advanced school to teach agricultural science , mechanical arts and other practical subjects needed by a nation that was rapidly industrializing .
Bills to establish a network of such colleges , like many other measures calling for increased federal involvement in the nation ’ s activities , ran into strong opposition from southern legislators and / or President James Buchanan . In July 1862 , President Lincoln signed legislation that had long been sponsored by Senator Justin Morrill of Vermont . The act bearing his name called for the donation of large tracts of land to any state agreeing to establish a college to teach agricultural and mechanical arts . Congress allocated more than 17 million acres of free land for that purpose , including almost 11 million that legislature appropriated from more than 240 Native American tribes .
Satisfactory Outcomes
Granting free land to many types of recipients accomplished an important government priority — the relatively rapid settlement and development of the country . Census records show that the United States gained 7.5 million people over the 30-year period from 1800 to 1830 ; in the next two 30-year periods , the increases were 18.6 million and 31.5 million , respectively . In 1900 , the columnist and editor who in 1845 first used the term “ Manifest Destiny ” would likely have been surprised at how quickly that cultural meme had come true .
Many individuals who received land grants did indeed build homes and small businesses , and helped establish islands of civilization throughout the wilderness . Others formed enterprises that harvested a variety of natural resources , thereby creating not only sources of great personal wealth , but also larger businesses that brought important commercial benefits to individual towns and regions . Turnpike and canal companies used their land grants to build hard-packed roads and canals that provided vital avenues of transportation between such settlements . The railroads established pathways of movement to enable the transportation of people and goods over moderate distances in the Midwest and the South and longer distances in the West .
Civic leaders and administrators who used land grants to establish many types of schools , as well as hospitals , penitentiaries and other public institutions , also contributed to the development of the national economy . Bringing such elements of an advanced society to the continually settling lands west of the Appalachian Mountains was an important feature that helped differentiate the United States from other developing wilderness territories in the world .
Unintended Consequences
The federal land policy that saw Congress give away 40 % of the country ’ s public domain lands during the 19th century also had some unintended consequences .
• In mandating specific uses for portions of the proceeds from public land sales , the Enabling Act imposed more restrictions on the sovereignty of states admitted after 1802 than any law had imposed on the original 13 colonies .
• The Homestead Act and related laws were clumsily written . They did not consider the differences among fertile land , poor grazing land , barren mountaintops or desert land . They did not include flexibly sized grants that would be appropriate in different regions . And they did not prevent land speculators from acquiring large tracts of land and using aggressive tactics to take undue advantage of the claiming process .
• The Morrill Act that granted land for the establishment of colleges for agricultural sciences and mechanical arts did not include sufficient funding to support the research into agricultural innovation its authors envisioned . Moreover , many innovations these universities did develop occurred as what one critic has called “ disembodied knowledge flows ” that did not necessarily have the intended benefits on the schools ’ local agricultural economies .
• Railroads built in the West enabled the establishment of settlements where there had been none — and might have been none for many more years . In doing so , they enabled some settlers following the railroads westward to produce an oversupply of crops , cattle or minerals that could not be efficiently absorbed by the marketplace .
• The Pacific Railway Acts granted land to railroad corporations , not to the states , thus robbing those legislatures of their right to regulate and tax that acreage . Constructing the first railroad from Omaha to Sacramento led indirectly to a long period of bloodshed as thousands of Native Americans fought to retain possession of their ancestral lands . Moreover , building five separate transcontinental roads over the period 1863 – 1893 required the devastation of many natural resources .
Land Grants in Context
Granting restricted or unrestricted land grants to the states and a variety of private parties was only one tool the United States government used to distribute its public domain lands throughout the 19th century . Congress also used negotiated land sales and public auctions to generate revenue while distributing its territory . In 1872 , it began federalizing large tracts of land that included forests , mountains , thermal springs and other natural features . Each policy had its advantages and disadvantages . Only a detailed counterfactual analysis could determine whether the US economy would have evolved just as rapidly and efficiently if the government had not decided to give away millions of acres of land .
Michael A . Martorelli is a Director Emeritus at Fairmount Partners and a frequent contributor to Financial History . He earned his MA in History from American Military University .
Sources
Anderson , Gary M . and Dolores T . Martin . “ The Public Domain and Nineteenth Century Transfer Policy .” Cato Journal , Vol . 6 , No 3 . ( Winter 1987 ).
Clawson , Marion and Burnell Held . The Federal Lands : Their Use and Management . The Johns Hopkins Press , 1957 .
Donaldson , Thomas . The Public Domain : Its History , with Statistics . Public Land Commission , 1880 .
Gates , Paul W . History of Public Land Law Development . Public Land Law Review Commission , 1968 .
Lehman , Scott A . Privatizing Public Lands . Oxford University Press , 1995 .
Robbins , Roy M . Our Landed Heritage : The Public Domain 1776 – 1936 . Princeton University Press , 1942 .
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