NATIONAL PARK SERVICE THAT THE PAST SHALL LIVE... the history program of the National Park Service

LONG ago people learned that man cannot live by bread alone.

Because of this basic fact of life, we have churches, schools, libraries, theaters, museums, art galleries, and countless other places and facilities for the expression and strengthening of the spiritual side of human nature.

For this same reason—because of the human need for something more than bread—we have parks.

We have parks because there are places that we value so highly—scenes of nature or of human endeavor that are so significant to our spiritual, mental, and emotional welfare—that we want them preserved and kept as public treasures for use and enjoyment, now and as long as our Nation shall endure.

So an important part of America's land—important because of outstanding scenic, scientific, and historic values—has been set aside under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior's National Park Service, to be preserved for the benefit and use of the American people.

Since the first national park—Yellowstone—was established in 1872 "as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," the intervening decades have seen the establishment of many others, similarly marked for public use.

Today, the Park Service administers more than 180 areas in the National Park System, covering some 25 million acres. Comprising less than 1 per cent of the United States and its Territories, the importance of the acreage in the Park System lies not in its physical size, but in its important place in the American scheme of things.

Nearly every American would agree that people should have a chance to pause now and again and enjoy the superlative beauties of the earth and water of their native land; that they should be able to find pleasure and inspiration in the great outdoors, away from the pressures and worries of the everyday world.

Because this basic need is met for millions annually in the vast scenic and wilderness parks—Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Everglades, and a score of others—people tend to think of the National Park System in terms of those areas alone, a great chain of open spaces primarily meaningful to the nature lover and the robust camper.

But there is another and equally important need that is deeply ingrained in the spirit of Americans. This is the need to view the great memorials of their historic past, and through them to understand and more thoroughly appreciate their national heritage.

Today, for the people of the United States, this need is perhaps greater than at any other time. Subjected unrelentingly to the threats and tensions of an uncertain world, they are drawn in increasing numbers to reestablish contact with the nation's past. From this contact they seek and find the reassurance that, through the centuries, America has weathered every manner of upheaval, and that it will live on, serene and steadfast.

But where can people satisfy this need? Where can they reach out and touch and draw comfort from the hallowed past?

Year by year increasing millions are finding the answers to these questions in the historic sites and shrines of the National Park System which keep fresh and alive the story of the forces and processes that combined to shape our nation and our land.

Because they are sometimes overshadowed by the "glamor" of the purely scenic parks, it is not generally realized that the Park System is made up in large part of these historic areas.

Of the 180-odd units administered by the National Park Service, more than 125 are historical and archeological areas, each closely tied with man's history in what is now the United States. Taken together, these areas cover the sweep of time from several thousand years before the beginning of the Christian era down almost to the events and people of the present day.

It is the purpose of this booklet to more fully acquaint Americans with this portion of their national heritage, and to tell of some of the exciting things that are being done by their Government to bring the past more vividly alive. It will touch too on certain of the problems confronting the National Park Service in its efforts to protect these historic places both from the ravages of time and the onrushing tide of modern urban development. And, finally, it will tell of the steps that are being planned and taken to meet these problems.