1William Cronon’s Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England observes the changes of New England caused by the Indians and European settlers. In Cronon’s thesis he states, “the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes—well known to historians—in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations—less well known to historians—in the region’s plant and animal communities” (Cronon xv). When colonist from Europe ventured to North America, the ecosystem would gradually change as of consequence. Cronon highlights not only the ecological changes caused by colonization but also the native’s practices that affected the environment. 2The economic and environmental value of New England was obvious and to the Europeans.
In the colonial era, through the Revolutionary War, the foundation of America was oratorically clarified as an act of prudence—that is, God led people, specifically the white Europeans, to America to find a new and superior or incomparable societal order that would be the light unto all realms.2 In fact, many settlers also believed in creating a new nation filled with history and stories. Along the same lines, Americans imagined a community created through selectively and elaborated events, myths of origin, courageous stories, and asserted values.3
Feige's goal is not only to explain how exactly American History is rooted in nature, but also to stress the presence of nature in historical events that is often overlooked or entirely ignored by other historians. Throughout the book, the reader is made clear this is Feige’s primary goal of the text, demonstrating the importance of environmental history of the United States and prove that nature’s role in America’s past is more vast and influential than what is thought. Fiege continuously explains how historical events are sometimes entirely shaped by nature and proves so by exploring the geography, topography, weather, disease spread, and other features occurring in nature and how they
For the newly arriving European settlers, the landscape held symbolic meaning and value to both environmental and economic. Cronan points out thinkers like Benjamin Rush, “The landscape was a visible confirmation of the state of human society. Both underwent an evolutionary development from savagery to civilization,” (Cronan, 6). This way Cronon describes that colonists did not arrive on the
Neil M. Maher wrote Nature’s New Deal to argue the idea that the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the most important New Deal programs of the Progressive Era. The author explains how the programs popularity not only changed the physical landscape of the United States, but also the political landscape. The Civilian Conservation Corps began on the Massanuteen Mountains in the George Washington National Forest in 1933. The climbing of a pine tree, by John Ripley was the beginning of changing the natural landscape across America (Pg. 3).
“The Oregon Trail,” written by Francis Parkman is a description of the experiences traveling into the unknown depths of the American west in 1846. The story is told from the first person point of view of Parkman, a scholar from Boston who embarks on the great expedition of traveling into the west in hopes of studying the lives of the Native Americans. His journey is also one of the first detailed descriptions of the beauty and the bounty of a largely uninhabited North American territory. But one of the most critical elements of the story was Parkman’s encounters and recruitment of members to his band of travelers who ultimately play a major role in the success of the western journey.
seclusion, so called simplicity, the beautiful landscapes, its hard no to believe that alaska could cure all of our issues. the dreamers and the misfits that jon krakauer meantions in the quote from page four in Into the Wild expect alaska to patch up the unsatisfactory holes in their lives. a person being interviewed from Into the Wild, Jim Gallien, explains that people, such as Chris McCandless, have certain expectations for alaska; these expectations include easily living off of the land and claiming "a piece of the good life". all of these people that expect "the frontier" to save us believe that since they will live an imagined simplier life, most of their problems will be cured. the holes they search for something to fill could be caused
I disagree with Cronon’s notion that people’s idea of wilderness was historically powerful. Undoubtedly, the wilderness notion played a role in forming American identity. Cronon states the consequences of this role when he writes “Thus in the myth of the vanishing frontier lay the seeds of wilderness preservation in the United States, for if wild land had been so crucial in the making of the nation”(Pg 76). But these consequences aren’t particularly profound. Even though the wilderness notion resulted in establishing national parks and preservations, it did not prevent the further development of industry, consumption of forests and mining of natural resources.
During the “Gilded Age” period of American history, development of the Trans-Mississippi west was crucial to fulfilling the American dream of manifest destiny and creating an identity which was distinctly American. Since the west is often associated with rugged pioneers and frontiersmen, there is an overarching idea of hardy American individualism. However, although these settlers were brave and helped to make America into what it is today, they heavily relied on federal support. It would not have been possible for white Americans to settle the Trans-Mississippi west without the US government removing Native Americans from their lands and placing them on reservations, offering land grants and incentives for people to move out west, and the
Literary texts offer insight into other cultures by providing a new perspective of the beliefs, values, customs, and societal norms of that culture. Jon Krakauer's “Into the Wild” gives us a look into American wilderness, and the spirit of adventure and individualism that is deeply rooted in American culture. The protagonist, Chris McCandless, sets out on an adventure to explore the American wilderness, throughout the book we learn about his past and what he seeks to find in his journey. Into the Wild is set in various locations across America. Moreover, Chris McCandless travels to Arizona, California, South Dakota, and Oregon throughout his journey.
According to Jefferson expansion was the key to america's health as his vision was that a republic depends on “an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival”. One example of westward expansion was the Alamo. During the conflict at the Alamo, the Texans were attempting to gain independence from Mexico. Another example of Westward expansion was The Oregon Trail. Americans were naturally curious about the land west of them after receiving letters from the emigrants describing “really great land”.
As he says, “Celebrating wilderness has been an activity mainly for well- to-do city folks. Country people generally know far too much about working the land to regard unworked land as their ideal. In contrast, elite urban tourists and wealthy sportsmen
In his 1995 essay “The Trouble with Wilderness,” William Cronon declares that “the time has come to rethink wilderness” (69). From the practice of agriculture to masculine frontier fantasies, Cronon argues that Americans have historically defined wilderness as an “island,” separate from their polluted urban industrial homes (69). He traces the idea of wilderness throughout American history, asserting that the idea of untouched, pristine wilderness is a harmful fantasy. By idealizing wilderness from a distance, he argues that people justify the destruction of less sublime landscapes and aggravate environmental conflict.
De Crevecoeur explains these individuals stating, “The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared” (Horwitz 27). De Crevecoeur believes that the frontier played a big role in the formation of the American identity because of the melting pot of different races, ethnicities, beliefs and cultures that was Americans then and are today. John Wannuaucon Quinney was a Native American and leader who highly supported Native American tribes. Quinney was very vocal about the negative impact the frontier played on the formation of American identity.
The Alaskan Bush is one of the hardest places to survive without any assistance, supplies, skills, and little food. Jon Krakauer explains in his biography, Into The Wild, how Christopher McCandless ventured into the Alaskan Bush and ultimately perished due to lack of preparation and hubris. McCandless was an intelligent young man who made a few mistakes but overall Krakauer believed that McCandless was not an ignorant adrenalin junkie who had no respect for the land. Krakauer chose to write this biography because he too had the strong desire to discover and explore as he also ventured into the Alaskan Bush when he was a young man, but he survived unlike McCandless. Krakauer’s argument was convincing because he gives credible evidence that McCandless was not foolish like many critics say he was.
