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Spying On South

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Spying On South

 

 

 

 

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INTRODUCTION

This book explains about Frederick Law Olmsted, who by the 1850s, was a hardworking farmer and a dreamer in search of a mission. He finds his purpose during his an astonishing journey to the South. He finds that it was a hidden correspondent in the South by the time of New York in the South. By then south was a foreign land, which was an unfriendly territory. Olmsted travels by horseback, steamboats, and steam coach for fourteen months seeking for a conversation and standard foundation. The reason for his tiresome search about the lives and beliefs of the southern people was to reveal to the readers by that time. The Yeoman’s remark reshapes the American landscape, and Olmsted is determined to bring changes in the society through creating democratic spaces for the uplift of all people. It contributes to central park and Olmsted career as America’s first landscape architect. Then, later Tony Horwitz notices the conflict and division among people. Therefore, Horwitz is eager to know whether the country of America is united. In search of the solution, he follows Olmsted by offering his means of transport. In the end, Horwitz discovers who people have been and who they will still be.

What prompts Horwitz to follow Frederick Law Olmsted’s antebellum journey into the South

Tony Horwitz recognizes the slavery and discrimination that was happening in America. It entices him to go and find out whether “America is still one country.”1 He follows Frederick Law Olmsted so that he can get the answer on his research on America. Horwitz used modes of travelling, such as trains, steamboats, and horses. During his travelling, he used to take local food. He follows Olmsted, who was a father of political journalist before becoming one of the fathers of the American landscape architecture. Through the Olmsted journey to the South, it takes Horwitz to the American South and Texas, where they were suffering politically, economically, and environmentally. He started his journey when the politics were going on in America, and he reaches in South America in two weeks before the elections began. The purpose of his trip was to the server the political report of the civil war in America, which happened unexpectedly. It served as a window in the South during the time of rising tension in society. Therefore, Horwitz is influenced by the attitude of Olmsted in trying to search for slavery in America. He states that “it’s not an attitude that can help in overcoming the influence because attitude rises and falls”2.  The vividness of Olmsted also attracted him. He says that “he expected that he could have taken a parallel journey to explore what he saw then and what he sees now and another one at the trouble time of the history.”3

What did Horwitz hope to find on his journey

Horwitz on his way, he expected to see the landscape and the territory Olmsted crossed and in which manner he did it. The American view is famous, and Horwitz was very eager to see it. The qualities of this landscape are recognized due to its contemporaries who partnered with Olmsted as well as the prestigious commission. He paints this landscape with; lakes, wooden slopes, which contains forest-covered hills, banks, and lawns. It also had mountainsides and ocean views. Olmsted did extraordinary work for the landscapes, which still influence America. Its features motivated Horwitz in his journey since he had the desire to reach where the scene was despite the long journey he took.

Similarities Horwitz finds to Olmsted’s journey into the South.

When Horwitz notices the journey of Olmsted’s journey to the South, he is interested immediately. It was the year of the tumultuous and controversial 2016 presidential campaign, and Horwitz was struck by “inescapable echoes”4 of Olmsted’s narrative reverberating in the contemporary United States: “extreme polarization, racial strife, the demonization of the other side, “5 and “enflamed opinion [prevailing] over seasoned dialogue and debate.”6 Therefore, Horwitz decides to search for these disturbing similarities by acting like Olmsted. He still copies the longest journey as Olmsted. Horwitz evaluates his experience in the same place as described by Olmsted. He uses engaging and instructive flashbacks to compare his experience with that of his predecessor’s. The results provide a brief biography of Olmsted that gives the information about his early life, and the story of his two journeys, to find the reasons for the religion, political, and racial attitude on the southern people. The attraction is still on the history of Horwitz’s ability to provide vivid and sometimes humorous descriptions of the cultural landscapes of the South’s.

Both Horwitz and Olmsted travelled for long distances and completed their journey a week before Trump’s election. Horwitz, as well as Olmsted, accepts the local foods that were fried, monotonous, and unhealthy during their trip. He also visited frequently the local bar, civic, and entertainment events.  He also copies Olmsted’s mode of transport, where he uses; trains, steamboats, and horses for travelling.

Horwitz also looks at the economic, political, and environmental factors. He notices poor performance of the American manufacturers in many areas, especially, in Virginia as well as the level of unemployment rising. He also describes intense racism in Texas. Texas causes excellent attention in America. Horwitz notices also notices that Olmsted’s journey concentrates on Texas as well as fascinated with the difference in landscapes, history, and population. During his, journey Olmsted hopes that they will be free from and conduct their businesses freely without any restrictions. Through, a free country, he hopes that the slavery in the West will also end since people will be open without any discrimination despite where they come from or their color.

The Differences Horwitz Find to Olmsted’s Journey into the South

Horwitz recognizes the attractive attributes of Olmsted, such as his democratic principles, a good planner as well as a designer of American’s most significant packs as well as civic spaces. But he finds some contradicting and complicated attributes of Olmsted. It’s because sometimes Olmsted will behave as an “artist and republican”7, and also as a “bureaucrat and imperialist”8, motivated by some ethic works.

Horwitz’s biography is not a hagiography. He claims that Olmsted, with his advocacy of suburbs, was partially responsible for the cookie-cutter developments that pockmark the US landscape today. (He does acknowledge that Olmsted would be appalled at their quality.)9 He criticizes his failure to champion the welfare of former slaves by speaking out against Jim Crow laws and the rise of white supremacism in the South after Reconstruction. He also appears to disapprove of the fact that Olmsted accepted commissions from the superrich of the Gilded Age at the end of his career. He views this as a warning of his subject’s egalitarian and anti-aristocratic political views.

What Horwitz learn from his experiences on his journey in the South

During his journey to south Horwitz learn about many things through his experience, such as he learned about the fascinating facts about the civil war. He speaks about the first Manassas, which was the first civil war. The Northern general was responsible for informing Lincoln how unprepared their group was for the battle. But Lincoln was not aware, and he thinks that they were set to move on, and he says that “they are green, but we are green also hence you are all green alike”10. Through this battle, Horwitz compares that the first battle was famous, and therefore it leads to the Northern troop running away in large groups towards Washington.

Another thing that he learns is about war call confederate soldiers adopted. The historians’ breaks own the calls into three different versions for easy understanding. They use a group of boys to demonstrate the meaning of the three appeals. Horwitz grew with interest in the American civil war because his great grandfather was annoyed by this war. It’s after his great grandfather migrates from uniting states because of the civil war that they experienced. His experience develops because of the love he had towards his family and the history of the war he was listening to and reading them.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Olmsted is the character who has a positive influence on society. He contributes to the construction of the landscape names Olmsted landscape architecture in America, which is very famous, and it attracts Horwitz to have the desire to start his journey to see it. Horwitz has the desire to know and understanding civil war. He develops the attitude and willingness after his family suffers from civil war, which had happened and caused the migration of his great grand-father. This helps him to have some experience concerning the civil war, where he learned that every group involved in civil war should always be fully prepared. He tries to find the way this can be overcome, and people be free. People should be open so that they can carry out their activities freely without any harm or fear. He tries to find out whether people can be treated equally despite their race.

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Horwitz, Tony. Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide. London: Penguin Books, 2020.

 

 

 

 

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