The Interior Department: Managing Natural, Cultural And Human Resources For 176 Years

 

Flag of the United States Department of the Interior

When Congress established the Department of the Interior on this date in 1849, the nation had celebrated a mere sixty years of operation under the Constitution. By mid-century settlement expanded well beyond the Mississippi River across the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific. Virtually all Indians had been resettled in the west. The discovery of gold in California heightened interest in mineral wealth and the expansion of mining. Manifest destiny, the idea that all of North America should be part of the United States, was active in the Pacific Northwest and by 1848 had already redefined Mexico from California to Texas. Indeed the interior had become a busy and diversified aspect of the American experience and one that demanded some form of federal oversight. Is it any wonder that the organization was referred to as "the department of everything else" in its early years?

We've come a long way from "everything else" to a rather awesome department for someone who enjoys applied history, science, and geography across the American landscape. The department's current interests are expressed quite well in its organization chart:

I feel very fortunate to have worked almost 37 years for Interior in that little box on the lower left that bears the label, "National Park Service." The Service has a noble mission carrying out what has been described as "the best idea America ever had." It was a wonder-filled experience - actually based on my college studies - that took me to the far corners of the country in terms of both geography and history. Not sure I could do it today due to the agency's deterioration over the last 25 years but my experience that began in 1969 was a fulfilling adventure. It's one I'd do over without hesitation. So here's a big thank you to Interior for giving me such an opportunity, and a happy 176th birthday wish for enhanced support and continued careful stewardship of everything else.

Magna Carta Day 2024

By all accounts he was a rather nasty king who habitually squeezed money from his subjects to fund his quest for territory. He was so land hungry that he was nicknamed "Lackland" because his father gave all his sons territory except for him. By the early 1200's England's King John had lost Normandy and virtually all of Avignon to France. He also quarreled with Pope Innocent III over a nominee for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury. By 1215, the king found himself face to face with opposition from influential, learned, and powerful members of English society.

On June 15 of that year the opposition demanded certain liberties from the English crown throughout the kingdom. King John had no alternative but to sign the document, the Magna Carta, if he wished to remain on the throne. The document had several demands including protection of the rights of the churh, prevention of illegal imprisonment of barons, guarantee of swift justice, and regulation of feudal fees to the monarchy. Administration was to be carried out by a council of 25 barons.


In the American experience, the Magna Carta of 1215 provided enthusiasm for independence from Great Britain and much of its intent would be embedded in the Declarartion of Independence (1776), Articles of Confederation (1777), and U.S. Constitution (1789).

Articles of the Barons (Magna Carta), 1215 British Library

Here is a summation of the significance of the document for English people written by Michael Wood in his book, The Story of England, a companion volume to the BBC documentary of the same name:

In the Magna Carta in 1215 King John had acceded to the barons' demands made in response to his wholesale abuses of power. In essence it was a charter for the ruling class but it embodied the crucial principle that the king was bound by the law. Immediately after John's death Magna Carta was reissued in the name of his successor, and there were several versions up to 1225. Since then it has come to be regarded by English people, and by all who have adopted English law, as the chief constitutional defense against arbitrary or unjust rule. Its most famous clauses express some of the English people's most deeply held political beliefs, and pertain to both rich and poor: No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed, or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals, or by the law of the land. . . To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Later lawyers found here the basis for fundamental English rights: equality before the law and freedom from arbitrary arrest . . . .

Stephen Hayward provides more information in this fine 2015 Instapundit tribute to today's historic moment in Western history.

Here is a British Library link to a complete translation of the Magna Carta. The original document is in Latin.




Sources


Text:
Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain, Eric R. Delderfield, David & Charles Publishers, Devon, 1977

The US Department Of Everything Else

Flag of the United States Department of the Interior

When Congress established the Department of the Interior on this date in 1849, the nation had celebrated a mere sixty years of operation under the Constitution. By mid-century settlement expanded well beyond the Mississippi River across the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific. Virtually all Indians had been resettled in the west. The discovery of gold in California heightened interest in mineral wealth and the expansion of mining. Manifest destiny, the idea that all of North America should be part of the United States, was active in the Pacific Northwest and by 1848 had already redefined Mexico from California to Texas. Indeed the interior had become a busy and diversified aspect of the American experience and one that demanded some form of federal oversight. Is it any wonder that the organization was referred to as "the department of everything else" in its early years?

