Public Domain Acquisition in the United States
Public Lands Acquisition of the Public Domain
Introduction to Public Domain Acquisition
The developing nation acquired its first public domain following the end of the American Revolution. At that time certain of the original states ceded their claims to lands beyond the Allegheny Mountains to the federal government. These claims, based on colonial charters, had been a source of contention and bloodshed between the colonies long before the American Revolution. After the war, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, having no claim to western land, proposed that the landed states cede their western lands to the federal government (see Northwest Territory). Maryland refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until is was assured that this would be done. New York renounced its claim to western lands in 1780, and eventually other states followed its example. With the cession by Georgia in 1802, state cessions to the federal government reached a total of more than 96 million hectares (236 million acres). The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 added some 215 million hectares (530 million acres). Other acquisitions include the following: Red River Basin (1808), Spanish Cession (1819), Oregon Compromise (1846), Mexican Cession (1848), lands purchased from Texas (1850), Gadsden Purchase (1853), and Alaska Purchase (1867). Through the course of the nation’s history 729 million hectares (1.8 billion acres) of land have at some time been a part of the public domain.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Public Domain Acquisition in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia