America’s Best Idea: The National Parks

Origins of The National Park System

I recently bought a dvd on Amazon that changed my perspective on our national park system. Ken Burns National Parks is a six DVD set explaining the origins of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Big Bend, Zion, Mt. McKinley and many other famous parks. The story has a common theme: perseverance and rejuvenation via the creation and protection of these iconic landscapes that represent American idealism.

The national park system was largely created by the acts of Theodore Roosevelt, an avid big game hunter and explorer of the west. The other key figure in this narrative is a guy by the name of John Muir. John Muir grew up with a strict father who would reguarly beat him if he didn’t memorize certain passages from the old and New Testaments. Seeking a more peaceful life, John set out to explore what is now Yosetime and Yellowstone National Parks. Mr. Muir would become one of the biggest proponents of protecting these iconic landscapes from commercial development.

Why Protect These Places?

Guys like Roosevelt and Muir saw the mountains that inhabited these beautiful landscapes as something of a spiritual and religious nature. John Muir noted that he rather feel God’s presence in nature than in a church. These lands represented all the true American ideals: freedom, nature, pursuit of happiness, and tranquility found in remote areas. 

It’s hard to imagine what John Muir must have felt when he first laid eyes on places like Yosetime, completely wild and untouched by American commercialism. No long lines or lodging were built yet, most Americans didn’t even know these places existed. He was just in the right place at the right time taking in a landscape so magnificent that he devoted his entire life to protecting it.

John Muir would fight many battles to protect the lands he saw as sacred. He tried to pursuade members of Congress that in order for these places to exist and be enjoyed by future generations they must have the protection and resources that only the federal government could grant. He later found an alley in president Theodore Roosevelt, who shared his same admiration for land and conservation.

The Government Steps In

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created what is now officially the National Park Service. Controlled by the Department of the Interior, these lands were now protected by the full weight of the federal government. In theory this should have been a great triumph, yet there was much more work to be done in order for these lands to be enjoyed by future generations of Americans.

Local commercial interests and big industry vehimently fought any legislation or actions by the federal government that threatened their bottom line. In Yosetime the logging industry already had rights around the park to chop down thousands of trees.

The railroad companies built tracks going into these parks to serve thousands of Americans that were wealthy enough to see such wonders. Local ranchers in Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons saw the federal government as over stepping their powers and taking land away from hard working Americans who had deep lineage in the area. The ranchers claimed that they would shoot any federal park ranger who stepped foot on their land. 

Yosetime Valley, CA

Controversy

The history of these parks is complex and I’m really just glossing over what I remember from this DVD set. It took Americans and lots of members of Congress years to form the National Park Service. These were remote areas that most people in power had never witnessed in person. Many argued that these lands could be bettered served as places to gain natural resources in the name of hydro electric damns, mining, and timber.

Guys like John Muir believed if these Congressman actually stepped foot in places like Yosetime and Yellowstone they would surely change their minds. Legendary photographer Ansel Adams became a bridge between these remote areas and the American people. He traveled to all these parks and photographed their marvels. When the world saw places like The Grand Canyon, Yosetime Valley, and Yellowstone they were mezmorized. Ansel became extremely famous and wealthy from his photography of the national park system. Keep in mind these were the days of black and white photos, not color images. 

Hetch Hetchy Dam

One of the most controversial creations in Yosetime was the creation of a damn in the Hetch Hetchy valley. San Francisco suffered a severe earthquake in 1906, which left the city in need of a new fresh water supply. Hetch Hetchy was the perfect place to do it despite the land being held sacred by many naturalists such as John Muir. 

John Muir fought vigorously to protect Hetch Hetchy from development, but ultimaely lost and he was devestated. This was a big insult to him and he concluded that America’s apetite for development is so great that even protected land isn’t guaranteed protection. 

Mass Tourism

Soon Americans were flooding the National Parks because the white middle class now had the automobile that could get them to these remote areas. The parks got flooded with people and the infrastructure and management of these parks were not prepared. Visitors would feed bears, camp on the side of the road, and not follow proper instructions from park rangers.

Another great proponent of the National Park System was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He thought all Americans should visit sites like Yellowstone and Yosetime because they represented what it is to be American. Roosevelt once said, ” There is nothing so American as our national parks..The fundmantal idea behind the parks..is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in the process of making for the enrichment of lives of all of us.”

Teddy Roosevelt with John Muir

Theodore Roosevelt loved exploring the parks and hunting big game. When his wife died of Bright’s Disease, Theodore sought refuge in the American west. Just like John Muir, he saw these places as more than scenic destinations, but areas where the human soul and spirit can be rejuvinated from harsh setbacks in life.

After exploring large portions of the American west, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation for five new national parks: Crater Lake (Oregon), Wind Cave (South Dakota), Mesa Verde (Colorado) and many more. His hope was that these places could be preserved and enjoyed for future generations of Americans so they could find the same peace, enjoyment, and rehabilitation of the soul that Americans cannot find in crowded cities. He noted the importance for places of solitude where commercial interests didn’t scar the landscape. 

Why Is This Important?

While watching this amazing DVD I realized that some of the park rangers started crying when explaining how they became rangers in the first place. The stories were quite similar among these park rangers. They all started as family trips when they were young, seeing the American west for the first time and being mezmorized. One ranger from Detroit noted that the conversation around visiting sites like Yosetime and Yellowstone were not existent, yet they heard and read about these places hoping to one day visit them.

The desire to leave home and travel America is not new. The human psyche wants to know what is yet unknown. To explore a new area of land and see what it has to offer is something our great ancestors did out of necessity. Americas exploration in the western terrorities changed peoples lives and perceptions about what is possible. However, not all of this history is positive. Native Indians were the first to inhabit these lands we now call national parks. The white man persecuted, relocated, and tried to “re-educate” the native populations in order to make them “civilized.”

I would never be writing this article if I hadn’t left home and explored new terrotiry. To many reading this back home it probably sounds too far away and non-applicable to their daily lives to have much meaning. However, when you live in the western states and have access to these amazing landscapes your life is changed forever. It is more than recreation for us out in the west, our lives revolve around these awe inspiring places and we dream about them while working in our offices. 

I’m ashamed to say I have only visited one national park as of now. This will change with time as I visit more after learning the rich history and joy they can bring to the human soul. Allthough the western states have more national parks than those east of the Mississippi River, places like Acadia (off the coast of Maine), and Smokey Mountain National Park (North Carolina, Tennessee) can provide you with the same feeling and inspiration places like Yosetime and Yellowstone provide

My message stays the same: get out and explore! You only have one life to live and why not be brave and see what this country really has to showcase. Learn about it’s rich history, struggles, triumphs, and how these natural landscapes are the best medicine for any type of hardship. I’am truly blessed to live near these iconic parks.