Human and Animal Interactions

The continuous shaping of America’s overall social, economical, and political systems correlates with how humans and animals interact. Helen Horowitz, Andrew Isenberg, Bonnie Clause, and Etienne Benson are some of the historians that have connected the treatment, view, and placement of animals in the American society throughout the developing of the country. These historians showcased animals that were used for things such as medical research, the displaying of wealth, as well as monetary gain. Although each of them focused on different animals, points in time, and issues; they all we similar by the way they valued and related human and animal interactions to how America’s history formed.

Horowitz’s Article, “Animal and Man in the Zoological Park” suggested that the people who were mainly responsible for the New York Zoological Park reflected their personal interest into the formation and organization of the Animals. The wealthy people and politicians that gave donations and voted in Favor of building the Zoo were white idealist that believed that they had to maintain the purity that was left in America. Their views of an American Utopia would most likely been set up similar to the zoo, in the sense that how the cages and habitats separated the animals in same way social class, political positions, wealth and race would divide the American people. The few controlling the majority like how they control and separate the animals was how the envisioned their American. In many ways their Utopia society was how the country was maintained for a very long time. The main purpose to show off their wealth by the generous donations was not understated, even though the tried hide behind the façade o...

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... the Eastern Grey Squirrel.The differences with how each animal was accepted by society just show how human rejection is very unpredictable.

My favorite animal is a Monkey; I always had an unhealthy obsession with them since I was a young child. For my final assignment/ research paper I would like it to focus the history of why and how monkeys were brought to the United States for use of medical research, and entertainment.

Works Cited

•Helen Horowitz, “Animal and Man in the New York Zoological Park,” New York History 56, no. 4 (Oct. 1975): 426-455.

•Andrew Isenberg, “The Returns of the Bison,” Environmental History 2, no. 2 (Apr., 1997): 179-196.

•Bonnie Clause, “The Wistar Rat as a Right Choice: Establishing Mammalian Standards and the Ideal of the Standardized Mammal,” Journal of the History of Biology 26, no. 2 (Summer, 1993): 329-349