Masters Theses

John J. Weil

Date of Award

12-1994

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

History

Major Professor

Susan Becker

Committee Members

John Finger, Charles Johnson

Abstract

This research focused on the origin and early years of the National Audubon Society in order to better understand how it fits into the conservation movement of the Progressive Era. The focus of the research is on the educational and wardens' activities, and the responses to these activities, from 1895 to 1917. The few secondary sources available were utilized as well as the correspondences and warden's reports from this time period. The results of this research were placed in the context of the new interventionism of the Progressive Era, as described in John Chambers' The Tyranny of Change. Chambers characterized the Progressive Era as a time of widespread and varied intervention by numerous groups and individuals. The question guiding this research, then, is how the National Audubon Society fits into the Progressive Era, specifically into the conservation movement during this period.

The results show that the National Audubon Society was an aesthetic conservation group, as defined by Samuel Hays, that was deeply involved in the conservation of both land and wildlife. Specifically, the National Audubon Society is an excellent example of an interventionist group: their educational activities show them to have used the full range of progressive activities, and their warden system shows that they often went beyond these progressive methods, activities that can best be described as interventionist.

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