Environmental History

 George Washington Carver

    Early life and environmental impacts

    George Washington Carver was an essential part of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Carver was an agricultural scientist most known for his research on crop rotations as well as his use of peanuts for many different products. Carver's crop rotations utilized planting "nitrogen-fixing" crops in order to revive the soil and allow for increased yields for cotton crops the years following. He was also thought to have "invented" peanut butter, but this was not the case. He did, however, create over "300 derivative products from peanuts - among them milk, flour, ink, dyes, plastics" and so on, which garnered him the nickname The Peanut Man. His original motive for studying and researching agriculture at the Iowa State Agricultural College was to help improve the lives of Southern farmers. 

    Carver was born into slavery in 1864, where he spent his early childhood years as a worker on a plantation until later leaving for higher education. His life on the plantation largely contributed to his compassion for plants and agriculture, which is what drew him to studying agriculture. Carver was a brilliant mind who directed the department of Agriculture at the Tuskegee Institute (now known as Tuskegee University), where he taught full-time for the better part of two decades. During this time, he managed to teach Southern farmers which crops could replenish nitrogen in the soil while teaching classes and overseeing the institute's two farms. By the end of his career, he had been internationally recognized by many head figures, including Thomas Edison, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and even Joseph Stalin. Carver succeeded in his goal of liberating the Southern farmers from their dependence on cotton through "improved farm methods, crop diversification, and soil conservation".

A portrait of George Washington Carver

A painting done that represents the work and accomplishments of George Washington Carver, including FDR introducing him to his advisory position at the Department of Agriculture

John Muir

    John Muir was another environmental activist of the late 1800s and early 1900s. He focused on the preservation of forests and creating policies around protecting them from industrial use. Most notably, he played a significant role in the creation of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Outside of the creation of several national parks, he created a group called the Sierra Club, which was dedicated specifically to protecting the environment and is still active today. He also played a major role in the creation of the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, which would set aside millions of acres of forests to be protected from the exploitation of resources.

    John Muir spent most of his early life working as a farmer and sheepherder until he suffered an extreme eye injury, which would lead him to travel across the United States. He traveled from Indianapolis to the Gulf of Mexico, where he would explore Yosemite Valley and other midwestern states. This journey across the United States would later spark his interest in protecting the forests, and as he began writing about his travels, he began to garner support for the protection of the lands he traveled through. 

    The connection between John Muir and George Washington Carver is their shared love for the environment, although both had their own specific interests. Muir had a vast love for the mountains and forests of the mid-western United States, while Carver had a deep interest in plants and agriculture. However, Muir was more interested in creating policies surrounding the health of the forests and national parks, while Carver was creating solutions for his fellow African Americans in the South. Both had long lasting effects on the environment today, as well as long lasting environmental policies that were put into place with their help.

A portrait of John Muir

Environmental Policies

    An environmental policy that was put into place during the 1900s was the Lacey Act of 1900. This "is a conservation law in the United States that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold". At the time of the act's creation, the dominant human relationship with the environment was very new; there were very few environmental policies in place to help protect the environment, and this was one of the first acts aimed at protecting the environment. The only other protection for the environment was the creation of some national parks and the Forest Reserve Act, which was in direct relation to John Muir. This changed the dominant human relationship with the environment for the better, as it prevented the spread of nonnative species and protecting certain species of game birds from going extinct. This was protecting current ecosystems from being destroyed or altered by invasive and or nonnative species while also conserving certain species of animals from going extinct, which was a step in the right direction for the preservation of the environment. The connection between the Lacey Act of 1900 and George Washington Carver was the concern for plants and animals. Carver was very interested in researching different species of plants and was very focused on agriculture for most of his life. Although it may not have directly affected him, the act would also safeguard certain ecosystems and plant species from being overrun by nonnative species of plants or animals. 

A painting of a poacher

    Another environmental policy put into place during the 1800s was the Forest Reserve Act of 1891. This act was put into place to safeguard forests; it would make the sale and extraction of resources in protected areas illegal. This act was one of the earliest acts put into place for the protection of the environment prior to the Lacey Act of 1900. The relationship humans had with the environment was very exploitative, and there was minimal care for the outcome of that exploitation. This act that was put into place started a change in the relationship humans had with the environment. Humans started to realize the need for protecting forests, and in 1891, President Benjamin Harrison "became the first to designate an area of land for preservation", which was a large first step. This played a very large part in the early stages of global environmental change by creating areas of conservation to prevent all of the forests in the United States from being exploited for resource extraction and sale. This connects directly to John Muir, as he advocated for the creation of national parks as well as the protection of forests within the United States. As a result of this act, President Harrison designated "over 15 forests" and "13 million acres of land". Years later, after John Muir published Our National Parks, he gained the recognition of President Theodore Roosevelt, who would then begin his conservation programs and designate over 140 million acres of land towards the conservation of the forests within the United States.

An image of Benjamin Harrison, who signed the Forest Reserve Act

This is a link to a song regarding the importance of protecting wildlife from poachers, and the international anti-poaching foundation, which links directly to the protection of game and birds in the Lacey Act of 1900

Carver and Conflict

    A big issue George Washington Carver struggled with during his career as an agricultural environmentalist was racism and segregation. As mentioned previously, he was born a slave in 1864, and then slavery was abolished in 1865, however, this did not solve the continuing issues of segregation and racism he faced. He was refused schooling at a Kansas university for the sole reason he was black, which forced him to get matriculated at a school in Iowa by the name of Simpson College. He later transferred to the Iowa State Agricultural College where he finished his bachelor's and master's degrees. Even while he was a professor at Tuskegee, "many of his fellow African Americans were critical of what they regarded as his subservience... whites came to regard him with a sort of patronizing adulation", he faced degradation from whites while teaching at Tuskegee, but that did not heed his desire to help the Southern African American farmers, as his research and findings did the talking for him.

    Based on the documents and research surrounding Carver, it appears as though there is minimal conflict regarding his findings outside of the segregation and racism he faced. He was recognized nationally for his findings very quickly and became an icon for the African American community during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Carver was not known for being a very political man; his primary focus was helping others, which garnered the respect of many whites throughout his career, which was very unconventional at the time considering slavery had only just been nationally abolished a few decades prior.

The Effects of John Muir in Keene

    John Muir has had many indirect impacts on the lives of people in Keene, NH. Starting with the creation of the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, which John Muir played a large part in. Keene is known for being a small town located in the mountains, surrounded by vast amounts of forest. The Forest Reserve Act has played a part in creating conservation land in Keene specifically, such as the Surry Mountain preserve which is just north of Keene and provides over 1,000 acres of land that will never be used for development. As a result of this conservation land, the air and water quality in Keene are higher than in places that do not have the same luxury of being surrounded by conservation land. This conservation land also protects the wildlife species seen in Keene, such as black bears, bobcats, Fisher cats, and so on, which might otherwise be extinct in Keene without the protection of forests and animals that John Muir fought so hard for.

An image of conservation land

    The impacts of environmental policies and individual choices are significant. Referring back to the policy that John Muir helped come into fruition, the Forest Reserve Act of 1891, it is clear that an environmental policy has a significant impact on the environment. By the year 1900, a mere nine years after the creation of the act, millions of acres of trees had been placed under protection and conservation by United States presidents. That number would only multiply exponentially as the years went on. Taking a look at an individual's choice to protect forests, there is not much that can be done without a large amount of support. John Muir, on his own, could not create and fund national parks that would protect large areas of land from resource exploitation, but with the backing of the government, he was able to help start the National Park Service as well as the Forest Reserve Act. The difference between individual choices and policies varies greatly depending on the support received.