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American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936: Images from the University of Chicago Library |
In a hurry? Save or print these Collection Connections as a single file. Go directly to the collection, American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936: Images from the University of Chicago Library, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection. The images in American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936 complement the study of the development of the industrial United States from 1876 to 1915 and the emergence of modern America from 1890 to 1930. Users of the collection will learn about turn-of-the-century life, including the new discipline of ecology, increasing industrialization, and large-scale agriculture. In particular, one can discover the impacts of industrial society on the environment. The collection also depicts rural life and the settlement of the West and the history of Native Americans and women and education. Finally, the collection also reflects the development of the National Park system and the advent of leisure time. 1) A New Discipline: EcologyThe photographs in this collection were created by members of the Department of Botany at the University of Chicago from the 1890s to the 1930s. In 1897, Henry C. Cowles joined the department's faculty and brought its attention to the study of ecology. A word first used in 1886, "ecology" meant for Cowles that the composition of plant life in any setting must be understood as the result of constant change in relations within plant communities and among communities and their environs. Cowles thought that plants should not be studied in a vacuum, but as part of a system. Nearly all of the pictures in this collection can be viewed as reflecting the University of Chicago botanists' study and understanding of ecology. Browse the Subject Index for an idea of the breadth of this collection and its exploration of ecology. Sample images indexed under some of these subject headings, including Ecological succession and Ecology-Research, for a sense of the meaning of ecology and how it was practiced.
2) Industrialization and ConservationAt the turn of the twentieth century, the United States was evolving into an increasingly industrial nation. Increased manufacturing required enormous amounts of natural resources. The supply of raw materials seemed endless, and the negative effects of their use seemed negligible. However, as the photographs in this collection demonstrate, natural resources are finite. The negative impact on the environment and the ecology is visible. Photographs of lumbering in western Maryland, Washington state, and California document the large-scale harvesting of natural resources and its impact on the landscape. Search on lumbering for images such as these, of Krug, Maryland. This series of photographs documents the logging process from the forest to the sawmill.
Search the collection on mining, erosion, and environmental destruction to see additional images of the impact of the industrial age on the landscape. Learn about the ways ecology contributed to the attitudes and practices of conservation in America in the Special Presentation, "Ecology and the American Environment." For additional resources, browse the collection The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920. 3) Large-scale Agricultural Production
The following collections are useful in further study of agriculture, industrialization, and the West:
4) Rural America & Settlement of The Great West
5) Railroads and the Changing LandscapeThe importance of the railroad in the continuing expansion of settlement and development into remote places in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is clearly evidenced in this collection. Search on railroad to retrieve images of trains barreling through the stark landscape of the West and across the straits of Florida to the Florida keys.
For more material on the railroad, refer to the American Memory collection Railroad Maps, 1828-1900. 6) Native AmericansThe rapid expansion of the railroad and of settlement across the nation took place at the expense of the native people of North America and of their cultures. Through long and damaging processes of forced relocation and through outright extermination, the population of Native Americans in North America dwindled from ten million to two hundred and fifty thousand in the United States by the beginning of the twentieth century. Images of native peoples in this collection represent the survival of complex native cultures with rich artistic and religious traditions. Search on Indians in North America to find these images.
7) Higher Education & The New WomanOne of the consequences of industrial expansion was a flowering of philanthropy, much of which was directed toward higher education. At the turn of the twentieth century, a spirit of inquiry and discovery fueled education, research, and scientific discovery in new graduate schools. Now women, too, were being included in these institutions. Photographs of student field classes, sponsored by the University of Chicago's Department of Botany from the late 1890s to the 1930s, represent the first generations of men and women pursuing graduate education side by side. Search on student for images from these field trips.
A Biographical Guide to Individuals lists faculty and graduate students in the University's Department of Botany between 1894 and 1935. It includes a few links to photographs of women faculty. See also "Botany Faculty and Students in Front of the Botany Building, Hull Biological." Taken in 1917, this group portrait is representative of the strides women were making in some university programs during the first decades of the twentieth century. 8) National Parks & Leisure in the 1920sStudents, explorers, photographers, and others educated the public about the devastating effects the industrial age was having on the environment. Through photographs and stories of the remaining untouched landscapes, these pioneers created a movement for conservation that developed into the National Park System. The combination of new wealth and time for leisure made tourism a popular pastime and the national parks, popular destinations. Twice a year, Professors Coulter and Cowles held ecology classes in remote locations, often in wilderness areas recently set aside as national parks. The collection includes hundreds of photographs of national park lands across the country, from the Everglades in Florida to Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest. Search on national parks to retrieve these images. A 1927 photograph of an early trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park captures the spirit of anticipation and adventure that marked the opening of scenic wilderness areas. Two young women sporting bobbed hair and short dresses stand in front of a railroad car with a sign reading "Schantz Tours University of Chicago First Botanical Excursion to New Smoky Mountains National Park." See "A University of Chicago Department of Botany Field Ecology Class Trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee."
For more resources, browse the collections The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 and Mapping the National Parks. |
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Last updated 09/26/2002 |