8. Advance care planning -- ch. 9. Courts and the end of life -- ch. 10. The cost of health care.

chapter 1. The history of the right to bear arms -- chapter 2. How many guns are there, and who owns them? -- chapter 3. Firearm laws, regulations, and ordinances -- chapter 4. Court rulings on firearms -- chapter 5. Firearms and crime -- chapter 6. Gun-related injuries and fatalities -- chapter 7. Guns and youth -- chapter 8. Public attitudes toward gun control -- chapter 9. There should be stricter gun control laws -- chapter 10. There should not be stricter gun control laws.

What is poverty? -- The economic and human dimensions of poverty -- Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa -- Poverty in Asia and the Arab States -- Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean -- Poverty in developed countries -- Women and children in poverty -- Poverty and environmental hazards -- Poverty and violence -- The fight against poverty : progress and prospects.

ch. 1. American women : who are they? -- ch. 2. Women's education -- ch. 3. Women in the labor force -- ch. 4. Women's occupations -- ch. 5. Money, income, and poverty -- ch. 6. Women's health -- ch. 7. Childbearing, contraception, and reproductive rights -- ch. 8. Child care and elder care -- ch. 9. Women in US politics -- ch. 10. Women as victims of crime -- ch. 11. Women as criminals.