The Toro Historical Review is an undergraduate student-run e-journal associated with the CSU Dominguez Hills Department of History.
Department of History, CSU Dominguez Hills
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license, which permits unrestricted reproduction, distribution, and adaptation, provided that citation of the original work is included.
Copyright (c) 2025 Joshua Jeffers https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Welcome to volume 16, issue 1 of The Toro Historical Review! This issue features seven essays produced in upper-division history classes and represents remarkable achievements in undergraduate research, writing, and editing. Well done all! Congratulations to the authors: Samantha Chavez, Lauren Heib, Ava Kostka, Lance Lee, John Robbins, Johanna Villalobos And a special thank you to our editorial team who has worked hard to bring this issue to fruition. Thank you!
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This research paper examines the enduring impact of the Doctrine of Discovery on Native American sovereignty, with a focus on the Onondaga Nation and the Iroquois Confederacy. By tracing the doctrine's legal, political, and cultural consequences, it is revealed how the Doctrine and its language has been used to justify the dispossession of Native lands while contributing to the erosion of Indigenous self-governance. This paper looks directly at the Onondaga Nation whom have actively fought against the consequences of the Doctrine to assert their sovereignty. Drawing on treaties, legal documents, and case rulings this project highlights the intersection of colonial ideologies and Native resilience, advocating for a critical reevaluation of historical injustices and their contemporary implications.
Copyright (c) 2025 Samantha Chavez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
In 1821, the Gold Coast became a British colony, bringing change to Ghana's social, political, and economic structure. By 1918, British ideologies had infiltrated even the most intimate parts of Ghanaian life and thus impacted marriage, inheritance, and household gender roles. In the Gold Coast, inheritance was matrilineal, meaning that inheritance was passed down through the mother’s blood line and children belonged to the mother’s family, or Abusua. However, that did not mean that this practice benefited women. As the colonial government altered both the economy and gender roles, wives labor became subservient to their husbands and their unpaid labor became their husbands’ benefit. In response, Ghanaian women enacted new measures to ensure wealth for themselves and their Abusua. By the late 1950s, matrilineal inheritance was a longstanding Ghanaian tradition, withstanding the new European marriage practices and legalities. Despite this longevity, matrilineal inheritance began to encounter challenges regarding its efficiency. By examining Ghana's independence period and subsequent aftermath, we can see how Ghanaian women reclaimed their autonomy by demanding land independent from their husbands, refusing to marry, or challenging their husbands Abusua in colonial courts for a share in their husband’s land. Furthermore, as women challenged colonial authority for rights over their labor, and in return, men demanded more ownership of their children. Through the use of newspaper articles, published in Ghana's Daily Graphic, we can observe the argument for and against matrilineal inheritance, and how Ghanaians challenged colonial influence as Ghana approached independence.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lauren Heib https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This historiography examines the changes and continuities in the daily lives of Japanese women from before World War II to the postwar period, using scholarly secondary material to question whether a true change can be attributed to the apparent shift from the patrilineal "stem" family structure to the conjugal "nuclear" system in Japan.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ava Kostka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This research paper explores the evolution of Native American captivity narratives from the 16th century to the 20th century, emphasizing how personal gain and propagandist motives transformed their historical integrity. These narratives originally provided truthful accounts of the experiences of captured individuals. However, as the genre gained popularity, authors began fabricating stories, and the genre of captivity narratives became flooded with stories that were driven purely by greed or other agendas such as religious propaganda. By studying popular and influential narratives such as those of Hans Staden, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson, this paper illustrates how narratives transitioned from accurate documentation to vehicles for moral and religious messaging. By the end of captivity narratives' popularity as a genre, these drastic changes in motives culminated in a reversal of roles where Native Americans became the subjects of captivity instead of the captors.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lance Lee https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The United States Effect on the Salvadoran Civil War and Immigration
This essay examines the Salvadoran Civil War and its effects on U.S. immigration.
Copyright (c) 2025 John Robbins https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
This essay explores the troubling reality in North America, where a disproportionately high number of Indigenous women and young girls are going missing or being murdered (MMIWG), yet these tragedies often fail to receive adequate media attention or law enforcement resources compared to cases involving white women. Systemic issues like racism, sexism, socio-economic inequalities, and damaging stereotypes contribute to the marginalization of these cases. This disparity underscores deep-seated prejudices and failures within institutions, rooted in historical injustices. Research into the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) reveals the persistent legacy of colonialism, as explored in Sarah Deer's book, The Beginning and End of Rape. Colonization allowed European men to assert power over Indigenous women, fostering a legacy of control and subjugation that has led to ongoing systemic challenges, such as heightened sexual violence and human trafficking in Indigenous communities today. This essay examines the impact of sexual violence through primary and secondary sources, the lack of action by the government and police in investigating MMIWG, the role of the media in shaping the crisis, and the activism and movements within Indigenous communities aimed at decolonizing the narrative to advocate for justice and remembrance. The essay concludes by emphasizing the growing awareness and activism among Indigenous peoples and their allies to confront these critical issues. This effort not only honors the victims and their families but also challenges the persistence of such violence. Ultimately, the research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the structural inequalities driving this epidemic in North America.
Copyright (c) 2025 Johanna Villalobos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Toro Historical Review Volume 16, Issue 1 Editorial and Production Team Efrain Contreras Michael Gonzalez Ava Kostka Lance Lee Dr. Joshua J. Jeffers, faculty mentor