Process Paper
The Battle for Conservation:
How John Muir's Leadership Helped Conserve Land, and His Enduring Legacy
How John Muir's Leadership Helped Conserve Land, and His Enduring Legacy
Madeline Laun
Junior Division
Individual Website
Junior Division
Individual Website
I chose John Muir for my topic because I have enjoyed going to some of his National Parks, and have been touched by their beauty. I became intrigued by the man who helped protect these spaces. I felt he fit the National History Day theme well, and I liked how I had a personal relationship with the topic, which has helped me feel more involved with it.
To start off my topic, I tried to find as much as I could about John Muir to try to get the full picture of who he was, and what he did. After I had organized the material into an outline, I began to build my website. As I worked on my website, I found out more about the topic, and I found myself having to start over, or not knowing how to make my design fit my information. The biggest challenge in conducting my research, was finding primary sources for my topic. I found myself looking for them for hours, but when I finally found them, it was very satisfying.
I chose to do a website for National History Day mostly because of the design element. I get to choose where everything goes, and in addition, I like the interactive element. A website allows me to use my artistic ability, and to create something that is on my computer wherever I go, and I can visit it whenever I want. This is why I liked my website, and I had a lot of fun putting it together. I also have wanted to have the experience of building a webpage, and this was an excellent opportunity for this.
John Muir fits the National History Day theme quite well. He showed leadership by being an activist, and taking charge in addressing the problem. He did not just worry, and sit back, waiting for someone else to act. He wrote articles in magazines and gave many speeches. He then created the first National Park: Yosemite. With Theodore Roosevelt's endorsement, many other parks followed. This is the biggest part of his legacy. National Parks, today, are major tourist attractions, and John Muir is one of the most well-known environmentalists. He also helped create the Sierra Club, which works to continue his legacy, even today. The Sierra Club is the largest and most influential environmental organization. It tries to continue what Muir started: preserving nature for today and tomorrow.