The Yosemite Grant led to the creation of National Parks in the United States

Today, the United States is fortunate to have 59 National Parks and more than 6,000 State Parks that are preserved for pleasure rather than for the purpose of making money. The Yosemite Grant Act served as the foundation for them. Lincoln signed the measure into law on June 30, 1864, after Congress enacted the act, which had its inception as Senate Bill 203. Despite mandating their usage, the act ceded federal lands to the State of California.

"On the express stipulations that the premises must be held for public use, resort, and leisure," the state received the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Tree Grove. The act also stipulated that the state could lease portions of the grant to other organizations, with the condition that the earnings from any such leases be used for the preservation of the properties or for enhancing the roads and trails that provided access to the lands.

What later developed into America's National Parks had their beginnings with Lincoln's actions regarding Yosemite and Mariposa. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, designating Yellowstone as the country's first national park, eight years after Lincoln's move regarding Yosemite. That law's text was heavily influenced by the previous Yosemite Grant Act.