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Difficulty: MediumProgressive Era Reforms and Influences

Source: John Muir, *Our National Parks*, 1901

"The tendency of nowadays to wander in wildernesses is delightful to see. Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and associate with Nature..."

The ideas expressed in the excerpt most directly contributed to debates over which of the following issues during the Progressive Era?

  1. A
    Whether the federal government should nationalize transportation and communication networks to assist Western agrarian communities.
  2. B
    Whether tribal lands should be divided into individual family allotments to promote assimilation and agricultural development.
  3. Whether federal lands should be kept in a pristine wild state or managed for sustainable commercial development.Answer
  4. D
    Whether the federal government should return to a policy of unregulated laissez-faire capitalism to allow private enterprise to manage natural resources.

Answer

Whether federal lands should be kept in a pristine wild state or managed for sustainable commercial development.
The correct answer is correct because John Muir was the founder of the Sierra Club and a leading preservationist who argued that nature should be kept pristine and free from human development. This directly clashed with conservationists, led by Gifford Pinchot and supported by President Theodore Roosevelt, who argued for the scientific management and sustainable development of natural resources. This debate was a central environmental conflict of the Progressive Era.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus context and the author's point of view.
John Muir argues that wilderness and national parks are essential as 'fountains of life' to heal people from the negative impacts of over-industrialization, supporting the pristine preservation of nature.
This establishes Muir's role as a preservationist who valued nature for its spiritual and aesthetic qualities rather than its economic utility.
2
Identify the key environmental debate of the Progressive Era that relates to the stimulus.
Muir's preservationist stance directly conflicted with the conservationist stance led by figures like Gifford Pinchot, who argued for the scientific management and sustainable development of natural resources on public lands.
This links the historical source directly to the target learning objective regarding Progressive Era reforms and internal movements.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one representing this core debate.
The option concerning whether to keep lands in a pristine state or manage them for sustainable commercial development represents the preservation versus conservation debate.
This choice accurately matches the historical dispute between Muir and Pinchot during the Progressive Era.

Key Concept

Preservation vs. Conservation in the Progressive Era
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Progressive Era Reforms and Influences

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