1816: "The Mighty Operations of Nature": An Environmental History of the Year Without a Summer

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorDennis, Matthewen_US
dc.contributor.authorMunger, Michaelen_US
dc.creatorMunger, Michaelen_US
dc.date.accessioned2012-10-26T04:03:16Z
dc.date.available2012-10-26T04:03:16Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractThe catastrophic eruption of the Indonesian volcano Mt. Tambora in April 1815, which ejected a cloud of sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere, plunged the world into a rapid temporary climate change event. A series of bizarre weather anomalies, including snowstorms in June and repeated heavy frosts throughout the rest of the summer, earned 1816 the moniker "the Year Without a Summer." This paper examines the various ways in which Americans reacted to the climate change--seeking causation explanations through science and superstition, political and religious responses, and the efforts to appreciate what the events meant in terms of the world's changing climate. Through these various reactions, a picture emerges of Americans' incomplete understanding of science and nature, as well as an uneasy reckoning with the impossibility of fully explaining their environment and the potential dangers it presented to them.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/12417
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.en_US
dc.subject1816en_US
dc.subjectClimate changeen_US
dc.subjectEarly Republicen_US
dc.subjectTamboraen_US
dc.subjectVolcanic winteren_US
dc.subjectYear Without a Summeren_US
dc.title1816: "The Mighty Operations of Nature": An Environmental History of the Year Without a Summeren_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Munger_oregon_0171N_10408.pdf
Size:
451.63 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Theses and Dissertations
History Theses and Dissertations