Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Clayton R. Koppes article was about how farmers were to blame for the Dust Bowl.  This was due to capitalism and the demand for crops.  Koppes goes on to say that we must use nature to help improve ourselves even if it is at the cost of the environment.  Farmers overworked the land and in time the land was no longer accessible for farming.  Koppes goes on to say that the area where the Dust Bowl occurred wasn’t meant for this type of intense agriculture.  Nature and social conditions came to converge here because it didn’t rain much in this area and three major weather systems converged in the area of the Dust Bowl making it hard for grass, which is the “ecological balance” (Koppes p.536) to survive.  Farmers brought in “heavy technology to convert the grassland into wheat fields.” (Koppes p.537)  The land was over worked so bad that “on the eve of the dust storms, one-third of the region had been stripped of its grass cover.” (Koppes p.537) We can see that this wasn’t the first time man has had a hand in a so called “natural disaster”.  As MCKENNDY21 points out about the Johnstown Flood that “it could have been prevented if people would have built the dam correctly” we can also make that same argument about the Dust Bowl.  If farmers would have not overworked the land then maybe the Dust Bowl could have been more preventable.

In “Scaling the Dust Bowl” the article touched upon the same points, but went into more depth, giving data.  For example in terms of the weather that Koppes also mentioned in his article, “Scaling the Dust Bowl” says that “500 mm of annual precipitation, which is the rough minimum necessary to grow wheat.” ( Scaling the Dust Bowl pg 105) This gives us a more clear view on just how much rain was needed to grow certain crops like wheat, which was the most common crop grown. The article then goes on to explain how dust storms weren’t nothing new to the area, but the fact that a lot of grassland had been plowed this time around was key to what led to the Dust Bowl.  Giving us this data shows us just how significantly man had an impact on the land where the Dust Bowl occurred.

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Steven Biel’s “Unknown and Unsung” talked about how the Titanic was viewed through different perspectives.  These different perspectives came from “the most important and troubling problems, tensions, and conflicts of the time.” (Biel pg.306)  Not only that, but Biel goes on to say that the people’s interpretation of the Titanic’s sinking was a “collective work” one that was “pervasive, defying clear-cut divisions between conservatives and reformers, between high culture and low culture, between staid and sensational reporting, between sections and regions of the country.” (Biel pg.306) One of the perspectives Biel touches upon is gender/class.  Biel discuss how there was this whole myth behind the first cabin male passengers on the Titanic, and how they gave up their lives because they put women and children first.  Biel goes on to say that not only did these wealthy men die to save women and children, but they also died so that their “weaker” counterparts might live. This act Biel says “reinforced conservative views of gender and class relations in which both women and workers were best served by accepting the authority and protection of paternalistic elites.” (Biel pg.307)  I found this very interesting because it brought to my mind the Communist Manifesto and the very reason that it was made.  ZHEDRICK talks about how the Communist Manifesto was a “philosophical work that proposes a societal shift in which the proletariat rises above the shackles of the bourgeoisie and creates a world of economic and social equality.”  Conservatives during the Titanic’s sinking thought that women and workers could not fend for themselves and that is why they needed the elites to look out after them.  To these conservatives the Titanic proved that these elites were superior and smarter than women and workers.  Through this view we can see that gender/class was a big topic during this period.

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

So far in class we have covered a variety of things from the Gilded Age to natural disasters like the Chicago Fire, Johnstown Flood, and Galveston Storm. While covering some of these topics and natural disasters we have come to see them through different lenses, digging deeper into these disasters, than just looking at the devastation caused, but also the hidden ramifications.  After looking through the past blog posts I’ve noticed how some themes have come up repeatedly.  A theme I was able to pick out after reading the posts was the notion of man’s ability to change nature or in other words “man vs. nature.  I’ve seen this theme since the beginning when we talked about the Gilded Age where JOHNKANE talks about how “as Calhoun describes, many cities were being created with a more modernized organization and innovation.”  We are able to see how as societies grew men molded the land to meet their needs.  JohnKane goes on to say that this was done by the addition of “sewage systems, lighted streets, parks, and other amenities being constructed to enhance urban life.”  Men didn’t just mold the land to meet their needs in terms of sanitation or leisure time (hence sewage systems and parks), but they also did it to make money. In the post by GRAVITY21 we see how the “boosters” who were people who wanted to make money off of the land, ran into the problem that “citizens wanted to build a harbor in the mouth of the Chicago River” but “there was a hindrance preventing them from achieving their vision.” Gravity21 goes on to talk about how that issue led to “the Chicagoans to “take fate into their own hands” by constructing plans for a canal, which led to the creation of the first part of second nature.”   ZHEDRICK in his post describes “second nature” as “pertaining to the man-made creations that allowed for the city to expand its commercial opportunities.” This shows us how man didn’t let nature get in the way of making money and how man has changed nature.

Another theme brought about in the blog posts was the issue of manmade disasters. In terms of the Johnstown Flood MCKENNDY21 stated that “Godbey first retells the story of how the flood happened and how it could have been prevented if people would have built the dam correctly the first time and then checked on it during the storm to make sure it hold it up it could have prevented a natural disaster.” MCKENNDY21 then states that Godbey “goes as far as saying ” the Johnstown Flood was clearly manmade”.  PETERROSSI1 talks about how during the Galveston hurricane the argument for the loss of life being a manmade disaster can be made because he thought that “ignoring the warnings of a storm, is a form a negligence that can be blamed for the loss of life in the storm.”  These two points help us see that the argument for a disaster being manmade can be made on some disasters that occurred throughout or nation’s history.  These were just some reoccurring themes that I was able to pick out from the first part of the semester.  I think it’s fascinating how even though these events are different, similarities can be made between them.

