I just finished watching the first episode of the Ken Burns documentary on National Parks. It highlighted the early debate over public vs. private, and how and where to preserve nature as the United States grew into an industrial superpower. And importantly the types of characters involved in the debate and motives behind their involvement.
So if you get a chance, check it out. Kind of Hollywood but definitely on point.
Also along the lines of preserving nature in early America. Below is a link to a reading that I mentioned in class the other day. This reading is about the debate between country folk and mill owners in Rhode Island in the late 1700's regarding migratory fish and the problems of dams restricting migration. It mainly centers around the mills and dams near the Pawtucket Falls, just a half-mile downriver from the Blackstone Mill that we have been studying.
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1vJ0s7v0EmjMTI3MmM1YjQtNjkxMS00MzFmLWEyNTQtNmMxNWI3YWNmZDhl&hl=en
Of course the mill owners win pretty quickly, and the rest is history, but I can't help but think about what life might be like if the farmers had won. Out on the Blackstone catching salmon and herring from my canoe this Spring...
thanks, garrett, for this post. the article is fascinating and gives an amazing context, both broad, in terms of the economic history of new england, and narrow, in terms of the direct proximity to our site. i encourage everyone to read it.
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