Timeline

1800–1889 ∼ Claiming the Wilderness

Thomas Jefferson advocates open land policy / Romantics and transcendentalists find spiritual meaning in nature / Yellowstone, the first national park, is established (1872)

MILESTONES: Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the U.S. (1803) • Oliver Evans builds the first steam-powered motor vehicle in the U.S. (1805) • Indian Removal Act forces southern Indian tribes to relocate west of the Mississippi (1830) • Electric rail transport and gasoline powered automobiles introduced (1880s)

1890–1929 ∼ Rise in Conservation Responsibility

First forest set aside for conservation, the Sierra redwood groves (1890) / Forest Reserve Act gives presidents the authority to proclaim permanent forest reserves (1891) / Women become involved in the conservation movement (early 1900s) / Boy Scouts of America founded (1910) / Boulder Dam proposed (1910s); completed as Hoover dam in 1935 / Hetch Hetchy dam approved (1913) / National Park Service created (1916) / Grand Canyon becomes a national park (1919)

MILESTONES: Subway systems introduced (1890) • First automobile patent granted...