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Patricia Bellis Bixel’s “It Must Be Made Safe” dealt with the aftermath of the storm.  The important question brought about after the hurricane was what were going to be “the long term effects of the hurricane and how best to regain the island’s premier economic position within the state and region.” (Bixel pg. 223)  The devastation brought on about the hurricane was clearly threatening Galveston’s economic power.  Houston took advantage and cautioned investors to stay away from Galveston.  For the first time Galveston’s geographical position which lead to its economic growth and power, was affecting them.  Just like PETERROSSI1   talked about how Constantinople’s “superior geographical position of the city forced them to be an economical hub of trade, it was the stop between two major markets for both sea and land routes.” Galveston was able to use it’s port to become a wealthy state.  Bixel puts it as “the precarious physical location, the destruction of the tax base and infrastructure, the massive loss of life and subsequent departure of thousands of residents- all suggested that Galveston’s heyday was over.” (Bixel pg. 224)  People were afraid that another powerful hurricane would hit Galveston and cause the same amount of damage all over again.  Galveston had to guarantee the “city’s safety and to encourage citizens to return, rebuild, and invest.” (Bixel pg. 224)  It was for that reason that Galveston turned to technology to help assure it’s people that the same type of destruction wouldn’t happen again.  Galveston’s solution to the threat of another powerful hurricane was to lift up it’s buildings.  This in return lead to the people of Galveston sense of security that another devastation would occur.

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

Chapter’s 5 & dealt with the aftermath of the Galveston Hurricane.  As relief groups are making making their way into Galveston or at least trying to make their way into Galveston, people who left before the hurricane immediately take notice on how different Galveston looks post hurricane.  The account of Captain Simmons and his crew is given as they enter Galveston to give us readers an understanding of just how bad the hurricane had hit Galveston. The book says “nothing was as it had been when the ship left.” (Larson pg.224) Different rumors go around about the number of dead, but one thing that is the same is that “a powerful storm had struck Galveston without warning and done the city great damage.” (Larson pg.227)  I found this quote very interesting because as readers we know that there were several warnings given to the Weather Bureau, but ignored.  Unlike to the reader, to the people of Galveston the hurricane did come without warning because they weren’t informed until it was to late unfortunately.  This resulted to the great number of deaths.  The number of deaths was so large that corpses had to be burned because there was no more room to bury the dead.  After reading I noticed that the hurricane caused a divide among the people of Galveston, especially against people of color.  There were claims that “black men were said to have begun looting bodies, chewing off fingers to gain access to diamond rings.” (Larson pg.242)  The book states that these claims turned out to be true, but among whites and blacks alike not just blacks.  This to me reaffirmed that there was racism towards people of color during this time, because black families were failed to be identified when they took refuge at homes during the hurricane.  Not only that, but on page 239 the book mentions how “the city’s racial harmony began to erode” during the hurricane.  This is in contrast to what occurred during the Chicago Fire in which Smith claims in her book came a unity among Chicago’s people.  In their post “Faith and Doubt, Identity and Diversity” by Zhedrick my classmate states that “With this understanding, it is possible to take the accounts of the individuals and create an image of Chicago as a center of diversity that can overcome adversity in its ranging forms.”  It seems to me that compared to Chicago where unity flourished during a tough time, in Galveston it was the opposite because “soldiers rounded up fifty black men at gunpoint and forced them onto the barge, promising whiskey to help make the task of loading, weighting, and dumping the bodies more tolerable.(Larson pg.239)

Warning: Undefined variable $num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 126

Warning: Undefined variable $posts_num in /home/shroutdo/public_html/courses/wp-content/plugins/single-categories/single_categories.php on line 127

The Johnstown Flood is just one of many disasters to hit the United States.  The journal “Disaster Tourism and the Melodrama of Authenticity: Revisiting the 1889 Johnstown Flood” by Emily Godbey goes on to discuss several ideas that arose after this disaster.  For example Godbey points out the fact that even though the Johnstown Flood is “commonly referred to as a natural disaster, the Johnstown Flood was clearly man made”. (pg. 276)  She pointed out that the Conemaugh Dam had been patched with horse manure and that the relief pipes were sold as scrap metal.  These man made mistakes among other things led to the dam’s collapse.  Through this tragedy Godbey goes on to explain this weird amusement for “disaster tourism”.  The  disaster brought about a curiosity in  people from other parts of the state.  People flocked to Johnstown through the Baltimore  & Ohio railroads.  As a matter a fact the Baltimore & Ohio rail roads let tourists come into Johnstown, when word was put out that tourists were not welcome to come to Johnstown because they were getting so many tourist wanting to see the devastation and aftermath of the Flood. The amount of tourists was so much that people were getting in the way of the relief groups.  Trains were getting super packed and the claim was made that the majority of people on these trains were tourists instead of people from disaster relief.  What brought about this much attention to Johnstown was newspaper coverage of the Flood. Just like my class peer jessicabode mentions in her post “Setting Fire- “Did the Cow Do it?” that “Bales brings up different viewpoints throughout the article about what supposedly happened with Harry Albert Musham’s take on the events of the fire.” Godbey views the Johnstown Flood through different view points in her journal.  She mentions how people made money off it by selling excursion packages that would show tourists different sites of the aftermath.  Not only that but relics were also sold as souvenirs.  She also went on to make the comparison that people were interested in seeing the Johnstown Flood’s aftermath just like people today go to visit Holocaust museums and the concentration camps.  These places brought about  mass deaths, but yet people go on to visit such places every year.  Her journal made me think about my interests in such things like the Holocaust and World War II and why it is that I am so interested in these things.