The postwar years were a time of great changes for homosexuals in the United States. The conjunction of the fear and anxiety of the first Cold War years, negative stereotypes held as scientific truths explaining homosexuality, and the greater awareness people had about the existence of gays and lesbians resulted in an environment of misunderstanding and persecution. Within this environment, positive scientific contributions toward the understanding of homosexuality such as Kinsey's report were twisted to fit the larger societal preconceptions, and even influenced the creation of legislation aimed at eradicating homosexuals from the government.
Dear Reader:On behalf of the Editorial Board and Staff, I am proud to present to you thetwelfth edition of the Fairmount Folio, an annual publication of some of the besthistorical research from WSU's graduate and undergraduate students.This issue has a marked emphasis on American history, where minority groups such as Native Americans and gays and lesbians figure prominently. This emphasis is not intentional. The selection was made by the Editorial Board based on the merit of the research papers, and from this process, five outstanding papers were selected.The opening piece by Marquez is titled "Understanding Homosexuality in Postwar Kansas." In this the author examines some of the major developments that were occurring in the nation's cities concerning the understanding of homosexuality, and how these were reflected in Kansas at a time when the interstate highway system was beginning to emerge. In the second piece, "Smallpox: The American Fur Company Pox Outbreak of 1837-1838," Ables discusses the great smallpox epidemic, and its effects on the Native American population of the Upper Missouri region. Ramsey's "Understanding the Cherokee War" is an analysis of the diplomatic relations between Cherokees and English, and the events that led to the British-Cherokee conflict of 1759, and Marquez's "Persecution of Homosexuals in the McCarthy Hearings" deals with the role that the famous senator played in the lavender scare of the early fifties. The closing piece departs from this thematic pattern. In "Preparing for the Future War," Munshaw analyzes the major Soviet military buildup of the early thirties, as previewed in Stalin's First Five Year Plan.I would like to extend my gratitude to the Editorial Board members for their hard work in reviewing and selecting these research papers. In addition, I would like to thank professors Robert Owens and Robin Henry for their useful feedback in the improvement of the students' works. Finally, I thank Dr. Helen Hundley for her enthusiastic support and great editorial vision in aiding me with this privileged task. In times of economic stress and budget cuts, publications like this show that supporting the humanities never goes unrewarded.Hugo MarquezApril 2010
