Americans should be thankful for President Theodore Roosevelt.
Saying this at the Thanksgiving dinner table grounded all chatter. Given the recent removal of the controversial Theodore Roosevelt Equestrian Statue earlier this year, the silence made sense. Before allowing rebuttals, I emphasized that while Roosevelt had an imperfect past, he paved a path for Americans to find common ground.
Recognizing the power of the Badlands, Roosevelt used the power of the pen to protect vast amounts of wilderness and wildlife that would shape American land and culture for centuries. As president, Roosevelt created five national parks, 18 national monuments, and 51 bird sanctuaries, began the National Wildlife Refuge system, and set aside more than 100 million acres for national forests. Of course, this was only the beginning. Today, we have over 400 national parks and sites ranging from parks and monuments to preserves and seashores in all 50 states. This does not even include the vast numbers of state-, city-, and county-run places like Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, which includes over 2,000 acres of rolling hills, gentle trails, waterfront vistas, and shaded woodlands in the middle of a dense urban environment.
The Pew Research Center found that after spending time with family (83 percent), 71 percent of Americans say that being outdoors and experiencing nature gives them a great deal or quite a bit of meaning and fulfillment. Being around nature generates far more meaning to most Americans than spending time with friends (66 percent) religious faith (47 percent), and even volunteer work (33 percent). There is a unique power to the outside world; Roosevelt was on to something.
Even in today’s polarized political environment, data show that Americans on the left and the right widely agree on what provides them meaning. Significant majorities of both Democrats (82 percent) and Republicans (85 percent) agree that spending time with family is a central priority. The second-most fulfilling activity for both Democrats and Republicans is spending time outdoors and in nature. This goes against the habitually incorrect narratives of Democrats being inward-looking urbanites and Republicans being suburban or rural supporters of fish and wildlife. While Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to say they go hunting and fishing, survey data reveal that 88 percent of Democrats and 84 percent of Republicans report that they regularly make an effort to live in ways that help protect the environment. There is no partisan difference; Republicans and Democrats significantly and collectively value the natural world and equally prioritize it in their lives.
Pew also uncovered that a significantly high 64 percent of Americans have taken a hike in a park or natural setting outdoors in the past year and 55 percent have visited a nature spot, such as a waterfall or mountaintop in the past 12 months; far greater numbers than those who vote and generally partake of local community amenities. In 2016, when these items were originally asked, an appreciably lower number of Americans—50 percent—reported having taken a hike in the past year. But there were minimal partisan differences then, with equal numbers of both Republicans and Democrats reporting being outdoors. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, national parks saw 328 million visitors enter their gates and this is up from 287 million visitors in 1999—an increase of 14 percent—suggesting that Stephen Mather’s sentiment as first National Park Service director has been embraced by the nation’s citizens: “The parks do not belong to one state or to one section. . . . The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona.”
Americans’ strong desire to be outdoors is shared equally between Republicans and Democrats today and clearly President Roosevelt recognized a century ago that the nation would benefit from protecting and preserving the very spaces which inspire Americans today. Given his own experiences, Roosevelt deeply understood “the effectiveness of outdoor life and recreation in the production of good citizenship” and the creation of a deep love for the country which transcends petty partisanship and politics. Our parties and politicians would be well served to remember this and Americans would collectively be better off getting outside and into nature more often; these are spaces that are open to all and provide peace and serenity to those who seek it. Being outside and with others helps us discover shared and inclusive meanings about our nation rather than continuing to alienate one another. The outdoors can be instrumental in the creation of stories about what makes America truly great.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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