The Antiquities Act of 1906 and Theodore Roosevelt's 'Interpretation of Executive Power' from the Grand Canyon through the Grand Staircase.

Abstract

After a six year legislative drafting process President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law on June 8, 1906. The bill protected archeological sites, but also allowed the President to declare national monuments of federal lands covering "objects of historic and scientific interest" Roosevelt interpreted the act broadly and made it into one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation in the history of the UInited States. The paper discusses how and why Roosevelt interpreted the act in this way and what impact it had on future presidents, notably Franklin Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton.