Creating Digital History 2022

While the history of American environmentalism stretches as far back as the 17th century, what we think of as environmentalism today took root in the Progressive-era during a period of industrialization and urbanization. In response to what they perceived as urban squalor, wealthy progressive-era conservationists sought to combat overcrowded cities and industrial pollution, couching their efforts within existing ideologies of gentility, civic good, and social dominance. Conservationists collaborated and competed in the creation of national parks; private, philanthropic societies dedicated to wildlife and land protection; and outdoor recreation designed for the leisure class. This so-called conservationism was often undertaken at the expense of people of color, women, and the poor. Black, Asian, and Latinx people were excluded from newly created recreational spaces. Rural whites were denied access to hunting grounds that they had previously relied on for their livelihoods. Women and immigrants were made into scapegoats for declining wildlife populations. And Indigenous peoples were violently dispossessed of their lands. 

This exhibit reminds us of the troubling roots of the environmental movement in the United States and challenges us to think critically about how we define environmentalism. Can one truly be an environmentalist while enacting great harm to other people? With photographs, maps, videos, public policy documents, and newspapers, this exhibit acknowledges the racist, classist, and misogynist histories of the environmental movement, while also showcasing more contemporary environmentalists who have resisted systemic oppression and expanded the meaning of environmental activism. In illuminating the diverse aims and actions of American environmentalists across nearly two centuries, this exhibit invites viewers to consider, “what does it mean to be an environmentalist,” and perhaps ask themselves, “what would motivate me to become an environmentalist?”