We've come a long way from "everything else" to a rather awesome department for someone who enjoys applied history, science, and geography across the American landscape. The department's current interests are expressed quite well in its organization chart:

I feel very fortunate to have worked almost 37 years for Interior in that little box on the lower left that bears the label, "National Park Service." The Service has a noble mission carrying out what has been described as "the best idea America ever had." It was a wonder-filled experience - actually based on my college studies - that took me to the far corners of the country in terms of both geography and history. Not sure I could do it today due to the agency's deterioration over the last 25 years but my experience that began in 1969 was a fulfilling adventure. It's one I'd do over without hesitation. So here's a big thank you to Interior for giving me such an opportunity, and a happy 175th birthday wish for enhanced support and continued careful stewardship of everything else.

Extreme Fire Season, Now And Then

 

Wallace, Idaho, after the Big Blowup of 1910

In the past two weeks wildfires have annihilated the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, and destroyed lives and property in large areas of the Northwestern US and Canada. To say the least it is evidence of another extreme fire season but nothing new in wildfire history. Recent wildfires in the West, particularly California, have rewritten the record books. Still, the US and Canada have a long list of massive and deadly wildfires that go back to 1825. 

For example, on this day in 1910 the fire season was equally extreme. High winds merged almost two thousand small forest fires across Washington, Idaho and Montana into a massive area of fire that burned 3 million acres of timber. This fire, known as the Big Blowup, destroyed several towns, miles of transportation infastructure, and took the lives of 87 people, 78 of them firefighters. The blowup ranked as the largest forest fire in U.S. history until it was passed by recent fires in Texas (2011) and California (2020).

Result of wildfire "hurricane" at St. Joe River, C'oeur d'Alene, Idaho

At the time of the fire the U.S.Forest Service (USFS) was a new and struggling agency in the federal government. This fire not only enhanced the agency's purpose but also gave it focus on the strategy and tactics of forest fire fighting. That focus produced the USFS's first legendary character, Ranger Ed Pulaski. An article by the Forest History Society tells the story:

Fighting a fire about ten miles southwest of Wallace, Idaho, Ranger Pulaski order his crew of forty-three men to follow him to a mineshaft to escape the inferno. They barely outran the fire. Pulaski ordered his men to lie down on the tunnel floor while he hung blankets over the entrance, threatening to shoot any man who tried to flee. He threw water onto the blankets until the smoke overwhelmed him. When the men awoke the next day, all but five had survived. Pulaski’s decisive actions and his courage in the face of death made for great copy. But it was his simple desire to get home to his wife and daughter in Wallace that struck a universal cord with the public and helped elevate him into Forest Service myth almost before the fires had stopped burning. It was not long before Pulaski became a hero—though he never comfortably wore that mantle—and his story legend. His legend was further cemented when he was credited with inventing the firefighting tool that bears his name. He received no compensation for either his wounds or his invention. The only compensation came in 1923 when he won $500 in an essay contest for the account of his actions in the Big Blowup.

Pulaski's eponymous invention, a combination grubbing hoe and ax

As you read this today, there's a good likelihood thousands of pulaskis are at work across the Northwest. Behind each one stands a firefighter risking life and limb to protect our resources and populations at almost any cost. Historic fires like the Big Blow led to policies that in the past gave them no options. In the last generation or so the USFS policy of total fire suppression has been questioned given our research in fire and forest ecology and our persistent settlement in what is called the wildland-urban interface. Essentially fire can be thought of as another tool under the right conditions. With new science and news tools, decision making for fire managers is certainly more complex today but it does make what will always be a dangerous job somewhat safer.

On this historic day, and every day we have men and women assigned to forest fires, we need to keep them in mind and more. It's a risky job whether you make the decisions, fly the aircraft or most certainly dig the fire lines, and we want every one of them to come home safe.




Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress) REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
state.sc.us/forest/edutools.htm, Pulaski photo


Text:


idahoforests.org, The 1910 Fire
wikipedia.org, Great Fire of 1910
foresthistory.org, The 1910 Fires
spokesman.com, Forest fire, the largest in U.S. History, left stories of awe, tragedy

A Birthday For The Department OF Everything Else

Flag of the United States Department of the Interior

When Congress established the Department of the Interior on this date in 1849, the nation had celebrated a mere sixty years of operation under the Constitution. By mid-century settlement expanded well beyond the Mississippi River across the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific. Virtually all Indians had been resettled in the west. The discovery of gold in California heightened interest in mineral wealth and the expansion of mining. Manifest destiny, the idea that all of North America should be part of the United States, was active in the Pacific Northwest and by 1848 had already redefined Mexico from California to Texas. Indeed the interior had become a busy and diversified aspect of the American experience and one that demanded some form of federal oversight. Is it any wonder that the organization was referred to as "the department of everything else" in its early years?

