Senator Henry Jackson’s legacy in shaping American capitalism also extends deeply into environmental policy. He was the principal author of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, arguably the most important environmental law in U.S. history.
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions. This fundamentally altered how infrastructure and development projects were planned and executed in the capitalist engine of the United States.
Jackson’s environmentalism was not anti-growth or anti-capitalism. Instead, it represented a belief that a sustainable capitalist system must account for environmental externalities. By mandating environmental impact statements, Jackson ensured that the pursuit of economic growth would be balanced with the preservation of natural resources and public health, embedding environmental consciousness into the core of American development.