Grand Canyon National Monument Created

Posted on by Rob Bauer

After taking a break for the holidays, I’m back with a new blog on the creation of Grand Canyon National Monument. January 11 of 1908 was the day that President Theodore Roosevelt designated the Grand Canyon as a national monument. This set aside about 800,000 acres of land for the public use in the United States.

Roosevelt’s statement at the time is a good description of the rationale behind the entire system of parks and monuments in the United States: “Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.” At one point, Roosevelt also stated, “In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which, so far as I know, is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world.”

The Grand Canyon photographed in 1872, when the John Wesley Powell expedition rafted the entire Colorado River, the first to ever do so.

The Grand Canyon photographed in 1872, when the John Wesley Powell expedition rafted the entire Colorado River, the first to ever do so. Note that the rafts are made from wood.

 

From Grand Canyon National Monument to National Park

The careful reader has noted already that today the Grand Canyon is a national park rather than a national monument. Why did Roosevelt choose to make it a monument rather than a park? The answer seems to lie in a mini-rivalry between Roosevelt and Congress. In the 1880s, Congress considered several bills to make the Grand Canyon a national park. (Yellowstone was the first, designated in 1872.) However, western congressman tended to oppose these bills, fearing park status would limit western development and, thus, the political power of their states. (Private development is illegal in national parks.)

 

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The Grand Canyon in winter.
The Grand Canyon in winter.
Because only Congress can create national parks, this was a problem to Roosevelt, who’d visited the area and wanted to see it set aside for the enjoyment of all Americans. So, he chose to designate Grand Canyon as a national monument instead. The official change in status to a national park came in 1919 during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

 

This in, in brief, the early story of how one of America’s greatest scenic attractions gained the special status it enjoys today.

 

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