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Show 446 a long chain of events began which would lead to the present status of Parks, Wilderness, and American ideas about Nature. The Sierra Club was founded in 1892, and as a result of the composition and nature of the organization, the so-called "preservationist" movement began to develop a character which could be concretely identified and defined. It was different from the Forestry Association of the seventies, or the eastern Civic Improvement Leagues. The composition of the Club was predictable. Most of the members were from the urban Bay Area, San Francisco, Oakland, Palo Alto. Primarily they were men, although there were several women among the charter members. By far the most recognizable group were college professors from the University of California and Stanford, but other professional men were also represented in the ranks. These were the kind of men who would likely call themselves "progressives" by the middle of the first decade of the twentieth century. They were growing increasingly suspicious of a railroad dominated California. Though not rich, they were likely to be "well-fixed," and they demonstrated rigid allegiance to their middle class values, even while denying that California's problems stemmed from a class struggle. They were well-educated and saw that their own future depended on a reaffirmation of traditional individualistic values in the political, economic, and social life of California. Though they were the heirs of the Grangers and Populists, they were basically urban in their outlook. For them, the country and the mountains were places where they |
