Why doesn’t Delaware have a National Park or National Monument?

1. Why doesn’t Delaware have a National Park or National Monument? Kaitlin Corso Amanda Hendrickson Eric Hydeman Caitlin Fitzwater

2. Historical Overview Old Faithful; Yellowstone National Park From National Park Service Website Teddy Roosevelt; From National Park Service Website

3. Overview Continued… • Antiquities Act of 1906 • Criteria for becoming a National Park or Monument • Delaware History • Recent campaign for National Park in Delaware

4. National Park vs. National Monument Yosemite National Park-California From: nps.gov Washington Monument in D.C. http://crapo.senate.gov

5. Criteria for National Parks and Monuments • It is an outstanding example of a particular type of resource. • Illustrates cultural themes of our Nation’s heritage. • It offers superlative opportunities for recreation for public use and enjoyment, or for scientific study. • It retains a high degree of integrity as a true, accurate, and relatively unspoiled example of the resource.

6. DELAWARE: It’s Good Being First • First state to ratify Constitution • One of the original 13 Colonies • Relatively small in size

7. Carper’s Proposal • Plan to showcase the themes • Set up unlike any other National Park • Consists of a set of “hubs” that link the sites • Designed to resemble a bicycle Delaware Senator Tom Carper http://carper.senate.gov

8. Key Concepts: • Teddy Roosevelt: He is considered the Father of Conservation and strongly believed in conserving our national lands, leading to the signing of the Antiquities Act. • Antiquities Act: This act was signed in 1906 to help preserve "historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" and became a way for presidents to protect public lands. • Yellowstone: The first national park in the world established in 1872 to protect and preserve national history.

9. Concepts… • National Park System: The National Park System encompasses the Department of the Interior and administers all national parks/monuments in the United States. • Resources: A key criteria for a site to become a national park or monument is that it must contain a valuable natural resource. • Historical Significance: For a site to be considered a national park or national monument it must have a historical contribution representing our nation’s heritage.

10. Concepts… • First State: Delaware was the first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the United States Constitution, making it the first official state. • Delaware: Delaware has less land capacity which limits its amount of natural resources; reducing its chances to have a national park/monument. • State Parks: Delaware has a variety of state parks that could become national parks/monuments if the state relinquishes its rights and revenues associated with the park. • Carper: Senator Tom Carper has recently proposed a series of national parks long the Delaware coastline.

11. Objectives: Students will be able to: • Explain the role of National Parks in history • Describe the requirements for a site to become a national park • Explain why Delaware doesn’t have a national park/monument • Describe the original purpose of the Antiquities Act and how it evolved into what it is today • Defend your argument on why your park should become a national park

12. Key Questions: • What are the requirements to become a national park/monument? • Why was the national park system created? • Why doesn’t Delaware have a national park/monument? • What is the purpose of the Antiquities Act? • What sites in Delaware would be appropriate to become a national park?

13. Resources • www.destateparks.com • This website is operated by the State of Delaware and provided information and links for various state parks in Delaware • www.nps.gov • This is the National Park Service official website, it provided a lot of useful information including a list of all the national parks, history, etc. • http://carper.senate.gov/documents/NP_Proposal.pdf • This is a PDF document from Senator Carper’s page documenting his proposal for a National Park/Monument in Delaware • www.delaware.gov • This is the state of Delaware website, it provided a lot of historical facts about Delaware. • www.hsd.org • This is the Historical Society of Delaware website which we also found useful for historical facts and information. • www.nationalatlas.gov • This website is run by the Department of the Interior and acts as an atlas of the United States, we found an article under Government about National Parks and Monuments which was helpful.

14. Class Activity • Role: Delaware Residents • Audience: Congress • Format: Letter • Topic: Explain why a particular site should be a national park in Delaware. State Flag: www.delware.gov

15. Fort Delaware www.delawaregreenways.org

16. John Dickinson Plantation www.delaware.gov

17. Cape Henlopen www.destateparks.com

18. Holts Landing State Park www.destateparks.com

19. Conclusion • Connections to prior Units • Why is this an important topic in U.S. history? • Why is this an important topic for students?