Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore

Though they may not know it, most everyone has visited a national park or a unit of the national park system in their lifetime. The National Park system has over 391 units, or physical properties of which 58 are designated as National Parks. National Parks have been set aside as symbols and evidence of our history and prehistory. Yellowstone National Park was America’s first national park, established in 1872 by Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden. (Hayden, 2000) He led an expedition into Yellowstone and fell in love with the extraordinary variety of natural features including important clues to mountain-making and volcanic processes. He felt there were unique opportunities for observation and study in Yellowstone and convinced Congress in 1872 to establish the first National Park at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River. (Hayden, 2000)
The Antiquities Act was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906 giving the President of the United States authority to restrict the use of particular public land owned by the federal government by executive order, bypassing Congressional oversight. (Lee, 2007) The Antiquities Act resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts — collectively termed "antiquities" — on federal lands in the West, such as at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Removal of artifacts from these lands by private collectors — "pot hunters," in the language of the time — had become a serious problem by the end of the 19th century. (Lee, 2007) The Act was intended to allow the President to set aside certain valuable public natural areas as park and conservation land. These areas are given the title of "National Monuments." It also allows him to reserve or accept private lands for that purpose. The aim is to protect all historic and prehistoric sites on United States federal lands and to prohibit excavation or destruction of these antiquities. (Lee, 2007)
The idea of Mt....

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