The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

The Author

Rachel Carson was born in 1907 in Pennsylvania and died in 1964. She was a marine biologist, scientific writer and she worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. She wrote several books about the interconnection of life and human dependence on nature including The Silent Spring and The Sea Around Us. She graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929 and received a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1932. (Novick)

The Writing

The Silent Spring was published in 1962. It attacked the agricultural use of chlorine containing pesticides, mainly DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) (Novick). Carson claimed that insects ate the DDT sprayed leaves and were then eaten by birds who either died or had eggs whose shells were too thin, which resulted in a decrease in chick births. She called the book "Silent Spring" because DDT would eventually kill all birds, so there would be no cheerful songbird songs sung in Spring (Silent Spring). Fish also ate the DDT bugs, so this one pesticide resulted in the deaths of birds, fish, and insects and almost drove some species, like the bald eagle, to extinction. She also presented evidence that DDT could contaminate human food and water supplies (Novick).

The Problem

In the 1950s (the decade before The Silent Spring was published), hundreds of millions of pounds of pesticides had been applied to crops in the U.S. There is evidence that shows that DDT was harming humans, it probably also causes cancer. Again, it is very harmful to birds, fish and insects, in low concentrations causing birth defects instead of immediate death (Silent Spring).

The Action

Carson's book lead to restrictions on pesticide use and a ban on DDT in the US in 1972 (Novick; Silent Spring). Carson herself was called to testify before Congress and President John F. Kennedy created a commission to investigate chlorine containing pesticides (Silent Spring). Eventually, DDT was banned or regulated in most other countries (Sideris).

Photo credit: Rachel Carson

Works Cited

Novick, Sheldon M. "Carson, Rachel." World Book Student. World Book, 2009. Web. 2 Dec. 2009.

Rachel Carson. Photograph. World Book. Web. 2 Dec. 2009.

Sideris, Lisa. "Carson, Rachel 1907-1964." Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. J. Callicott and Robert Frodeman. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2009. 133-134. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. .

Silent Spring. "Environmental Science: In Context." Ed. Brenda Lerner and K. Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 734-738. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. .

Following the Color Line by Ray Stannard Baker

The Author

Ray Stannard Baker, a muckraking journalist, was born in 1870 in the town of Lansing, Michigan. His first job as a writer came in Chicago. He wrote for the Chicago News-Record. In one of his articles, Baker talked about a strike at a local restaurant, which later granted him a promotion. In 1897, Ray was hired by a magazine to which he was introduced to critical investigative reporting (muckraking). Ray Stannard Baker wrote twelve books under the name of David Grayson by the end of 1945.

The Writing/The Problem

He earned most of his recognition from his articles on liberal reform. Ray Baker also became the official biographer of Woodrow Wilson. One of the pieces that he wrote an informational book called “Following the Color Line,” written in 1908. This book released stories about the abuse that African Americans suffered in the time of the early 1900’s. Baker talks mainly about the problems of lynching and their racial comparisons. One of the statistics that is mentioned in the Digital History article is that of all of the lynching’s that went on, about 1,678 people were African American and 801 were white men.

The Action

After his books were published, Ray Baker raised awareness about the treatment of people back then. He raised concern for the social responsibility of all life. The knowledge of the issue spread throughout most of the country with the help of his friend Woodrow Wilson. Ray Baker worked closely with him and tried to show him the problems that were happening.

Works Cited

"Ray Stannard Baker, American Magazine, Following the Color Line (1908)." Digital History. 6 Dec. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. .

"Ray Stannard Baker Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2006. Web. 2 Dec. 2009. .

"Ray Stannard Baker Papers, 1887-1944 (bulk 1909-1919): Inventory." Princeton University Library Digital Collections: Home. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. .