Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm

The American elm, elegant and highly adaptable, was an essential feature of America's cultural landscape for more than a century, forming great verdant parasols above -- and lending its name to -- streets all across the nation. The elm became a defining element in the spatial design of America's villages, towns, and cities, first in New England, and -- with the westward transit of Yankee culture -- eventually throughout the United States as well. This fascinating and generously illustrated book traces the elm's transformation from a fast-growing weed into a regional and national icon. Thomas J. Campanella begins by discussing the symbolic and practical uses of the elm in the early Republic. He then explains how the elm became the centerpiece of America's first grassroots environmental movement, describes early tree-planting efforts in New England's cities, and shows how Elm Street satisfied a quest for a pastoral urbanism imagined since Jefferson's time. Campanella concludes with an account of the elm tree's demise in the mid-twentieth century, when Dutch elm disease virtually eliminated the tree from the landscape in one of the greatest ecological catastrophes in American history. The passing of the elm changed the face of the nation, stripping naked towns and cities long nestled in the shade of century-old trees. Throughout the United States, he says -- but especially in New England -- the loss of this native tree has been deeply mourned.