Many people regarded nature and the world with their eyes only. However, some perceived the world through all their senses. They stopped and listened to what appeared before them, and then they experienced their surroundings. One person who looked beyond his first impression was Francis Parkman. Parkman’s love for history and nature drove him to overcome his physical weaknesses. He pursued his passion with the diligence of a soldier and brought a different perspective to nineteenth century history.
Francis Parkman traveled across North America and obtained firsthand experiences about nature, hardships, and the unknown. He developed his quest for knowledge as a child on the Hall Farm in Quincy, Massachusetts. Parkman battled the degenerating loss of his health, the loss of only son, and the loss of his wife. He compiled his wisdom in letters, journals, articles, and books; and Parkman left a legacy unmatched by historians of his time.
On September 16, 1823, the union of Reverend Francis Parkman and Caroline Hall Parkman produced a son, Francis Parkman, Jr. The Reverend and Mrs. Parkman, his second wife, resided in Somerset Place, Boston, and the family tree consisted of ministers, merchants, philanthropists, and brave Indian fighters. The Parkman family spent winters in Boston and summers at the Hall farm in Quincy, Massachusetts. The farm in Quincy provided Parkman with a vast area of rocks and forestry to explore, since it happened to be located adjacent to the Five Mile Woods, later renamed the Middlesex Fells. He encountered many illnesses in Boston, and his parents decided to leave him in his grandparents’ care on the farm. On the farm he collected rocks, trapped animals, shot arrows at birds, and conducted experiments. He wrote about himself and his experiments in the third person just as his peer, Henry Adams, regularly did. Parkman returned home to his parents at age thirteen to begin private schooling.
Parkman attended Gideon Thayer’s famous private school, Chauncey Hall, in order to prepare for college at Harvard. He entered Harvard in August 1940, and he excelled academically, physically, and socially. In addition to his regular studies, Parkman joined several school clubs and helped found another one. In July 19, 1841, during summer break from Harvard, he and Daniel Denison Slade took a trip to explore the White Mountains located in New Hampshire and Maine. Parkman, aware of an avalanche that killed nine in 1826, eagerly climbed the unstable flume close to Notch House.
In the mid-19th century, public parks in England began to emerge in response to a rise in pollution and lack of open space within newly industrialized urban centers in places such as London, Derby, Birmingham, and Manchester.(2) The first public parks were funded by private benefactors who were often times the owners of the factories that created these tainted environments. Influencing this environment-friendly attitude was the increased Victorian interest in the sciences (especially botany) due to nineteenth century contributions of both biologists and writers including the empirical work of Darwin's Origin of Species (1858) and Tennyson's literary work, InMemoriam (1867).(3) Many of these benefactors put money into the development of public walks and parks to give birth to not only a healthier urban setting, though, but also to create a façade that made them appear as altruistic philanthropists who were genuinely concerned with the social welfare of the urban-based factory workers who had little or no open space of their own.(4) However, while these upper-middle Victorian philanthropists appeared to provide the working class with the social and health ideals of the upper crust, the public environments that they created did not reflect this universal ideal of integrating the disparate classes together, but rather they were attempts to maintain the isolation and segregation the Victorian upper class desired.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
John Adams was born on October 30th, 1735 to John Adams Sr. and Susanna Boylston Adams. He was the oldest of three and lived in Braintree, Massachusetts. His father was a farmer, deacon, and town councilman. The Adams were not very wealthy and John Adams’ father knew he could only send one son and he wanted to send his eldest. However, John Adams told his father “I do not love books and I wish you would lay aside thoughts of sending me to college.” His father in reply asked him- “What would you do child? Be a farmer?” John insisted that he wanted to be a farmer and not a scholar. His father brought him to work the fields the next day. Farming was strenuous work and was most likely rough on John’s hands and back. The night after the long day of farming, His father questioned him “Well John are you satisfied with being a farmer.” John Adams refused to admit that his father was right but John Adams Sr said “I do not like it[farming] so well, so you shall go to school.” John Adams and his father found a compromise- John would go to a tutor that challenged his students instead of the town teacher that was unbearably easy. Adams excelled under the tutors teaching and was accepted to Harvard in 1751.
Many of the readings that we have studied in class have discussed the idea of human beings and our relationships with nature. The different authors we’ve studied and the works we’ve analyzed share different views of this relationship – a very interesting aspect to study. Human relationships with nature are truly timeless – nature can have the same effects on humans now as it did millions of years ago. Two of the works in particular which offered differing views on this relationship were “Entrance to the Woods” by Wendell Berry and “The Invented Landscape” by Frederick Turner.
Due to falling political prospects and monetary problems his family moved from their home in Stratford to a home in Alexandria, Virginia on the Potomac River. That is where he was raised. He attended grammar school, did many outdoor activities along the river such as fishing and swimming. He had many ties to Revolutionary War heros because his father had served.
John Pierpont Morgan was born on April 17, 1837 in Hartford, Connecticut. He was nicknamed "Pip" by his childhood friends. The family prospered in Hartford until Junius moved the family to Boston where Pip began Boston English High. He did well in the prestigious high school and then in his second high school in Vevey, Switzerland. The family moved to London and John transferred to the University of Gottingen in Germany. John continued to excel in his studies and majored in mathematics. He began to become interested in business affairs as he started and investing club amongst his friends and...
As we look back on intellectual movements throughout history, it can be seen that the perceptions of nature changed drastically. The Enlightenment and Romantic movements are not separate from this observation; in fact they are prime examples, seeing as that in both eras nature is a major theme and exploration point for the people of the time. This interest in nature, however, is where the majority of similarities end between the two movements. In order to fully understand the differences in ideals between the two movements, we must focus on the disciplines they study most, the themes created when they are studied, and the way humanity is compared to nature.
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
According to Center for Disease Control and Protection, about 4,700 people under age twenty one die from injuries involving underage drinking every year. Illegal alcohol consumption has been a major problem with high school students around the nation. Lowering the drinking age from twenty one would result in major consequences for America’s adolescents. By lowering the drinking age, alcohol would be more accessible to those who choose to participate in underage drinking. The desire to drink for teens and young adults between the ages of fourteen and twenty can be caused by peer pressure or an act of rebellion. One beer might not seem like a big deal at the time, but it could lead to a life of addiction and alcoholism.
Can a society of learners and explorers coexist with an ecosystem that can barely stay afloat? “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth and “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman both tackle the concept of nature vs. science. While the two agree on many terms, the underlying message of each is drastically different. “Tables” is much more didactic while “Astronomer” is the story of a revelation. With both poems having Romantic themes, the two must agree on the basic notions of Romanticism, in this case, the power of nature. Yet, the two disagree on a major aspect of Romanticism, self discovery. “Tables” and “Astronomer” share the same baseline thoughts, yet still tell their own stories of Romanticism.
According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not mature enough to handle it, lowering the drinking age actually teaches responsibility and safety in young adults, maintains consistency in age laws, and diminishes temptation.
Throughout the Romanticism period, human’s connection with nature was explored as writers strove to find the benefits that humans receive through such interactions. Without such relationships, these authors found that certain aspects of life were missing or completely different. For example, certain authors found death a very frightening idea, but through the incorporation of man’s relationship with the natural world, readers find the immense utility that nature can potentially provide. Whether it’d be as solace, in the case of death, or as a place where one can find oneself in their own truest form, nature will nevertheless be a place where they themselves were derived from. Nature is where all humans originated,
1825 and decides that he wants to pursue his life career becoming an author. He states;
Young people grow up seeing their parents and other adults make toast of wine and champagne at special occasions, as well as casually enjoying a few beers at a picnic. Today alcoholic beverages are frequently as common at business lunches as they are at college frat parties. Underage drinking is a huge problem which everyone must face. Underage drinking not only has devastating effects on those who drink but also on our society. "Young people illegally consume almost 3.6 billion drinks annually which is 10 million drinks each day."
As a result of underage drinking, 5,000 adolescents under the age of 21 die annually due to intoxication (taking motor vehicle crashes, homicides, suicides, and other injuries while intoxicated into consideration) (paragraph 2). Later in life, underage drinkers are more likely to develop alcoholism, poor performance in school, and risky sexual behavior (paragraph 43). Although this research is not opposed to my argument, there is an importance to acknowledging it as proof of dangerous, underage drinking occurring significantly regardless of whether it is illegal. More importantly, this research stems from adolescents drinking without the supervision of adults and in uncontrolled quantities. Since adolescents must wait a long period of time to drink legally, I believe they fear they must take advantage of drinking opportunities by excess drinking and risk of safety due to their restriction to alcohol. Based on this mindset, I believe exposure to alcohol at a younger age in controlled environments would not only decrease underage drinking in large quantities, but injury and death related to intoxication, as