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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
Florida
Indian Raids into US Runaway Slaves Pirates Andrew Jackson The Adams-Onís
Treaty, 1819 Relinquished claims
to East and West Florida and Oregon
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
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
Nevada
Admission in 1864 Enabling Act retained
Federal control of unappropriated land
25,000 acre grant for public buildings and a jail