Geography 5 Week 2 Lecture 4 North American Environmental History: Progressive Era of Conservation, U.S. Public Lands, WildernessEnvironmental History of the United States I - The Colonial Encounter- Ecological Changes 1400 vs. 1850o Massive Deforestationo Native Wildlife – Domesticated Animalso Prairie – Farmland- Ecological changes understood by looking at…o Changes in ecosystem and power (socio-political changes) + ways of seeing and understanding nature (social nature analysis)o More complex understanding than “good” Native Americans and “bad”European- Political Economic and Ecological Changeso European: sedentary, constantly farming same land, private property, surplus oriented, tied to European markets, commodification of natureo Native American: High spatial mobility, new land, communal property, subsistence-oriented (hunter-gatherer cycles), small-cycle trading/bartering, little commodification of nature- “Wilderness” encounters the “Market”o Shift from local production and use (susbsistence) to production for a global marketo With European Conquest, Native American’s ways of interacting with the Environment altered Forced onto less desirable lands Mobility-restricted Communities Disrupted Disease Native Americans increasingly altered their own ecological complexes in order to survive, Example: Native American involvement in the decline of the beaver- Disease, European military aggression, forced evictions, etc – Social and political disruption – movement of people across space – increased conflict between groups – demand for European made weapons – overhunting- Disease, European military aggression, forced evictions, etc. – Social and political disruption – increased demand for European goods as status markets – overhunting- Perceptions of Natureo Europeans see the”nature’ of North America differently than Native Americanso Europeans see it as an opportunity to make money, sees a “wilderness”, empty landscape which can be transformed into the ”pastoral”, productive landscape (like Europe), “Productive land = ownershipo Native American assumption about North America Natural Resources (early 1600s to late 1800s) – unclaimed, inexhaustible, immediate use to build country, transfer public lands to private to foster development, ex: The Homestead Act (1862)- Example: Cheap sale and/or give away of public land to corporation and speculatorso Railroad, timber companies Environmental History of the United States II- The Aesthetic and Efficiency Movements- Context: Growing unease (amongst elite) in the 1800s with…o Rapid land conservation and deforestationo Population growtho Technological changeo Increasing rarity of wilderness- Two strains of the environmental movement emerge:o Aesthetic movemento Efficiency movement- Aesthetic interpretation of Nature and the Roots of “Preservation”- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)-o Nature (1836) made “Transcendentalism” a major cultural movemento Transcendentalism – God’s spiritual “truth” experienced directly from nature, the nature that will bring you closest to God is the most pristine, untouched natureo “Correspondence” (from Emmanuel Swedenborg)o Nature is, therefore, necessary for the human spirit- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)o Abolitionist, “Anarchist”, friends with Emersono Argued for individual resistance against an unjust stateo Walden’s Pond – a two year experiment in simple livingo “Walden” (1854) – Explores natural simplicity, harmony, and beauty asmodels of a just society- John Muir (1838-1914)o Emigrated from Scotland, dropped out of University of Wisconsino Traveled west, lived in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, saw mismanagemento Anti-civilizationo Interconnectednesso Influenced President Theodore Roosevelto Politically active preserving places in the Sierra Nevada Mountains – Yosemite Valley National Parko Founded the Sierra Club (1892)o Defeats – Hetchy Hetchy Valley, Dam built in 1913- Characteristics of Aesthetics Interpretations of Natureo Nature as spiritual refuge – handiwork of God “sublime” beauty avenue to spiritualityo Enthusiasm for Primitivism – human happiness and well-being declines with civilizationo Advocates “preservation” of nature – spiritual/recreational use, not extraction- Land policy expression: National park service/system (NPS)o Yellowstone National Park (1872)o No logging, mining, grazing or extractive useso Tourism/Recreation allowedo Educate the public about the value of natureo Aesthetic and eco-centric perspective- The Efficiency Movement and the Roots of “Conservation”o Forest serviceo George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) – Man and Nature (1864), ancient Mediterranean civilizations collapsed through environmental degradationo Advocated the rational, scientific management of resources- Context: The Progressive Era (1890s to 1920s)o Environmentalism maturedo Corruption and crony capitalism, government is giving the environmental resources to these companies who are just being wasteful and inefficient with themo Highly skewed distribution of wealth o Monopolieso Child laboro The progressive pushed for : Social justice, equality (woman’s suffrage), public safety, anti-trust laws, child labor laws, public oversight, social