What is it about?
The Antiquities Act became law in 1906 at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt. The law basically allows presidents to declare national monuments, and thus preserve public land, without congressional approval. While the use of the act has varied over time, in recent Democratic administrations this legislation has become a major component of environmental policy-making. This paper examines the use of the Antiquities Act by presidents, in order to understand this act as a policy device and what its development says about environmental policy in modern times.
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Why is it important?
The presidential power to declare national monuments is a major way in which presidents can preserve public lands. The power is currently under attack by Donald Trump and the Republican Party. They are threatening to re-interpret the Antiquities Act in ways that we will reduce presidential power in this area in significant ways.
Perspectives
Environmental protection is a passion of mine and this article combines my scholarly work in the presidency and environmental policy with a strong personal interest.
Mark Kelso
Queens University of Charlotte
Read the Original
This page is a summary of:
The Contemporary Presidency
: A Lasting Legacy? Presidents, National Monuments, and the Antiquities Act, Presidential Studies Quarterly, September 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/psq.12421.
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