Public Domain Disposal in the United States
Public Lands Disposal of the Public Domain
Introduction to Public Domain Disposal
The first significant legislation pertaining to the disposal and use of public land came in 1776, when the Continental Congress offered land grants to induce soldiers to desert from the British army. Later in the same year, Congress promised land bounties to its own soldiers as partial payment for military service. Military land grants were continued through the Mexican War. Only a small part of the land conveyed by military warrants, however, was ever occupied by the returning veterans. Land warrants were purchased for a mere fraction of their face value by speculators. It was not until 1969 that the last of the outstanding warrants were cleared from the public land records of the nation.
In the early years of the American republic, many national leaders saw public lands as a source of government revenue, and public policy was directed toward the sale of land. At the same time, many private citizens believed that vacant land belonged to the person who occupied and cleared it. So-called squatting, or unlawful occupation of land, was a common practice of the day, and conflicts often arose between those who held legal claim to land and those who occupied it. The policy of selling public land was never highly successful and failed to raise the revenue expected. Grants of public lands were awarded by Congress to encourage the construction of canals, wagon roads, and railroads, and to reclaim swamplands. The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for the reservation of one section in each township for future use or support of public elementary schools. Other grants were made to colleges to promote the teaching of agriculture and the mechanical arts (see Land-Grant Colleges). Beginning with the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, many of the national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges were carved from the public domain.
A general change in the policy of public land disposal came with the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862 (see Homestead Laws). Designed to encourage agricultural development, the law allowed the head of a household to claim up to 65 hectares (160 acres) of public land for an initial fee of $12 and a closing cost of $6. In return, the homesteader was required to meet residency and cultivation requirements before a patent to the land was granted. By 1932 more than 1 million settlers were drawn to the public land in search of farms, and more than 109 million hectares (more than 270 million acres) passed from public to private ownership. By 1962 all agricultural land had passed from public ownership, and in 1976 the Homestead Laws were repealed by Congress.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Public Domain Disposal in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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