El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Glacier Point. We’ve all heard of the wonders of Yosemite National Park in California, but how many knew that the park was started by Abraham Lincoln? June 30th, 2014 marks the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s signing of the Yosemite Grant, the law that created what we now affectionately know as Yosemite.
“Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.” Leave it to the National Park Service to so succinctly capture the beauty of Yosemite. For this privilege we owe our gratitude to the unfortunately forgotten Galen Clark and John Conness, to John Muir, and to Abraham Lincoln for having the foresight to protect natural lands even as the Civil War interminably dragged on for its third year.
Canadian-born Galen Clark had moved to California for the Gold Rush. Unsuccessful in that endeavor and fighting for his life against tuberculosis, Clark spent much of his time roaming in the mountain air. Inspired by, and concerned for, the beauty of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees, he wrote to friends and Congress pleading for their protection. Getting the support of Irish-born Senator John Conness, Clark managed to motivate a Congress interested in strengthening Union connections with the relatively new state of California. President Lincoln, who had by this time already signed laws allowing land grants, homesteads, and the transcontinental railroad, was eager to support westward expansion. On June 30,1864 he signed the Yosemite Grant providing federal protection for Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove, which was quickly ceded over to California and became the first California State Park. Galen Clark became the first “Guardian of the Grant.”
The importance of this act cannot be overstated. For it to have happened at all while the country was in the midst of tearing itself apart is a testament to Lincoln’s and Congress’s foresight. Lincoln’s signature set precedent for establishing Yellowstone as the first National Park in 1872, to be followed by protection for other pristine – and irreplaceable – vistas.
And then there is John Muir. Muir is probably best known for his advocacy of Yosemite and the nearby Hetch Hetchy Valley. Muir’s efforts to save Hetch Hetchy were ultimately unsuccessful, but Muir teamed up with influential Century Magazine editor Robert Underwood Johnson to recapture Yosemite from state park status to federal. On October 1, 1890 Yosemite National Park was created. Johnson also urged Muir to set up a new conservation group to advocate for the preservation of all of the Sierra Nevada mountain region, and in 1892 the Sierra Club was born. [More below the video]
Those who have read my book on Nikola Tesla may recognize the names of Robert Underwood Johnson and John Muir for another reason. Johnson was a big publisher of Tesla’s articles in Century Magazine. Coincidentally, he also published the serialization of John Nicolay and John Hay’s Abraham Lincoln: A History prior to its release in book form. Muir was one of many famous guests that attended Johnson’s gala parties in his New York mansion, and became friends with another frequent guest – Nikola Tesla.
Small world, isn’t it?
Other articles connecting Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla:
How are Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla Connected?
Tesla to Edison to Lincoln – Connecting the Dots
Happy Birthday Robert Todd Lincoln – Witness to Three Assassinated Presidents
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David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, scheduled for release July 31, 2017. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
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Everyone knows Abraham Lincoln, in part because of the diligent work done by his two secretaries – John G. Nicolay and John Hay. But little has been done to illuminate the two men themselves. Zeitz has done us all a favor by accomplishing just that.
After a delightful open-air lunch at the Urbana Park, we were on to Fort Stevens. Located inside the District line from Silver Spring, Maryland (and not far from the modern day horror of the “DC sniper”), Fort Stevens is a series of low dirt mounds lined with Union cannon. Here was not only the repelling of Early’s forces but the site of one of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous incidents.
Living not far away at the Soldier’s Home, Lincoln had decided to see the action first hand. Ignoring the risk, Lincoln stood his 6-foot, 4-inch frame (plus tall top hat) on top of the mound to get a view. A medical officer standing beside him was hit with a bullet, after which the infamous (and possibly apocryphal) line was blurted out: “Get down you fool.” Whether it was this or a more respectful imploring for the President to get out of the line of fire we will likely never know, but thankfully he did get down and was unharmed.
Our last stop was at Fort DeRussy, another of the small forts that served as a perimeter around Washington DC during the war. Earthenwork like Fort Stevens, DeRussy also boasted a “100-pounder,” a rifled Parrott cannon that could fire accurately for up to 4 miles.Many thanks to Craig Howell for being such a fantastic and knowledgeable tour guide, to Beltway Transportation for the comfortable bus and daring driver, and to Karen Needles, Susan Dennis, and everyone else in the Lincoln Group who arranged the tour. As the saying goes, a great time was had by all.
Founded in 1935, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia (LGDC) has been instrumental in celebrating the life and times of our 16th President – Abraham Lincoln. And now LGDC is going digital. Yes, Abraham Lincoln has a 
It’s been a busy weekend/week/month/year. On this site I write about Nikola Tesla, Abraham Lincoln, Travel, and Aquariums, but I also write on other sites and I’ll be adding more sites shortly. At the same time I’ll be consolidating. Make sense? Keep watching this space for more information.
I have a lot of 
Two books in one. The first works; the second doesn’t.
An exceptionally well researched book recreating Abraham Lincoln’s flatboat trips to New Orleans. Campanella is an expert on New Orleans, and has expanded his expertise upstream to develop a detailed account of Lincoln’s two trips down the Mississippi River. No small feat given that the sum total of all the first person reminiscences of the trips by Lincoln and participants wouldn’t fill a page of text. Campanella’s recreation, like many efforts based on such scant direct information, is not however contrived in the least. On the contrary, the effort he has put into collecting and analyzing fragmented – and often contradictory or dubious – accounts is exemplary.
The American Civil War was a crossroads between the old style of warfare and modern warfare. This modern warfare (if one can call the wholesale taking of lives “modern”) is explored in an exhibit in the Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership called “
The advancements in railroads, manned balloons, and cannons moved warfare into the modern age. The evolution of basic weaponry – away from single-shot muskets and toward repeating rifles and pistols – increased both the distance and lethality of offense.
The premise of the book is that Abraham Lincoln was a homosexual, or at least a bisexual. The problem with this premise is that it is purely conjecture and the author does not support it at all. Basically, he just made it up.
