The Undergraduate Historical Journal at UC Merced, founded in 2013, aims to provide an outlet for undergraduate students to publish their original research, and in doing so, foster a connection between themselves, their professors, and the larger scholarly community. All submissions are peer-reviewed by our editorial board of undergraduate students, and we accept submissions from any discipline so long as an historical basis is present. As part of UC Merced – the first American research university built in the 21st century – we firmly believe that undergraduate research serves a dual role: first, in polishing students’ abilities in preparation for their work post-graduation; second, in adding brilliant new developments and viewpoints to the current field of historical research.