Yellowstone Basin, 1871 (Photo: William Henry Jackson/NPS)
In 1871, the Smithsonian-backed geologist-explorer Ferdinand Hayden led a team of scientists through a narrow canyon into Yellowstone Basin, one of the last unmapped places on the continent, in hopes of proving that the rumors of majestic landscapes and untold natural wonders were true.
Upon returning, Hayden and his team urged Congress to take ownership of the land and give control of it to the Department of the Interior, an unprecedented extension of the federal government’s authority. On March 1, 1872, with little fanfare, the Yellowstone Act was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.
Author Megan Kate Nelson draws on her book, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America, as she traces Yellowstone’s journey from unexplored landscape to national icon. More than a story of adventure and exploration, it exposes the conflicting interests in this wilderness of individuals ranging from Sitting Bull, who tried to protect the rights of the Hunkpapa Lakota peoples, to railroad magnate Jay Cooke, who hoped to exploit the region to expand his business.
Nelson takes a critical look at the Yellowstone Act and reveals that although national parks are often seen as “America’s best idea,” support for their creation has never been unanimous in American culture.
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