Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Giesen, C. James
Committee Member
Marcus. I. Alan
Committee Member
Brain, C. Stephen
Date of Degree
5-1-2010
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
History
Degree Name
Master of Arts
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Department of History
Abstract
Until the early twentieth century, Americans generally responded to the risk of floods by building protective levees. By the late 1800s, this approach was firmly entrenched in federal policy. Because of the singular focus on levees, floods actually became more severe, with a prime example occurring in 1927. The floods of 1927 demonstrated that levees-only was an untenable policy, but a new approach to managing flood risk took several decades to fully materialize. The geographer Gilbert Fowler White played a central role in developing the nation’s new approach to floods. In his 1945 doctoral dissertation, White laid out a multiaceted approach to flood risks that promoted the accommodation of nature at times, rather than relying exclusively on ever-greater works of engineering to address the risk of flood. The passage of the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968 demonstrates the acceptance of White’s ideas into federal policy.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/15074
Recommended Citation
Rumsey, Brian Edward, "Beyond bigger and better: Gilbert White and America's new approach to floodplain management" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 872.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/872