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The Empire Of Grandeur (1915-1919)

Season 1 Episode 3 | 1hr 50m 32s

In the early 20th century, America has a dozen national parks, but they are a haphazard patchwork of special places under the supervision of different federal agencies. The conservation movement, after failing to stop the Hetch Hetchy dam, pushes the government to establish one unified agency to oversee all the parks, leading to the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916.

Aired: 04/24/16
Major funding is provided by General Motors, Evelyn & Walter Haas,Jr. Fund, CPB; Bank of America; The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; Park Foundation, Inc; PBS; National Park Foundation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Extras
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Latest Episodes
Learn about the changes to the national parks during the Great Depression and WWII.
Encounter the growing numbers of visitors to the parks.
Examine the proliferation of protected lands and the protection of predatory animals.
Examine the radical idea of creating national parks for the enjoyment of everyone.
Investigate the efforts of Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and others to protect the land.