Assessment 1: Application and Integration
In 1887, M.G. Kern, an agent for the U.S. Forestry Division wrote the following statement:
“Considering the stupendous amounts of timber already withdrawn from native forests, the annual demands of railways now in operation, and the increase in mileage from year to year, it becomes necessary to take a more accurate survey of the fields of demand and supply, unbiased by the popular delusion of the inexhaustible forest wealth of America. The necessity is no longer to be ignored or lightly treated as in the past.”
M.G. Kern
Assignment:
The year is 1900 and you have been assigned the task of writing a press release (an announcement of a newsworthy event that is issued to the press for release to the public) defending the position taken by M.G. Kern. In order to strengthen your case, answer the questions below before you begin your assignment.
- What is the main idea of M.G. Kern’s statement?
- List and explain five ways that railroads came to rely upon American forests during the nineteenth century.
- Name two suggestions made to combat the problem of forest depletion during the nineteenth century.
- Provide two examples of how technology helped ease the strain placed on the environment by American industrialization during the latter-half of the nineteenth century.
- How did the economic principles of supply and demand affect the role wood played in the American Industrial Revolution?
Using the answers to the above questions, draft a one-page press release defending the position taken by M.G. Kern. Make sure to include facts and specific evidence to strengthen your case.
