CHAPTER XIX.
Public Lands of the United States.
Prior to 1781 but six of the original thirteen States—New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware—had exactly defined boundaries. The others claimed lands of various extents, stretching to the Mississippi River, or even to the Pacific Ocean. The title to all this land was then in the individual States, and the National Government, as such, had no land of its own. This question of the ownership of the western land was one of the subjects of controversy and discontent between the States. It delayed the adoption of the Articles of Confederation for some time. Those States with little or no land regarded with jealousy their more fortunate neighbors, and would not consent to a union until a settlement or understanding was reached.
The Articles of Confederation were adopted only after assurance was made that all the public lands would be ceded to the Federal Government. This was finally done by the States.
The Government formed under the Constitution succeeded to all this land, and in addition, to further cessions made by the States, the last being that of Georgia in 1802. The subsequent additions of territory were made directly to the United States, and not to the States, and all land thus gained was held as public land to be disposed of by Congress.
While the area of the United States is 3,603,884 square miles, the public domain which has been acquired by cession, purchase, or conquest, to be disposed of by the Government as it desires, has amounted to 2,708,388 square miles, or about two-thirds of the total area of the country.
The absolute title to this land, as before stated, became vested in the United States Government. The disposal of these lands has always been under the sole power and control of Congress.
This land was all thinly populated by Indian tribes, who merely hunted over it, leaving unimproved its natural fertility and vast mineral resources. These tribes, being actual occupants, were recognized to have a sort of half interest in the land. This half ownership was always first extinguished by the United States by purchase for small sums, or by the granting of certain privileges, etc., before it was opened up for settlement and occupation by the white man. Land is still held, to a considerable extent, in this way by the Indians. This right of the Indians can be extinguished only by the United States, as they are not allowed to sell or treat at all with individuals or States or foreign nations.
Until 1812 the affairs of the public domain were managed by the Secretary of the Treasury. In that year the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office was created, which remained a bureau under the Treasury Department until 1846. On the creation of the Interior Department in that year, Indian affairs were transferred to it, and have remained under the same management until the present time. This bureau has complete charge of all matters relating to the management and disposal of the public lands, subject to the direction of Congress.
Almost every conceivable method of disposing of this land has been followed. The Government has, however, never assumed the position of landlord and rented the land, except in one case of some mineral land, and this experiment resulted disastrously. Before the land could be disposed of, it was necessary that it should be surveyed by the Government. To do this there was adopted as early as 1776, the so-called rectangular system, which, with slight changes, has been continued until the present time. By this system there are first surveyed a base and a meridian line, crossing each other at right angles, running north and south and east and west. From these fixed lines the land is surveyed and marked off into rectangles of six miles square, each thus containing thirty-six square miles. This is called a township. This is again divided up into sections of one square mile each or 640 acres, and this again into quarter sections of 160 acres each. In some cases these are still further subdivided.
The regulation and disposition of the public lands has been one of the chief duties imposed upon Congress.
The chief methods by which the public lands have been disposed of are as follows:
1. #Educational Grants.#—Congress from the very first provided liberally for the establishment of common schools through grants of public lands for this purpose. As each township is surveyed one quarter section of 640 acres is set apart for common schools. This has continued from the beginning down to the present time. In addition, large grants have been made specially for the endowment of universities. Within later years land has been given to every State to found State military and agricultural colleges. Up to the year 1888, there had thus been granted for educational purposes 77,448,192 acres.
2. #Land Bounties for Military and Naval Service.#—There have been granted by different acts bounties of public land, in the nature of pensions, to the soldiers and sailors of the United States Army, on their honorable discharge, for their service to the Government. The amount of land thus granted (1880) has been 61,028,430 acres.
3. #To the States for Internal Improvement.#—There was granted to the States during the years from 1828 to 1846, for the improvement of rivers, building of canals, wagon roads, railroads, etc., 162,230,099 acres.
4. #Sale of Public Land.#—Under this head there are two classes of public land—first, that which may be bought for the minimum rate of $1.25; and, secondly, the alternate sections along the railroads (the other alternate sections being granted to the railroads), the minimum price of which is $2.50. There have been sold in all 192,584,116 acres, realizing $233,000,000.
5. #Under the Pre-emption Acts.#—These acts, passed at various times, provide that where a man, a citizen of the United States, settles upon and cultivates for a certain length of time, a tract of land not greater than 160 acres, the United States will give him such tract.
6. #Under the Homestead Acts.#—The homestead laws have created a better and more certain manner for settlers to acquire land than under the pre-emption acts. By these acts it is provided that any citizen who will select either 160 acres of the $1.25 land, or 80 of the $2.50 land, can then get a permit from the land office, settle on his land, and acquire a title to it.
7. #Under the Timber Culture Act.#—This act gives to any one the right to 160 acres of the $1.25 land if he will plant 10 acres in timber, or 80 acres of the $2.50 land if he will plant 5 acres in timber.
8. #Certain Lands to States.#—Quite a large quantity of the public land has been given to the States on account of its quality, as swamp or overflowed land, and for various reasons, to the extent of 158,417,514 acres.
9. #Grants to Pacific and other Railroad Companies.#—The nature of these grants have already been spoken of in another chapter. From 1850 to 1872 a total of 150,504,994 acres was given for railroad construction.