Theodore Roosevelt: The Great Environmentalist Essay, Research Paper
This Paper will outline President Theodore Roosevelt’s role in helping to
conserve
our environment during his administration (1901-1909). It will also examine
his theory of
a stronger American democracy through environmental conservationism.
“The movement for the conservation of wildlife, and the larger movement for
the conservation of all our natural resources, are essentially democratic in
spirit, purpose, and method.” (Roosevelt 274)
As president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a
central
policy issue of his administration. He created five National Parks, four Big
Game
Refuges, fifty-one National bird Reservations, and the National Forest
Service. Roosevelt
advocated for the sustainable use of the nation’s natural resources, the
protection and
management of wild game, and the preservation of wild spaces. Considering
America’s
landscape to be the source of American wealth and the American character,
Roosevelt
believed conservationism was a democratic movement necessary to maintain and
to
strengthen American democracy.
Roosevelt recognized America’s vast natural resources as the source of the
country’s
economic wealth and subsequent political strength globally. The abundance of
land,
timber, waterways, and mineral deposits fueled the continuing expansion of
American
industry. In a speech addressed to a national conference on conservation held
at the White
House in 1908, Roosevelt stated, “Our position in the world has been attained
by the
extent and thoroughness of the control we have achieved over nature; but we
are more,
and not less, dependent upon what she furnishes than at any previous time of
history.”
(Internet 1) The United States had built its economic and political strength
by exploiting
the nation’s natural resources; but Roosevelt, like other leading
conservationists, no
longer believed that these natural resources were infinite in their
abundance.
The end of the nineteenth century brought the closing of the frontier, the
near
extinction of the buffalo, and the extinction of the passenger pigeon. Both
species had
symbolized America’s endless natural abundance, and their destruction forced
many
Americans to question the myth of nature’s infinitude. Understanding the
finite quality of
America’s natural resources, Roosevelt felt that the nation’s dependency on
them could
now become the nation’s weakness if the reckless and wasteful exploitation of
these
resources continued. The conservation and management of the nation’s natural
resources
was urgently necessary to ensure their future availability. Roosevelt went on
to say in his
speech to the conference on conservation, “It is equally clear that these
resources are the
final basis for national power and perpetuity.” (Internet 1) Concerned about
the long term
well being of the nation, Roosevelt regarded the land as an economic resource
which
must be conserved and managed to protect the long term economic and political
strength
of the nation.
Roosevelt believed that conservation, as a utilitarian tool for sustained
economic
growth, strengthened American democracy. He hoped that conservation would
achieve
the economic goal of providing the greatest good, for the greatest number,
over the
greatest period of time. Roosevelt stretched the concept of a democratic
society to include
its future members. Considering it undemocratic to exploit and squander the
nation’s
natural resources for present profit, he believed that a democratic society
should work to
protect the economic strength of future generations. Conservation, having the
goal of
sustainable resource use for successive generations, was for Roosevelt
inherently
democratic.
Roosevelt encouraged the federal government’s acquisition and management of
public
lands and the natural resources within them. He wanted to use this government
acquisition and management to prevent the exploitation of the nation’s
natural resources
by industry and the wealthy for industrial or private gain and to ensure a
more equal and
democratic distribution of the public lands and its resources. Describing the
public land
use policies of the federal government prior to his presidency, Roosevelt
writes that
decisions were made “in favor of private interests against the public
welfare.” (Roosevelt
430) He clearly states the principles guiding the land use policies of his
administration:
“The principles thus formulated and applied may be summed up in the statement
that the
rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights, and
must be given its
first consideration.” (Roosevelt 438) Roosevelt enacted land policies
consistent with this
democratic value of greater land distribution and resource access for the
lower
socio-economic classes he opened up National Forests lands suitable for
agriculture to
small farmers and challenged the exclusive grazing rights of large ranchers
on the public
lands of the West. Despite the opposition of “land grabbers and the great
private
interests,” (Roosevelt 440) Roosevelt demanded that those who used public
land and
resources for private profit pay the government for their usage. This measure
further
strengthened the principle that public lands and natural resources belong to
the public,
and that they do not exist for the unrestricted use of private industry.
Government land management was not only a means to achieving a greater
economic
equity of land and resource use, but for ensuring access to wilderness for
recreation and
hunting to all classes. Roosevelt wrote in his essay on Yellowstone National
Park:
It is entirely in our power as a nation to preserve large tracts of
wilderness…as playgrounds for rich and poor alike, and to preserve the
game…But this end can only be achieved by wise laws and by a a resolute
enforcement of the laws. Lack of such legislation and administration will
result in harm to all of us, but most of all harm to the nature lover who
doe not
possess vast wealth. Already there have sprung up here and there through
the country, as in New Hampshire and the Adirondacks, large private
preserves. (Internet 2)
Roosevelt’s commitment to federal action to ensure land access to all
socio-economic
classes was fostered in part by his belief that wilderness recreation, and
hunting
specifically, engendered in men the qualities essential for good citizenship.
He wrote,
“The establishment of the National Park Service is justified by
considerations of good
administration, of the value of natural beauty as a National asset, and of
the
effectiveness of outdoor life and recreation in the production of good
citizenship.”
(Roosevelt 246) Roosevelt feared that the increasingly urban population,
r
wilderness, was losing the qualities that led to good citizenship. Chief
among the qualities
necessary for the continued health of American democracy was, according to
Roosevelt,
“manliness.”
