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Jean Cronon Wilderness

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I disagree with Cronon’s notion that people’s idea of wilderness was historically powerful. Undoubtedly, the wilderness notion played a role in forming American identity. Cronon states the consequences of this role when he writes “Thus in the myth of the vanishing frontier lay the seeds of wilderness preservation in the United States, for if wild land had been so crucial in the making of the nation”(Pg 76). The described consequences aren’t particularly profound. Even though the wilderness notion resulted in establishing national parks and preservations, it did not prevent the further development of industry, consumption of forests and mining of natural resources. These developments continued in the U.S. for decades after Yosemite’s establishment.

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