Rolf Diamant, co-author of Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea (2022), will speak on the parallel paths of Olmsted and Morrill, their vision for America, and their interactions, both during and after the Civil War. It is remarkable that Olmsted discussed the symbolic importance of completing the US Capitol building (during the Civil War) in his landmark 1865 Yosemite Report, and then would answer Morrill’s summons, eight years later, to design the capitol grounds. Diamant will also examine passage of the Yosemite Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1864, in the context of Justin Morrill’s first college land grant bill.
$5 in-person or via Zoom