Teddy, the Conversationalist
For the past decades, America was viewed as a land of endless bounty, where green hills roll for eternity and one can always find trees growing in the forests. However, people began realizing that America's natural resources were not in fact inexhaustible. Teddy noticed this and began taking several steps to preserve the land from "sea to shining sea." He started by enacting the Desert Land Act of 1877, which required land sold by the government to be properly irrigated within 3 years. Though it did not do much to enrich the environment, it set the trail for the more successful Forest Reserve Act of 1891, which set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves. The Carey Act of 1894 distributed federal land to the states on the condition that it be irrigated and settled. The Newlands Act of 1902 allowed Washington to collect money from the sale of public lands and use these funds for the development of irrigation projects. The Roosevelt Dam, constructed on Arizona's Salt River to provide natural energy resources. Though the number of environmentalists is puny in comparison to the number today, this stage of earth control was a positive effect of Roosevelt's actions, ideals, and thoughts.