Theodore Steinberg\u2019s Nature Incorporated<\/i> is a compelling piece that offers a detailed analysis of the development of water as a source of power within 19^{th<\/sup> century New England. From the outset of the piece, Steinberg frames 19th<\/sup> century New England\u2019s Industrial sector\u2019s view on nature as \u201cnew sources of energy and raw materials\u201d (11). Through this ideology, companies within New England, like the Merrimack Company and Hamilton Company, persisted to exhibit their control upon the nature of the region, most notably the extensive rivers and streams. In this manner, rivers like the Merrimack River were economically transformed into that of a commodity rather than a piece of nature (16).<\/p>\n}

One of the most compelling arguments from Steinberg\u2019s book is the chapter titled \u201cFouled Water,\u201d which details the effects of the growth of industry on the rivers within New England. Steinberg describes the effects of industrialization on New England\u2019s water systems as creating \u201ca new ecology of its own with far reaching effects on the water quality of the region\u2019s rivers, and ultimately human existence itself\u201d (206). The rivers in New England became a quick and easy way to dispose of the pollution from various industrial plants, such as paper mills, as well as the overall waste products of the growing population (209, 211). Though some amount of pollution is inevitable, it eventually reached the point in 1870s where the Merrimack River was so polluted from factories along it that it was unfit for domestic purposes, thereby human consumption (224). In fact, due to the enormous amount of waste this river was carrying within its waters, by the 1880s it also became the source of an outbreak of Typhoid Fever within the cities of Lowell and Lawrence (233). These examples, along with many others are the backbone of Steinberg\u2019s argument regarding the negative effects of industrialization on the New England Rivers. Through them, it is easy to see how drastic of an effect industrialization brought upon these waters, as they were transformed into sources of disease and contamination.<\/p>\n

Similar to the rivers and streams of New England, I have seen the effects of human pollutants on a water system with the Erie Canal<\/a>. Though a man-made water system, the Erie Canal has been devastated by human hands through the dumping of waste into its water. I cannot speak for how it was at its start, but after years of trash being thrown into the water, it has a persistent murky brown if not greenish look, a red-flag regarding its level of cleanliness. As I often run along the canal when at home, I view the water as symbol of 19^{th<\/sup> century perceptions on nature and its resources. They were not something to be preserved for their purity, but rather exploited as a commodity for industrial growth. Some might argue that the Erie Canal being man-made removes it from nature, but the water that fills it and the fish that inhabit it are both indicate of this waterways place within the environment.<\/p>\n}

After reading Emily\u2019s post <\/a>and comments on Steinberg\u2019s neglect to differentiate \u201cusing\u201d and \u201ccontrolling\u201d water, I would have to say I completely agree with her concerns. Though I did not initially realize his neglect until reading Emily\u2019s post, looking back at the book, this appears as a significant shortcoming in the otherwise diligently constructed book. I see a major difference in the two verbs, as we today all use water for various purposes, such as drinking, cleaning, etc., but I doubt any of us claim to control the water in which we use like Steinberg argues 19^{th<\/sup> century New England Industrialists did. If he had differentiated this within his work, I believe his argument would have come off as stronger, for he would indicate a clear cut difference in the way Industrialists controlled the flow and power of water vs. your average Lowell citizen using the Merrimack River to wash their clothes. Without a differentiation and clear definition in terms, he almost groups these people together in the way they \u201cused\u201d water, but it is clear from his argument that he perceives their usage as drastically different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"}

Theodore Steinberg\u2019s Nature Incorporated is a compelling piece that offers a detailed analysis of the development of water as a source of power within 19th century New England. From the outset of the piece, Steinberg frames 19th century New England\u2019s Industrial sector\u2019s view on nature as \u201cnew sources of energy and raw materials\u201d (11). Through … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Water: The Source Behind New England’s Industrialization”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38,89,134,174],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-control","tag-industrialization","tag-pollution","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.shroutdocs.org\/his458-spring2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}