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From the Homestead Act to Heartland Visas – Rural population policies in the United States over time and across scale. Peter B. Nelson Middlebury College Middlebury, Vermont, USA
From the Homestead Act to Heartland Visas –Rural population policies in the United States over time and across scale.
Peter B. NelsonMiddlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont, USA
I. Era 1 – Populating a Young Nation (1790s –1860s.
II. Era 2 – Continued Rural Settlement and Advancing Rural Livelihoods (1860s –1930s).
III. Era 3 – Reducing Rural Disadvantage (1930s – Present).
IV. Era 4 – The Neoliberal Turn (1970s –present)
V. Local level and private initiatives (present)
Overview
0
2.000.000
4.000.000
6.000.000
8.000.000
10.000.000
12.000.000
14.000.000
16.000.000
Popu
latio
n Ch
ange
Population Change per Decade
Urban Rural
1790 – Naturalization Act – any white male of ‘good moral character’1796 – Federal Lands Act – ‘orderly survey and sale of lands…’
i. Era 1 - Populating a Young Nation (1790s-1860s)
0
1.000.000
2.000.000
3.000.000
4.000.000
5.000.000
6.000.000
1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s
Popu
latio
n Ch
ange
Population Change per Decade
Urban Rural
1860s
ii. Era 2 – Continued Settlement and Advancing Rural Livelihoods (1860s – 1930s)
Homestead Act of 1862 – over 4 million claims filed, granted 1.6 million deedsMorrill Act of 1862 – Established US Land Grant University System
02.000.0004.000.0006.000.0008.000.000
10.000.00012.000.00014.000.00016.000.000
1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
Popu
latio
n Ch
ange
Population Change per Decade
Urban Rural
iii. Era 3 – Reducing Rural Disadvantage (1930s – present)
1936 – Rural Electrification Act
-10.000.000
0
10.000.000
20.000.000
30.000.000
40.000.000
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Population Change per Decade
Urban Rural
050.000.000
100.000.000150.000.000200.000.000250.000.000300.000.000
1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Urban and Rural Population since 1930
Urban Rural
iii. Era 3 – Reducing Rural Disadvantage - continued
Federal Highway Act – 1956Several rural broadband initiatives
iv. Era 4 – Rural Policy in the Neoliberal Era: “If you build it, they will come.” (1970s – present)
Community Development Block Grants
Federal Government
States
Local Community
“strengthen communities, improve quality of life, and spur opportunity through job growth” 1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
2050
2100
2150
2200
2250
2011 2015 2018
Popu
latio
n
Abbotsford, WI
Community Development Block Grants
Federal Government
States
Local Community
iv. Era 4 – Rural Policy in the Neoliberal Era: “If you build it, they will come.” (1970s – present)
050
100150200250300350400
2011 2015 2018
Popu
latio
n
Lebanon, KS
iv. Era 4 – Rural Policy in the Neoliberal Era: “If you build it, they will come.” (1970s – present)
v. Local Level and Private Initiatives
Free land give-away (Kansas)
(Lu and Paull 2007)
v. Local Level and Private Initiatives
New YorkLoan forgiveness for rural Doctors
and Nurses
KansasUp to $15,000 in
student loan forgiveness
VermontUp to $10,000 over two years for teleworkers moving to the
state
MT and IDLoan forgiveness for Doctors and
Nurses
v. Local Level and Private Initiatives
Source: EIG Group
Conclusions1. US has a long history of policies
aimed at attracting residents to rural areas.
2. Early policies focused on providing land and making life in rural areas more livable.
3. Policies can have unintended (opposite) effects.
4. Last 40 years has brought more neoliberal approaches and a devolution from federal to more local level.
5. Ironically, most recently we see programs once again giving land away to would-be settlers and turning to immigrants as a source of potential rural residents.
-5.000.000
0
5.000.000
10.000.000
15.000.000
20.000.000
25.000.000
30.000.000
35.000.000
40.000.000
1790
s18
00s
1810
s18
20s
1830
s18
40s
1850
s18
60s
1870
s18
80s
1890
s19
00s
1910
s19
20s
1930
s19
40s
1950
s19
60s
1970
s19
80s
1990
s20
00s
Popu
latio
n Ch
ange
Population Change by Decade
Urban Rural
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