ERIC Number: EJ1022919
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1946
EISSN: N/A
"Improving and Embellishing the Wilderness": Spreading the Gospel of Proper Land Use, New Harmony, Indiana, 1814-1824
Ramsey, Paul J.
Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v50 n2 p146-166 2014
This article examines the westward imposition of specific kinds of land use by focusing on the Harmony Society's transformation of Posey County, Indiana. The German pietistic society carried their vision of proper land use from Europe to Pennsylvania and, in 1814, to what was then considered the West: Indiana Territory. During their decade in Indiana, the Harmonists attempted to exploit, control, and beautify the natural environment. The goal of "improving and embellishing the Wilderness"--as well as survival and profit--provided the justification for clearing forests, draining wetlands, mining subsoil, planting crops, creating pastures, altering waterways, and hunting local fauna; all of these activities greatly transformed the ecosystems of southwestern Indiana. Ultimately, the Harmonists' notions of land use were transmitted, learned, and, eventually, codified.
Descriptors: Land Use, Natural Resources, Environment, Environmental Education, Educational History, Religious Cultural Groups, Land Settlement, Forestry, Gardening, Agricultural Production, Animal Husbandry, Water, Religious Factors, Collective Settlements
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A