We've come a long way from "everything else" to a rather awesome department for someone who enjoys applied history, science, and geography across the American landscape. The department's current interests are expressed quite well in its organization chart:

I feel very fortunate to have worked almost 37 years for Interior in that little box on the lower left that bears the label, "National Park Service." The Service has a noble mission carrying out what has been described as "the best idea America ever had." It was a wonder-filled experience - actually based on my college studies - that took me to the far corners of the country in terms of both geography and history. Not sure I could do it today due to the agency's deterioration over the last 25 years but my experience that began in 1969 was a fulfilling adventure. It's one I'd do over without hesitation. So here's a big thank you to Interior for giving me such an opportunity, and a happy 174th birthday wish for enhanced support and continued careful stewardship of everything else.

US National Park Service Celebrates A Birthday

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

                                                                                  Wallace Stegner

Guidon of the United States National Park Service

The National Park Service celebrates its 106th birthday on August 25, 2022.  It's always an important day in my household. My wife and I devoted over 55 memorable years of combined employment toward achieving its noble mission so vividly stated in the enabling legislation of 1916:

....to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

Seeking a working balance between preservation and use was often a serious challenge but overall the work was extraordinarily satisfying. Even after several years of retirement my blood still runs green with the memories of us working in eight sites and one regional office in eight states and the District of Columbia. Our work took us from coast to coast in the lower 48 states and to Alaska as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The journey from a single idea to a complex resource management agency charged with overseeing more than 425 sites has been challenging. Here is part of the chapter, "Early Growth and Administration," taken from a Department of the Interior publication, A Brief History of the National Park Service(1940). It describes the national park movement leading up to the formation of the NPS.

The United States had a system of national parks for many years before it had a National Park Service. Even before establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 as "a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," the Government had shown some interest in public ownership of lands valuable from a social use standpoint. An act of Congress in 1852 established the Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas (which became a national park in 1921), although this area was set aside not for park purposes, but because of the medicinal qualities believed to be possessed by its waters. It was not until 1890 that action was taken to create more national parks. That year saw establishment of Yosemite, General Grant, and Sequoia National Parks in California, and nine years later Mount Rainier National Park was set aside in Washington.

Soon after the turn of the century the chain of national parks grew larger. Most important since the Yellowstone legislation was an act of Congress approved June 8, 1906, known as the Antiquities Act, which gave the President authority "to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments.

In these early days the growing system of national parks and monuments was administered under no particular organization. National parks were administered by the Secretary of the Interior, but patrolled by soldiers detailed by the Secretary of War much in the manner of forts and garrisons. This, of course, was quite necessary, in the early days, for the protection of areas situated in the "wild and woolly" West. it is a fact that in this era highwaymen held up coaches and robbed visitors to Yellowstone National Park, and poachers operated within the park boundaries. The national monuments were administered in various ways. Under the Act of 1906 monuments of military significance were turned over to the Secretary of War, those within or adjacent to national forests were placed under the Department of Agriculture, and the rest—and greater number—were under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park, established in 1890 as the first Federal area of its type, was administered by the War Department.

Under this disjointed method of operation, national parks and monuments continued to be added to the list until 1915 when its very deficiencies exposed the plan as unsatisfactory and inefficient. The various authorities in charge of the areas began to see the need for systematic administration which would provide for the adoption of definite policies and make possible proper and adequate planning, development, protection, and conservation in the public interest.

Within two years, Secretary of the Interior, Franklin Lane, had secured the help of the philanthropist, Stephen Tyng Mather, to develop a management system to propose to Congress. Mather did so promptly and by 1917 it had been established and officially organized.

For more information, NPS Historians, Barry Mackintosh and Janet McDonnell, have written an excellent brief history documenting the agency to 2005. Their work, The National Parks: Shaping the System, is available online here.

The former directors of the National Park Service have left us some candid, and in some cases historic, commentary on managing the preservation-use dichotomy referred to above. I highly recommend their books, along with a biography of Stephen Tyng Mather, if readers are so inclined:

Albright, Horace M. (as told to Robert Cahn). The Birth of the National Park Service. Salt Lake City: Howe Brothers, 1985.

