Astronomy and U.S. Expansion in the Lower Mississippi Valley

2018 ◽  
pp. 129-161
Author(s):  
Cameron B. Strang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
William Dunbar

U.S. expansion into the lower Mississippi Valley from 1795 to 1810 evinced and inspired many of the ways that officials and experts in the early United States used astronomy to promote territorial growth. Yet Anglo-Americans did not simply export scientific practices to the United States’ new territories. Peaceful and violent encounters among Spaniards and Anglos, masters and slaves, inhabitants and administrators, and whites and Indians all shaped the practice of astronomy in the Gulf South and, moreover, influenced how astronomy and imperialism overlapped in the United States on the whole. Geopolitical competition motivated the work of the Spanish and U.S. commissions of the Florida boundary survey (1798–1800), violence against slaves enabled astronomers like William Dunbar to perform disciplined observations, and interimperial exchanges of data made José Joaquín de Ferrer y Cafranga a prominent figure in the United States’ scientific community.

Allegiance, Identities, and National Scientific Communities

2018 ◽  
pp. 162-207
Author(s):  
Cameron B. Strang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Territorial Expansion ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
William Dunbar

This chapter studies how individuals in the lower Mississippi Valley fashioned identities as men of science. It focuses on the 1790s to the 1810s, an era when several empires and other groups competed for power in the region. Local experts tried to benefit from circulating information among a variety of actual and potential patrons, and, in the process, they manipulated and blurred the boundaries between the United States’ scientific community and those of other polities competing for the borderlands. The chapter includes case studies of the Spanish naturalist and spy Thomas Power, the Scottish planter and astronomer William Dunbar, and the French engineer and slave trader Barthélémy Lafon. Their stories reveal how territorial expansion both added to, and exacerbated deep tensions within, the United States’ scientific community.

2 The Development of Archaeological Knowledge in the Lower Mississippi Valley

1964 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Greengo
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thomas Jefferson ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
Archaeological Knowledge ◽  
Plausible Argument

Observations having some bearing on the archaeology of the Lower Mississippi Valley are to be found in the writings of the early travelers. As the country became settled, accounts of local and regional historical interest often included remarks or occasional papers devoted to the local antiquities. My purpose here is to sketch the conceptualization of prehistory as it was developed through the most significant writings.A plausible argument may be submitted in support of the contention that Thomas Jefferson was the first scientific archaeologist in the United States. Curiously enough, his archaeological influence extended to the Lower Mississippi Valley. This was through H. M. Brackenridge, who went into the Louisiana Territory soon after it was purchased and wrote a number of descriptive accounts of the country.

Personal Empires: Mapping, Local Networks, and the Control of Land in the Lower Mississippi Valley

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e021
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Franco
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spatial Representations ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Property Ownership ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley

The Louisiana and Florida territories sat at the intersection of empires in the late eighteenth century. Between 1750 and 1820 the area was controlled by the French and Spanish empires, the emerging United States of America, as well as the Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole nations. While political surveys produced images of the moving borders between sovereign powers, cadastral surveys show the constancy of local landowners. Landowners superseded national distinction and were a constant in an area in the midst of great change. As control of the region shifted, landowning families continued their way of life. The continued circulation of Spanish cadastral surveys after the transfer of the region to the United States of America shows how Spanish spatial representations of property ownership shaped the image of the Lower Mississippi Valley.

The thrill of everyday science: images of science and scientists on children's educational science programmes in the United States

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilee Long ◽  
Jocelyn Steinke
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Media Effects ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Educational Science ◽  
Children's Perceptions ◽  
Children’S Perceptions ◽  
Images Of Scientists ◽  
Images Of Science

Several media effects perspectives suggest that televised images can influence children's perceptions of science and scientists. This study analysed images of science and scientists in four children's educational science programmes. The images of science as truth, as fun, and as a part of everyday life, as well as the image that science is for everyone, were quite evident. Little evidence was found for the image of science as magical or mysterious. Support for the images of science as dangerous and science as a solution to problems was mixed. Images of scientists as omniscient and elite were quite prevalent; there was no evidence for the image of scientists as evil or violent. Some support was found for the image of scientists as eccentric and antisocial. Overall, the images were more constructive than detrimental. Predictions about the effect these images could have on children and on the scientific community are given.

The Eastward Extension of Puebloan Datings toward Cultures of the Mississippi Valley

1947 ◽  
Vol 12 (3Part1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex D. Krieger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
Close Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Central Plains ◽  
American Archaeology ◽  
Considerable Portion

This article is based on an address to the society for American Archaeology at its annual meeting on May 17, 1946 at Indianpolis. A following address by Dr. Waldo R. Wedel desalt with the chronology of central Plains cultures. As the two chronologies embraced a very considerable portion of the United States and were in rather remarkably close agreement, it was suggested by retiring editor Byers that they be published in this journal.

Reporters, news sources, and scientific intervention: the New Madrid earthquake prediction

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Earthquake Prediction ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
News Sources ◽  
New Madrid

Five major newspapers in the United States published only eight stories about a scientifically legitimate prediction of a 1989 earthquake that caused six billion dollars' damage. The same newspapers published 68 stories about an unscientific prediction of a 1990 earthquake that did not occur. This paper attempts to explain why the unscientific prediction received more scrutiny by examining the journalistic practices that determine what is newsworthy and who is interviewed. The paper also analyses the effectiveness of an organized effort by the scientific community to intervene in the journalistic process.

scholarly journals A beginner’s guide to getting involved in science advocacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1181-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsey Chandler Ruppersburg ◽  
Amanda L. York
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Federal Funding ◽  
The United States ◽  
Advocacy Group ◽  
Policy Makers

Every scientist in the United States likely has a story of how the federal funding crisis for biomedical research has affected him or her personally. The sharing of these powerful anecdotes will enable policy makers to fully grasp the extent to which the decline in federal funding has negatively affected the scientific community. However, many scientists do not know where to begin or are uncertain that their advocacy efforts will have an impact. In an effort to encourage more scientists to become involved in science advocacy, we describe how to form and maintain a student science advocacy group.

scholarly journals Policy liberalism and source of news predict pandemic-related health behaviors and trust in the scientific community

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252670
Author(s):  
Madeleine Reinhardt ◽  
Matthew B. Findley ◽  
Renee A. Countryman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
News Media ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Health Measures

In March of 2020, the United States was confronted with a major public health crisis caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study aimed to identify what factors influence adherence to recently implemented public health measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing, trust of scientific organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on information pertaining to the pandemic, and level of perceived risk. Data were collected from June 30, 2020 to July 22, 2020 on 951 adult residents of the United States using an online survey through Microsoft Forms. Multiple linear regression was used to identify the strongest predictors for compliance to pandemic-related health measures, trust in the scientific community, and perceived risk. Results showed that the strongest predictor of all variables of interest was degree of policy liberalism. Additionally, participants who consumed more conservative news media conformed less to the pandemic health guidelines and had less trust in the scientific community. Degree of policy liberalism was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between gender and conformity to pandemic-related health behaviors. These findings have concerning implications that factors like degree of policy liberalism and source of news are more influential in predicting adherence to life-saving health measures than established risk factors like pre-existing health conditions.

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