Rivers Reborn · Episode 2 of 12 · 51 min
The Doctrine of Domination: Why America Dammed the West
To the generation that settled the arid West, a river running free to the sea looked like wasted water and unharvested power. The episode traces the idea behind the dams: Manifest Destiny reworked as an engineering faith, the 1902 Newlands Reclamation Act, the rise of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers, and John Wesley Powell's warnings about aridity that Washington ignored.
Who's who
- John Wesley PowellExplorer and geologist whose 1878 report warned the West was fundamentally dry
- Francis G. Newlands+1 more episodeNevada congressman who authored the 1902 Reclamation Act
- Frederick Haynes NewellHydrographer and first head of the Reclamation Service
- Theodore Roosevelt+14 more episodesPresident who backed the 1902 act and conservation
- John L. O'Sullivan+1 more episodeJournalist who popularized 'Manifest Destiny'
- Ethan Allen Hitchcock+1 more episodeInterior Secretary who created the Reclamation Service
Where it happens
- Colorado River, Grand CanyonWhere Powell led the 1869 expedition
Timeline
- 1862Homestead Act offers 160-acre parcels, a template built for the humid East.
- 1869Powell leads the first documented expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers.
- 1878Powell publishes his Report on the Lands of the Arid Region.
- June 17, 1902The Reclamation Act becomes law.
- July 1902The U.S. Reclamation Service is established.
Still debated
The central question is whether dam-builders acted from good-faith ignorance, willful indifference or self-interest; Powell's warnings show the information existed. Historians also differ on how sincere the reclamation movement was versus cover for speculation and agribusiness.
← PreviousA Cup of Water: A Boyhood River Lost to a DamNext →The Great Dams: The New Deal Remakes the Columbia
Connected episodes in other series
The 1922 Deal That Split a River That Didn't Have Enough WaterCalifornia and Water · Episode 3Also features Francis G. Newlands, Theodore Roosevelt
How the CCC Invented the American Outdoor WeekendRoosevelt's Forest Army · Episode 7Also features Theodore Roosevelt
Manifest Destiny and the Road to WarTake the Land, Not the People · Episode 1Also features John L. O'Sullivan
How the Supreme Court Made Breaking Native Treaties LegalAs Long as the Grass Grows · Episode 7Also features Ethan Allen Hitchcock