Albright, Horace M, and Marian Albright Schenck. Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999.

Hartzog, George B. Jr; Battling for the National Parks; Moyer Bell Limited; Mt. Kisco, New York; 1988

Ridenour, James M. The National Parks Compromised: Pork Barrel Politics and America's Treasures. Merrillville, IN: ICS Books, 1994.

Wirth, Conrad L. Parks, Politics, and the People. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980.

Shankland, Robert; Steve Mather of the National Parks; Alfred A. Knopf, New York; 1970


As of December 2021 the National Park Service administers 423 units from the Caribbean to Alaska to the South Pacific. Its varied sites recorded 327,000,000 recreation visits in 2019. In all likelihood the future holds both more units and visits all in the face of declining funds, shrinking staffs, and a maintenance backlog of around $12 billion. The situation presents a bold challenge particularly for those staffing field operations who often see their work as a calling rather than a career. We can only hope their enthusiasm and dedication outlasts the obstacles that threaten their mission.

National Park Service arrowhead insignia

Sources

Illustration and text:
National Park Service entry, Wikipedia.org

www.nps.gov

Remembering The Big Blowup, Our Nation's Largest Forest Fire

 

Wallace, Idaho, after the Big Blowup of 1910

So far, the Western U.S. is in the midst of a moderate fire season that has already claimed the lives of several firefighters. With persistent dry weather the situation could worsen. On this day in 1910 the fire season was far worse. High winds merged almost two thousand small forest fires across Washington, Idaho and Montana into a massive area of fire that burned 3 million acres of timber. This fire, known as the Big Blowup, destroyed several towns, miles of transportation infastructure, and took the lives of 87 people, 78 of them firefighters. It still ranks as the largest forest fire in U.S. history.

Result of wildfire "hurricane" at St. Joe River, C'oeur d'Alene, Idaho

At the time of the fire the U.S.Forest Service (USFS) was a new and struggling agency in the federal government. This fire not only enhanced the agency's purpose but also gave it focus on the strategy and tactics of forest fire fighting. It also produced the USFS's first legendary character, Ranger Ed Pulaski. An article by the Forest History Society tells the story:

Fighting a fire about ten miles southwest of Wallace, Idaho, Ranger Pulaski order his crew of forty-three men to follow him to a mineshaft to escape the inferno. They barely outran the fire. Pulaski ordered his men to lie down on the tunnel floor while he hung blankets over the entrance, threatening to shoot any man who tried to flee. He threw water onto the blankets until the smoke overwhelmed him. When the men awoke the next day, all but five had survived. Pulaski’s decisive actions and his courage in the face of death made for great copy. But it was his simple desire to get home to his wife and daughter in Wallace that struck a universal cord with the public and helped elevate him into Forest Service myth almost before the fires had stopped burning. It was not long before Pulaski became a hero—though he never comfortably wore that mantle—and his story legend. His legend was further cemented when he was credited with inventing the firefighting tool that bears his name. He received no compensation for either his wounds or his invention. The only compensation came in 1923 when he won $500 in an essay contest for the account of his actions in the Big Blowup.

Pulaski's eponymous invention, a combination grubbing hoe and ax

As you read this today, there's a good likelihood a few thousand pulaskis are hard at work on  fires across the US. Behind each one stands a firefighter risking life and limb to protect our resources and populations at almost any cost. Historic fires like the Big Blow led to policies that in the past gave them no options. In the last generation or so the USFS policy of total fire suppression has been questioned given our research in fire and forest ecology and our persistent settlement in what is called the wildland-urban interface. Essentially fire can be thought of as another tool under the right conditions. With new science and news tools, decision making for fire managers is certainly more complex today but it does make what will always be a dangerous job somewhat safer.

On this historic day, and every day we have men and women assigned to forest fires, we need to keep them in mind and more. It's a risky job whether you make the decisions, fly the aircraft or most certainly dig the fire lines, and we want every one of them to come home safe.




Sources

Photos:

National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress) REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
state.sc.us/forest/edutools.htm, Pulaski photo



Text:


idahoforests.org, The 1910 Fire
wikipedia.org, Great Fire of 1910
foresthistory.org, The 1910 Fires
spokesman.com, Forest fire, the largest in U.S. History, left stories of awe, tragedy

The Signing Of The Declaration Of Independence, August 2, 1776

 

For those who found the July 4 holiday weekend a hectic time to read the Declaration of Independence today offers you another opportunity. Why today? On August 2, 1776 most of the delegates signed the document. Others signed at a later date, some because they had not been elected. The only signature required by the Continental Congress was that of its president, John Hancock. Regardless, here is an essential document in US history. 

