The Mechanics of Optimism: Mining Companies, Technology, and the Hot Spring Gold Rush, Montana Territory, 1864-1868 (Mining the American West)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.21 (916 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1607321017 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 232 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-02-23 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Francaviglia, Montana: The Magazine of Western History,. This book can motivate critical thinkers and those interested in the history of geographic thought and current trends to discuss changes in cultural geographic practices and goals over the past several decades: their causes, their outcomes, and their implications." —The Professional Geographer "Much of the literature about mining emphasizes its negative aspects such as pollution and landscape degradation. Readers will in particular appreciate its appropriateness for researching and teaching the 'sense of place' concept. one should be impressed by how tenacious the former mining population can be - and how deeply the mining experience can
Safford examines how gold mining ventures were developed and financed during and after the Civil War, and how men, primarily Easterners with scant knowledge of mining, were willing to invest large sums in gold mines that promised quick and lucrative returns.Safford explains how these mining companies were organized and underwritten, and why a little-known district in southwestern Montana was chosen as a center of operations. For every successful mining district celebrated in history, there were failed dozens whose stories have been largely forgotten. The Mechanics of Optimism documents, in rare detail, the boom-bust cycle of Hot Spring District, a mid-1860s Montana gold camp that did not pay, despite early predictions of a sure thing.Historian Jeffrey J. Relying on extensive primary sources, Safford addresses the mind-set of the businessmen, the expectations and realities of new