Gallery

This gallery page includes photographs and paintings that will help understand more about the early days of the environmental movement. Hopefully, these illustrations will give you a better idea of what was happening at that time. These illustrations are meant to emphasize the topics discussed in this website. Those topics include transcendentalists, the contributions of the Hudson River School and the role of President Roosevelt in the environmental movement. While the transcendentalists provided literary guides to the appreciation of nature, artists of the Hudson River School provided visual guides to express the beauty of nature. President Thoedore Roosevelt, like the teddy bear he is, had been a nature lover ever since he was a little boy. He translated his love for nature in his politics and became a legacy in the environmental movement in America.

Legacy of Transcendentalism in Environmentalism

Hopefully, these photographs of these two transcendentalists (Emerson and Thoreau) will give people a deeper understanding of their character. Both Emerson and Thoreau were soft-spoken philosophers, as you can tell in the photographs, with big ideas about nature. Nature is the purest form of resource and humans need to learn the significance of nature. People should see that nature and human community come together to form as one 'entity'. Therefore, there is a special relationship between nature and human community. Thoreau took this concept to the heart where he lived in secluded cabin around the shores of Walden Pond (land owned by Emerson). His purpose was to experience simple living, where he only relied nature as his resource. He was living away materialism, corruption, urbanization.

Ralph W. Emerson: Photograph of him with the original manuscript of his poem "Monadnoc", circa 1845. Image source: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/04.03/01-emerson.html

Henry David Thoreau: photograph of him.
Image source: http://wav3.com/WAV3Site.data/Components/Thoreau Page/ThoreauQuotes.html

Walden pond: Replica of the small cabin that Thoreau lived in between 1845 to 1847; in front is a statue of him.
Image source: http://www.talkingtree.com/gallery/USA/Massachusetts/Concord/autumn2004/index9.cfm

Hudson River School

The Hudson River School (from 1820 through 1880) along with transcendentalists helped shape the arly environmental movement. The school was founded by Thomas Cole, who lived along the Hudson River. Artists of the Hudson River School wanted to express the sublime beauty of the American landscape or just simply, nature. These artists believed the idea that humankind is insignificant in relation to the awesome infinity and power of nature. Often times, while not painting landscapes, these artists were often seen speaking in public to specific nature issues and causes. Their paintings inspire people to look at the environment in a new way. They also brought newfound awareness to the importance of nature. These paintings below will hopefully inspire you as well to just look at the beauty of nature. Even though some of these paintings may be romanticized, they are still amazing to look at. Hopefully, it will inspire you to get out and check out some national parks.

Thomas Cole: Italian Landscape, 1839.
Image source: http://www.butlerart.com/pc_book/pages/thomas.htm

Asher B. Durand: Kindred Spirits, 1849.
Image source: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/kindred_spirits/kindred_spirits.php

Thomas Doughty: Winter Landscape, 1830.
Image source: http://americanpicturelinks.com/PaintingsHudsonRiver.htm

Albert Bierstadt: Yosemite Valley, 1866.
Image source: http://marigaz.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/bierstadt_yosemite.jpg

President Roosevelt during Progressive Era

President Roosevelt was definitely not a softy. In fact, he hated being called, "Teddy". So it can be somewhat surprising for people to know that Roosevelt was a big softy for nature. Roosevelt was a big nature-lover. He was always seen going on safari trips, bird watching, and hunting in the wilderness. When he became president, He decided to take the idea of environment to a national level. His enactment of the Antiquities Act of 1906 created vast network of national parks, natioanl park services, and monuments. Of course, he had a lot of help from his belief in Progressivism. Progressive movement called for a greater govermental role in solving social problems. Teddy did just that and more as being the president. The images below will hopefully help you see the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt visually. Now go visit Yosemite Park because if it wasn't for Teddy, we wouldn't have Yosemite Park today!

Theodore Roosevelt in his buckskin suit, 1884.
Image courtesy of Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard University
President Theodore Roosevelt (left) and nature preservationist John Muir (right), on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, 1906.
Image courtesy of United States Library of Congress

Early cartoon depicting President Roosevelt's conservation policies.
Image source: http://crazy-flying.blogspot.com/2008/10/presidency-of-theodore-roosevelt_26.html
As we can see, the successful efforts of President Roosevelt can be recognized today in the Fall 2008 issue of the Magazine of the National Parks Conservation Association
Image source: http://www.npca.org/magazine/2008/fall

The Progressive movement is still going on today as we can see in the poster dated in 2008. Note the phrase "social justice and environmental harmony"; the ideology of Progressivism is clearly still part of the Environmental movement today.
Image source: http://standupforamerica.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/march-towards-socialism-part-3