John M. Barry, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America (1997) - Simon & Schuster, New York, N.Y. 524 pp.
John Barry's Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it Changed America is an excellent examination of a dramatic event in American history. The flood of 1927 highlighted futile attempts to control nature, end a way of life in the Mississippi-Yazoo delta, and marked an end of the driving force behind New Orleans, the powerful banking establishment.
Barry successfully describes efforts to control the Mississippi River, explains the connection between the Mississippi delta culture and the river, and examines the enormous influence powerful banking families had over decisions affecting New Orleans. Barry tells each story against the powerful backdrop of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, on of the most devastating natural events of this century. The Mississippi River flood of 1993 which devastated the Midwest carried one million cubic feet of water per second while the 1927 flood carried an excess of three million cubic feet of water per second. Extreme amounts of rain throughout the Midwest in the Fall of 1926 followed by record setting snowstorms that resulted in drifts ten feet tall set the stage for the flood to come. On April 21, 1927, these forces came to bear at Mounds Landing, a small ferry station on the Mississippi a few miles north of Greenville, MS.
Barry quickly grabs the reader's attention with a brief but haunting glimpse of Greenville, MS, just days before the flood. In the 1920's, Greenville was the center of the delta planters society, a loose knit group of families each with large plantations throughout the delta that employed thousands of people on their farms. Barry then describes and contrasts two engineers who competed for control of the river during the late 19th century. James Buchanan Eads is portrayed as a brilliant engineer who built the first bridge across the river below the mouth of the Missouri. Andrew Atkinson Humphreys, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, competed with Eads for control over the river. Barry favors Eads' achievements both his business ventures and engineering feats. While he portrays Humphreys as a scientist overwhelmed by a drive for power. In describing Humphreys' rise to the Corps of Engineers Barry notes, "[B]y then there was no scientist left within him. Only the soldier remained. He cared now only about obedience, power and rank."
After describing the drive to engineer the river, Barry examines the result of this struggle, the levee-only policy adopted by the Mississippi River Commission, the leading government agency on Mississippi River policies. This policy represented a compromised meshing of Eads' theories regarding the channelization of the river and Humphreys theories about levee size even though neither engineer supported the levee-only policy. Eads' supported the use of cutoffs while Humphreys and the Commission opposed them. Although both men had experimented with the idea of using levees only, they agreed that the levee-only policy used by the Commission was not enough. Unfortunately, the levee-only policy actually increased the power of the river during flood season. Barry concludes this section by ominously stating, "[N]o reservoirs were built ... [n]o outlets were built ... [n]o cutoffs were built ... Only levees were built."
In 1922 the Mississippi flooded but the levees held most of the waters at bay. This containment led the engineers to believe their efforts would prevent future floods. As a result, the Mississippi River Commission decided to upgrade all levees and close the final and greatest outlet of the Mississippi, the Atchafalaya River. These decisions led directly to the conditions of the 1927 flood and challenges that river engineers face today.
In the second part of Rising Tide, Barry describes changes in the culture of the Yazoo-Mississippi delta brought about by the flood by tracing the history of the influential Percy family from Greenville, MS. Barry notes the arrival of Charles Percy near the future site of Greenville, and describes the future lineage of his family. "There, over the next century, the Percys became giants, generations of men who led both the South and the nation." While attempting to control both the river itself and social forces such as race relations and state politics, the "Percys built upon what Eads and Humphreys had done by transforming the potential that the river had created into an entire society, extending far beyond their own holdings, and by making it conform to their own special vision." It was this planters society that the flood threatened to destroy.
After giving some background of the Percy family, Barry focuses on events surrounding the levee collapse at Mounds Landing a few miles north of town. When the levee broke, General Edgar Jawdin, head of the Corps of Engineers at the time of the flood indicated that the river would overflow the entire Mississippi Delta Barry writes,
The crevasse was immense. Giant billows rose to the tops of tall trees, crushing them, while the force of the current gouged out the earth. Quickly the crevasse widened, until a wall of water three-quarters of a mile across and more than 100 feet high raged onto the Delta.
In the wake of the flood, all of the plantation labor, in particular racial minorities, were left with few possessions or reasons to stay, eventually altering the economic and societal structure of the delta. "By early 1928, the exodus of blacks from Washington County, and likely the rest of the Delta, did reach 50 percent." In the past blacks had migrated to the north and west, but that was a slow drain with the South losing about 200,000 blacks between 1900 and 1910. In the 1920's 872,000 blacks left the South. Although the flood was not the only reason to leave, for many it was the final reason.
