Primary sources are documents that were recorded or written down at the time an event occurred. Primary sources can include diaries, letters, speeches, photographs, newspaper articles, government documents, and much more.
Online Library Resources
Early Encounters in North America: Peoples, Cultures, and the EnvironmentThis link opens in a new windowThis collection documents the relationships among peoples and the environment in North America from 1534 to 1850. The collection includes both published and unpublished accounts, narratives, diaries, journals, and letters.
Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources by K. Lee Lerner; Brenda Wilmoth LernerThese volumes of primary source documents focus on leading social issues of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. International in scope, each title is devoted to one topic: Crime and Punishment Environmental Issues Family in Society Gender Issues and Sexuality Government, Politics, and Protest Human and Civil Rights Immigration and Multiculturalism Medicine, Bioethics, and Health Social Policy Terrorism Each title contains approximately 175 full or excerpted documents---speeches, legislation, magazine and newspaper articles, essays, memoirs, letters, interviews, novels, songs, and works of art---as well as overview information that places each document in context. Entries are organized into chapters that feature a general overview of the chapter's subtopic. The following standard subheads are included in each entry: Date Source About the Author Introduction Primary Source Significance Further ResourcesAll titles contain an introduction to its topic, a chronology of major events associated with the topic, and a general index. A comprehensive subject index is included with print set purchases only.
ISBN: 9781414406251
Publication Date: 2006-07-11
Print Library Resources
Environmental Issues in American History by Chris J. MagocControversy surrounding environmental issues is not a recent development in American history. Since the time of the early settlers, issues concerning the environment have plagued certain groups of Americans. In this exhaustively researched study, primary documents support different sides of various questions, such as the use of water as an energy source, deforestation, gold mining in California, and the emergence of wildlife conservation. High school and college students will not only find this book extremely comprehensive, but will also find its heated discussions exceptionally engaging. Some of the major topics covered include differences between the way Native Americans and early settlers treated the land, The Land Ordinance of 1785, Thomas Jefferson's views about the land, the commercial progress of New England river valleys, establishing the Adirondack Forest Preserve in 1885, Theodore Roosevelt's thoughts on forest conservation, the pros and cons of hydraulic gold mining, the near-extinction of the North American bison, andThe Lacey Act Magoc's book will prove an essential asset for all American history students.
Call Number: GE150 .M338 2006
ISBN: 0313322082
Publication Date: 2006-04-30
U. S. Environmental Policy and Politics by Kevin Hillstrom; Laurie HillstromAs citizens address the issues of climate change, earth-friendly technologies, and jumpstarting a green economy, environmental politics has gained a prominent position on the American political landscape. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: A Documentary History shows readers the many ways throughout American history in which environmental concerns have intersected with issues of energy production and consumption, government regulation, private property rights, economic growth, and lifestyle choices. The primary sources featured in the book illuminate essential events and environmental controversies that have roiled the waters of American politics and policymaking from the colonial era to the twenty-first century. The volume opens with a narrative overview which develops the major environmental themes discussed in the chapters and documents that follow. Each chapter leads with a comprehensive narrative that provides background information necessary for understanding the significance of the primary documents. The wide-ranging document collections include over 150 full and excerpted speeches, writings by conservationists, federal and state legislation, court opinions, testimonies, policy briefs, and more. The documents are preceded by context-setting headnotes which provide information on the key players and events. Some of the topics covered include: Population growth and territorial expansionToxins and waste disposalAir pollution and climate changeWilderness and species protectionEnergy productionConservation and environmental justiceLand and water useUrban development and public healthMining and logging A timeline listing major events from the colonial era to the present provides an overview of U.S. environmental history, while illustrations and an index further supplement this title. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics is well-suited for collections at academic, community college, and public libraries. Key Features Thematic, primary source documentsChronological chapters from colonial era to the presentAddresses current concerns about climate change and energy conservationTracks the rise of regulatory agencies
Call Number: GE180 .U185 2010
ISBN: 9781604264753
Publication Date: 2010-05-04
Free Online Resources
American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936This collection, compiled by the University of Chicago Library, consists of approximately 4,500 photographs documenting natural environments, ecologies, and plant communities in the United States at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. Produced between 1891 and 1936 by a group of American botanists generally regarded as one of the most influential in the development of modern ecological studies, these photographs provide an overview of important representative natural landscapes across the nation. The photographs were taken by Henry Chandler Cowles (1869-1939), George Damon Fuller (1869-1961), and other Chicago ecologists on field trips across the North American continent.
Evolution of the Conservation Movement: 1850-1920The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920, documents the historical formation and cultural foundations of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage, through books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress. The collection consists of 62 books and pamphlets, 140 Federal statutes and Congressional resolutions, 34 additional legislative documents, excerpts from the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record, 360 Presidential proclamations, 170 prints and photographs, 2 historic manuscripts, and 2 motion pictures. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, American Memory Project.