Character: J. Sterling Morton
Character | J. Sterling Morton
1832-1902 |
Brief Personal History | Sterling Morton was born in Adams, New
York, the son of a prosperous produce commission businessman. He attended the University of Michigan but received his B.A. from Union College in Schenectady, New York. He married Carolina Joy French in 1854 and moved to Nebraska City to start the Nebraska City News. He served as secretary of the Nebraska territory and acting governor. He was an uncompromising conservative Democrat from a section of the country that was more comfortable with Republican radicals. When he ran for Congress, he lost the election. Turning his attention to politics to his quarter section of tall grass Nebraska prairie, Morton experimented with tree planting, evaluating the best forest and fruit trees for the climate. Morton believed the Nebraska prairie would benefit from trees because they would provide lumber, fruit, windbreaks and soil moisture. In 1872, he presented a resolution to the State Board of Agriculture recommended that the 10th day of April be “set apart and consecrated for tree planting” in the state. The state proclaimed Arbor Day which Morton dubbed “the battle against the treeless prairies.” The first Arbor Day proved unexpected popular and well over a million trees were planted.
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Essence of Environmental Opinion/Activity: |
“Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor
Day proposes for the future.” Morton’s legacy is in the area of agriculture, where he was one of the earliest conservationists, even before the term was known. |
Publications/Accomplishments | Newspaper Editor (1954)
Secretary of Nebraska Territory (1858) Acting Governor of Nebraska (1860) Put forth Arbor Day resolution (1872) President of the American Forestry Association (1893-1896) Secretary of Agriculture under Cleveland (1893-1897) Fallacies of the Free Silver Arguments (1895) Illustrated History of Nebraska (Editor, 1905) |
Spirit of the Times | Post Civil War
Westward Expansion |
Technological Revolutions | Train transportation, Telegraph,
Photography |
Condition of the Air, Water, Soil and Biodiversity |
The tall grass Nebraska prairie was newly
empty of buffalo but otherwise a thriving ecosystem of deep soil, rich diversity, and clean water. |