The Continuous Shaping of America: A Prospectus for Geographers and Historians

Why Geographic Factors are Necessary in Development Studies

“…(Meinig 1978(Meinig , 1189 18 In particular, the expansion of international Calvinism 'brought the Dutch to New Amsterdam (later New York), French Huguenots to New York, South Carolina and Massachusetts, Scottish…”

Writing geography, making history: D. W. Meinig's geographical perspective on the history of America

“…As long ago as 1978, Meinig set out his prospectus for geographers and historians on the continuous shaping of America: he viewed America as a gigantic 'geographic growth', as an ever-changing system of places, evolving from a group of precarious footholds on its eastern seaboard to a transcontinental nation and then to a culture with global impact. 19 Meinig has been faithful to that prospectus and his consistent attention to it in all four volumes of his project is its basic strength. He is clearly enthralled by the way in which a mosaic of regions evolved in North America and hugely impressed by the regional legacy to the national histories of the United States and Canada.…”

“…Meinig's explicit aim has been to create a dialogue with historians and in this he has been very successful. 21 At the most basic level, Meinig's project has been reviewed e for the most part very appreciatively e by many historians, among them such distinguished scholars as William Cronon and Alfred Crosby. 22 More fundamentally, Meinig has provided historians with an alternative interpretation of America's past.…”

“…25 It is certainly the case that Meinig attaches very great importance to good geographical description, in the belief that while interpretations are ephemeral 'good description tends to endure'. 26 But the problem goes deeper than that. Throughout the four volumes, Meinig's emphasis is on spatial structure at the expense of social agency.…”

D. W. Meinig and The Shaping of America

“…It remained only for Meinig to re-calibrate the focus of his personal scholarly interests from the west to the nation (as happened during the sabbatical of 1973) and to frame a prospectus for this more ambitious venture e which he did in 1976, in response to an invitation to speak to the American Historical Association on the relations between history and geography. 13 This was no easy assignment. Then as now, Geography was a disparate enterprise, full of internal debate about approaches and emphases, philosophies and methodologies.…”