Charleston County Public Library

"Prejudicial to the public health", class, race, and the history of land reclamation, drainage, and topographic alteration in Charleston, South Carolina, 1836-1940, by Christina Shedlock

eng

Includes bibliographical references

Thesis (M.A.)--College of Charleston and The Citadel, 2010.

"Prejudicial to the public health"

by Christina Shedlock

class, race, and the history of land reclamation, drainage, and topographic alteration in Charleston, South Carolina, 1836-1940

"Over the span of a century, elite white Charlestonians wielded disproportionate control over working class whites and, to an even greater degree, African Americans, as they shaped the topography in a city whose society was rigidly hierarchical along both class and racial lines. The thesis examines a period from 1836 to the start of World War II to show the evolution of municipal government and the city's handling of public health issues surrounding drainage and low lying areas, as well as the changing motvations for filling. Special attention is paid to how the reclamation projects were funded, public versus private interest, public health, and political and class issues interwoven with land reclamation and drainage. The study utilizes primary documents such as City Council Minutes, City Yearbooks, period newspapers, and numerous other municipal publications."--Abstract

Introduction and historiography -- Topographic efforts to 1836, antebellum fill and the beginnings of governmental regulation -- Progress slows: land reclamation and drainage, 1865 to 1900 -- Progess resumes: city growth, large-scale programs, modern improvements, and the beginnings of Federal involvement, 1900 to 1919 -- City growth, mayoral politics, the Great Depression, and World War Two: filling and drainage activities and Federal aid, 1919-1940

Class, race, and the history of land reclamation, drainage, and topographic alteration in Charleston, South Carolina, 1836-1940