Selling the (Re)PublicThe Acquisition and Disposition of

Land in the United States

Acquisition of Territory

English Common Law

“fee simple” title William the Conqueror Absolute land title limited by

4 government powers Taxation, eminent domain,

police power, escheat Can borrow money, sell, and

direct it to heirs Allodial title: without

government limits Rare, usually owned by the

“Crown”

Early Land Law

Crown Colonies Unappropriated property owned by the Crown

Commonwealths Unappropriated property owned by the colony Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,

Kentucky

Government should not own any more land than it needs for specific tasks

Liberty and Property

John Locke, 1690 “…life, liberty, and estate”

Declaration of Independence, 1776 “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

Virginia Bill of Rights, June 12, 1776 “That all men are by nature equally free and

independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

Post Revolution Land Claims

Several states had claims to land between the Appalachian Mts. and the Mississippi

Claiming states could sell land to pay war debts Non-claiming states wanted land claims renounced Claims were renounced for federal assumption of

debts Revolutionary War soldiers promised land by the

Continental Congress which had none to give State cessions allowed sale and grants of lands,

but the Federal Government didn’t get it

Northwest Ordinance, 1787

Freedom of Religion, Judicial guarantees, Encouragement of schools, No slavery

“whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the original States in all respects…”

Unappropriated future land remained with US for benefit of federal treasury

Pollard v. Hagan, 1845

“Equal Footing” Land previously covered by high tide US Government granted the land Held by previous Spanish Grant Claimant The Constitution did not give maritime

land to the US Government; belonged to the states

New states have same rights as original states

Connecticut Western Reserve

Remnant of Connecticut claim maintained after cession of land to Pennsylvania

Sold the land to investors, 1796, and reserved 500,000 acres for residents of several New England towns destroyed by the British in the War

Louisiana Purchase, 1803

Florida

Indian Raids into US Runaway Slaves Pirates Andrew Jackson The Adams-Onís

Treaty, 1819 Relinquished claims

to East and West Florida and Oregon

Missouri Compromise, 1820-21

Land Acts

Preemption Act, 1841-1891 160 acres to individual settlers

Homestead Act, 1862-1976 160 acres, 5 year residency, house 12 x 14 ft.

“Public Land State” grants, 1841-1889 Land given to support transportation, education

Morrill Act, 1862 Land to support an agricultural and mechanical

college 30,000 acres per senator and representative

Railroad Grants

Texas

American Settlers Slavery & Catholicism Texas Independence, 1835-

36 Delayed admission due to

slavery issue Texas annexation, admission

1844-45 Texas sold 79 million acres

to US Government Parts of NM, OK, WY, CO, KS

1846

Mexican Annexation

Mexican-American War Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,

1848 $15 million

Gadsden Purchase, 1853 $10 million

Rights from the Ranchos Cumbersome process to get

patent for own land Many never did

Public Lands

Nevada

Admission in 1864 Enabling Act retained

Federal control of unappropriated land

25,000 acre grant for public buildings and a jail

Alaska

Seward’s Folly, 1867 $7.2 million 365 million acres to public land