In the 1800s, America was a thriving country, and cities were expanding into untouched land. Authors and artists noticed the changes to the Earth, and wrote about their observations of the changing nature. These pieces became the basic ideas and foundation for environmentalism. Later, as Americans realized the land around them was being damaged because of industrialization and human actions, laws and foundations were created to conserve America's natural gifts. This exhibit will show you how America for the first time had to become aware to the human destructiveness on the environment, and find a way to protect their land from themselves.