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Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: August 24, 2020 at 9:50:28 AM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-CivWar]: Bixby on Tackach, 'Lincoln and the Natural > Environment' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > James Tackach. Lincoln and the Natural Environment. Concise Lincoln > Library Series. Carbondale Southern Illinois University Press, 2018. > Illustrations. 160 pp. $24.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8093-3698-2. > > Reviewed by Ryan Bixby (Three Rivers College) > Published on H-CivWar (August, 2020) > Commissioned by G. David Schieffler > > When thinking of America's sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln's > relationship with the natural environment is not the first thing that > comes to mind. In _Lincoln and the Natural Environment_, James > Tackach challenges this preconception by demonstrating that the > natural environment continued to be a part of Lincoln's life from his > frontier beginnings through his presidency and the passage of the > Yosemite Valley Grant Act (1864). Tackach asserts that although > Lincoln tried to avoid the natural environment due to the hardships > that he experienced early in his life, he continued to be influenced > by the natural environment. > > Takach begins by noting that while few details are known about > Lincoln's younger years, it is clear that Lincoln and his family > faced significant adversity during this period. The natural > environment proved to be challenging for Lincoln and his family, from > having to overcome natural barriers as midwestern farmers to losing > his mother, Nancy, from milk sickness. According to Tackach, the loss > of his mother may have taught Lincoln a lesson that "nature can be > cruel, even deadly poisonous" (p. 13). > > Although Lincoln eventually escaped the hardships of being a frontier > farmer by becoming a lawyer and later a politician, the natural > environment remained a significant element in his life. In the second > chapter, Tackach explores Lincoln's support of internal improvement > projects. While serving at both the state and federal levels, Lincoln > advocated for the advancement of several internal improvements, > including a plan to make the Sangamon River more navigable. By > examining Lincoln's role in the expansion of railroads and canal > systems, Tackach places Lincoln's efforts within the national context > of humans attempting to reshape the natural environment. Lincoln > advocated for the construction of these internal improvements as he > recognized the economic value that this infrastructure held not only > on a state level but also at the national level. > > Referencing several of Lincoln's speeches, poems, and letters, > Tackach demonstrates how Lincoln incorporated the theme of the > natural environment within his writings. He includes one of Lincoln's > poems, "My Childhood-Home I See Again," in which Lincoln discusses > the beauty of nature as well as the challenges that the environment > presents. By including a selection of Lincoln's writings within the > manuscript, Tackach asserts that even if Lincoln had tried to > separate himself from the natural environment, he never was able to > complete that task successfully. To strengthen his argument, Tackach > cites several examples within Lincoln's speeches and writings in > which Lincoln invoked "environmental imagery," or the use of > analogies and metaphors that referenced the natural environment (p. > 56). Additionally, Tackach suggests that Lincoln incorporated > agricultural references into some of his speeches not only because he > recognized that rural audiences personally could relate to these > allusions but also because Lincoln himself held previous experience > with this information during his time on the family farm. During the > American Civil War, Lincoln continued to make agricultural references > and analogies in his writings and speeches. Tackach contends that > although Lincoln did not use specific environmental references in his > famous Gettysburg Address, he still alluded to the process of the > natural world. Citing the works of Gabor Boritt and Garry Wills, > Tackach notes that Lincoln mentioned the concepts of birth, death, > and rebirth in his address.[1] > > In the fourth chapter, Tackach examines the relationship between the > natural environment and the Civil War. Acknowledging the recent shift > in Civil War studies to examining the relationship between the > natural environment and warfare, the author references several of the > important ways the Civil War transformed the natural environment, > including deforestation, loss of crops and livestock, lead poisoning > of soils, polluted waterways, and the spread of disease. While > Tackach refers to larger military campaigns, such as General Ulysses > S. Grant's siege of Petersburg, he does not include a discussion of > how smaller modifications, such as the construction of > fortifications, entrenchments, and encampments, as well as > skirmishes, also affected the environment. Tackach makes an important > point in the chapter by noting that the environmental legacy of the > Civil War carried beyond the conflict with the regrowth of towns, > farmlands, forests, and infrastructure. > > During the Civil War, Lincoln also made several policy decisions > related to the natural environment. Among the actions taken by > Lincoln during this period included signing the Morrill Act (1862), > the 1862 Homestead Act, the Yosemite Valley Grant Act (1864), and a > bill to reorganize the Department of Agriculture. Each of these > policies held long-lasting effects beyond Lincoln's presidency that > continue through the present-day. Tackach notes, however, that not > all the decisions made by Lincoln during this period led to positive > changes. Projecting beyond Lincoln's administration, Tackach > indicates that as Americans moved west through the Homestead Act, > their migration later contributed to overfarming in the Great Plains, > which led to the depletion of vital nutrients in the soil and > eventually the Dust Bowl. While Lincoln supported internal > improvements during his political years, future infrastructure > projects, such as large oil pipeline, posed their own potential > threats to the natural environment. Finally, while Lincoln helped to > make the Department of Agriculture a more prominent organization > within the federal government, this department later made the > decision to use dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) as an insect > repellant, which led to increased cancer rates and soil pollution. > Despite these outward projections, Tackach concludes that Lincoln's > decision to incorporate aspects of the natural environment into his > policies helped contribute to the beginning stages of the > conservation movement and the concept of preserving and managing the > natural environment. > > Although Lincoln and the natural environment are not subjects that > one typically associates together, Tackach does a good job of > allowing readers an opportunity to explore an underexamined aspect of > Lincoln's life. Throughout the book, he effectively demonstrates the > continual ways the natural environment sought to shape Lincoln's life > and Lincoln's responses to this influence. Ultimately, _Lincoln and > the Natural Environment_ serves as an important contribution to the > ever-growing number of works that focus on the various facets of > Lincoln's life. > > Note > > [1]. Gabor Boritt, _The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech That > Nobody Knows_ (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006), 120; and Garry > Wills, _Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America_ (New > York: Simon and Schuster, 1992), 172. > > Citation: Ryan Bixby. Review of Tackach, James, _Lincoln and the > Natural Environment_. H-CivWar, H-Net Reviews. August, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=53544 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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