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Online Access to Technological Aspects of Local History Through Georgia HomePLACE

Collaborative Digitization Projects at the Digital Library of Georgia

Edward A. JohnsonDirector, Georgia HomePLACE

Georgia Academy of Science Annual MeetingMarch 2006

2DLG Home Page

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu

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”Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Hills”: Gold and Gold Mining in Georgia, 1830s-1940s

www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=dahl

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Benjamin Parks (lum119)

Two decades before “Forty-Niners” flocked to California …

“Twenty-Niners” poured into Georgia seeking gold!

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Mka075 (seeking gold in a sluice flume)

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Gold riches but at high human cost …

Trail of Tears 4000+ Cherokees died en route 1938-39

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U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Chartered 1835, opened 1838 Produced $6 million in gold coins Operated until the Civil War

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“Why go to California? In that ridge lies more gold than man ever dreamt of. There’s millions in it.”

Dr. Matthew StephensonAssayer, Dahlonega Mint

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Findley Gold Mining Company 1878 Prospectus (mka045f)

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About the Rider Mine …

“I know it is good, but it is rather small & confined in as hard a rock as you ever saw or heard of: so that it will take capital to work to advantage -- say steam drills & pumps.”

-- Amory Dexter

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Consolidated Mine(120 stamps)

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mka065

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Ships for Victory:J. A. Jones Construction Company &Liberty Ships in Brunswick, Georgia

www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=vsbg

181944 aerial photo

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Technological Understanding Within a Humanities-Oriented Context

Unlike typical local history interpretations, our two case studies recognize the role of technology (and its underlying scientific basis) in human history Sometimes historians – trained in the humanities – don’t comprehend scientists’ different orientation in terms of content and of methodological approach (and perhaps vice versa) Unfortunate legacy of the longstanding rivalry between the sciences and the humanities … sometimes described as “the two cultures”

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“The Two Cultures”Sciences vs. Humanities

Late 19th century debates between T.H. Huxley (“Darwin’s Bulldog”) & cultural critic Matthew Arnold Scientist/novelist C.P. Snow explored the issue in The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution (1959) Literary critic F. R. Leavis created public uproar with vehement (and personal) attacks on Snow (1962) Aldous Huxley confirmed dichotomy by comparing Snow’s “scientism” with Leavis’ “literarism” (1963)

[Revisit 1960s debates in June 2005 History of Science]

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“The Science Wars”

Thomas Kuhn’s “paradigm” shifts (Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962) described sociological influences involved in the evolution of science Transmogrified into “the science wars” of 1990s – an epistemological battle with postmodernists who see “truth” as culturally-determined social construct Paul Gross & Norman Levitt, in Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and its Quarrels with Science (1994), attacked the postmodernists Comic relief provided by Alan Sokal 1996 hoax

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Toward “Consilience”The rivalry continues but we can work toward mutual understanding – perhaps eventually approaching a unity of knowledge or “consilience” (the term popularized by E. O. Wilson in 1998) Historians (and humanities-oriented folk) should strive to understand scientific approaches as our best opportunity to discover the “truth” about reality Scientists should strive to understand how science itself evolves historically, and can be affected by (both obvious and subtle) social and cultural factors.

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Ships for Victoryhttp://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=vsbg

Digital Library of Georgiahttp://dlg.galileo.usg.edu

Thars Gold in Them Thar Hillshttp://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=dahl