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Conservationists in the progressive era
Environmental movement research paper
Environmental movement research paper
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Recommended: Conservationists in the progressive era
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The environment and nature have played huge roles in the history of the United States. Nature has always been an essential key to the success of the United States. Since the first settlement in the country, farming and agriculture has been a critical part of survival and an economy. But the one thing the early settlers never imagined is that one day all of these resources, that were so abundant at the time, could all expire. This is where the environmental movement comes into play. In this paper, I will discuss the extensive history of the environmental movement from its early days of conservation and ecology to the modern day of radical protests and policy changes. I will also explain some of the top organizations involved in the environmental movement and discuss what they are doing in terms of conservation and overall strategies to make change.
There is an extensive history of environmentalism and conservationism in the United States that dates back to the beginning of the country. The first interest in nature and ecology was around 200 to 300 years ago when the first settlers came to the United States. The country had a vast amount of land and natural resources. The first settlements were based on agriculture and farming, and wood and other resources were used to build homes, so the early settlers had a close relationship with nature. When people began moving westward, [DATES] they did not think that natural resources would ever expire. Because of the size and vastness of the West, migrants thought that the resources were endless. However, the Native Americans had an intimate relationship with nature. They worshiped plants, animals, and water sources...
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... the generation. The organizations currently involved in the movement are doing a lot to change the policies and regulations within the federal government. The movement continues to develop into a stronger and more powerful cause as time goes on.
Works Cited
"About the Sierra Club." Sierra Club. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
"About." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
"Audubon's Statement on Diversity and Inclusion." National Audubon Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Kuzmiak, D. T. "The American Environmental Movement." The Geographical Journal157.3 (1991): 265-78. Jstor. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
"National Audubon Society." National Audubon Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Our Mission and History." Environmental Defense Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"What We Do." Greenpeace. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
In Mark Fiege’s book “The Republic of Nature,” the author embarks on an elaborate, yet eloquent quest to chronicle pivotal points in American history from an environmental perspective. This scholarly work composed by Fiege details the environmental perspective of American history by focusing on nine key moments showing how nature is very much entrenched in the fibers that manifested this great nation. The author sheds light on the forces that shape the lands of America and humanities desire to master and manipulate nature, while the human individual experience is dictated by the cycles that govern nature. The story of the human experience unfolds in Mark Fiege’s book through history’s actors and their challenges amongst an array of environmental possibilities, which led to nature being the deciding factor on how
The rise of conservation was first populated by Theodore Roosevelt in the late 19th century. And the issues surrounding conservation had risen in the US around that time. The new understanding affects the country and its policies. Conservation is a careful preservation and protection of something; especially: planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect.(Merriam-Webster) The causes of rising conservation include overhunting, recognizing its importance. These newfound awarenesses resulted in new policies that preserve for everyone equally.
He delves into the history of the word “environmental” as well as the history of environmental activism. He pinpoints the beginning of the movement to Rachel Carson. According to Quammen, she began the revolution by publishing her book Silent Spring. He says the negative connotations of the word began with her book, pairing “environment” and “the survival of humankind” as if they go hand in hand. This played a major role in the distortion of the word and the intentions of environmentalists.
“All machines have their friction―and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil… But when the friction comes to have its machine… I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 8). In Henry David Thoreau’s essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” the author compares government to a machine, and its friction to inequity. He believes that when injustice overcomes a nation, it is time for that nation’s government to end. Thoreau is ashamed of his government, and says that civil disobedience can fight the system that is bringing his country down. Alas, his philosophy is defective: he does not identify the benefits of organized government, and fails to recognize the danger of a country without it. When looked into, Thoreau’s contempt for the government does not justify his argument against organized democracy.
The first two acts of this film are truly inspiring because they capture the "fire" of the environmental movement. It chronologically begins by discussing the origins of conservative environmentalists, to documenting the details of successful environmental movements, and concluding by explaining the merging of civil rights with environmentalists. Ultimately, “A Fierce Green Fire “serves as a dynamic call for the continuing action of protecting and conserving our biosphere.
