The American Steppes: The Unexpected Russian Roots of Great Plains Agriculture, 1870s-1930s

Description

Beginning in the 1870s, migrant groups from Russia's steppes settled in the similar environment of the Great Plains. Many were Mennonites. They brought plants, in particular grain and fodder crops, trees and shrubs, as well as weeds. Following their example, and drawing on the expertise of �migr� Russian-Jewish scientists, the US Department of Agriculture introduced more plants, agricultural sciences, especially soil science; and methods of planting trees to shelter the land from the wind. By the 1930s, many of the grain varieties in the Great Plains had been imported from the steppes. The fertile soil was classified using the Russian term 'chernozem'. The US Forest Service was planting shelterbelts using techniques pioneered in the steppes. And, tumbling across the plains was an invasive weed from the steppes: tumbleweed. Based on archival research in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, this book explores the unexpected Russian roots of Great Plains agriculture. Cover Half-title Series information Title page Copyright information Dedication Epigraph Contents List of Figures, Maps, and Tables Preface Acknowledgements Notes on the Text Place Names Names of Plants Transliteration from Cyrillic Archival References Dramatis Personae List of Abbreviations Maps Introduction Comparing the Great Plains and the Steppes American and Russian Attitudes to Their and Other Grassland Regions Transfers between the Steppes and the Great Plains Sources and Methodology Historiography Structure of the Book Part I Contexts Chapter 1 Settlement Chapter 2 Barriers Introduction Competition in World Grain Market American Perceptions of Russian ''Backwardness'' American Famine Relief in the Steppes The Persecution of Jews in the Russian Empire Opposition to the Tsarist Autocracy American Ignorance of Russian Agricultural Sciences before c. 1900 Language Barrier American Suspicion of Communism after 1917 Resistance to Change Conclusion Chapter 3 Bridges Introduction Recognition of Similarities between the Steppes and Great Plains: Travelers' Accounts Travelers from Russia in the Great Plains Americans in the Steppes Immigrants in the United States from the Russian Empire and Soviet Russia Russian and American Studies of the Other's Grassland Agriculture Russian Studies of American Agriculture American Studies of Russian Agriculture Contacts between Scientists Building Bridges: Conclusions Part II Transfers Chapter 4 Wheat Introduction Wheat and Other Cereals in the Steppes Wheat and Other Cereals in the Great Plains to the 1870s Mennonite Immigrants USDA Plant Explorers Contacts between American and Russian/Soviet Agricultural Scientists The International Grain Trade Conclusion Chapter 5 Soil Science I Introduction Russian Soil Science in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Soil Science in the United States in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries The American Reception of Russian Soil Science to 1914 Conclusion Chapter 6 Soil Science II Introduction The Dissemination of Russian Soil Science in Europe and North America: Konstantin Glinka and Curtis Marbut International Conferences of ''Agrogeology'' before 1914 Glinka's Book in German Marbut's Appointment to Head the U.S. Soil Survey Marbut and Glinka's Book Marbut's Field Work in the Great Plains and the Origins of a New Classification System The Great Plains Towards a New Classification System Marbut Leads a ''Russian Revolution'' in U.S. Government Soil Science The Reaction Inside the Bureau of Soils Interludes Away from the Bureau of Soils Marbut's Tactful and Cautious ''Russian Revolution'' Marbut Wins over Soil Survey Workers The ''Russian Revolution'' Accomplished Intervention by Russian Émigré Soil Scientists Russian Soil Science in the United States Outside the USDA Soils Bureau The International Congresses of Soil Science in the United States and Soviet Union in 1927 and 1930 Conclusion Chapter 7 Shelterbelts I Introduction Russian Forestry and Shelterbelts in the Steppes to the 1930s American Forestry and Shelterbelts in the Great Plains to the 1930s The Introduction of Trees and Shrubs from the Steppes to the Great Plains The Transfer of Russian Experience and Expertise to the United States to the 1930s Conclusion Chapter 8 Shelterbelts II Introduction Launching the Shelterbelt Planning the Shelterbelt Debating the Shelterbelt Conclusion Chapter 9 Tumbleweed Introduction Tumbleweed (Perekati-pole) in the Steppes The Introduction and Spread of Tumbleweed in the Great Plains Consequences Efforts to Control and Eradicate Tumbleweed Conclusion Conclusion Introduction The Transfers and their Legacies The Fate of Russian/Soviet–American Cooperation How the Great Plains and the Steppes Resemble Each Other, but Differ from the Eastern United States and Western Europe Unexpected Russian Roots of Great Plains Agriculture? Perceptions Global and Longer-Term Contexts Contrasting the Great Plains and the Steppes Conclusion List of Archival Collections Cited Kazakhstan Russian Federation Ukraine United States of America Index