Question

Beginning in the Articles of Confederation period to the beginning of the Civil War, land was removed from the public domain and transferred to private interests. Discuss land policy in this period (before the Homestead Act). What were the philosophical differences in land disposal between a Jeffersonian perspective and a Hamiltonian perspective? How did these perspectives change in relation to one another as the years passed? How was land policy affected by regional rivalries? How did policymakers address the political relationship between citizens of the established states and settlers in the new territories?

Answer 1

The first documents that governed the USA were the Articles of Confederation. They established the USA as a sovereign state. These documents did not grant the Congress with power to finance itself. This left Congress without any power to impose taxes. By 1850, the public domain land that was held by the US federal amounted to 1.2 billion acres.

the government decided to sell the land at the maximum value and kept the wealth for utilizing it for the economy. The government had to engage in the sale of the land so as to raise revenue as it could not earn through direct taxation. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was passed for conducting the sale of the land. The Federals saw public lands as the revenue sources which gave a chance of expansion to the government.

The philosophical differences between Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian were that Jefferson wanted the farmers who were self-sufficient and will build the foundation of the USA. Hamilton, on the other hand, wanted to sell the land to the rich, industrial and commercial enterprises. He thought that this will back the government and favored auctions of public land in large unrestricted quantities to allow for maximum revenue. Thus, his strategy was to sell the public land in wholesale and merchants that will bind them to the service of the nation.

The newly formed territories had settlers posing as a threat to the government policy for land. They did contribute to the farmland but also encroached on the territories owned by the USA. They land became unavailable for natives who followed the guidelines. Thus, the government allowed the squatters in 1841 to buy land upto 160 acres at the minimum rate of $1.25/acre. In 1862, the Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln that granted land rights to the settlers.The relationship between the citizens and the settlers were handled by the government through the adoption of the Indian reservation system which kept the natives away from the lands of the settlers.

Explanation:

The first documents that governed the USA were the Articles of Confederation. They established the USA as a sovereign state. These documents did not grant the Congress with power to finance itself. This left Congress without any power to impose taxes. The revolutionary war was bought to close by the Treaty of Paris 1783. Because of this, the USA became the owner of the lands known as the Northwest Territories. It also included the south Canadian lands. The land nearly doubled with The Louisiana Purchase of 1804 and the land with the public domain also tripled. Thus, till 1850, the public domain land that was held by the US federal amounted to 1.2 billion acres.

Before the Civil War, the government decided to sell the land at the maximum value and kept the wealth for utilizing it for the economy. The government had to engage in the sale of the land so as to raise revenue as it could not earn through direct taxation. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was passed for conducting the sale of the land. The Federals saw public lands as the revenue sources which gave a chance of expansion to the government. Land sale at higher prices and in large amount was viewed by Alexander Hamilton as a way to increase the public treasury. Land sale and settlement took place after the survey of the land was conducted. The land prices were high and the minimum acreage was also set at a large value. The transfers were thought to be held in the systematic manner but it was disrupted by the settlers who started occupying the lands. Thus, land policy from the beginning of the Articles period to the commencement of the Civil war period, the government was transferring land from the public domain to the private owners so as to fund itself.  

However, in 1788, the Land Ordinance of 1785 became inoperable when the Constitution was ratified. This time also, Hamilton wanted to sell the land to those

capitalists and companies which can pay the high prices and he was not opposed by anyone. Thus, the Land Law of 1796 led to a compromise between the two views. The land was sold in unrestricted quantities at $2/acre. Under the Land Law of 1800, the sale was reduced to half and land sale offices were established. This led to the sale of around 72000 acres of land and the land sale increased significantly. The Land Law of 1804 provided further stimulus by providing credit facilities and the tracts of land for sale were reduced. The land sale of public domain reduced in 1812 but due to high agricultural prices after that year, there was an unprecedented rise in the land sale. However, the American economy collapsed in 1819 and the government withdrew the credit facilities. It picked up again in 1835 and the sale continued after that till the Homestead Act.

The philosophical differences between Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian were that Jefferson wanted the farmers who were self-sufficient and will build the foundation of the USA. Assumptions were made by him that these farmers will produce for themselves and also sell the surplus. He also assumed that since these farmers were the landowners, they would be willing to take part in the public affairs and the farmers living in the rural areas would allow them to participate and give their input for the public issues and will not be influenced by the charms of the cities with commercial and financial preoccupations. Therefore, he wanted to sell the land from public domain to small farmers such that they will become self-sufficient. His strategy was to sell land in retail at low rates.

Hamilton, on the other hand, wanted to sell the land to the rich, industrial and commercial enterprises. He thought that this will back the government and favored auctions of public land in large unrestricted quantities to allow for maximum revenue. Thus, his strategy was to sell the public land in wholesale and merchants that will bind them to the service of the nation. His view was taken into account while forming the land law in 1796. His plan needed the farmers to purchase their lands from those who had the money. However, his strategy was not accepted by the farmers and this brought the land law of 1800. Thus, the differences were present in the way they both wanted to sell the public land in the USA.

As the time passed, Jefferson's views were accepted because there was a need to build and sustain a self-sufficient farmer for economic and agricultural rewards. The main reason for this was the rise in the prices of agricultural produce after the war in 1812. This boom led to a very high sale of land in the USA during late 1815. However, Hamilton was far sighted and he wanted America to become an economic and military power superseding Great Britain. Since he was closer to the American president, his policies were closely listened to. His policies of tariffs and the money stabilization, which led to good ratings for the USA.

The newly formed territories had settlers posing as a threat to the government policy for land. They did contribute to the farmland but also encroached on the territories owned by the USA. They land became unavailable for natives who followed the guidelines. Thus, the government allowed the squatters in 1841 to buy land upto 160 acres at the minimum rate of $1.25/acre. In 1862, the Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln that granted land rights to the settlers who had lived on the land for more than five years to get the rights for the land of 160 acres from the public domain. The relationship between the citizens and the settlers were handled by the government through the adoption of the Indian reservation system which kept the natives away from the lands of the settlers. The land conflicts between them were resolved by the Office of Indian Affairs set up in 1824. The natives were made to leave their lands for the settlers through The Indian Removal Act 1830. The conflict on the reservation system was solved when the Dawes Act was passed in 1888. This abolished the system and the lands were redistributed. During the 1930s, the US Indian Reorganization Act was passed which led to a New Deal for the Natives, and stopped the allotment of land as per the Dawes Act. This led to the resurrection of the reservation system which is still effective.