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Response and Reflection
Nye, D. E. (2003). America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of New Beginnings. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
In Nye's text America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of
New Beginnings, the underlying theme is the transformation of natural
resources into something that has value to a society. "The
transformations Americans envisioned were thought of less as violations
of nature than as useful improvements (p. 1)." Nye takes the
perspective that American stories of technological innovations were
often narratives of the human command of nature in making new things
possible: "making possible new landscapes, boomtowns, sudden profits,
personal success, and national progress (p. 11)." He suggests
they "articulate the common understanding of technologies in the
creation of society (p. 12)." Nye then describes how regularly
these narratives occur in our literature, and states that the second
creation narrative is based on the grid-like format of land, natural
abundance of resources (including land), the free market, and the
conservation of force.
Nye then changes the discussion tot he importance of surveying the land
of a nation for multiple purposes. Not only is it necessary to
explore the uncharted lands for natural resources and for
transportation systems, but there was also the necessity of national
security. Interestingly, there was, according to Nye, an
initiative to carve out the land into latitude and longitude squares
for better management. However, this idea was quickly abandoned
after it became evident that it was impractical to implement for
logistical reasons. Though the idea was abandoned, it still is
evident in some of the regions within the United States as can be
gleaned by examine a simple US map. This grid-like approach to
land division was "as the only practical and speedy method of
organizing space (p. 27)." As he changes the discussion the
resource available, he spends a lengthy discussion Malthusian
economics, and the general principles of free trade in the US.
Nye also makes an important point about Adam Smith, the father of
modern day economics, not fully accounting for the role of
transportation in trade. His discussion was limited to the scope
of Europe, not the uncharted territory of the US. Nye then
discusses the importance of human labor, as a matter of force, in
creating wealth. Historically speaking, force was primarily a
function of human effort as opposed to say steam engines creating
force. Nye suggests that all second creation stories speak of the
mastery and manipulation of force to achieve some goal of efficiency or
utility.
I have to admit: while Nye did a tremendous job in explaining the vital
role of the American axe in chapters three and four, I found the
discussion, though insightful, dreadfully boring. I did not think
it was possible to write so much about such a simple tool. Of
course, I found the historical discussion intriguing, but it still
perplexes me that the discussion surrounded an axe. The American
axe is one of the tools used as a second creation story.
Apparently, the American axe was better built than its British
counterpart. And it had to be: British land had been cleared out
centuries before the the discovery of America. American land
needed to be explored, dwellings needed (initially log cabins) to be
constructed, roads needed to be cleared, and the American axe was the
historical tool that made this possible. The axe also served as
the tool to prepare farmlands and consequently fed the American
settlers as well as provide them homes. Of course, the forests
provided what seemed to be an unending resource. After homes were
built and farmlands cultivated, the axe also provided for the
production and latter distribution of mostly raw intermediary resources.
The next historical technology used as a second creation story is that
of the water-driven mill. I found this discussion more
interesting because the tool itself was a little more complicated in
nature. Because the mill provided a source of power (force) for
tailors, blacksmiths, farmers, et cetera, the mill because central to
the development of a community. Nye cleverly brought in a
discussion about Jefferson initially supporting the US remaining an
agrarian nation (and the use of the Mill as a central part of society),
but later changed his mind when entering into the presidency. The
mill eventually escalated to a primary industrial technology, and
consequently, laws on the use of waters, the directing of damns, and
the facility of mills ensued.
The escalation of the mill (now both steam and water) as a primary
technology for the American society came with many protests: those
concerned for the environment, and those concerned about class
conflict. The use of mills and increased fishing in the more
densely populated regions led to significant reductions in the fish
population in the areas (especially salmon). This fact coupled
with the increased productivity due to mills of the lumber industry
created a counter group protesting the use of mills. There was
also the concern of those who worked in the mills and those who owned
the mills creating different and competing classes. While the
mill certainly created wealth as a tool of second creation, it also
came with the "long work hours, the din of machinery, the low wages,
the strikes, and the hardships (p. 146)."
While the mill served as the central part of a community, the canals
and railways connected those communities for trade. This next
technology of second creation spurred a period of conquering time and
space. Interestingly, Nye makes a statement that I feel is very
applicable today: "Machinery proliferated more rapidly than the
political means to govern it (p. 147-148)." He was speaking of
the increased technological innovations spurring from the improved
transportation systems. Nye discusses the role of the federal
government in building the internal infrastructure. Of course,
this also happened in more modern history with the interstate systems
and direct federal funding to a number of states. Of course, tolls pay
a substantial portion of the costs for these facilities as pointed out
by Nye. The initial costs were eventually covered by the
government through creative legislation. The advent of the
railways included the necessity of individuals to move westward much
before the transcontinental railway was constructed. The story of
the great migrations to the west is undoubtedly an American narrative
(such as the gold exploration).
The final American second creation story discussed by Nye is the
creation of the elaborate irrigation systems used to control the land.
The theme, Conquered Rivers Are Better than Wild Clouds, speaks
of the irrigation systems developed to harness the water to farmlands.
As more and more settlers moved to the west, there became a dire
need to grow food on these dry lands. Much of the west did not
have predictable weather patterns that would properly irrigate the
farmland. The west was described as being left incomplete by God
so that human intervention could finish it. This led to the
creation of irrigation-based communities entirely focused on building
and maintaining irrigation systems for farmlands.
A similar theme across the technologies appears to be the
counter-argument: irrigation was no different. Land owners would
have unsettled disputes about land use, while the government would
exercise the power of eminent domain to take command of waterways and
land to force irrigation-based zones. Interestingly, it was
Theodore Roosevelt that build a major coalition with congressman from
the mid-west to push for major irrigation systems in these regions.
He was successful: the Midwest is now one of the most productive
agricultural regions in the US.
At first, it was difficult for me to understand what Nye was describing
in term of the grid, abundance of natural resources, free market, and
conservation in explaining these critical technologies. After
completing the book, I now see these points more as a framework for
explaining their role in the development of these technologies in
society, and the reverse, the effects of these technologies on society.
Nye is a great writer, and I hope I have time in the future to
investigate some of his other writing. |