Water and American Government: The Reclamation Bureau, National Water Policy, and the West, 1902-1935Donald Pisani's history of perhaps the boldest economic and social program ever undertaken in the United States--to reclaim and cultivate vast areas of previously unusable land across the country—shows in fascinating detail how ambitious government programs fall prey to the power of local interest groups and the federal system of governance itself. What began as the underwriting of a variety of projects to create family farms and farming communities had become by the 1930s a massive public works and regional development program, with an emphasis on the urban as much as on the rural West. |
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Results 1-5 of 92
Page xv
... first dams should be built, whether the Great Plains states should be included in the national irrigation program or only the region from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, whether the federal government or states should dole out the ...
... first dams should be built, whether the Great Plains states should be included in the national irrigation program or only the region from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, whether the federal government or states should dole out the ...
Page 2
... first di- rector of the Reclamation Service, predicted that ultimately the reclaimed lands of the arid and semiarid West would support a population twice as large as that of the entire United States in 1900: “The dead and profitless ...
... first di- rector of the Reclamation Service, predicted that ultimately the reclaimed lands of the arid and semiarid West would support a population twice as large as that of the entire United States in 1900: “The dead and profitless ...
Page 14
... Project was one of the first authorized by the secretary of the interior.52 To limit speculation, Newell forbade government surveyors from talking to Montana newspaper editors and booster groups , and 14 saving lost lives.
... Project was one of the first authorized by the secretary of the interior.52 To limit speculation, Newell forbade government surveyors from talking to Montana newspaper editors and booster groups , and 14 saving lost lives.
Page 16
... first reservoir built by the national government . ' Maxwell knew that Arizona would soon become a state , and Theodore Roosevelt was eager to ensure that its first two U.S. senators would be Republican.60 " 59 On June 7 , 1904 , the ...
... first reservoir built by the national government . ' Maxwell knew that Arizona would soon become a state , and Theodore Roosevelt was eager to ensure that its first two U.S. senators would be Republican.60 " 59 On June 7 , 1904 , the ...
Page 20
... first published in 1900 and revised in 1905, became the bible of arid-land reclamation.74 Smythe turned irrigation into a crusade, almost a religious movement. He regarded the subjugation of the “Great American Desert” as the last ...
... first published in 1900 and revised in 1905, became the bible of arid-land reclamation.74 Smythe turned irrigation into a crusade, almost a religious movement. He regarded the subjugation of the “Great American Desert” as the last ...
Contents
1 | |
Federal Reclamation 19021909 | 32 |
Twin Falls and Rupert | 65 |
Federal Reclamation 19091917 | 96 |
Federal Reclamation 19171935 | 123 |
The Reclamation Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs | 154 |
Illustrations | 180 |
The Yakima and the Pima | 181 |
The Strange Career of Public Power | 202 |
Water Politics 19201935 | 235 |
Retrospect and Significance | 272 |
ABBREVIATIONS | 297 |
NOTES | 299 |
INDEX | 389 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. P. Davis Administrative agriculture American April arid Arizona Ballinger bill Boulder Dam build Bureau of Reclamation California Carey Act Central Colorado River Commission Commissioner of Indian Cong construction Corps of Engineers cost crops dams and canals December districts electricity Elwood Mead F. H. Newell farm farmers federal government federal reclamation flood control Franklin K Herbert Hoover Hiram Johnson Homecroft Hoover hydroelectric Ibid Idaho Indian Affairs Indian Office irrigation irrigation projects January July June legislation March Maxwell million acres Minidoka Project Mississippi Montana Muscle Shoals October percent Pima public land Reclamation Act Reclamation Bureau reclamation fund reclamation projects Reclamation Record Reclamation Service Report reservation reservoir River Project Roosevelt Salt River Project Secretary Senate settlers Snake River streams Theodore Roosevelt tion town United Valley Washington water policy Water Power water projects water rights West western Yakima Yakima River York