Forums before death by AOL, social media and spammers... "We can't have nice things"
|    alt.history    |    Pretty sure discussion of all kinds    |    15,187 messages    |
[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]
|    Message 15,060 of 15,187    |
|    Jeffrey Rubard to Jeffrey Rubard    |
|    Re: Greg Grandin, "Fordlandia" (2009) (1    |
|    11 Feb 24 09:00:16    |
      From: theleasthappyfella@gmail.com              On Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 1:04:51 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:       > On Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 9:14:42 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > On Friday, February 9, 2024 at 12:57:04 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > On Friday, February 9, 2024 at 8:46:59 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > On Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 12:09:22 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard       wrote:        > > > > > On Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 8:26:34 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard       wrote:        > > > > > > On Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 9:05:42 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard       wrote:        > > > > > > > On Sunday, February 4, 2024 at 2:01:01 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey       Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > On Sunday, February 4, 2024 at 9:19:09 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey       Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > On Friday, February 2, 2024 at 12:17:12 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey       Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > On Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 8:37:18 AM UTC-8,       Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 9:01:01 AM UTC-8,       Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > On Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 2:45:14 PM UTC-8,       Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:02:58 PM       UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:38:52 AM       UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 8:24:35 AM       UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Thursday, December 14, 2023 at       12:30:58 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 8:27:50 AM       UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, September 24, 2023 at       8:34:33 AM UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Saturday, September 23, 2023 at       1:10:38 PM UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Sunday, September 10, 2023 at       2:32:06 PM UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From Chapter 15: "Kill All the       Americans"        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > It took Dearborn's purchasing agents       some effort to find a factory whistle that wouldn't rust from the jungle       humidity. Once they did, they shipped it to Fordlandia, where it was perched       on top of the water tower,        above the tall trees, giving it a seven-mile range. The whistle was piercing       enough not only to reach dispersed road gangs and fieldhands but to be heard       across the river, where even those not affiliated with Fordlandia began to       pace their day to its        regularly scheduled blows. The whistle was supplemented by another icon of       industrial factory work: pendulum punch time clocks, placed at different       locations around the plantation, that recorded exactly when each employee       began and ended his workday.        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sponsor Message        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > In Detroit, immigrant workers by the       time they got to Ford's factories, even if they were peasants and shepherds,       had had ample opportunity to adjust to the meter of industrial life. The long       lines at Ellis        Island, the clocks that hung on the walls of depots and waiting rooms, the       fairly precise schedules of ships and trains, and standardized time that       chopped the sun's daily arc into zones combined to guide their motions and       change their inner sense of how        the days passed.        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > But in the Amazon, the transition       between agricultural time and industrial time was much more precipitous. Prior       to showing up at Fordlandia, many of the plantation's workers who had lived in       the region had set        their pace by two distinct yet complementary timepieces. The first was the       sun, its rise and fall marking the beginning and end of the day, its apex       signaling the time to take to the shade and sleep. The second was the turn of       the seasons: most of the        labor needed to survive was performed during the relatively dry months of June       to November. Rainless days made rubber tapping possible, while the recession       of the floods exposed newly enriched soils, ready to plant, and concentrated       fish, making them        easier to catch. But nothing was set in stone. Excessive rain or prolonged       periods of drought or heat led to adjustments of schedules. Before the coming       of Ford, Tapajos workers lived time, they didn't measure it — most rarely       ever heard church bells,        much less a factory whistle. It was difficult, therefore, as David Riker, who       performed many jobs for Ford, including labor recruiter, said, "to make       365-day machines out of these people."        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > In 1927, Henry Ford bought a tract       of land stretching twice the size of Deleware in the Amazonian jungle of       Brazil. Fordlandia, as it was called, was meant to be a large rubber       plantation.        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the       Henry Ford        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Ford executives stand on the deck of       the Lake Ormoc. Left to right: William Cowling, Edsel Ford, Einar Oxholm,       Henry Ford, Pete Martin, Charles Sorensen, and AlbertWibel.        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the       Henry Ford        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Workers chop down a tree in       Fordlandia. Greg Grandin, author of "Fordlandia," claims that the complex       ecological conditions and a clash of cultures between the Americans and native       workers ultimately led to the        failure of the project.        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the       Henry Ford        > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Along with the construction of the       rubber plantation, Ford also created small American towns that included       central squares, indoor plumbing, golf courses and hospitals.               [continued in next message]              --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05        * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)    |
[   << oldest   |   < older   |   list   |   newer >   |   newest >>   ]
(c) 1994, bbs@darkrealms.ca