 

In Congress, July 4, 1776


The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

When John Hancock signed the document on July 4 it became an official statement by a fledgling government in exile. The collective power of 56 signatures illustrates the serious nature of their endeavor. It is an expression of the statement attributed to Benjamin Franklin made that day that "we must all hang together, or ... we shall all hang separately." Indeed, British forces would go on to destroy the lives and fortunes of many of the signers but their movement would survive to redefine human rights and government around the world.

Sources

Text:
National Archives and Records Administration

The Department Of Everything Else Turns 173

When Congress established the Department of the Interior on this date in 1849, the nation had celebrated a mere sixty years of operation under the Constitution. By mid-century settlement expanded well beyond the Mississippi River across the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific. Virtually all Indians had been resettled in the west. The discovery of gold in California heightened interest in mineral wealth and the expansion of mining. Manifest destiny, the idea that all of North America should be part of the United States, was active in the Pacific Northwest and by 1848 had already redefined Mexico from California to Texas. Indeed the interior had become a busy and diversified aspect of the American experience and one that demanded some form of federal oversight. Is it any wonder that the organization was referred to as "the department of everything else" in its early years?

We've come a long way from "everything else" to a rather awesome department for someone who enjoys applied history, science, and geography across the American landscape. The department's current interests are expressed quite well in its organization chart:

I feel very fortunate to have worked almost 37 years for Interior in that little box on the lower left that bears the label, "National Park Service." The Service has a noble mission carrying out what has been described as "the best idea America ever had." It was a wonder- filled experience that took me to the far corners of the country in terms of both geography and history. Not sure I could do it today due to the agency's deterioration over the last 25 years but my experience that began around 1970 was a fulfilling adventure. It's one I'd do over without hesitation. So here's a big thank you to Interior for giving me such an opportunity, and a happy birthday wish for enhanced support and continued careful stewardship of everything else.

The Magna Carta: Origins Of Royal Accountability

By all accounts he was a rather nasty king who habitually squeezed money from his subjects to fund his quest for territory.  He was so land hungry that he was nicknamed "Lackland" because his father gave all his sons territory except for him. By the early 1200's England's King John had lost Normandy and virtually all of Avignon to France. He also quarreled with Pope Innocent III over a nominee for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury. By 1215, the king found himself face to face with opposition from influential, learned, and powerful members of English society.

On June 15, 1215, the opposition demanded certain liberties from the English crown throughout the kingdom. King John had no alternative but to sign the document, the Magna Carta, if he wished to remain on the throne. The document had several demands but three of them were most significant. They were: the Church had authority to select its staff, money beyond set payments were to be collect by the King from his tenants without their approval, and all punishment of freeman was to be carried out according to the law of the land.

Articles of the Barons (Magna Carta), 1215            British Library

Here is a summation of the significance of the document for English people written by Michael Wood in his  book, The Story of England, a companion volume to the BBC documentary of the same name:

In the Magna Carta in 1215 King John had acceded to the barons' demands made in response to his wholesale abuses of power. In essence it was a charter for the ruling class but it embodied the crucial principle that the king was bound by the law. Immediately after John's death Magna Carta was reissued in the name of his successor, and there were several versions up to 1225. Since then it has come to be regarded by English people, and by all who have adopted English law, as the chief constitutional defense against arbitrary or unjust rule. Its most famous clauses express some of the English people's most deeply held political beliefs, and pertain to both rich and poor:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed, or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals, or by the law of the land . . . To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Later lawyers found here the basis for fundamental English rights: equality before the law and freedom from arbitrary arrest . . . .

Stephen Hayward provides more information in this fine Instapundit tribute to today's historic moment in Western history.

Sources

Text:

Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain, Eric R. Delderfield, David & Charles Publishers, Devon, 1977

The Magna Carta At 801 Years.

Eight hundred years ago today England's King John set his seal to a document containing ideals that have formed the basis for democratic governments ever since. The document is the Magna Carta. Here is what Michael Wood wrote about it in his book, The Story of England, a companion volume to the BBC documentary of the same name:

In the Magna Carta in 1215 King John had acceded to the barons' demands made in response to his wholesale abuses of power. In essence it was a charter for the ruling class but it embodied the crucial principle that the king was bound by the law. Immediately after John's death Magna Carta was reissued in the name of his successor, and there were several versions up to 1225. Since then it has come to be regarded by English people, and by all who have adopted English law, as the chief constitutional defense against arbitrary or unjust rule. Its most famous clauses express some of the English people's most deeply held political beliefs, and pertain to both rich and poor:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed, or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals, or by the law of the land . . . To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Later lawyers found here the basis for fundamental English rights: equality before the law and freedom from arbitrary arrest . . . .

Article of the Barons (Magna Carta, 1215            British Museum

For more on the Magna Carta, including some excellent links and illustrations, I refer readers to Instapundit's Stephen Hayward and his fine tribute to this historic moment in Western history.

The Big Blowup Of 1910: A Forest Fire Like No Other

Wallace, Idaho, after the Big Blowup of 1910

The Northwestern U.S. is in the midst of an extreme fire season that has already claimed the lives of several firefighters. On this day in 1910 the fire season was equally bad if not worse. High winds merged almost two thousand small forest fires across Washington, Idaho and Montana into a massive area of fire that burned 3 million acres of timber. This fire, known as the Big Blowup, destroyed several towns, miles of transportation infastructure, and took the lives of 87 people, 78 of them firefighters. It still ranks as the largest forest fire in U.S. history.

Result of wildfire "hurricane" at St. Joe River, C'oeur d'Alene, Idaho 

At the time of the fire the U.S.Forest Service (USFS) was a new and struggling agency in the federal government. This fire not only enhanced the agency's purpose but also gave it focus on the strategy and tactics of forest fire fighting. It also produced the USFS's first legendary character, Ranger Ed Pulaski. An article by the Forest History Society tells the story:

Fighting a fire about ten miles southwest of Wallace, Idaho, Ranger Pulaski order his crew of forty-three men to follow him to a mineshaft to escape the inferno. They barely outran the fire. Pulaski ordered his men to lie down on the tunnel floor while he hung blankets over the entrance, threatening to shoot any man who tried to flee. He threw water onto the blankets until the smoke overwhelmed him. When the men awoke the next day, all but five had survived. Pulaski’s decisive actions and his courage in the face of death made for great copy. But it was his simple desire to get home to his wife and daughter in Wallace that struck a universal cord with the public and helped elevate him into Forest Service myth almost before the fires had stopped burning. It was not long before Pulaski became a hero—though he never comfortably wore that mantle—and his story legend. His legend was further cemented when he was credited with inventing the firefighting tool that bears his name. He received no compensation for either his wounds or his invention. The only compensation came in 1923 when he won $500 in an essay contest for the account of his actions in the Big Blowup.

Pulaski's eponymous invention, a combination grubbing hoe and ax

As you read this today, there's a good likelihood thousands of pulaskis are at work across the Northwest. Behind each one stands a firefighter risking life and limb to protect our resources and populations at almost any cost. Historic fires like the Big Blow led to policies that in the past gave them no options. In the last generation or so the USFS policy of total fire suppression has been questioned given our research in fire and forest ecology and our persistent settlement in what is called the wildland-urban interface. Essentially fire can be thought of as another tool under the right conditions. With new science and news tools, decision making for fire managers is certainly more complex today but it does make what will always be a dangerous job somewhat safer.

On this historic day, and every day we have men and women assigned to forest fires, we need to keep them in mind and more. It's a risky job whether you make the decisions, fly the aircraft or most certainly dig the fire lines, and we want every one of them to come home safe.




Sources

Photos:

National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress) REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

state.sc.us/forest/edutools.htm, Pulaski photo

Text:

idahoforests.org, The 1910 Fire

wikipedia.org, Great Fire of 1910 

foresthistory.org, The 1910 Fires

spokesman.com, Forest fire, the largest in U.S. History, left stories of awe, tragedy

The Magna Carta: Celebrating 800 Years Of Democratic Ideals

Articles of the Barons (Magna Carta), 1215            British Library

Eight hundred years ago today England's King John set his seal to a document containing ideals that have formed the basis for democratic governments ever since. The document is the Magna Carta. Here is what Michael Wood wrote about it in his book, The Story of England, a companion volume to the BBC documentary of the same name:

In the Magna Carta in 1215 King John had acceded to the barons' demands made in response to his wholesale abuses of power. In essence it was a charter for the ruling class but it embodied the crucial principle that the king was bound by the law. Immediately after John's death Magna Carta was reissued in the name of his successor, and there were several versions up to 1225. Since then it has come to be regarded by English people, and by all who have adopted English law, as the chief constitutional defense against arbitrary or unjust rule. Its most famous clauses express some of the English people's most deeply held political beliefs, and pertain to both rich and poor:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed, or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals, or by the law of the land . . . To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

Later lawyers found here the basis for fundamental English rights: equality before the law and freedom from arbitrary arrest . . . .

