October 1 1890 Yosemite National Park was dedicated in California. Yosemite was the second national park to be formally dedicated to the public interest in this way, but it was in many ways the place that captivated interest of Americans and inspired the preservation of landscapes across the United States for the benefit of the public. By 1890 the battle to preserve the park for future generations had been going on for almost forty years. Since Westerners discovered the Yosemite Valley during the California Gold Rush in 1851 (p. 2). California represented the last frontier; the final push of Anglo-Saxon Americans westward across the continent. The idea of a “manifest destiny” to occupy all of North America had driven its people in a rapid migration westward. It was here, on the farthest edge of the new American territories, that the concept of the national park would take root.
The idea of public parks had been in Americas consciousness for some time. In Europe kings and noble men had historically claimed great tracks of land for sport. And during the Industrial Revolution socialists and humanitarians advocated the building of parks to make to make city life more livable. However nowhere in the developed world were there landscapes as vast and unspoiled as what could be found in America.
A bill to preserve the Yosemite Valley and the surrounding area was first proposed in 1864, and was signed into law by President Lincoln (p. 13), making Yosemite the very first recognized nature preserve in the United States. The legal recognition of the park did little in reality to protect the park itself from being exploited. The responsibility for the park was given over to the state of California which expressed very little interest in it, and put forward even less investment. Thus the protection of the park was largely taken up by individuals which included James Mason Hutchings, Galen Clark, and John Muir.
“On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill creating Yellowstone Park. Unlike Yosemite, which was being administered by the state of California, this would be the first national park in the history of the world. (p. 35)” Following this dedication of Yellowstone individuals began to lobby Congress to bring Yosemite under federal oversight. The bill that finally consecrated the park was signed by then President Benjamin Harrison.
Following the creation of Yellowstone, Yosemite, General Grant, and Sequoia national parks the federal government struggled to manage the vast expanses of wilderness thousands of miles from Washington. Frustrated with ineffective civil administrations the government dispatched remnants of the Union Army to enforce improvised regulations against poaching, vandalism, and negligence with campfires (p.68). The Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities, signed in 1906 by President Roosevelt, (p.104) expanded the concept of the American park system to include historic monuments. “On August 25, 1916.... President Woodrow Wilson signed into law an act creating the National Park Service to oversee 5.5 million acres of some of the most beautiful scenery on earth. (p 163)”
Throughout the 20th century the idea of public parks would be extended to wildlife preserves, monuments, memorials, and historic sites all across America and this idea was replicated at the State and local leaves. National Parks would be established in almost all 50 states. As the population has increased and urbanization has spread to what were once remote regions of the country parks act as a refuge for native plants and animals.
What began as an effort on the part of a few individuals to preserve and protect the Yosemite Valley in California catalyzed the conservation of native species, vast expanses of wilderness, and historic sites throughout America. It is not only possible, it is very probable that large regions of Virginia, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona would appear drastically different then they do today. Loss of habitat and over hunting might well have driven various animals into extinction. The Civil War battle fields in Gettysburg and Manassas could be buried under strip malls and theme parks. Because of the efforts of innumerable individuals, American wilderness, and American history will exist for generations to come.
All pages cited from The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns.
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