A People's History of Environmentalism in the United States

From the soot-choked mills of antebellum Massachusetts to the pesticide-stung orchards that sparked Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Chad Montrie drags the spotlight away from boardroom conservationists and shines it on the coal miners, sharecroppers, and mill moms who risked paychecks—and sometimes lives—to keep air, soil, and water fit for the next breath. He shows how Black washerwomen in Reconstruction-era Birmingham marched for clean wells, how Dust Bowl tenant farmers fused Environmental Justice with Economic Justice, and how factory towns battling cancer clusters turned kitchen tables into war rooms long before “Earth Day” had a logo. Each page reads like a freight train of untold victories: neighborhood children mapping smokestack fallout, union crews chaining themselves to river locks, mothers demanding Health Equity while hanging laundry under acid skies. Montrie’s vivid narrative topples the myth that environmentalism bloomed only when middle-class hikers found free weekends; instead, he proves ordinary Americans have always fought for the right to breathe easy. One urgent question crackles through the timeline: which community will light the next fuse for change? Tap the blue ➕ to Save to List for later inspiration, or hit the bold arrow to Learn More and connect your classroom, youth group, or congregation to this grassroots saga of survival and stewardship.