Yellowstone : The Creation and Selling of an American Landscape, 1870-1903 - Hardcover

Magoc, Chris J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826321194 ISBN 13: 9780826321190

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 1999

Synopsis

This history explores the conflicted creation of Yellowstone National Park in late nineteenth-century America. The author examines the American myths and late-Victorian values behind the movement both to preserve the Yellowstone wilderness and to extract its natural resources. He introduces the tastemakers, stewards, financiers, and boosters who jockeyed to protect the wilderness, commodify the scenery, and exploit valuable natural resources. The major cultural and economic force in the Yellowstone story was the Northern Pacific Railroad. To increase its passenger and freight traffic, the Northern Pacific simultaneously invested in tourist facilities, promoted the consumption of the scenery, and encouraged the harvesting of raw materials. Park defenders successfully battled hunters and miners within Yellowstone boundaries, but they challenged neither park tourism nor nearby industrial development. The consequences now threaten the park's ecological health. Using fifty-four photographs, illustrations, and maps, the author demonstrates how the railroad and advertisers helped to codify the ultimate American landscape.

About this title

About the Author

Chris J. Magoc is assistant professor of history at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0826321194
• ISBN 13: 9780826321190
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284