For Roosevelt, conservation was in part the preservation of American
manhood. He
wrote, “Every believer in manliness and therefore in manly sport…should
strike hands
with the farsighted men who wish to preserve our material resources, in the
effort to keep
our forest and game beasts…” (Internet 3) Roosevelt’s construction of
masculinity was one
of self reliance, hard work, and courage. Roosevelt said of manliness,
“…these qualities
are all important…It is necessary absolutely to have them. No nation can
rise to greatness
without them…” (Internet 3) For Roosevelt, hunting and wilderness
recreation best taught
man these values. He feared that urbanization was leading to the emasculation
of the
American male; and Roosevelt considered this threat to masculinity a threat
to American
democracy. Roosevelt believed that American democracy was sustained by self
reliant
men willing to work hard to support themselves, their families, and American
industry,
upon which democracy rested. These men were committed to the betterment of
themselves and their community, and were willing and able to fight for the
survival of the
nation courageously. For Roosevelt, American democracy was dependent on the
hard
work and participation of citizens committed to the growth of the nation.
Emasculated,
men would lose their willingness and ability to work hard to support
themselves, their
families, or American industry; their commitment to their communities and the
nation
would be overwhelmed by idleness. Without wilderness and a large stock of
game
animals upon which men could hunt, to which men from the cities could
retreat, the
nation would lose the site of its masculinity. Believing this loss would
weaken
democracy, Roosevelt was committed to preserving wild game and wilderness.
Roosevelt held the belief that the land itself, not as a source of economic
wealth or a
place for wilderness activity, but as sublime landscape and as part of the
nation’s history,
embodied the national character and the democratic ideals of the United
States and was
for this alone worth preserving. Roosevelt still held on to the romantic
ideal of the
sublime and valued the land for that intangible spirit romantics believed it
could
inspire. During a speech given at the Grand Canyon he stated:
“I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a
hotel
or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, sublimity, the great
loneliness and beauty of the canon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on
it; not a bit…What you can do is to keep it for your children, your
children’s
children and for all who come after you, as one of the great sights which
every American, if he can travel at all, should see. This sublime site
embodied something inexpressibly American for Roosevelt. His call for all
Americans to visit the Grand Canyon suggests that Roosevelt believed that
the sublimity of the sight inspired something in the people who viewed it
that
was important to the development of the national character.” (Internet 4)
Roosevelt also viewed nature as part of the nation’s history and national
identity.
Lacking the long history and cultural traditions of European nations,
Americans turned to
the natural landscape, placing it within the construction of the nation’s
historical identity.
The monumental natural sites of America and its unique wildlife were a source
of pride
for the nation, contributing to what many believed to be America’s
uniqueness, and
greatness, among nations. Roosevelt wrote:
“Birds should be saved because of utilitarian reasons; and, moreover, they
should be saved because of reasons unconnected with any return in dollars
and cents. A grove of giant redwoods or sequoias should be kept just as we
keep a great and beautiful cathedral. The extermination of the passenger
pigeon meant that mankind was just so much poorer; exactly as in the case
of the destruction of the cathedral at Rheims.” (Roosevelt 289)
Roosevelt considered the landscapes and wildlife within the American
wilderness of
equal historical and cultural significance to the manmade cultural treasures
of Europe.
Their loss would be a loss of part of America’s national history and
democratic character.
Roosevelt’s notion that nature, in its sublimity and wildness, inspired
important
values among a nation’s citizens existed comfortably along side his
utilitarian
constructions of nature. He looked upon nature as an economic resource which
man could
improve upon, but he romantically imbued it with the capacity to inspire and
teach as
well. This contradiction in Roosevelt’s construction of wilderness,
devaluating nature to
an economic resource while at the same time giving it spiritual powers, was
the basic
ideological framework of Roosevelt’s conservationism. He viewed conservation
as a
means of protecting the nation’s economic stability and its spiritual well
being, both of
which Roosevelt believed were fundamental to the continued strength of
American
democracy, conservation’s greater goal.
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Bird Reserves at the Mouth of the Mississippi.” A Book
Lover’s Holiday in the Open. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916. 274
(Obtained
Via Telnet-Internet Virtual Library: History via CARRIE)
INTERNET 1:
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Publicizing Conversation at the White House.”
http://205.184.3.2./nbk/speech/1908roos.html — The text is talen from the
President’s
opening address to a conference of governors held at the White House to
discuss
conservation policy in 1908
Roosevelt, Theodore. An Autobiography. New York: MacMillan, 1913. 430
(telnet,
unknown address)
Roosevelt, Theodore. An Autobiography. New York: MacMillan, 1913. 438
(telnet,
unknown address)
Roosevelt, Theodore. An Autobiography. New York: MacMillan, 1913. 440
(telnet,
unknown address)
INTERNET 2:
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Wilderness Reserves: The Yellow Stone Park.”
http://www2.cybercom.net/users/~c_andrew/ressays/yelllow.html
Roosevelt, Theodore. “A National Park Service.” The Outlook. 3 Feb. 1912 :
246
(Obtained Via Telnet-Internet Virtual Library: History via CARRIE)
INTERNET 3:
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Wilderness Reserves: The Yellow Stone Park.”
http://www2.cybercom.net/users/~c_andrew/ressays/yelllow.html
INTERNET 4:
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Wilderness Reserves: A Speech at the Gran Canyon”
http://www2.cybercom.net/users/~c_andrew/ressays/canyon.html
Roosevelt, Theodore. “Bird Reserves at the Mouth of the Mississippi.” A Book
Lover’s Holiday in the Open. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916. 289
(Obtained
Via Telnet-Internet Virtual Library: History via CARRIE)