Mississippi River Tragedies: A Century of Unnatural Disaster
Christine A. Klein and Sandra B. Zellmer
Abstract
American engineers have done astounding things to bend the Mississippi River to their will: forcing one of its tributaries to flow uphill, transforming over a thousand miles of roiling currents into a placid staircase of water, and wresting the lower half of the river apart from its floodplain. American law has aided and abetted these feats. But despite best efforts, so-called “natural disasters” continue to strike the Mississippi basin, as raging floodwaters decimate waterfront communities and abandoned towns literally crumble into the Gulf of Mexico. In some places, only the tombstones remai ... More
American engineers have done astounding things to bend the Mississippi River to their will: forcing one of its tributaries to flow uphill, transforming over a thousand miles of roiling currents into a placid staircase of water, and wresting the lower half of the river apart from its floodplain. American law has aided and abetted these feats. But despite best efforts, so-called “natural disasters” continue to strike the Mississippi basin, as raging floodwaters decimate waterfront communities and abandoned towns literally crumble into the Gulf of Mexico. In some places, only the tombstones remain, leaning at odd angles as the underlying soil erodes away. This book reveals that it is seductively deceptive—but horribly misleading—to call such catastrophes “natural.” It presents a sympathetic account of the human dreams, pride, and foibles that got us to this point, weaving together engaging historical narratives and accessible law stories drawn from actual courtroom dramas. The book uncovers the larger story of how the law reflects and even amplifies our ambivalent attitude toward nature—simultaneously revering wild rivers and places for what they are, while working feverishly to change them into something else. Despite the sobering revelations, the book's final message is one of hope. Although the acknowledgement of human responsibility for unnatural disasters can lead to blame, guilt, and liability, it can also prod us to confront the consequences of our actions, leading to a liberating sense of possibility and to the knowledge necessary to avoid future disasters.
Keywords:
Mississippi River,
natural disasters,
Mississippi basin,
floodwaters,
wild rivers,
unnatural disasters,
human responsibility,
future disasters
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9781479825387 |
| Published to NYU Press Scholarship Online: March 2016 |
DOI:10.18574/nyu/9781479825387.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Christine A. Klein, author
Sandra B. Zellmer, author
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