Purchase
The Galveston storm of 1900 reduced a cosmopolitan and economically vibrant city to a wreckage-strewn wasteland where survivors struggled without shelter, power, potable water, or even the means to summon help.
University of Texas
August 2000
190 pages
ISBN: 029270884X
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
The Galveston storm of 1900 reduced a cosmopolitan and
economically vibrant city to a wreckage-strewn wasteland
where survivors struggled without shelter, power, potable
water, or even the means to summon help. At least 6,000 of
the city's 38,000 residents died in the hurricane. Many
observers predicted that Galveston would never recover and
urged that the island be abandoned. Instead, the citizens
of Galveston seized the opportunity, not just to rebuild,
but to reinvent the city in a thoughtful, intentional way
that reformed its government, gave women a larger role in
its public life, and made it less vulnerable to future
storms and flooding. This extensively illustrated history
tells the full story of the 1900 Storm and its long-term
effects. The authors draw on survivors' accounts to vividly
recreate the storm and its aftermath. They describe the
work of local relief agencies, aided by Clara Barton and
the American Red Cross, and show how their short-term
efforts grew into lasting reforms. At the same time, the
authors reveal that not all Galvestonians benefited from
the city's rebirth, as African Americans found themselves
increasingly shut out from civic participation by Jim Crow
segregation laws. As the centennial of the 1900 Storm
prompts remembrance and reassessment, this complete account
will be essential and fascinating reading for all who seek
to understand Galveston's destruction and rebirth.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy