Reference no: EM133409902

Questions

1. In the "Major Problems" excerpt for this week, editor Carolyn Merchant suggests that the primary source documents in the chapter "suggest that the environmental history of the Cotton South could be told from several different perspectives: from that of a cotton planter, a slave, a particle of soil--or even a boll weevil!" So let's try to examine each of those perspectives--what does the "story" of "big picture environmental interaction/change" look like from each of them? What events/processes drove change for each? Drawing on documents relevant to each position, lay out an interpretation and point to supporting evidence.

2. In what ways did the dominant use of enslaved labor shape the patterns of farming--and thus of resource use and "environmental stewardship"--in the Cotton South prior to the Civil War? How much--and in what ways--did things change after the end of slavery in 1865?

3. Was the economic system of the Cotton South "successful"? What perspectives emerge in the primary source documents for this week? What criteria should we evaluate? How would you answer the question?