AP United States History

## Learning Outcomes

- Understand the difference between **preservationism** and **conservationism** in the Progressive Era
- Identify the major figures, including **John Muir**, **Gifford Pinchot**, and **Theodore Roosevelt**
- Recall key laws and policies such as the **Forest Reserve Act (1891)**, **Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)**, and **Antiquities Act (1906)**
- Explain how the debate reflected broader Progressive beliefs about federal power, expertise, and reform
- Use the **Hetch Hetchy controversy** and the **Raker Act (1913)** as evidence in SAQ, DBQ, and LEQ responses
- Analyze how environmental reform connected to APUSH themes such as **Geography and the Environment (GEO)** and **Politics and Power (PCE)**

## AP United States History Syllabus

For the AP United States History, you are expected to understand Progressive Era environmental reform, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know the difference between **preservationism** and **conservationism**
- Identify **John Muir** as the leading preservationist and **Gifford Pinchot** as the leading conservationist
- Understand why **Theodore Roosevelt** is more closely associated with conservation than preservation
- Explain how federal conservation policy expanded through the **Forest Reserve Act (1891)**, **Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)**, **U.S. Forest Service (1905)**, and **Antiquities Act (1906)**
- Understand the **Hetch Hetchy controversy** as a major conflict within Progressivism
- Know that the **Raker Act (1913)** authorized the damming of Hetch Hetchy and is usually treated as a defeat for preservationists
- Recognise that conservation was tied to Progressive ideas of efficiency, scientific expertise, and government regulation
- Understand how disputes over conservation also became political, as shown by the **Ballinger-Pinchot controversy**

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What is the difference between preservationism and conservationism?
2. Why is **Theodore Roosevelt** usually described as a conservationist rather than a preservationist?
3. What happened at **Hetch Hetchy**, and why is it important?
4. Name two federal laws or agencies that expanded conservation during the Progressive Era.
5. How did conservation reflect broader Progressive beliefs about government?

## Introduction

In Period 7, Progressivism was not only about trusts, labor, cities, and political reform. It also included a major debate about nature. Reformers agreed that private exploitation of land, forests, and wildlife had become dangerous, but they disagreed about what protection should mean. Should wilderness be left alone? Or should it be managed carefully for public use?

That dispute produced one of the clearest internal splits within Progressivism. **Preservationists** wanted wilderness protected from development. **Conservationists** wanted natural resources used efficiently under expert government supervision. This distinction matters a great deal on APUSH because it helps explain Progressive ideas about federal power, expert administration, and the meaning of the public good.

> **Key Term: preservationism**
> The belief that wilderness should be protected from development and extractive use because it has scenic, spiritual, and intrinsic value.

### Why preservation and conservation were not the same

Students often treat the two terms as if they mean identical support for the environment. That loses the central issue. Both groups opposed reckless private exploitation, but they answered a different question: what is nature for?

Preservationists argued that some places should remain largely untouched. Their case was moral and spiritual as much as political. Wilderness, in this view, was not valuable only because it could produce timber, water, or profit. It had value in itself. This is why **John Muir** became their best-known voice. He saw wild places as worthy of protection even if no economic use could be found for them.

Conservationists argued that resources should not be wasted, but they did not believe all use was wrong. They wanted forests, rivers, grazing lands, and water supplies to be managed scientifically so that they would continue to serve the public over time. This position fit Progressive confidence in expertise. If corruption and waste were the problem, trained administrators and federal agencies could impose order.

> **Key Term: conservationism**
> The belief that natural resources should be used efficiently and scientifically for the long-term public benefit.

The easiest exam distinction is this:

- **Preservationists:** protect from use
- **Conservationists:** allow regulated use

That difference appears simple, but it shaped real policy disputes. It also reflected a larger Progressive argument about reform. Preservationists defined the public good as protection from development. Conservationists defined the public good as wise use for many people over a long period.

> **Key Term: utilitarian conservation**
> A form of conservation that supports the efficient use of natural resources for the greatest public benefit over time.

