Which law gives the president the authority to create a national monument?

The Antiquities Act has been used by 17 Presidents of both parties over 150 times for over a century to establish or expand national monuments in order to preserve and protect objects of historic or scientific interest for future generations.



The President of the United States derives the authority to create national monuments from the Antiquities Act of 1906. This landmark legislation was signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt to protect "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" located on federal lands. The Act allows the President to issue executive proclamations to bypass the often lengthy Congressional approval process for national parks, ensuring that threatened cultural or natural resources can be protected immediately. While the Act specifies that the reserved areas should be "confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management," various presidents have used it to protect millions of acres, leading to significant legal and political debates over federal land use. Despite these challenges, the Antiquities Act remains the primary tool for executive conservation, having been used to establish iconic sites like the Grand Canyon (originally a monument) and the Bears Ears National Monument.

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The Antiquities Act established that preservation of archeological and historical sites on public lands is in the federal government's purview and in the public's interest.

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-The President may, in the President's discretion, declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be national monuments.

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Not all national monuments are established the same way. Some are created by presidents using the authority of the Antiquities Act. Congress also creates national monuments through the legislative process.

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Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through such acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal jurisdiction.

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The Antiquities Act of 1906 is one of our nation's most important conservation tools. Used to safeguard and preserve federal lands and cultural and historical sites for all Americans to enjoy, 18 presidents have used this authority and have designated 161 national monuments.

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The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924.

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No President has ever abolished a national monument proclamation. Legal analyses since at least the 1930s have concluded that the Antiquities Act does not authorize the President to repeal proclamations, nor is that power implied.

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In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the president of the United States or an act of Congress.

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A Pennsylvania law states that a person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he: (1) intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, or place of worship or burial; or (2) intentionally desecrates any other object of veneration by the public or a substantial segment thereof in any public place; ...

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The principal qualities considered in studying areas for park purposes are their inspirational, educational, and recreational values. National monuments, on the other hand, are areas reserved by the National Government because they contain objects of historic, prehistoric, or scientific interest.

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