The Conservation movement was a driving force at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a time during which Americans were coming to terms with their wasteful ways, and learning to conserve what they quickly realized to be limited resources. In the article from the Ladies’ Home Journal, the author points out that in times past, Americans took advantage of what they thought of as inexhaustible resources. For example, "if they wanted lumber for their houses, rails for their fences, fuel for their stoves, they would cut down half a forest at a time; and whatever they could not use or sell they would leave to rot on the ground. They never bothered their heads to inquire where more wood was coming from when this was gone" (33). The twentieth century opened with a vision towards the future, towards preserving the land that had previously been taken for granted. The Conservation movement came along around the same time as one of the first major waves of the feminist movement. With the two struggles going on: one for the freedom of nature and the other for the freedom of women, it stands to follow that they coincided. As homemakers, activists, and citizens of the United States of America, women have had an important role in Conservation.
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson between June 11th and 28th of 1776. This document was created to demonstrate a new concept of government, resonating the thirteen colonies’ reasons for separating from England and declaring war. Moreover, to dissolve the political relationship that America had with England’s laws. This document’s rhetoric was directed at King George the third. Jefferson constructs a philosophical statement that carries the peoples voice and appeals to his readers through fundamental beliefs. Lewis Masquerier adopted this philosophical statement in his document, Declaration of Independence of the Producing from the Non-Producing Class in 1844. The underling theme is almost the same, equality for men and the right to liberate one-self from oppression. However, Masquerier’s declaration has many similarities but at the same time many differences, such as the topic of social reform instead of political. Masquerier notices the importance of the original document 68 years later creating a historical difference in tone, style, and rhetoric. Non-the less, both documents utilize langue to influence the audience and call for a social reform established by concepts of Marxism using rhetoric.
Would everyone like to see how the community is affected ? The community and neighborhood is facing some major consequences. According to “Excerpts Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau described how this one person refused to pay the taxes to the government he decides to say something but his saying resulted to him being sent to prison for trying to stand up to the government. The government has not been telling us the actual issues . Based on the excerpt from the “Civil Disobedience” there are exactly three main points to the story. The first main idea is the people have been using their own ideas to try to get a way to end the government way for all of us to live because we need to see the point for all of us to live a life in
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
Since the rise of the American environmental romanticism the idea of preservation and conservation have been seen as competing ideologies. Literary scholars such as Thoreau and Muir have all spoke to the defense of our natural lands in a pristine, untouched form. These pro-preservation thinkers believed in the protecting of American lands to not only ensure that future generations will get to experiences these lands, but to protect the heavily rooted early American nationalism in our natural expanses. Muir was one of the most outspoken supports of the preservation ideology, yet his stylistic writing style and rhetoric resulted in conservation being an adopted practice in the early 20th century
During the 1970’s the single event of Earth Day can be represented as the emergence of modern environmentalism that generated the relationship between the population and their environment. Finis Dunaway, and associate professor in the department of history at Trent University, clearly emphasizes in his article Gas Masks, Pogo, and the Ecological Indian: Earth Day and the Visual Politics of American Environmentalism, the multiple events that involved the effect of mass media and environmentalists that led to the awareness of the environmental crisis occurring throughout the nation.
...in scope and agenda, the news media, government, and the general public are currently unaware of the movement and it’s dealings.
Boggs, Grace Lee, and Scott Kurashige. The next American revolution: Sustainable activism for the twenty-first century. University of California Pr, 2012. Print.
In earlier years, observing nature brought happiness. One look around at the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee or at Lindsey’s Rainbow Farm in Arkansas showed everything the world offered—tall grassy fields, magnificent black bears, chilly fall nights, clear streams, slimy trout, and the warmth of the sun on my face at sunset. Breathtaking sights awaited us around every corner. Nature seemed endless. Today, places such as these appear to be found less and less. With the expansion of not only civilization but also its economy, Americans slowly destroy the once symbiotic relationship between nature and community. Americans face such a difficult situation due to the way we live our lives—specifically, the way we obtain our food.
As an environmentalist (or a "radical" environmentalist, as I am often labeled by members of the mainstream environmental movement), I feel it is my duty as a protector of the Earth's well-being to write this editorial as a means of bringing into the American consciousness a variety of frightening environmental issues. Though some of you may be aware of these problems, I know many are not, and thus may be shocked to learn about the degradation of our Earth and the people living in it. Indeed, I truly believe that "since the dawn of the industrial age, America has behaved like an alcoholic with a good job—prospering despite a lifestyle that jeopardizes the future and ruins much of what is good with irresponsible behavior.