A common confusion is to assume conservation meant "save nature by leaving it alone." In this era, it usually meant the opposite: use nature, but under rules, expert oversight, and long-term planning. That is why conservation fit so comfortably into Progressive politics.

> **Test Tip:** In an SAQ or multiple-choice question, if the prompt stresses efficiency, expert management, irrigation, or public benefit, the answer is usually conservationism, not preservationism.

### John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Theodore Roosevelt

The leading preservationist was **John Muir**. He is strongly linked to **Yosemite National Park**, established in **1890**, and to the idea that wilderness had scenic and spiritual importance. Muir did not simply want better use of forests. He wanted some areass protected from development altogether.

> **Key Term: John Muir**
> Naturalist and leading preservationist who argued that wilderness should be protected from development because of its intrinsic and spiritual value.

The leading conservationist was **Gifford Pinchot**. He supported what many historians call "wise use." His view is often summarized as "the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time." That phrase captures the logic well. Pinchot did not oppose resource use. He opposed waste, private monopoly, and short-term destruction. He believed the national government should manage forests and other resources for the public.

> **Key Term: Gifford Pinchot**
> Leading conservationist who supported the scientific, efficient, and federally managed use of natural resources.

Pinchot's ideas matched Progressive assumptions about expertise. Just as reformers wanted trained officials to regulate food, labor conditions, and corporations, conservationists wanted trained foresters and planners to regulate public lands.

That helps explain **Theodore Roosevelt**. Roosevelt admired nature and famously spent time in the West, but as president he usually governed closer to Pinchot than to Muir. He supported active federal management, not simply non-use. So while he worked with preservationists and valued parks, APUSH places him mainly in the conservation camp.

> **Key Term: Theodore Roosevelt**
> Progressive president whose environmental policies emphasized conservation through expanded federal management of land, forests, and resources.

Roosevelt's broader **Square Deal** already stressed regulation, public welfare, and action against private abuse. Conservation fit neatly into that framework. He viewed land and resources as national assets that should not be destroyed by private greed. That is why his record is so important.

### Federal power and Progressive conservation policy

The debate was not only philosophical. It produced major federal action. These laws and agencies are the strongest evidence for APUSH essays.

The **Forest Reserve Act (1891)** allowed the president to set aside public lands as forest reserves. This matters because it increased direct federal control over land use. It also shows continuity with earlier concern about disappearing resources in the West, but now with stronger national authority.

The **Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)** funded irrigation projects in the arid West. This is a classic conservation example. The goal was not to leave western land untouched. The goal was to use water scientifically to make settlement and agriculture possible. That is exactly why it is conservation, not preservation.

> **Key Term: Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)**
> Federal law that funded irrigation and water management projects in the West, showing conservation through planned resource use.

In **1905**, the federal government created the **U.S. Forest Service** in the Department of Agriculture, and **Pinchot** became its first chief. This was one of the clearest examples of Progressive expert administration. Forests were no longer to be handled mainly through local custom or private extraction. They would be managed by trained officials.

> **Key Term: U.S. Forest Service**
> Federal agency created in 1905 to manage forest reserves through scientific and centralized oversight.

The **Antiquities Act (1906)** allowed presidents to proclaim national monuments on federal land. Roosevelt used this power often. Again, the important APUSH point is not just the law itself, but what it reveals: expanding executive authority, stronger national supervision, and the idea that some natural areass and sites should be protected from local exploitation.

> **Key Term: Antiquities Act (1906)**
> Law authorizing presidents to create national monuments on federal land to protect important natural, scientific, or historic sites.

These policies connect directly to AP themes:

- **GEO:** Americans argued over how land and resources should be used
- **PCE:** the federal government claimed more authority over public lands
- **WXT:** economic development required control over water, forests, and minerals

They also reveal an important distinction students miss. National parks and monuments may sound purely preservationist, but federal policy often blended preservation with public access, administration, roads, visitors, and regulated use. In practice, the line was not always neat.

> **Test Tip:** For LEQ or DBQ evidence, do not just name Roosevelt. Pair him with specific policy evidence such as the Forest Reserve Act, Newlands Act, Forest Service, or Antiquities Act.

