First Along the River A Brief History of the U.S. Environmental Movement

by Kline, Benjamin

• ISBN13: 9781442203990
• ISBN10: 1442203994
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

First Along the River provides students with a balanced, historical perspective on the history of the environmental movement in relation to major social and political events in U.S. history, from the pre-colonial era to the present. The book highlights important people and events, places critical concepts in context, and shows the impact of government, industry, and population on the American landscape. Comprehensive yet brief, First Along the River discusses the religious and philosophical beliefs that shaped Americans' relationship to the environment, traces the origins and development of government regulations that impact Americans' use of natural resources, and shows why popular environmental groups were founded and how they changed over time. The fourth edition includes up-to-date coverage of the environmental movement and developments since 2000, including the second term of George W. Bush and the administration of Barack Obama.

Author Biography

Benjamin Kline is professor in both the social science and intercultural studies divisions at De Anza College.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Philosophical Foundations	p. 5
Biblical Justification for Dominating Nature	p. 5
Seeking New Land	p. 8
Rational Nature of the World	p. 10
Social and Political Thought in the Eighteenth Century	p. 13
Conclusion	p. 15
The 1400s through the 1700s: Inhabiting a New Land	p. 17
Native Americans as Prototypical Environmentalists	p. 18
Early Colonial Environmental Attitudes	p. 21
Conclusion	p. 26
The Early 1800s: Destroying the Frontier	p. 29
Manifest Destiny	p. 30
Domesticating the Wilderness	p. 32
Final Conquest of the West	p. 35
Renewed Interest in Nature	p. 38
Conclusion	p. 41
The Late 1880s: Building an Industrial Nation	p. 43
Population Growth and Consumerism	p. 43
Devastating the Land	p. 47
Overconsumption of Natural Resources	p. 48
Voices for Nature	p. 52
Conclusion	p. 56
The 1900s through the 1930s: Beginnings of the Conservation Movement	p. 59
Conservation during the Progressive Era	p. 60
Environmental Decay during the Roaring Twenties	p. 68
Conservation Policies under Roosevelt's New Deal	p. 72
Conclusion	p. 76
The 1940s through the 1960s: Prelude to the Green Decade	p. 79
Environmental Costs of Scientific Progress in the 1940s	p. 80
The Conservative 1950s	p. 81
Emerging Voices in the 1960s	p. 82
The Environmental Movement Begins to Mobilize	p. 87
Conclusion	p. 91
The 1970s: The Conservation Movement Matures	p. 95
Mainstream and Alternative Environmental Groups	p. 96
New Environmental Legislation	p. 103
Jimmy Carter and the Envirocrats	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 111
The 1980s: A Conservative Backlash	p. 113
Ronald Reagan's Environmental Deregulation	p. 114
George Bush as the Environmental President	p. 117
Employment versus the Environment	p. 120
Environmental Groups Actions and Reactions	p. 121
International Environmental Concern	p. 123
Conclusion	p. 126
The Early 1990s: Government Retrenchment and Public Apathy	p. 129
Environmental Optimism under Bill Clinton	p. 129
A Growing Countermovement	p. 131
A Green Revival	p. 133
A Conservative Resurgence	p. 138
Conclusion	p. 145
The Late 1990s: The Institutionalization of the Environmental Movement	p. 147
Clinton's Moderate Environmental Approach	p. 148
Growing Public Concern	p. 152
New Activism	p. 156
Congressional Action and Inaction	p. 159
The Global Future of the Environmental Movement	p. 164
Conclusion	p. 167
The Environmental Movement in the Post 9/11 World: 2000-2010	p. 171
George W. Bush	p. 171
Bush and Changing Regulations	p. 174
The Debate and the Gamble	p. 176
Barack Obama: The Presidency of 'Change'	p. 177
The Environment and the Presidential Election of 2008	p. 178
Obama and the Environment	p. 179
Copenhagen	p. 180
Pros and Cons	p. 183
NIMBYism	p. 184
The BP Oil Spill Disaster	p. 186
Conclusion	p. 187
Conclusion	p. 189
Glossary	p. 195
Bibliography and Suggested Readings	p. 209
Index	p. 217
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.