John Muir

Would National Park exist without John Muir? Throughout his life John Muir stood up for the environment in three ways. He wrote letters to politicians, books that defended the wilderness, and he founded the Sierra Club. All of these motivated people, such as Theodore Roosevelt to enjoy and preserve nature.  Historical Context John Muir was born on April 21st 1838. He grew up in Dunbar, Scotland until the age 11 when his family moved to the United States. His family bought a farm in Portage, Wisconsin. During his childhood, his father had him work very hard on their farm. However, when Muir had breaks he invented small machines and explored the woods with his brother. After many years of observing nature he attended the University of Wisconsin for three years. Then he traveled north and worked many odd jobs. During this time he studied botany observing nature. In 1867, he sustained a temporarily blinding eye injury while working at a carriage parts shop. Shortly, afterward he began to travel around the United States on foot and boat. When he visited the Sierra Mountain range he was deeply moved to protect nature. He described it as being a spiritual experience that could sooth the mind. ("John Muir") In the 19th century, industry used the environment for resources and land. Thus, wilderness areas were…

Lunch With John Muir! Hannah- Q: John Muir, how would you describe yourself? Muir- A: I would consider myself to be an optimistic, witty man with strong opinions. I am a conscientious environmentalist, naturalist, and conservationist who possess great zeal for nature. My thoughts are meticulously and thoroughly recorded in my journal. When I am surrounded by vast mountain ranges in the Sierras or a breathtaking sunset in Alaska, a thousand thoughts run through my mind of how thankful I am…

John Muir’s Wilderness Works John Muir is a Scottish poet whose works focus primarily on the beauty of America’s wildest places. He has written about many western areas such as Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, as well as the northern state of Alaska. He earned the name “John of the Mountains” for his style of writing. Muir and his passion for undeveloped areas even helped design some of President Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation programs. His work for land…

In “Rattlesnake” written by John Muir, John Muir is a loving husband, father, and father of the National Park Service. Not only was he able to take care of his family, he took care of the forests by saving over 83 million acres of land. John Muir’s whole message is: Doing something you know is wrong could lead to improvement.Throughout his essay, his tone is regretful and sorrowful. One example of tone is one Page 3 line 54, “I did not want to kill him, but I had many visitors, some of them…

Fifteen miles south of the world-renowned Yosemite Valley sits alone the Hetch Hetchy Valley with its water roaring. Hard to believe, but it was once recognized as the counterpart of the Yosemite Valley and grabbed the same attention for its natural beauty— cascading waterfalls, lofty mountain cliffs, and serene rivers. John Muir, an ardent advocate for the preservation of the wilderness, described the experience of visiting Hetch Hetchy to be a sheer pleasure: “it [was] a bright day in June;…

After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service (USFS) and establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments by enabling the 1906 American Antiquities Act. During his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt protected approximately 230 million acres of public land” (National Park Service 1). Although Roosevelt and Muir had…

The Sierra Club is united state’s most influential grassroots organization to date. They helped pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. The Sierra Club was founded on May 28th, 1892 in San Francisco, California by a preservationist by the name of John Muir. Essentially associated with the progressive movement in the 20th century, The Sierra Club was actually one the first large scale environmental organization in the world. Their main goal is “to explore, enjoy,…

As John Muir said “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” When people go out for a walk they don’t notice everything that nature has given them a chance to see. Nature gives us this beauty and we just destroy it. John Muir also called “Wilderness Prophet” was an important figure because he was one of the most famous and influential naturalist and conservationist, he helped create and save several national parks, and he created the Sierra Club. John Muir was born on…

John Muir (1838-1914) was an Environmental Activist, Journalist, and founder of the Sierra Club (1892). Muir also helped establish Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. He advised the federal government to adopt a forest conservation policy through articles he published in newspapers. John Muir was born April 21, 1838, in Dunbar, Scotland. When he was 11 years old he and his family immigrated to the United States to settle in Wisconsin. John attended the University of Wisconsin in…

wilderness is the untouched, natural beauty that no humans have had an impact on. He states that if we keep preserving the wilderness, there will be limited to no change over many of hundreds of years (unless there was a natural disaster, not human induced). Likewise, these wilderness areas that stand on this planet are out of reach of human impact, and we should continue to preserve this land as they have been in the past. One of the biggest environmental debates in United States history…