I am attempting to get the following result (following my school's dissertation style guide):
The one-inch margin must be maintained on each page except the last page of each chapter. When the last page does not fill the entire page, the footnotes for that page must follow directly under the text.
I started by messing with subtracting \vspace (no effect on the footnote placement).
I've had no luck with \newgeometry or other methods of changing margins within single pages.
Scoping \raggedbottom to a single page looked promising, but the answer provided didn't work for me--or perhaps I'm missing something about how to implement the answer.
Are there any straightforward solutions I'm missing? I had high hopes for scoping \raggedbottom, but I just couldn't quite get it to work.
Here's my (updated, compilable) MWE—I may have included more than necessary, but I don't yet know enough about LaTeX to know how various packages interact, and I'm hoping for a solution that preserves my existing work (front matter, toc, etc.). I've incorporated Werner's and Barbara's helpful suggestions (noted in the MWE) but it doesn't play well with the other packages apparently...
*EDIT: Here's the bit of code that I've used to force footnotes to begin renumbering with each new chapter. I noticed that the solution by @Werner interfered with that function, so perhaps \usepackage{etoolbox} is the issue?
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\chapter{\thispagestyle}{\global\c@footnote\z@\thispagestyle}{}{}
\makeatother
But perhaps not. My idea is this, though: from what I can tell, etoolbox allowed me to patch the \chapter command rather than make an entirely new replacement command, right? Perhaps there's a way to use @Werner's general approach of manipulating the \chapter command but using an additional patch, as above? I will be working on it, and will update if I make any progress. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. You're amazing. I'm a theologian with nearly zero tech knowledge, so I'm amazed at what you're able to do. Here's the full MWE. I've tried modifying Werner's approach below, incorporating it into the \etoolbox patching rather than rewriting \chapter. I'm no longer getting errors when I compile, and the footnote counter resets with each new chapter as it should, but the footnotes at the ends of chapters are remaining firmly glued to the bottom of the page. Any idea what I'm missing?
\documentclass[12pt]{report}
\usepackage{indentfirst}
\usepackage{longtable}
\usepackage[greek,german,french,english]{babel}
\usepackage[letterpaper,left=1.25in,right=1.25in,bottom=1in,top=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{setspace}
\usepackage[protrusion=true,expansion=true]{microtype}
\usepackage{phonetic}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\usepackage{sectsty}
\makeatletter
\def\@makechapterhead#1{%
\vspace*{.15in}%
{\parindent \z@ \centering
\normalfont
\ifnum \c@secnumdepth >\m@ne
\if@mainmatter
\@chapapp\space \thechapter
\par\nobreak
\vskip 24\p@
\fi
\fi
\interlinepenalty\@M
\Huge \bfseries #1\par\nobreak
\vskip 24\p@
}}
\def\@schapter#1{\if@twocolumn
\@topnewpage[\@makeschapterhead{#1}]%
\else
\@makeschapterhead{#1}%
\@afterheading
\fi}
\def\@makeschapterhead#1{%
\vspace*{.15in}%
{\parindent \z@ \centering
\normalfont
\interlinepenalty\@M
#1\par\nobreak
\vskip 24\p@
}}
\sectionfont{\normalsize\normalfont\centering\itshape}
\subsectionfont{\normalsize\normalfont\raggedright\itshape}
%%%%%%WERNER's SUGGESTION MODIFIED
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\usepackage{zref-savepos,afterpage}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\chapter{\thispagestyle}{\global\c@footnote\z@\thispagestyle}{}{}
\makeatother
\makeatletter
\patchcmd\chapter{
\zsaveposy{last-chap-page-\thechapter}%
\ifnum\zposy{last-chap-page-\thechapter}>0
\enlargethispage{-\dimexpr\textheight-\zposy{top-of-textblock}sp+\zposy{last-chap-page-\thechapter}sp-2\baselineskip}%
\fi
}
\makeatother
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\usepackage[compact]{titlesec}
\titlespacing\section{0pt}{24pt plus 4pt minus 2pt}{0pt plus 2pt minus 2pt}
