The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks

What two main ideas are central to the passage?

• Yosemite National Park is considered by many to be the most stunning of our national parks, and it was John Muir’s favorite place to enjoy the wilderness.

• Our national parks have preserved much of the country’s natural beauty, and they came about mostly through the efforts of people like Muir and Roosevelt.

• One of the most popular activities for tourists is visiting our country’s national parks, and those parks have preserved and protected wilderness areas.

• Without the national parks, many species, such as bison and redwoods, would probably be extinct by now, and anyone who wants to can visit them in the national parks.

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Read the quote by John Muir from paragraph 2. He wrote that it was “by far the grandest of all special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter. ...” What does the quote reveal about Muir’s attitude toward Yosemite?

• Yosemite looked like a magnificent building to him.
• He thought of Yosemite as his second home.
• Yosemite felt like a sacred place to him.
• He thought human beings should not touch Yosemite.
  

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How does the author support the point made in paragraph 3 that Roosevelt’s love of the wilderness was a lifelong passion?

• by sharing others’ opinions of Roosevelt
• by describing things he did throughout his life
• by comparing his work with that of John Muir
• by explaining how he ran his North Dakota ranch

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Which evidence from the passage best supports the inference that Theodore Roosevelt was most responsible for our National Park System? What can you infer about Macey?

• “...Roosevelt suspended a 1903 presidential speaking tour in order to spend two weeks camping in Yellowstone . . .”
• “A trip to North Dakota in 1883 prompted him to purchase a ranch where he could enjoy riding through the Badlands.”
• “Roosevelt would take his ideas about conservation with him to the White House as the country’s 26th president.”
• “He would go on to create . . . 51 federal bird reservations, 4 national game preserves, 150 national forests, and 5 national parks.”

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Which statement best describes the relationship between John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt? What can you infer about how the teacher will react?

• They found a common bond in their mutual love of the wilderness.
• They used their fame to bring attention to problems with the environment.
• They worked together to create all of the national parks.
• They enjoyed going camping and hiking together.

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