Abstract The paper discusses how the GreatMississippiRiverFlood of 1993, also known as the GreatFlood of 1993, is considered unparalleled in magnitude, extent and impact and was possibly the costliest and most devastating flood to ever impact the U.S. The paper reveals that fifty deaths were reported and the total damage cost was estimated at $20 billion. The paper looks closely at the damage sustained by the land, plants, birds and animals.
From the Paper "This record flooding occurred from May to September 1993 across North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois (Larson 1996). Its magnitude and severity were so overwhelming that the Flood ranks as one of the greatest natural disasters to hit the US. Around 600 river forecast points in the Midwest were above the flood stage all at the same time. It affected almost 150 major rivers and tributaries. Fifty flood deaths were reported (Larson). Causes or factors of the Great Flood were attributed the saturation of soils and increased stream levels in the fall of 1992, the snowpack in the central US, heavy rainfall in late March, the saturation of the northern ends of the Missouri River and an unusually persistent weather pattern from June to early August (Larson)."
Abstract This paper uses John Barry's book "Rising Tide: The GreatMississippiFlood of 1927 and How it Changed America" to examine the political impact of the flood. It looks at how Herbert Hoover used the flood as an example of his stewardship by helping the black victims of the flood. It also looks at how that after heavy lobbying in Washington and many Congressional hearings, flood control legislation was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge, who initially opposed using federal money for the rebuilding of MississippiRiver areas devastated by the floods.
From the Paper "Yet another impact the flood had on America was the decline of New Orleans, which according to Barry was severe. The city "decayed" after the flood, even though prior to the flood New Orleans had "...vastly more economic activity than any city in the South" (411). The city "shrank" and while banks prospered in Memphis, Dallas, and Atlanta, banks in New Orleans - even up to today - were never able to rebound from the flood. Even today - resulting from both the flood of 1927 and from the 2006 effects of Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans struggles. Barry waffles a little on page 411, saying that New Orleans has become a place for "tourists, and picture postcards" but has no economic vitality. "Perhaps all of this had nothing to do with the 1927 flood," he writes. "Or perhaps it did." How can he possibly question the facts presented in his own narrative? "
Abstract This paper explains the historical and geographical importance of the MississippiRiver. It looks at the symbolic nature of the river as being the separation point between East and West. The paper focuses on the early history of the river and looks at the Native Americans who lived nearby.
From the Paper "The Mississippi River is one of the world's great rivers. It is the longest river in the United States, more than twenty-three hundred miles in length, as it forms the borders of ten states, almost bisecting the continent (Currie,2003, 8). The river has a long history as well, and it has touched the lives of many people. The Mississippi is said to begin at Lake Itasca in Minnesota. In 1832, explorer Henry Schoolcraft named this lake, not after any local Indian name, but from the Latin words for "true head" which are veritas caput shortened to "Itasca" (Currie, 2003, 4). However, long before its source was named it was a navigational river."
Abstract This paper focuses on the 1993flooding of the Mississippi basin, one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history which resulted in catastrophic insurance property claims. This paper explores the various homeowners insurance policies that did not provide coverage as well as the National Flood Insurance Program which underwrites all flood insurance in the U.S. This paper also discusses the role of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in aiding residents after a natural disaster.
From the Paper "In 1927 an earlier flood occurred in the lower Mississippi Valley, covering twenty-six thousand square miles of land in as much as fifty-seven feet of water. In response to this natural disaster, the federal government, through the Army Corps of Engineers, dredged the channel, changed the course of the river in places, and built nearly seven thousand miles of levees in an effort to prevent future disasters. But the government's steps to flood prevention sixty-five years earlier were no match for the Mighty Mississippi and the sustained rains the summer of 1993 brought with it."
Abstract This paper examines the failure of flood control strategies in the flood of 1927. It discusses the subsequent changes and improvement in strategies. It explores the overflow of the MississippiRiver.
Abstract The paper explores the strategies that led to the battle of Vicksburg that raged on the Mississippi. The paper relates that the battle for Vicksburg is considered one of the pivotal clashes of the Civil War, mainly because it was such a strategic spot on the river. The paper explains that it also dealt a blow to the Confederacy when it opened up traffic in the Mississippi to Union supplies and troops. The paper concentrates on several aspects of the battle for Vicksburg.
From the Paper "A book called Grant Wins The War: Decision at Vicksburg goes into great detail about the city of Vicksburg, and the fight for the city on the Mississippi River. As far as fortifications against attacks, Vicksburg had a natural advantage; the high ground east of the city was a serious of bluffs, up to 260 feet high. With powerful cannons positioned heavily on those bluffs, it made it very problematic for the northern naval forces to make it past, either from the south or north. In addition to the high bluffs, there was a sharp bend in the river right at that point; "naval guns could not elevate sufficiently to engage batteries along the blufftops," Arnold writes on page 14. The rebels had "two heavy batteries," a four-gun battery on the highest ground, and 50 feet above the river another battery."
This paper discusses the four river-valley civilizations of India, China, Egypt, and Mesopotamia, which were among the earliest civilizations in history.
Abstract This paper explains that the earliest civilizations in history, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and India, were found near rivers because, when riversflooded, people could grow more food for themselves and for trade. This system, the basis of all these early civilizations, is called the ?river-valley civilizations?. The author points out that these civilizations arose independently of each other and shared certain generic features, but each people produced unique characteristics based on the environment, especially in their religious and social structures. The paper concludes that all these civilizations began to decline because of the lack of power in the ruler, which resulted in many wars or disunity within a civilization.
From the Paper "Mesopotamia, meaning ?the land between the two rivers,? was found within the rivers of Tygris and Euphrates, near modern day Iran and Iraq. Mesopotamians had a wedge-shaped writing, and they were great in mathematics. They were the ones who founded that one minute equals to sixty seconds and that sixty minutes equal to one hour. Moreover, days of the week, weeks, calendars were established by Mesopotamians.
When it comes to their political system, Mesopotamians had independent city-states, in which the city controlled its surrounding countryside. There was a huge power struggle between these numerous city-states in order to gain political and military control over others. They had similar type of government and they were governed by the system called ?polytheistic theocracy,? ruling by many gods and priests. In this system, gods owned everything within those city-states, and priests simply provided the connection between the gods and people."
Analyzes the cultural, historical and visual meaning of an early journalistic photograph of the future thirty-first president Herbert Hoover surveying the severe damages resulting from the 1927 MississippiRiverflood.
Abstract This paper explains that this photograph depicts then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover visiting with young residents living in poverty in one of the many tent cities run by the Red Cross to house refugees of the flooded states. The colors, lighting and composition of the photo, the author relates, all contribute to the message of the coming Great Depression, an era in which art, especially photography, flourished. The paper concludes that the U.S. history is full of landmark photographs that pull at the heartstrings of the public and, at their most powerful, affect much needed social and political change
From the Paper "When considering the context of the image, one finds many symbols of it that denote the essence of the time. Even the children's bare feet serve as a symbol of the hardships that were only beginning. Under this analysis the image presents a message of poverty, the tone sad, resigned. From this perspective Hoover is cast as the ineffective authoritarian figure. He is there as a representative of the country's leaders but the people are still misplaced and suffering. The tents in the photograph are a symbol of the temporariness of the situation."
Tags: leadership poverty documentary-photographers, ethical obligation, power
Abstract This paper looks at floods in general, their possible causes and general impact. The paper then takes a look at the 2002 flood that drowned Dresden and Prague, in particular, and explains that this floodgreatly illustrates both the severity and impact of riverfloods and that of the changing climate. The paper also briefly touches on the media coverage at the time.
From the Paper "Most simply put, the cause of river flood disasters is rainfall. River floods normally result directly or indirectly from climatological events, such as excessive or prolonged rainfall, snowmelt, or a combination of the two. Therefore, most floods occur in spring and early summer, during the periods of snow- and icemelt. Other factors may be ice jams, landslides or the failure of dams and control works. Floods in river valleys occur as a result of a rapidly increased stream flow that exceeds the streams capacity and overspills. Meanwhile, the water-table may rise above the ground surface, when upstream river basins were already saturated from earlier rains. This is often the precursor for overspilling as the ground can no longer absorb the excess water. In urban areas, flooding often results from overspilling but may also be a result of surcharged stormwater drains."