\titlespacing\subsection{0pt}{24pt plus 4pt minus 2pt}{0pt plus 2pt minus 2pt}
%%%%%%%%%%
\usepackage[bottom]{footmisc}
\setlength{\footnotesep}{20pt}
\skip\footins 20pt plus4pt minus4pt
\def\changemargin#1#2{\list{}{\rightmargin#2\leftmargin#1}\item[]}
\let\endchangemargin=\endlist
\setlength{\parindent}{24pt}
\makeatletter
\renewcommand\@makefntext[1]{%
\noindent\makebox[.3in][r]{\@makefnmark}#1}
\makeatother
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{5}
\setcounter{tocdepth}{5}
\makeatletter
\renewcommand*\l@chapter[2]{%
\ifnum \c@tocdepth >\m@ne
\addpenalty{-\@highpenalty}%
\vskip 1.0em \@plus\p@
\setlength\@tempdima{1.5em}%
\begingroup
\parindent \z@ \rightskip \@pnumwidth
\parfillskip -\@pnumwidth
\leavevmode \bfseries
\advance\leftskip\@tempdima
\hskip -\leftskip
#1\nobreak\normalfont\leaders\hbox{$\m@th
\mkern \@dotsep mu\hbox{.}\mkern \@dotsep
mu$}\hfill\nobreak\hb@xt@\@pnumwidth{\hss #2}\par
\penalty\@highpenalty
\endgroup
\fi}
\makeatother
\begin{document}
\chapter*{\vspace{1in}\doublespacing{ABSTRACT\\*Dissertation Title\\*Student Name\\*Mentor: Somebody, Ph.D.}}
\doublespacing
\thispagestyle{empty}
%\maketitle
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage
%Copyright page
\vspace*{8.15in}
\begin{centering}
\doublespacing
Copyright \copyright 2015 Daniel J. Marrs
All rights reserved
\end{centering}
\thispagestyle{empty}
\newpage
\pagenumbering{roman}
\setcounter{page}{5}
\renewcommand{\contentsname}{TABLE OF CONTENTS}
\begin{singlespacing}
\tableofcontents
\microtypesetup{protrusion=true}
\end{singlespacing}
\newpage
\chapter*{LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\normalfont{LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS}}
\vspace{-21pt}
\begin{singlespacing}
\begin{longtable}[l]{p{.55in} p{5.20in}}
AN & ``Armed Neutrality.'' See \textit{The Point of View} (PV). \\%[12pt]
BA & \textit{The Book on Adler}, trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995. \\
C & \textit{The Crisis and a Crisis in the Life of an Actress}. See \textit{Christian Discourses} (CD). \\
CA & \textit{The Concept of Anxiety}, trans. Reidar Thomte in collaboration with Albert B. Anderson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980. \\
CD & \textit{Christian Discourses} and \textit{The Crisis and a Crisis in the Life of an Actress}, trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. \\
CI & \textit{The Concept of Irony} and ``Notes on Schelling's Berlin Lectures,'' trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. \\
COR & \textit{The Corsair Affair}, trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982. \\
\end{longtable}
\end{singlespacing}
%\newpage
%Preface
\newpage
\chapter*{ACKNOWLEDGMENTS}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\normalfont{ACKNOWLEDGMENTS}}
%DEDICATION
%%%%%%%%
\newpage
\vspace*{.15in}
\begin{centering}
something something something
\end{centering}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\normalfont{DEDICATION}}
\addtocontents{toc}{%
\protect\vspace{1em}%
\protect\noindent Chapter\protect\par
}
%MAIN TEXT OF DISSERTATION
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%
\newpage
\setcounter{page}{1}
\pagenumbering{arabic}
\chapter*{CHAPTER THREE\\*The Context: Freedom, Ethics, and Evil}
\addcontentsline{toc}{chapter}{\normalfont{\hspace{.2in}3. THE CONTEXT: FREEDOM, ETHICS, AND EVIL}}
Kierkegaard's anthropology can be contextualized fruitfully in a variety of ways. Take \textit{Concept of Anxiety}, which we examined cursorily in Chapter 2: due to its status as an especially detailed expression of Kierkegaard's anthropology, as well as a philosophically-dense and polemically engaged work, I contend that if we situate its argument in relation to certain anthropological discourses of the day, we not only get a better sense of the pseudonymous Vigilius Haufnienesis' project in that particular work but also a richer, more contextualized view of Kierkegaard's overall anthropology. Put simply, concerns and categories that figure prominently in \textit{Concept of Anxiety} continued to characterize Kierkegaard's anthropology to the very latest stages of his authorship.
