Description
In this lesson from the Library of Congress, students will learn arguments which are used today whenever preservationists and conservationists mobilize.
This unit includes two separate lessons which set the stage for and explore this particular controversy. While each relates to the other, the two are not dependent on each other and, therefore, may be taught separately. We have sought to provide a framework for instructors along with teaching materials they might print off or let their students use on line. With the exception of the extension activity suggestions, students will be working with a "limited archive" of our selection. For reasons outlined in the following technical note section, we have chosen to limit open ended searches.
Americans have a long history of advocating for the preservation of natural resources. Between 1850 and 1920, naturalists, politicians, authors and artists identified numerous things they believed worthy of preservation and explained and justified their positions in lectures, articles, essays, books, and at congressional hearings. Their rationales are as varied as the resources which they believe should be conserved. This lesson identifies what individuals thought should be conserved and offers their explanations of why they believed this. Interestingly, similar arguments are commonly found in today's news.
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, the students will:
- identify nineteenth-century leaders and thinkers who influenced the formation of the "Conservation Movement;"
- gain an appreciation of the different ways "conservation" can be defined;
- understand specific differences and similarities between and among those who advocated conservation;
- identify natural resources singled out as being worthy of preservation between 1850 and 1920;
- understand arguments given to support the conservation of diverse resources;
- understand the similarities and differences between current and historical environmental positions;
- identify their own personal definition of what they think "conservation" should mean.
Procedure
1. Identify which readings to duplicate and share with students.
2. Before distributing readings, have students identify the types of natural resources people currently are trying to preserve and why these people feel as they do. (What is a "natural resource? What arguments do they use to support their positions? Can people want to preserve the same things but for different reasons? Are some arguments "better" than others?)
3. Have students read selections, identifying both the resources and reasons given. (Which are the most compelling? Which do they personally agree with? What problems might the government have if it enacted laws supporting these positions? Who might oppose these positions / individuals and why?)
4. Compare the current with the historical. (What has changed or stayed the same? Do Americans value the same things today for the same reasons?)
Resources/Materials
* Mary Huston Gregory, "What is Conservation," chapter 1 of Checking the Waste; a Study in Conservation, 1911 (excerpt)
* Franklin B. Hough, On the Duty of Governments in the Preservation of Forests , 1873
* George P. Marsh, "An Address Delivered before the Agricultural Society of Rutland County, Sept. 30, 1847"
* John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra; with illustrations from drawings made by the author in 1869 and from photographs by Herbert W. Gleason
* John Muir, "The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West," chapter 1 of Our National Parks, 1901 (excerpt)
* Gifford Pinchot, "The Present Battle," chapter 12 of The Fight for Conservation, 1910 (excerpt)
* Henry David Thoreau, "Walking," from Excursions, 1863 (excerpt)
* Charles Richard Van Hise, "History of the Conservation Movement," chapter 1 of The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, 1910 (excerpt)
Note: the links below will take you to a Library of Congress American Memory record for the documents. The actual documents appear on page images, which are linked from the record page.
* Congressional Debate of "An Act to Protect the Birds and Animals in Yellowstone Park . . ., 1894
* Surveying the Public Lands, 1898
Specifies that the purpose of forest reservations is "to improve and protect the forest within the reservation, or for . . . securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States," and stipulates that the regulated harvesting of timber, mining of mineral resources, and use of water on forest reservations may be permitted by the Secretary of the Interior.
* "An Act For the preservation of American antiquities." [S. 4698, Public Act No. 209], 190)
Authorizes the President "to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks . . . and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on government land "to be national monuments;" forbids unauthorized injury of objects of antiquity on Government lands; and authorizes the granting of Federal permits for the study of objects of antiquity on such lands.
Extension
With each lesson, various suggestions for assessment and extension will be found. These range from simple to complex and, in Lesson Two, may involve student searches of the entire site, "The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920."
Duration
(2-3 Days)
Source
Reproduced from the Library of Congress web site for teachers. Original lesson plan created as part of the Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program.