In the final part of Rising Tide, Barry explores the role of powerful New Orleans families during the 1927 flood. Entitled the "The Club," Barry conveys a sense of mystery surrounding both the city and the men that controlled it. Barry notes that three men controlled the newspapers in the city and they cooperated in suppressing news unfavorable to the city's business interests. But membership in the all-male social clubs of New Orleans determined who the real insiders were and who made the important decisions. The driving force behind these clubs was the New Orleans banking establishment. Barry writes that the city had nearly twice the economic activity of Dallas and between double and triple that of Houston, Atlanta, Memphis, Louisville, Richmond, or Birmingham. This power led to these clubs having immense control over all New Orleans activities, particularly economic and political decisions.
In the late 1920's, New Orleans was controlled by powerful banking families, all members of the clubs, who exerted enormous control over business and political decisions affecting the city. As a result of having this power, members of these clubs decided to intentionally dynamite the levee to lower the flood level in New Orleans and protect the commerce of the city. The Corps originally proposed destroying the levee in the wake of the 1922 flood when they advised the New Orleans financial community that, if the city was ever seriously with a flood, blowing a hole in the levee would save the city. In the end, the decision to dynamite the levee was made by three New Orleans banking leaders in the boardroom of the Canal Bank. Unfortunately, the result was the flooding St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes. Barry sadly notes, as two engineers had predicted, the destruction of the parishes was unnecessary and one day's wait would have shown it to be so.
Rising Tide is a well written work that shows how the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 changed America. First, this flood marked the end of the delta planters society that the Percys and others had crafted out of the Mississippi-Yazoo delta. It was a defining moment in the exodus of racial minorities from the South to places in the north and west such as Chicago. Second, the activities of the New Orleans clubs brought an end to their dominance of Louisiana politics and led to the rise of populists such as Earl and Huey Long. Finally, the simple fact that a flood of the magnitude occurred shows that man can never truly tame the river. What the outcome would have been if Eads' or Humphreys' ideas had been followed exactly we will never know. But we do know that the engineers mistakenly thought they had the river under control. In fact, even today the river is a mystery to the engineers who attempt to manage it.
The current Corps of Engineers' plan to protect the lower Mississippi River valley is called "Project Flood" and is designed to protect the valley from a flood considerably stronger than the 1927 flood. These measures include floodways, cutoffs, spillways, and other Corps constructed features scattered along the river. The key protection measure in the system is the Old River Control Structure which is a concrete structure located on the river between Natchez and Baton Rouge. When "Project Flood" occurs, the Corps plans to split the floodwaters at Old River, a place that used to be a natural outlet of the Mississippi. The Corps plans to divide the maximum flow of project flood (3,030,000 cubic feet per second) between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers, exactly reversing the Corps policy prior to the 1927 flood. Challenges facing the Corps are sub-standard levees, cutoffs not operating properly, and most importantly the physics of the Atchafalaya itself. The 1927 flood sent vast amounts of water down the Atchafalaya which has a much shorter route and steeper slope to the sea than the main channel of the Mississippi. By allowing more water to continue down the Atchafalaya during " Project Flood," the Corps could be helping nature change the course of the Mississippi itself. "Project Flood" may actually contribute to the Atchafalaya becoming the main stream of the mighty Mississippi River, an outcome the Corps has been trying to prevent for the last forty years.
Overall, Rising Tide is an important read for anyone concerned with the history of the events of the 1927 flood and anyone who is interested in current Mississippi River policies. Barry successfully illustrates the historical significance of the river, the attempts to control it, and the culture the river has fostered in the delta region.
Also, see The 1900 Galveston Hurricane
Blackwater Down by Jeremy Scahill
The men from Blackwater USA arrived in New Orleans right after Katrina
hit. The company known for its private security work guarding senior US
diplomats in Iraq beat the federal government and most aid organizations
to the scene in another devastated Gulf. About 150 heavily armed
Blackwater troops dressed in full battle gear spread out into the
chaos of New Orleans. Officially, the company boasted of its forces
"join[ing] the hurricane relief effort." But its men on the ground told
a different story.
