Shantaya Johnston
History 1700-023
Dueling Document 3
Preservation versus Conservation
In the 1880 Theodore Roosevelt traveled a crossed America surveying the land, and
noticed that with the hasty expansion to the west a lot of the land and animals had been
decimated. After seeing what had been done to the land conservation became one of Roosevelt’s
main concerns. Roosevelt became president in 1901 and with the help of Gifford Pinchot he
worked to preserve as much land as possible.
1903 Roosevelt traveled through Yosemite Valley with John Muir. John Muir was the
founder of the Sierra Club and worked hard preserve the natural beauty of the land. He spent
most of his time writing about his adventures in nature and used these writing to inspire others to
fallow is lead.
After Roosevelt and Muir toured Yosemite they realized that they both wanted to
preserve the land but disagreed with what should be done with the land. Roosevelt wanted the
government to have control of the land and to use the land to for multiple uses to benefit the
people in the long run. Muir wanted nature preserved for the pure sake of beauty.
In Roosevelt’s letter Forest Land Has Multiple Uses, that was sent to Gifford Pinchot,
Roosevelt points out that the preserved land wouldn’t retard the growth of the country but in turn
aide the growth by sustaining the country. Roosevelt’s plan was to take ten percent of the money
received from the preserved lands and give it to the states to improve roads and schools.
Roosevelt believed that by doing this the preserved lands would be used in the best way possible
so that all of the public could benefit from it.
Muir made a point when he wrote “wilderness should be unspoiled”. In his book Steep
Trails, he describes how the lands are being invaded and overrun. He points out the value of
leaving the land in its natural state, saying that the land wouldn’t be a good source for gold or
grain and that the future generations would benefit more from the land if left untouched.
These documents show the struggle of two men trying to figure out what is best for the
public and the use of the land. I think Roosevelt was looking out the near future and how to make
the best use of the land for the current public. With the rapid growth in America many people
were taking from nature in a hasty manner. Roosevelt wanted to slow the destruction of the land
and encouraged people to use the land wisely. Muir was looking at the distant future and how to
preserve the land for many generations to view. I also feel that Muir was pushing for the public
to focus more on the simple things in life and not just how to make money off the land. Muir had
no interest in making money off the land and many of the big monopolies disregarded this idea.
Because of the work of Roosevelt and Muir, today we have the opportunity to experience
some of America in its natural state. I think that these men had a huge impact on the way we live
and view nature today. Even now there is a struggle to maintain and preserve the natural beauty
of America. I believe that it is important to have both “unspoiled” land and land used to replenish
resources.
Works Cited
Experience History Chapter 22