Why did President Theodore Roosevelt declare the Grand Canyon a National Monument instead of a National Park?

After viewing the Grand Canyon, Roosevelt was so struck by the natural beauty, he wanted to keep the area in perfect shape so that people could continue to enjoy it.

However, previous bills to make the area a national park were repeatedly defeated. Roosevelt noted that the Antiquities Act made it possible to create national monuments, similar to national parks but without all of the red tape that normally went along with creating a national park, which needed Congressional approval.

On this day, January 11, 1908, President Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument, bypassing red tape, and Congress under the Antiquities Act.

In 1932, the US Congress named the Grand Canyon National Monument as a National Park.

Today, the Department of the interior, along with the National Parks service, and the Native American Tribe Havasupai administer the Grand Canyon National Monument and strive to keep it pristine.