For a bit more on the Magna Carta, including some excellent links and illustrations, I refer readers to Instapundit's Stephen Hayward and his fine tribute to this historic moment in Western history.

Department Of The Interior Turns 165 Years Old Today

When Congress established the Department of the Interior on this date in 1849, the nation had celebrated a mere sixty years of operation under the Constitution. By mid-century settlement expanded well beyond the Mississippi River across the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific. Virtually all Indians had been resettled in the west. The discovery of gold in California heightened interest in mineral wealth and the expansion of mining. Manifest destiny, the idea that all of North America should be part of the United States, was active in the Pacific Northwest and by 1848 had already achieved victory over Mexico from California to Texas. Indeed the interior had become a busy and diversified aspect of the American experience and one that demanded some form of federal oversight. Is it any wonder that the organization was referred to as "the department of everything else" in its early years?

We've come a long way from "everything else" to a rather awesome department for someone who enjoys history, science, and geography and their applications to a national experience. The department's current interests are expressed quite well in its organization chart:

I feel very fortunate to have worked almost 37 years for Interior in that little box on the lower left that bears the label, "National Park Service."  The Service has a noble mission carrying out what has been described as "the best idea America ever had." It was a wonder- filled experience that took me to the far corners of the country in terms of both geography and history. It's one I'd do over without hesitation. So here's a big thank you to Interior for giving me such an opportunity, and a happy birthday wish for continued careful stewardship of everything else. 

National Park Service At 97

The notable writer and environmentalist, Wallace Stegner (1909-1993), described national parks as "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."  Today, the agency responsible for the stewardship of the idea and its 401 units, the National Park Service, turns 97.

Entrance fees have been waived today and you're likely to find a slice of birthday cake in the visitor center. When you explore the park resources, you'll be immersed in the American experience Stegner so aptly described. Go find a park today and celebrate!

Interior's Sally Jewel: Will Her Religious Edict Trump Climate Science?

Sally Jewel, Secretary of the Interior

Word spread last week that the new Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewel, may not have much interest in scientific methodology these days. In her mind, climate-change - that's Interior newspeak for "anthropogenic global warming" - could be settled science. In fact, it may be so settled she issued a memo hoping "there are no climate-change deniers in the Department of the Interior."  William Katz (Urgent Agenda) has the best summary about this new leadership mindset at Interior. 

This is somewhat disappointing as I had high hopes for Jewell. As a trained and experienced engineer, she worked in the commercial banking world, sat on several boards, and served as the president and CEO of REI. She knows what it means to meet a payroll and she loves the outdoor. Thankfully, she does have a strong conservation ethic characteristic of several Interior secretaries in our lifetime, including two of the most successful, Stewart Udall and Bruce Babbitt. 

I'd like nothing more than to see Jewel dissolve some of the political boundaries that separate the conservatives who like their guns from the preservationists who like their wilderness.  If her statement was a mere misstep on the part of a new and nervous political appointee, we can forgive, forget, and hope for better things in the future.

Andrew Breitbart

Whatever your political persuasion, you cannot overlook Andrew Breitbart as an extraordinary individual and founding member of the New Journalism revolution. He died this morning in California, He was 43 years old. The best tribute to this pioneer is a visit to the six Internet sites he created to inform and entertain his fellow Americans:

Breitbart.com

Breitbart.tv

Big Government

Big Journalism

Big Hollywood

Big Peace

He leaves behind quite a legacy and an army of patriots to carry on.

Central Planning

We in the U.S. will be suffering a long time from the unrealized expectations of universal homeownership brought to us by Freddie, Fannie, statists like Barney Frank, and the private sector porkers in the banking and real estate industries.  It is a mere shadow of things to come from an executive unschooled in the history of the failure of state-controlled or centralized planning. Here is an example of what a controlled economy can produce in terms of both infrastructure and potential social instability. The Chinese government is building scores of these empty cities in an attempt to grow its annual gross domestic product by 8%. The policy has fueled speculation to the point that only the wealthiest citizens can afford to live in them. But who would live in a city without an economy or even the smallest hint of community? Chinese leaders are about to learn the hard way that their "build it and they will come" policy comes without a guarantee.

