Teddy Roosevelt’s Greatest Legacy

by Cliopatria

I just got back from a weekend up in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The girlfriend and I took a Valentine’s weekend trip up there to check out Carlsbad Caverns and a few other sites and to get away from Odessa. The trip was wonderful – everything one could ask of a romantic weekend getaway in the shadow of a National Park. The weather was fine—a bit crisp and windy, but perfect for hiking, and in any case, nature’s climate control system keeps the caverns at a consistent 56 degrees or so no matter the season. Our hotel (The Best Western Stevens’ Inn – and they thought being surly and uncooperative would have no consequences. To that I say “You cannot handle the Rebunk wrath!") was disappointing for what we paid, but we did a good deal of exploring, stretching beyond the caverns to a New Mexico State Park, “The Living Desert,” a sort of zoo-cum-botanical gardens showcasing the remarkable biodiversity of the Chihuahua Desert. (Odessa is on the fringes of the Chihuahua, the second largest desert in the US.)

It was a great weekend. And as so many things do, it got me thinking about history. What greater legacy did Teddy Roosevelt leave than the National Parks system? And I do not intend this to damn him by faint praise by any means – he is on my list of top five or so favorite presidents, and he is right up there on my list of most important presidents as well (I tend to try to differentiate these two categories when people use the sloppy term “Greatest Presidents.”). I also think that it is TR who embodies the introduction of the “Modern Presidency” to us, even if most historians and political scientists who deal with such things seem to place the emergence of the modernization of the executive in the lap of FDR.

But back to the National Parks. As any of our readers know, Roosevelt was a committed conservationist. The hunter, rancher, naturalist, scientist, hiker, traveler, and general outdoorsman set aside millions of acres of federal land for the express purpose of establishing refuges from development. One need not be an ardent environmentalist to appreciate this gift to posterity. Our National Parks system consists not only of the major parks themselves, but also of historical sites, trails, monuments, recreation areas and the like. Add to this the literally thousands more state and local parks, and you have quite an allotment of land for recreation and for the preservation of some of America’s most pristine and beautiful lands. For this we can largely thank Theodore Roosevelt.

Odds are that you live near a state or National Park. They run the gamut from A (Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky) to Z (or, for Tom’s edification, “Zed”) (Zion National Park in Utah). Give thought to visiting one the next time you have a weekend or vacation and are not certain how to use the time.

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Peter K. Clarke - 10/9/2007

Carlsbad is probably a exception in that many of the above-ground National Parks may well prove too small and isolated for their flora and fauna to avoid major devastation during the coming century of global climate change.

Teddy is many people's favorite U.S. president. It is ironic that one of his greatest admirers, the current White House top dog, is so diametrically opposite to him, in terms of personal character traits, effective foreign policy, practical respect for intellectualism, getting money out of politics, and in preventing the rape of America's natural treasures.

Greg Robinson - 2/18/2005

The greatest inland fishery on the continent, the Pyramid Lake-Truckee River-Lake Tahoe drainage was home to the Lahontan cutthroat trout which reached sizes greater than Columbia River King salmon and tasted better, according to John Fremont. In 1902 Derby Dam was built under the auspices of the Newlands Reclamation Act. It was the first project under the act and a diversion dam that diverted the Truckee River from its natural course to a barren piece of desert surrounding Fallon, Nevada. The water was/is used to grow alfalfa for cattle. The river subsequently was/is unable to support the throng of 30-40 lb. trout that migrated up the river to Lake Tahoe every spring and as a result fish is now extinct (this is a matter of some debate, but most experts will agree that a genetically pure version of the Lahontan cutthroat is no longer around). The Pyramid Lake Indians as well as the Tahoe-Truckee fishing community is still fighting with farmers in Fallon over water rights.

While the Newlands Act was well-intended, it was misguided and has, in many places, done more damage than good. The fishery that failed would have been a much more efficient source of food than the alfalfa that was used to feed a few cattle in the middle of an arid desert. Since TR and Gifford Pichot and other progressives ostensible goal was conservation through efficient use of natural resources, this example was an abysmal failure. And yes, it messes with my fishing, dammit.

Don Graves - 2/18/2005

He's one of my favorites as well. Probably due to his inquisitiveness and yearning to learn in such a wide variety of subjects. So says the liberal arts educated guy.

If any of you ever gets the chance take a trip to TR National Park in Western ND. The Badlands absolutely blew me away. Its no wonder TR said "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota."

Stephen Tootle - 2/16/2005

You would hate it because it messes with your fishing.

Greg Robinson - 2/15/2005

Why the reclamations act? I don't care for that one so much. Explain Tootle!

Derek Charles Catsam - 2/15/2005

According to the one-drop rule, you would be, in the words of Willy the groundskeeper, a "cheese eating surrender monkey."

Z is only pronounced "z" because that is how we have chosen to pronounce it; it is equally pronounced "zed" elsewhere, you snarling hobgoblin!

dc

Tom Bruscino - 2/15/2005

Believe it or not, I am something like 1/64 French, on my Dad's side. We don't know what happened (well, we do, but... you get the point). I'm pretty sure that when you write out the letter Z you always write it out as Z. The people reading it can pronounce it however they want--including Zed, which is, of course, ridiculous.

(I was hiding in the cave because I don't want to play with you goblins or gnomes or griffins or whatever other type of scary mythical creature you all are this week.)

TR rocks.

Derek Charles Catsam - 2/15/2005

Steve --
I just think that "greatest' attempts to supply an objective patina to a subjective category. "Important" at lkeast has a hint of dispassion. I can say that Reagan was one of our most important presidents. I cannot say that he was one of our greatest because I oppose so much of what he did. I would guess that most historians could easier establish a list of the most important presidents.
I think that TR did more to make the Presidency the sort of office that it is now, and he was more effective at truly using the media, than was McKinley, but I would entertain the idea. I think the break from the years of laissez faire presidents, Cleveland (issue 2.0) and before is vital. So maybe.
I'm not sure why Tom would be British, but if was want to smoke him out of the cave to participate I know a pretty easy way to do so: I think he might be French.

dc

Stephen Tootle - 2/14/2005

1. I have always been partial to the National Reclamation (Newlands) Act. It is hard to choose.
2. I usually rank all three: Favorite, Greatest, and Important. TR is the favorite. Wilson is important but I can't bring myself to call him great. We could negotiate to swap "greatest" for "important."
3. You need to get on the McKinley bandwagon. Join Lewis Gould and I in tracing the modern presidency back to The Man.
4. Is Tom British now?