Abstract In this paper the author looks in-depth at the famous book written by Mark Twain,"Life on the Mississippi". The paper examines the life led by people who lived alongside the Mississippi how they would wait for a steamboat to pull up to bring them news and goods. The author looks at Mark Twain as one of the most qualified to know about river life as he grew up in that area. In looking at the book, the author also surmises that life on the river led to the birth of a very different America, one where business and industrialization were advanced.
From the Paper "As a cub-pilot, Twain became enamored of the technicalities of the work, the sounding, the danger when the river rose, but the chief attraction of the work was that, . . ."a pilot in those days, [i.e., before the Civil War] was the only unfettered and entirely independent human being that lived in the earth." (118) Once under way, the boat was under the unquestioned control of the pilot."
Tags: commerce, econmoic, pilot, river, banks, excursions
Abstract A detail look at the flood management schemes on the river Chichester that flooded in 1994. The author offers a detailed analysis of the effects of the flooding and these were controlled.
From the Paper "In January 1994 Chichester suffered extensive flooding. The national Rivers Authority (NRA), west Sussex Council the fire brigade and other emergency services battled together against the floods that deluged the city of Chichester and the surrounding area. The flooding occurred when the river Lavant burst its banks in its upper catchment and could not be contained in the culvert, which runs underneath Chichester. As a consequence, the hornet district of the city was inundated several times and large areas to the east lay under waters for days."
Tags: geography, schemes, flood, environment, control
Abstract This paper discusses Twain's knowledge of local color and regional theory as it pertains to the MississippiRiver Valley in "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The paper also discusses the controversial aspects of the novel.
From the Paper "Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is widely considered a classic of American Literature. However, for as much critical acclaim as the novel has won, it has also inspired great controversy due to Twain's unflinching portrait of the Southern hypocrisies and the institution of slavery. Still other opponents of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" deem it racist as Twain uses frank and realistic language which can also seem vulgar and offensive."
Abstract Compares the Mesopotamian flood stories of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis to the Biblical account of the flood found in Genesis. By comparing these three texts, the paper demonstrates that although they share similar events, the Biblical account establishes an entirely different rationale for the occurrence of the flood, and uses the story to define characteristics of the Israelite God that are not present in the earlier Mesopotamian texts.
From the Paper "The Biblical flood story contained in Genesis and the Mesopotamian flood stories of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis contain similar themes, language, events, and details that would lead one to believe that the text produced later chronologically, the Biblical account, draws on the earlier Mesopotamian accounts, or the Biblical narrative and the Mesopotamian stories both draw on a document produced at an even earlier date. The differences in the details of these stories, however, make the interpretation of them significantly different for the societies from which they are drawn."
Abstract This paper looks at the Snake River which is part of the larger Columbia River system. The natural ecology of the Snake River has been altered by the placement of dams on the river, altering the way Salmon move through the entire region and raising a number of questions about whether the dams are doing more harm than good. The Snake River is the main tributary of the Columbia River and extends some 1028 miles through both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. The river originates in Wyoming. The river empowers a number of hydroelectric plants along its route and so is a vital energy source for the country. The ecology of the Snake River has changed as a result of many of the projects along the length of the river, including the aforementioned series of dams and possible pollutants from the hydroelectric plants as well as from other environmental challenges in the region.
From the Paper "The Columbia River system drains a 259,000-square-mile basin covering territory in seven states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah) and one Canadian province (Columbia River 2005). This river is probably the most significant environmental force in the Pacific Northwest, flowing more than 1,200 miles from the base of the Canadian Rockies in southeastern British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon, and Ilwaco, Washington. Human beings have inhabited the region along the river for more than 10,000 years, but modern engineering in the 19th and 20th centuries has dramatically altered the Columbia River, so much so that some scientists today believe that the river is environmentally threatened and that drastic action should be taken to reverse the changes made to the Columbia over the last 150 years."
Tags: Columbia, River, environment, sediment, water
Abstract The paper presents a review of the movie "Mississippi Burning" that focuses on the 1964 brutal murder of three civil rights workers, and the terrorist actions of the Ku Klux Klan and the FBI.
From the Paper The movie Mississippi Burning presents a fictional account of the very real tragedy that occurred in Philadelphia Mississippi in June of when three civil rights advocates were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan KKK..."