Some patrolled the streets in SUVs with tinted windows and the
Blackwater logo splashed on the back; others sped around the French
Quarter in an unmarked car with no license plates. They congregated on
the corner of St. James and Bourbon in front of a bar called 711, where
Blackwater was establishing a makeshift headquarters. From the balcony
above the bar, several Blackwater guys cleared out what had apparently
been someone's apartment. They threw mattresses, clothes, shoes and
other household items from the balcony to the street below. They draped
an American flag from the balcony's railing. More than a dozen troops
from the 82nd Airborne Division stood in formation on the street
watching the action.
Armed men shuffled in and out of the building as a handful told stories
of their past experiences in Iraq. "I worked the security detail of both
Bremer and Negroponte," said one of the Blackwater guys, referring to
the former head of the US occupation, L. Paul Bremer, and former US
Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte. Another complained, while talking on
his cell phone, that he was getting only $350 a day plus his per diem.
"When they told me New Orleans, I said, 'What country is that in?'" he
said. He wore his company ID around his neck in a case with the phrase
Operation Iraqi Freedom printed on it.
In an hour-long conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they
characterized their work in New Orleans as "securing neighborhoods" and
"confronting criminals." They all carried automatic assault weapons and
had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with
pouches for extra ammunition.
When asked what authority they were operating under, one guy said,
"We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security." Then,
pointing to one of his comrades, he said, "He was even deputized by the
governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use lethal
force if we deem it necessary." The man then held up the gold Louisiana
law enforcement badge he wore around his neck. Blackwater spokesperson
Anne Duke also said the company has a letter from Louisiana officials
authorizing its forces to carry loaded weapons.
"This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government,"
says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
"These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in
Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and
possibly illegal."
Blackwater is not alone. As business leaders and government officials
talk openly of changing the demographics of what was one of the most
culturally vibrant of America's cities, mercenaries from companies like
DynCorp, Intercon, American Security Group, Blackhawk, Wackenhut and an
Israeli company called Instinctive Shooting International (ISI) are
fanning out to guard private businesses and homes, as well as government
projects and institutions. Within two weeks of the hurricane, the
number of private security companies registered in Louisiana jumped from
185 to 235. Some, like Blackwater, are under federal contract. Others
have been hired by the wealthy elite, like F. Patrick Quinn III, who
brought in private security to guard his $3 million private estate and
his luxury hotels, which are under consideration for a lucrative federal
contract to house FEMA workers.
A possibly deadly incident involving Quinn's hired guns underscores the
dangers of private forces policing American streets. On his second night
in New Orleans, Quinn's security chief, Michael Montgomery, who said he
worked for an Alabama company called Bodyguard and Tactical Security
(BATS), was with a heavily armed security detail en route to pick up one
of Quinn's associates and escort him through the chaotic city.
Montgomery told me they came under fire from "black gang bangers" on
an overpass near the poor Ninth Ward neighborhood. "At the time, I
was on the phone with my business partner," he recalls. "I dropped the
phone and returned fire."
Montgomery says he and his men were armed with AR-15s and Glocks and
that they unleashed a barrage of bullets in the general direction of the
alleged shooters on the overpass. "After that, all I heard was moaning
and screaming, and the shooting stopped. That was it. Enough said."
Then, Montgomery says, "the Army showed up, yelling at us and thinking
we were the enemy. We explained to them that we were security. I told
them what had happened and they didn't even care. They just left." Five
minutes later, Montgomery says, Louisiana state troopers arrived on the
scene, inquired about the incident and then asked him for directions on
"how they could get out of the city." Montgomery says that no one ever
asked him for any details of the incident and no report was ever made.
"One thing about security," Montgomery says, "is that we all
coordinate with each other--one family." That co-ordination
doesn't include the offices of the Secretaries of State in Louisiana and
Alabama, which have no record of a BATS company.
A few miles away from the French Quarter, another wealthy New Orleans
businessman, James Reiss, who serves in Mayor Ray Nagin's administration
as chairman of the city's Regional Transit Authority, brought in some
heavy guns to guard the elite gated community of Audubon Place: Israeli
mercenaries dressed in black and armed with M-16s. Two Israelis
patrolling the gates outside Audubon told me they had served as
professional soldiers in the Israeli military, and one boasted of having
participated in the invasion of Lebanon. "We have been fighting the
Palestinians all day, every day, our whole lives," one of them tells me.