### Hetch Hetchy and the split within Progressivism

The best case study is the **Hetch Hetchy controversy**. It turns the abstract difference between preservation and conservation into a concrete political fight.

**Hetch Hetchy Valley** lay inside **Yosemite National Park**. After the **1906 San Francisco earthquake**, city leaders pushed for a reservoir there to provide water and power. This created a direct conflict.

**John Muir** and other preservationists opposed the dam. Their argument was not that people did not need water. Their argument was that a spectacular valley inside a national park should not be sacrificed when alternatives existed. For preservationists, turning Hetch Hetchy into a reservoir was a violation of the very purpose of protected land.

**Pinchot** and conservationists supported the plan. They argued that public land could be used responsibly for the public good. If a reservoir would serve a major city and be managed by public authority, then this was not reckless destruction. It was wise use.

> **Key Term: Hetch Hetchy controversy**
> Progressive Era dispute over whether a valley in Yosemite National Park should be dammed for San Francisco’s water supply.

This was such a powerful dispute because both sides claimed to serve the public. Preservationists defended the public interest in beauty, wilderness, and restraint. Conservationists defended the public interest in water, planning, and efficient use. So the conflict was not nature versus greed in a simple sense. It was one reform vision against another.

Congress ultimately sided with the conservationists. The **Raker Act (1913)**, signed by **Woodrow Wilson**, authorized the dam project. APUSH usually treats this as a major defeat for preservationists and a victory for utilitarian conservation.

> **Key Term: Raker Act (1913)**
> Federal law that permitted San Francisco to dam Hetch Hetchy Valley, marking a major win for conservationist resource use over preservation.

This outcome matters for argument writing. It proves that Progressives did not all agree on environmental policy. It also shows that the federal government increasingly had the power to decide how public land would be managed.

### Why this debate mattered politically

Preservation versus conservation was also a political issue inside the Republican Party and the broader Progressive coalition. The **Ballinger-Pinchot controversy** of **1909-1910** exposed that clearly.

Interior Secretary **Richard Ballinger** was accused of favoring private development of public resources. **Pinchot** attacked him, and the conflict widened the split between **Roosevelt** and **Taft** supporters. This mattered because it tied conservation to party conflict, not just environmental thought.

> **Key Term: Ballinger-Pinchot controversy**
> Political dispute in 1909–1910 over public land policy that deepened tensions within Republican Progressivism.

This is useful in essays because it shows causation. Conservation was not simply a side issue. It contributed to the break within Republican Progressivism and helped explain the fractured election politics of **1912**.

For APUSH, the strongest judgement is this: preservationists and conservationists were both reformers, but they defined reform differently. Preservationists wanted some land shielded from use. Conservationists wanted federal experts to manage use. Roosevelt stands closer to the second group because Progressive reform usually trusted administration, efficiency, and national power.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Preservationism sought to protect wilderness from development and use
- Conservationism supported efficient, scientific, federally managed use of natural resources
- John Muir was the leading preservationist of the Progressive Era
- Gifford Pinchot was the leading conservationist and supporter of wise use
- Theodore Roosevelt is best identified with conservation rather than preservation
- The Forest Reserve Act (1891) allowed presidents to set aside forest reserves
- The Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) showed conservation through federal irrigation policy
- The U.S. Forest Service was created in 1905, with Pinchot as its first chief
- The Antiquities Act (1906) expanded presidential power to protect federal lands as national monuments
- The Hetch Hetchy controversy showed a major split within Progressivism over wilderness and public utility
- The Raker Act (1913) allowed Hetch Hetchy to be dammed and marked a conservationist victory
- The Ballinger-Pinchot controversy showed that conservation was also a partisan and political issue

## Key Terms and Concepts

- preservationism
- conservationism
- utilitarian conservation
- John Muir
- Gifford Pinchot
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)
- U.S. Forest Service
- Antiquities Act (1906)
- Hetch Hetchy controversy
- Raker Act (1913)
- Ballinger-Pinchot controversy


The Progressives - Preservationists versus conservationists