Book ID: CBB240410014

Designing Gotham: West Point Engineers and the Rise of Modern New York, 1817-1898 (2017)

unapi

Logel, Jon Scott (Author)


Louisiana State University Press


Publication Date: 2017
Edition Details: Book Series: Conflicting worlds: new dimensions of the American Civil War
Physical Details: Ix + 262 pp.
Language: English

Between 1817 and 1898, New York City evolved from a vital Atlantic port of trade to the center of American commerce and culture. With this rapid commercial growth and cultural development, New York came to epitomize a nineteenth-century metropolis. Although this important urban transformation is well documented, the critical role of select Union soldiers turned New York engineers has, until now, remained largely unexplored. In Designing Gotham, Jon Scott Logel examines the fascinating careers of George S. Greene, Egbert L. Viele, John Newton, Henry Warner Slocum, and Fitz John Porter, all of whom studied engineering at West Point, served in the United States Army during the Civil War, and later advanced their civilian careers and status through the creation of Victorian New York. These influential cadets trained at West Point in the nation's first engineering school, a program designed by Sylvanus Thayer and Dennis Hart Mahan that would shape civil engineering in New York and beyond. After the war, these industrious professionals leveraged their education and military experience to wield significant influence during New York's social, economic, and political transformation. Logel examines how each engineer's Civil War service shaped his contributions to postwar activities in the city, including the construction of the Croton Aqueduct, the creation of Central Park, and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Logel also delves into the administration of New York's municipal departments, in which Military Academy alumni interacted with New York elites, politicians, and civilian-trained engineers. Examining the West Pointers' experiences--as cadets, military officers during the war, and New Yorkers--Logel assesses how these men impacted the growing metropolis, the rise of professionalization, and the advent of Progressivism at the end of the century. (Publisher)

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Reviewed By

Review Martin V. Melosi (2017) Review of "Designing Gotham: West Point Engineers and the Rise of Modern New York, 1817-1898". Journal of Interdisciplinary History (pp. 278-280). unapi

Review Koeppel, Gerald (January 2018) Review of "Designing Gotham: West Point Engineers and the Rise of Modern New York, 1817-1898". Technology and Culture (pp. 796-797). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB240410014/

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Authors & Contributors
Melosi, Martin V.
Richard Haw
Richard J. Byrom
Irene Cheng
Gray Fitzsimons
Annika Levels
Concepts
Civil engineering
Urban planning
Biographies
Engineers
Roads and highways
Social change
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
20th century, early
18th century
21st century
Places
United States
New York City (New York, U.S.)
Great Britain
Seattle (Washington, U.S.)
Mississippi River (North America)
Virginia (U.S.)
Institutions
United States Military Academy
New York Central Railway
Bechtel Group
Virginia Military Institute
University of St. Andrews
University of Michigan
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