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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 34
Page 6
... Maxwell, fed- eral reclamation's chief publicist in the years from 1896 to 1902, sought to broaden the membership of the annual National Irrigation Congress, whose conferences traditionally were held in the West, to include ...
... Maxwell, fed- eral reclamation's chief publicist in the years from 1896 to 1902, sought to broaden the membership of the annual National Irrigation Congress, whose conferences traditionally were held in the West, to include ...
Page 13
... Maxwell, William Ellsworth Smythe, and Frederick H. Newell sold irrigation mainly as a scheme to build new homes and communities. Reclaiming desert land became a crusade to transform American society.45But within a few years of passage ...
... Maxwell, William Ellsworth Smythe, and Frederick H. Newell sold irrigation mainly as a scheme to build new homes and communities. Reclaiming desert land became a crusade to transform American society.45But within a few years of passage ...
Page 15
... Maxwell that an “ apparent indifference ” to the project — to use his words — was necessary to prevent a speculative ... Maxwell had favored the Salt River Project in Arizona from the beginning . “ I think his [ Newell's ] interests are ...
... Maxwell that an “ apparent indifference ” to the project — to use his words — was necessary to prevent a speculative ... Maxwell had favored the Salt River Project in Arizona from the beginning . “ I think his [ Newell's ] interests are ...
Page 16
... Maxwell and the Homecroft Movement Officials of the northern railroads became convinced that Maxwell was specu- lating in land along the Southern Pacific line.58 In the late 1890s , Maxwell had served as Arizona's territorial delegate ...
... Maxwell and the Homecroft Movement Officials of the northern railroads became convinced that Maxwell was specu- lating in land along the Southern Pacific line.58 In the late 1890s , Maxwell had served as Arizona's territorial delegate ...
Page 17
... Maxwell asked.64 The historian Laura Lovett has observed that Maxwell drew his ideas from many sources, including the Back to the Land movement, the Parks and Play- ground campaign (which “used open space and trees as curative antidotes ...
... Maxwell asked.64 The historian Laura Lovett has observed that Maxwell drew his ideas from many sources, including the Back to the Land movement, the Parks and Play- ground campaign (which “used open space and trees as curative antidotes ...
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 |
Other editions - View all
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