 | Tropic of Hopes: California, Florida, and the Selling of American Paradise, 1869-1929 Subjects: Florida -- Economic conditions; California -- Economic conditions; Florida -- Population -- History; California -- Population -- History; Florida -- Social conditions; California -- Social conditions; Just after the Civil War, two states prominently laid claim to being America's paradise destinations. Private companies, state agencies, and journalists all lent a hand in creating a seductive, expansionist imagery that promoted semitropical California and Florida and helped "sell" Americans on the idea of an attainable paradise within the United States. In Tropic of Hopes , Henry Knight examines the promotion of California and Florida from the end of the Civil War to the eve of the Great Depression, a period when both states were transformed from remote, sparsely populated locales into two of the most publicized and dreamed-about destinations in America. Using the discussion of climate, geography, race, and environment to link agricultural, tourist, and urban development in these regions, Knight provides a highly original and informative account. |
