Geography 5 Week 3 Lecture 6 4 20 2012 9 48 00 PM No lecture film shown in class Our National Parks by Ken Burns National Parks America s Best Idea Yosemite Valley A report of the Sierras had mentioned a waterfall more than 1000 ft high o James Hutchings American businessman and prominent advocate for Yosemite National Park rushed to see it for himself literal translation of Yosemite they are klllers Word and images of Yosemite quickly spread and attracted the attention of many tourists largely because of the works of Hutchings and others Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Fifteen miles south of Yosemite Valley Contained the largest living things on Earth Giant Sequoias trees nearly 3000 yrs old Thomas Jefferson Considered the entire nation US as a national wonder national park America had been kept as a symbol of what the world once was As Jefferson s country grew so did its possibilities political sphere the arts and in its relationship to God Manifest Destiny o systematically dispossessing Indians from their own land o concern over the vast herds of buffalo and the Indians who had depended on them would someday be gone forever Niagara Falls Nation s most famous landmark By 1860 it was nearly ruined Europeans criticized Americans for allowing such a majestic work of nature to become plighted by the works of commercialism Seen as evidence that the United States was an uncivilized nation by its critics Sacred spots ought to be preserved Legislation The Senate approved that the areas of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the state of CA constitute one of the greatest wonders of the world would be regarded as a city park Transferred to the care of the state of California under the premise that it would never be under the hands of private ownership Preserved for public use resort and recreation Received Senate approval very quickly then the House of Representatives approved as well 1864 Lincoln signed a bill to preserve Yosemite Valley in this he realizes that the West is the fuel of American idealism Lincoln wanted to save some significant portions of it from what he saw as the North s industrialism Frederick Olmstead American landscape designer celebrated designer of New York City s Central Park Spoke at Yosemite National Park in front of a large group of settlers Called for strict regulations to protect the land and from anything that would obscure or distort the dignity of the scenery The rights of posterity are more important than the desires of the present Small group of commissioners decided that his recommendations were too controversial and quietly shelled his report James Mason Hutchens Hutchens was one of those who studiously ignored the suggestions of Olmstead No one had done more than Hutchens to bring the Valley to the nation s attention The Hutchens house hotel o Guests were given tours of the area 1875 he was evicted from his hotel and vanished from the Yosemite Valley Did three important things to the idea of national parks lands o 1 Brought Yosemite and its wonders to national attention o 2 Inadvertently by challenging the law to the Supreme Court he helped create a precedent o 3 Most important hired John Muir and brought him to Yosemite John Muir 1869 Scottish born applied for a job with Hutchens Referred to himself as an unknown nobody Did far more than Hutchens for Yosemite Valley and Olmstead for preservation Lyrical voice helped to advocate for Yosemite Valley with a religious fervor Believe that over thousands of years glaciers had helped to create what now is Yosemite in 1851 he discovered a glacier in the Sierras and he led other geologists to his evidence o Muir s theory was eventually proven right devoted himself to the wilderness and to teach and share with others what he discovers Eventually left Yosemite and began to write for various magazines which helped articulate to Americans their deep and divided love for their land The act creating Yosemite was in fact constitutional despite of contrary accusations The Railroad and its impact 2nd transcontinental railroad More tourists were arriving at the park as a result o Artists scientists wealth Easterners etc came and listened to Muir 1869 A group of prospectors mountain men had journeyed to the Valley of Death o deep canyon in which voices echo Many had considered there narratives on this land as fiction o magazines in the East refused to publish these reports 1870 Another group more prestigious and prominent group had journeyed to this same area which included prominent men including Nathanial P Langford well connected Montana politician o proposed the Northern Pacific railroad o any publicity of the lands would benefit the likelihood of a railroad construction o two weeks into the journey he saw the scenery that the mountain men had described o Devil s Canyon and other names for this area Yellowstone Potentially was going to be an even bigger attraction Langford was able to confirm all the rumors and tales of Yellowstone hot springs unimaginable strangeness and beauty geysers etc Langford s claims of the Yellowstone region were eventually confirmed