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%%%%%%%
\section*{3.1 Toward Autonomy\footnote{For the sake of simplicity, I offer here at the outset a brief explanatory note regarding references to Kant's writings: all citations of \textit{Kritik der reinen Vernunft} (\textit{The Critique of Pure Reason}) follow the standard practice of citing the A/B editions of 1781 and 1787. Citations of other works refer to the standard German edition of Kant's works. These citations are designated by ``Ak'' followed by the volume and the page number. The sources for English quotations for each work are indicated in footnotes (all of which use a paginating that is keyed to the Ak or A/B editions).}}
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\indent\normalfont{3.1 Toward Autonomy}}
Kant's theory of freedom in terms of the autonomous will---``the will's property of being a law to itself''\footnote{Ak 4: 447.}---finds its roots in his critical epistemology and his trajectory toward the prioritization of practical reason. A brief overview of Kant's intellectual journey to autonomy will help highlight how the human self came to be seen as the central locus of not only the \textit{problem} of the incommensurability of thought and existence, but also the \textit{solution} to that incommensurability.
\section*{3.2 Schelling, Pro and Contra Autonomy\footnote{Regarding references to Schelling's work, page numbers and volume information refer to. I let the context indicate which work is being quoted, while footnotes simply take the form of \textit{Werke} followed by numbers indicating volume and pagination. Where pertinent, I cite the English translations utilized, all of which are keyed to the pagination of the \textit{Werke}.}}
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\indent\normalfont{3.2 Schelling, Pro and Contra Autonomy}}
Schelling's first system (and, for that matter, Hegel's system, which can be thought of as essentially an expansion of the early Schelling) is a continuation of the particular trajectory in Kant's thought described above---the systematization of the reciprocity of freedom and law. But eventually, Schelling, and Kierkegaard after him, found the ethical and existential cost of such systematization to be far too high. In preparation for my examination in the next chapter of the shape of Kierkegaard's approach to this essentially Kantian problematic in \textit{Concept of Anxiety}, I will offer a brief synopsis of Schelling's early systematization and later critique of Kantian autonomy---a critique that Kierkegaard leveraged heavily in his early accounts of human freedom and ethics.
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\subsection*{3.2.1 Schelling's Early Systematization}
\addcontentsline{toc}{subsection}{\hspace{.25in}\normalfont{3.2.1 Schelling's Early Systematization}}
In contrast to Kant's strategy of interminably parsing and re-parsing ever-finer distinctions within his concept of freedom, the early Schelling plunged headlong into the awkward ethical implications of Kantian autonomy. Like Kant, Schelling early in his career began to see freedom as centrally important for the human's unifying role in the world: in freedom we find ``a fulcrum on which reason can rest its lever, without therefore placing it in the present or in a future world but only in the \textit{inner sense of freedom}, because it unites both worlds in itself.''\footnote{\textit{Werke} 1: 401, quoted and translated in: xxxvii.} Also like Kant, Schelling wrestled with two competing impulses inherent in the idealist framework regarding the status of freedom. His early systematization of Kant's philosophy relied heavily upon the notion of a ``pre-established harmony'' between freedom and nature, a harmony rooted in the eternal mutuality of the subjective freedom of the Absolute on one hand, and the objective determinations of history on the other. In his \textit{System of Transcendental idealism} (1800), Schelling describes history as a drama, with each individual actor (as the \textit{disjecti membra po\"etae}, of the single, spiritual Absolute) participating in the subjective Absolute's own drive toward successive self-disclosure in objective history.\footnote{\textit{Werke} 3: 602; all English translations of this text are drawn from.}
Each of these categories (the individual, freedom, and ethics) seem to imply or require one another: ethics requires a certain kind of individual with a certain kind of freedom; freedom grants the kind of individual for whom ethical requirements make sense; and the individual only matters \textit{qua} individual against the backdrop of freedom and ethics understood as somehow distinct from the determinism of nature and nature's laws.\footnote{Kant only introduced the concepts of God, freedom, and revelation in order to bolster or fill out his fundamental accounts of autonomous freedom and reason; this is especially evident in Kant's discussions of Christ and scripture, which he consistently depicts either as already in agreement with human reason, or else subject to reinterpretation or judgment by human reason [cite Kant's inquiry into human origins and also his comment in MM about Christ himself being subject to judgment by the human's practical, moral reason.] Conversely, Schelling offers a fairly robust (if unorthodox) account of revelation in terms of God (as personal spirit) seeking to manifest Godself in creation; furthermore, Schelling's account of revelation centers upon the eternal divine Word becoming incarnate as a personal creature in history (\textit{Werke}, 7: 373--8).}
\end{document}
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