ISBN: 0700606726

With the stroke of a pen, Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. Without his quick action, commercial developers, already coveting this national treasure, … More...

With the stroke of a pen, Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. Without his quick action, commercial developers, already coveting this national treasure, would have invaded the canyon's floor. Not until eleven years later did Congress make it a national park, an act that provided funds for development and preservation unavailable to national monuments. According to Hal Rothman, the designation of national monumentdecided at the discretion of the presidentwas the saving grace for many natural and archaeologically significant sites as debates on national park designations languished in Congress. But lacking sufficient financial backing, national monuments inevitably ended up taking a back seat to the national park system in the early twentieth century. Looking at the history of the national monuments, from the passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906allowing for presidential designation of monumentsto the present, Rothman traces the evolution of federal preservation. He shows how laws, policies, personalities, personal and bureaucratic rivalries, and a changing cultural climate affected preservation efforts. And he illustrates how the national park system has functioned and changed over the years as public officials have tried to implement federal policy at the grassroots level. The Antiquities Act, he contends, has been undervalued and ignored by contemporary observers and historians. In fact, he demonstrates, it is the most important piece of pr architecture,home and garden Home & Garden, University Press of Kansas<

ISBN: 9780700606726

"A major work for all interested in the environmental and historic preservation movements". -- Journal of Arizona History. "No one interested in the national park system, the national mon… More...

"A major work for all interested in the environmental and historic preservation movements". -- Journal of Arizona History. "No one interested in the national park system, the national monuments, or the history of archaeology can afford to ignore this book". -- Pacific Northwest Quarterly. Media > Book, [PU: University Press of Kansas]<

ISBN: 9780700606726

"A major work for all interested in the environmental and historic preservation movements". -- Journal of Arizona History. "No one interested in the national park system, the national mon… More...

"A major work for all interested in the environmental and historic preservation movements". -- Journal of Arizona History. "No one interested in the national park system, the national monuments, or the history of archaeology can afford to ignore this book". -- Pacific Northwest Quarterly. Media > Book, [PU: University Press of Kansas]<