"Here in New Orleans, we are not guarding from terrorists." Then,
tapping on his machine gun, he says, "Most Americans, when they see
these things, that's enough to scare them."
The men work for ISI, which describes its employees as "veterans of
the Israeli special task forces from the following Israeli
government bodies: Israel Defense Force (IDF), Israel National Police
Counter Terrorism units, Instructors of Israel National Police
Counter Terrorism units, General Security Service (GSS or 'Shin
Beit'), Other restricted intelligence agencies." The company was formed
in 1993. Its website profile says: "Our up-to-date services meet the
challenging needs for Homeland Security preparedness and overseas combat
procedures and readiness. ISI is currently an approved vendor by the US
Government to supply Homeland Security services."
Unlike ISI or BATS, Blackwater is operating under a federal contract to
provide 164 armed guards for FEMA reconstruction projects in Louisiana.
That contract was announced just days after Homeland Security Department
spokesperson Russ Knocke told the Washington Post he knew of no federal
plans to hire Blackwater or other private security firms.
"We believe
we've got the right mix of personnel in law enforcement for the federal
government to meet the demands of public safety," he said. Before the
contract was announced, the Blackwater men told me, they were already on
contract with DHS and that they were sleeping in camps organized by the
federal agency.
One might ask, given the enormous presence in New Orleans of National
Guard, US Army, US Border Patrol, local police from around the country
and practically every other government agency with badges, why private
security companies are needed, particularly to guard federal projects.
"It strikes me...that that may not be the best use of money," said
Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
Blackwater's success in procuring federal contracts could well be
explained by major-league contributions and family connections to the
GOP. According to election records, Blackwater's CEO and co-founder,
billionaire Erik Prince, has given tens of thousands to Republicans,
including more than $80,000 to the Republican National Committee the
month before Bush's victory in 2000. This past June, he gave $2,100 to
Senator Rick Santorum's re-election campaign. He has also given to House
majority leader Tom DeLay and a slew of other Republican candidates,
including Bush/Cheney in 2004. As a young man, Prince interned with
President George H.W. Bush, though he complained at the time that he
"saw a lot of things I didn't agree with--homosexual groups being
invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act, those kind of
bills. I think the Administration has been indifferent to a lot of
conservative concerns."
Prince, a staunch right-wing Christian, comes from a powerful Michigan
Republican family, and his father, Edgar, was a close friend of former
Republican presidential candidate and antichoice leader Gary Bauer. In
1988 the elder Prince helped Bauer start the Family Research Council.
Erik Prince's sister, Betsy, once chaired the Michigan Republican Party
and is married to Dick DeVos, whose father, billionaire Richard DeVos,
is co-founder of the major Republican benefactor Amway. Dick DeVos is
also a big-time contributor to the Republican Party and will likely be
the GOP candidate for Michigan governor in 2006. Another Blackwater
founder, president Gary Jackson, is also a major contributor to
Republican campaigns.
After the killing of four Blackwater mercenaries in Falluja in March
2004, Erik Prince hired the Alexander Strategy Group, a PR firm with
close ties to GOPers like DeLay. By mid-November the company was
reporting 600 percent growth. In February 2005 the company hired
Ambassador Cofer Black, former coordinator for counterterrorism at the
State Department and former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism
Center, as vice chairman. Just as the hurricane was hitting,
Blackwater's parent company, the Prince Group, named Joseph Schmitz, who
had just resigned as the Pentagon's Inspector General, as the group's
chief operating officer and general counsel.
While juicing up the firm's political connections, Prince has been
advocating greater use of private security in international operations,
arguing at a symposium at the National Defense Industrial
Association earlier this year that firms like his are more efficient
than the military. In May Blackwater's Jackson testified before Congress
in an effort to gain lucrative Homeland Security contracts to train
2,000 new Border Patrol agents, saying Blackwater understands "the value
to the government of one-stop shopping." With President Bush using the
Katrina disaster to try to repeal Posse Comitatus (the ban on using US
troops in domestic law enforcement) and Blackwater and other security
firms clearly initiating a push to install their paramilitaries on US
soil, the war is coming home in yet another ominous way. As one
Blackwater mercenary said, "This is a trend. You're going to see a lot
more guys like us in these situations."
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051010/scahill
AFTER KATRINA
