Neither crooked nor shady: The Weeks Act, Theodore Roosevelt, and the virtue of eastern national forests, 1899-1911
Subject(s): Appalachian Region, Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926, Forests and forestry--Government ownership--Management, Holmes, J. A. (Joseph Austin), 1859-1915, North Carolina--Asheville--Biltmore, Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946, Pritchett, Henry S. (Henry Smith), 1857-1939, Rivers--Environmental aspects, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Sargent, Charles Sprague, 1841-1927, United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, United States. Forest Service, Weeks, John W. (John Wingate), 1860-1926
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Char Miller charts the long path that led to the passage in 1911 of the Weeks Act which provided for the purchase of forest lands in the eastern and southern United States by the federal government to protect the adjacent navigable rivers. Miller highlights the efforts of John W. Weeks of Massachusetts who pushed for the legislation as a member of Congress. Miller lists some of the provisions of the legislation, and he notes how the preservation of forest lands was extended to the Appalachian Mountain watershed in the South. Miller argues that combining the preservation of forest lands in the Northeast and South gave the legislation more support in Congress, and he describes how Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt tried to overcome southern hostility to measures by the federal government to purchase forest land.
Photographs of Pinchot and Weeks, two advertisements from the U.S. Forest Service celebrating the centennial of the Weeks Act, and the text of a speech by Roosevelt supplement the article.
Collection
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
Creation Date
2012
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
Theodore Roosevelt and Public Memory (1919-present)
Page Count
10
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
No permission is required from the Theodore Roosevelt Association to use items in the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal collection for educational purposes. For permissions, contact William Tilchin at (516) 921-6319 or by email at wnt@bu.edu.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Neither crooked nor shady: The Weeks Act, Theodore Roosevelt, and the virtue of eastern national forests, 1899-1911. [January 8, 2026]. Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o308478. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Miller, Char, 1951-. Neither crooked nor shady: The Weeks Act, Theodore Roosevelt, and the virtue of eastern national forests, 1899-1911. [8 Jan. 2026]. Image.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 8, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o308478.
APA:
Miller, Char, 1951-., [2026, January 8]. Neither crooked nor shady: The Weeks Act, Theodore Roosevelt, and the virtue of eastern national forests, 1899-1911.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o308478.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/theodore-roosevelt-association-journal. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 8, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/theodore-roosevelt-association-journal.
APA:
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/theodore-roosevelt-association-journal.
