John Muir vs. Gifford Pinchot

Henry Thoreau loved the simplicity of living in the wilderness, just as much as McCandless did, however he loved just to stay put. Thoreau wanted to uncage himself from the outside world and the interferences it had with him living a “full” life. Thoreau thought

Both Henry David Thoreau and Christopher McCandless ventured out into the woods to get away from the dreariness of everyday society and to find themselves. Only one lived to tell the tale. What was the fatal flaw of the man who didn’t continue on? The only way to find this is to analyze the differences and similarities between the two. McCandless, while embracing some of the same values as Thoreau, was ultimately a different man. While they led very contrasting lives in very distant times, both McCandless and Thoreau sought a type of freedom that can only be achieved when immersed in nature. Thoreau’s entitlement and cozy cabin in the woods is a far cry from McCandless’s constant struggle during his expedition, however, certain parallels

John Muir was a muckraker who protested against the expansion of people and animals that would ruin our soon to be national parks. Muir was a man that loved to explore natural formations in nature and traveled around the world to see as much natural land as possible. As he traveled around the world, he found out that California was his place to live. In California, his favorite places to explore and watch were the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite. As more and more settlers moved West, the land that Muir loved was soon to be destroyed by herds of animals and people looking for a place to build their homes. Muir wrote most of his 300 articles and 10 major books in Oakland, California. In Muir’s writings, he elegantly

It was John Muir one of the first advocates for the national park idea who developed the idea and also scientific theory that Yosemite Valley had been carved by glaciers. Muir was a very spiritual person coming from a religious family in which his father was a itinerant Presbyterian minister. John Muir had such a huge love and appreciation for nature, and being the religious man that he was he believed that “God is revealed

The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform that grew from the 1890s to the 1920s. Social reformers and journalists, like Jane Addams, Jacob Riis, and Ida Tarbell were some of the powerful voices for progressivism. “They concentrated on exposing the evils of corporate greed, combating fear of immigrants, and urging Americans to think hard about what democracy meant.” Many progressive reformers wanted to end corruption in the government, regulate business practices, address health hazards, and improve working conditions. It was also an era of conservationists. Conservationists are people who protect and preserve the environment and wildlife. Throughout the Progressive Era, there were many conservationists who wrote and described nature, but the most well-known figure in conservation was John Muir. John Muir worked to protect Earth’s beauty by traveling and exploring nature, co-founding the Sierra Club, and by influencing others through his writings and by showing some of the most important people how the wildlife was magnificent.

Upon the 1908 presidential election Roosevelt announced he would not be running for president, and his Secretary of War, William Howard Taft became the Republican candidate and won the election. Taft made antitrust prosecutions and fought for the reduction of tariffs; some of his decisions went against his cabinet members thoughts and he began to lose support and blunder. With the 1912 election approaching old and new candidates began to emerge making a competition for the next leader of America who would provide relief from tariffs and big business practices. This was a critical time in our nation and the new leader would be responsible for further advancing the development and policies of America.

As Roosevelt’s second term was coming to an end, he picked William Howard Taft as his successor. Taft preached his ideas to the public, criticizing Roosevelt in his speeches.

John Muir is arguably the most influential conservationist in American history. He was an active member in the preservation of the American wilderness from the late 1800’s until he passed in 1914. Muir is often referred to as the “Father of the National Parks” because of his efforts in the establishment of several National Parks. One of the biggest flaws of American history textbooks in need of change is the fact that they do not include the conservationists who have preserved the environment so today the same beauty can be see the way that they saw it. John Muir was involved in many American conservation efforts including the co-founding of Yosemite National Park, founding of the Sierra Club, and his overall career as a

In the the year of 1912, during the primary elections when primaries gave Theodore Roosevelt a shot at 362 votes, he stunned the party by walking away with 278 of them with Taft finishing a far second, with 48. Deep in the 36 states without primaries, Roosevelt was outran by the so called chiefs. During June, when delegates headed to a national convention, Taft's men flaunted that Taft had 557 votes, which was 17 more than he needed for the nomination. Roosevelt saw that his primary delegates and his delegates from renegade factions elsewhere had left him about 70 votes short. Roosevelt was furious and courageous enough that he accused the Republicans as thieves and dashed out of the convention. After the loss he kept his candidacy alive on a brand-new ticket of his own creation, the National Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party. Roosevelt went by the idea that the government should be there for the people; to serve the people. Their first task was to

John Muir is best known for his efforts to preserve the wilderness of the United States, which greatly contributed to the preservation of countless natural areas of the US through the National Parks Service. During his travels across the country and abroad, Muir recorded his thoughts and beliefs about nature and the fundamental connection people share with the earth. By voyaging into the wild and shedding the restraints and ideals of modern society, Muir argues that people can expand their understanding of the world and experience life to its full potential through immersing themselves in nature.

A book published during the chaos, Pinchot’s The Fight for Conservation outlined his ideology of conservation and was written with the hope that it would “serve to show the rapid, virile evolution of the campaign for conservation of the nation’s resources.” Pinchot continued to show his commitment to this fight as he wrote Theodore Roosevelt, then in Africa. The two friends, allies, and above all conservatists conspired together as Roosevelt returned to the political stage. With Pincho’s zealous encouragement Roosevelt accepted the Progressive Party's nomination for the presidential election of 1912. The Progressive Party had been born of a split in the Republican party between Taft supporters and Roosevelt supporters, progressives and conservatives. Although Roosevelt lost the election, his electoral votes far outnumbered Taft’s. The Republican split led to the election of a Democrat, unusual for the time. Pinchot threw himself into politics as well as conservation, and during two terms as Pennsylvania's governor as well as his other political endeavors continued to stand for

During the Progressive Era, Americans faced the challenge of choosing between four strong candidates of the election of 1912. Each candidate held concrete platforms that would have different effects on progressivism. Americans could chose the conservative presidential incumbent William Howard Taft(R), the New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson (D), the long-time fighter for social reform-Eugene V. Debs (S), or the former president Theodore Roosevelt of the newly formed Bull Moose Party (Progressive Party). Through this election many steps were taken to change the face of the election season, including women's rights, primaries, and third

Roosevelt felt President Taft was too conservative and pro-business (Robinson, 2003). In reaction to that, he met with Progressive leaders after returning from Africa and began plotting a political comeback (Robinson, 2003).

Nature and wilderness were very important ideas to some extant for St. John de Crevecoeur and Ralph Waldo Emerson, each had their own opinions and ideas that contrasted against each other and were somewhat similar to each other. Emerson who valued it and looked at the nature as something to proud of had used it many times in his works as examples and that we are part of nature as well and make whatever choices from it as it can from us. While Crevecoeur believes that in every land it has its own form of culture as it does its own kind of nature, and describes how the land and nature was then and how it will be giving details of it in his pieces of work. How they use and see nature is described equally important in both their works “the American Scholar” and “What is an American” but shows how different their views really are in them.

Nature and wilderness were very important ideas, to some extent, for St. John de Crevecoeur and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Each had their own opinions and ideas that contrasted against each other and were somewhat similar to each other; Emerson valued nature greatly, whether it be from looking at it as something to be proud of, to using nature as an example in his work, such as how we are a part of it and how random it can be. Crevecoeur believed that every land has its own form of culture as it does its own kind of nature. He describes how the land and nature was, and how it will be, by giving details of it in his pieces of work.