In this Book

buy this book Buy This Book in Print
summary
How did geology and politics inform scientific ideas and contribute to New York's prominence in the early nineteenth century?David I. Spanagel explores the origins of American geology and the culture that promoted it in nineteenth-century New York. Focusing on Amos Eaton, the educator and amateur scientist who founded the Rensselaer School, and DeWitt Clinton, the masterful politician who led the movement for the Erie Canal, Spanagel shows how a cluster of assumptions about the peculiar landscape and entrepreneurial spirit of New York came to define the Empire State. In so doing, he sheds light on a particularly innovative and fruitful period of interplay among science, politics, art, and literature in American history.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Title Page, Copyright Page
  2. pp. i-vi
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Figures and Tables
  2. pp. ix-x
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Preamble
  2. pp. xi-xiv
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Introduction: A Meeting Place for Waters and Students of Earth History
  2. pp. 1-14
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part One: Exploring New York State
  1. Chapter One: Invitations to Study the Earth’s Past
  2. pp. 17-35
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Two: Natural Sciences and Civic Virtues
  2. pp. 36-62
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Three: The Landlord and the Ex-convict
  2. pp. 63-80
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part Two: Engineering for a New World's Geology
  1. Chapter Four: Clinton’s Ditch
  2. pp. 83-97
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Five: Eaton’s Agricultural and Geological Surveys
  2. pp. 98-116
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Six: Empire State Exports
  2. pp. 117-150
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Part Three: Entertaining Deep Time and the Sublime
  1. Chapter Seven: Literary Naturalists
  2. pp. 153-184
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Eight: Kindred Spirits
  2. pp. 185-195
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Chapter Nine: Rocks, Reverence, and Religion
  2. pp. 196-211
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Conclusion: Echoes of New York’s Embrace of Geological Investigation
  2. pp. 212-218
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Notes
  2. pp. 219-254
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Essay on Sources
  2. pp. 255-262
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 263-270
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.