A Vision for Cultivating a Nation

Abstract

Early American conservationist Gifford Pinchot (1865 to 1946) and his book The Fight for Conservation (1910) are featured in this section. Written for a popular audience, The Fight for Conservation presents Pinchot’s timely critique of the degradation of natural resources in the United States and an appeal for a comprehensive and sustainable environmental policy. With evangelical zeal, Pinchot articulated a vision for cultivating a nation, linking its resources and their use to democracy, patriotism, and morality. An advocate of progressive reform and close adviser to Theodore Roosevelt, Pinchot was America’s first chief of the Forest Service. He firmly established conservation as part of the environmental vocabulary.

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