Conservation of natural resources--Government policy

Char Miller opens and concludes his biography of Gifford Pinchot by asserting that the contemporary Republican Party under President George W. Bush has abandoned the conservation legacy the party built under Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt. Miller looks at the evolution of Pinchot’s beliefs, extending back to his grandparents, and he demonstrates how Pinchot moved further to the left during the course of his career. By the time of the second Roosevelt presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt,  Pinchot had undergone a “radicalization” that called for the seizure of private forest lands. Miller highlights some of the individuals who worked with or against Pinchot in his forestry career.

Thirteen photographs supplement the text, including two of Theodore Roosevelt and six of Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Samuel G. Blythe reports on Western attitudes towards President William H. Taft following his recent nationwide speaker tour. People generally like Taft as a person, but do not feel that they have seen enough of his governing ability or policies to support him as their president. Taft is also contending with the ongoing popularity of Theodore Roosevelt, which may surge again when he returns from Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-11-27

Ray H. Mattison responds to Superintendent Hanks’s request for advice on the content of the address to be given at the dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Park Historian Mattison includes a number of Roosevelt quotations on a variety of topics and his opinion on the focus of the address.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-05-21

President Roosevelt asks Admiral Charles S. Sperry to serve on the National Conservation Commission as a member of the Section on Water.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-02

President Roosevelt writes to Arthur W. Lewis, Director of Concessions for Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, regarding the issue of elk conservation. Unfortunately, the states must control the issue, and the federal government is already doing all it can by creating spaces like Yellowstone Park.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-27

President Roosevelt will do all he can to help William Dutcher, president of the National Association of Audubon Societies. However, even though Roosevelt is president, it is useless for him to take action about Dutcher’s concerns unless representatives in Congress take the initiative.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-08

James R. Garfield urges Theodore Roosevelt to write a foreword for the Boy Scouts’ publication. Garfield goes on to point out how President Taft had surrendered the conservation fight when he appointed Walter L. Fisher as Secretary of the Interior. Garfield also comments how he finds the story of the granting of the terminals at Controller Bay curious, and he discusses a conversation he had with Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson about America’s actions in Mexico.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-25

Carston Eggen, Dean of the University of South Dakota’s law school, asks Theodore Roosevelt for an explanation of the charges made by state’s policy advocates against the federal government’s intervention in waterpower and forestry policies, and on whether western states have just cause to say a federal policy would unduly burden them. The university will be participating in a debate with institutions from Nebraska and Colorado soon, and is interested in hearing Roosevelt’s opinions on the matters to be discussed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-10

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock writes President Roosevelt with his advice on the complicated matter of withdrawing coal lands. On Roosevelt’s direction, the Department of the Interior and the General Land Office began surveying and drafting a list of townships that contained rich coal lands with the intention of withdrawing them from homestead exemptions, and the Department is working quickly to wire all of Roosevelt’s orders to appropriate land offices around the country. However, it is apparent that oil industry men can use many loopholes to obtain the land.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-17