Here is another link discussing the pop in China's property bubble.

It is interesting how history is there for the taking, how it is indeed cyclical, and how it is repeatedly ignored.

H/T Instapundit
Photo: Ghost city in China

Defining Poverty

For most Americans, poverty is perhaps best defined through the lens of Dorthea Lange as she photographed the forgotten men, women, and children of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Poverty is still with us in every part of the nation, but we have come a long way from a time when there was no federal program for those in need. One of the outcomes of that program has been the distortion of the definition of what it means to be poor. John Hinderaker explores the subject in his post at Power Line.

OTR's sons know poverty firsthand through their travel and work in north Africa, the Middle East and central Asia. They have little patience with those who claim that poor Americans number in the tens of millions or that the republic--and its economic system-- is an oppressive master.

Footnote: The woman in Lange's photograph, Migrant Mother, is Florence Owens Thompson. You can read more about her and see other photographs from the series here in a Wikipedia entry.

Phos-Fate

The OTR House entertains dinner guests about a half a dozen times a year. Early last year, we began to notice that our glassware was coming out of the dishwasher with far less than its usual sparkle. In fact, it was vaguely opaque reminding us of the antique bottles we collected along the bank of the Savannah River a generation ago. At first we suspected our aging dishwasher, but it was performing as expected. By January, the scaling was so bad, our glassware was no longer suitable for a formal table setting. This week, thanks to some consumer news, we found the answer to our problem. It's phosphate. It's not too much phosphate, rather, it is the total lack of phosphate in dish washing detergents.

New water quality standards have required detergent makers to remove phosphates from their products due to decidedly negative impacts on water quality and biological processes. OTR supports this action to restore and preserve healthy aquatic systems. There is a dilemma though. The detergent industry does not have a suitable substitute, not even a close one. There's nothing like phosphate to clean your dishes and make those glasses sparkle. To be honest, given the long and growing list of problems facing the world, scaly glasses simply don't rate. Still, what is to be done?

Some folks will accept their scaly glasses as a badge of environmental honor. Others may go plastic. Some may go paper. Some may buy new glasses on an annual basis. Enterprising hosts and hostesses have found another solution. They go to the local pharmacy, buy phosphate, return home, and "reformulate" their Cascade. This was not the intention of the new environmental regulations.

Today, Moonbattery's Van Helsing points readers to a Wall Street Journal article about what they call another nanny state threat, the front-loading washer. The prognosis is not good:

Front-loaders meet federal standards more easily than top-loaders. Because they don't fully immerse their laundry loads, they use less hot water and therefore less energy. But, as Americans are increasingly learning, front-loaders are expensive, often have mold problems, and don't let you toss in a wayward sock after they've started.

Readers can learn more at the Moonbattery post which includes a link to the original article. The frightening conclusion here stresses a new technology that does not clean clothes as well as washing machines built in 1996. Some new washers hardly clean clothes at all. Manufacturers are working to solve these new issues. OTR hopes the family's old top-loading washer stays alive long enough to see those solutions proven in the marketplace.

This regulatory trifecta is completed by an object most of us already know: the compact fluorescent bulb or CFL. At the outset, all of us know these bulbs are more expensive than traditional bulbs and the mercury content renders them significantly toxic if broken. From a performance perspective, OTR is reluctant to put them in any recessed fixtures, even when recommended, because some bulbs have malfunctioned and burned along with the attached houses. Furthermore, CFLs burn out quickly if turned off and on frequently. For example, a bathroom with multi-light vanity lighting is a poor application for CFLs. And we have yet to find a satisfactory CFL for our reading lamps. The light quality is inconsistent from one manufacturer to another. We all know the days of the incandescent light bulb are limited. Should OTR stock up? And what's going to replace his patio and garden spot lights?

All of these attempts at correcting an issue have resulted in creating unintended consequences, so far all at the expense of the consumer. Who among us wants poor water quality. Who among us wants higher electric or gas bills. What we need is some serious American innovation here. OTR has every confidence that we can build a better washing machine and lighting device, and restore the sparkle to his glassware. But pragmatism has its limits. Just because the drum spins, the bulb lights, or the formula soaps doesn't mean the consumer will be happy. Our regulators and manufacturers need to spend more time thinking before acting if they want to ensure compliance as well as mitigate environmental issues without creating new ones.

Illustration: Structural formula for the phosphoric acid functional group.