Public domain land is land that cannot be sold because it legally belongs to the citizenry. Public domain land is managed by a public entity—such as a state, region, province or municipality—directly or by institutes or state companies. It is called dominio público (Spanish), domínio público (Portuguese), domaine public (French) or demanio pubblico (Italian).

United States

Public domain land in the United States is land that has belonged to the federal government since the 13 original colonies bought from indigenous tribes or from other countries, and have not been dedicated to a specific use. For most of the nation's early history, the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

sought to promote settlement of the expanding frontier by deeding the public domain to states and private interests through the auspices of the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

. The authority for this came under laws such as the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...

, the

Timber and Stone Act The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 in the United States sold Western timberland for $2.50 per acre ($618/km2) in 160 acre (0.6 km2) blocks. Land that was deemed "unfit for farming" was sold to those who might want to "timber and stone" ( logging an ...

, and the

Morrill Act The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally-owned land, often obtained from indigenous tribes through treaty, cession, or se ...

. Creation of the first public domain of the United States, the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

, began an

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

in American political history. The government decided early to create new states from it, to add to the union in full equality to the original 13 states. Its subsequent expansion, the mode of its administration, legislation for its government, its relation to constitutional questions, the diplomacy and politics involved in its acquisition, its international boundary questions, the enactment of settlement laws, the attraction of immigrants and growth of population,

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canal ...

and increased facilities of transportation, the discovery of precious metals, and other topics of interest might be cited here in connection with the public domain.

History

During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Congress spent vast sums and the nation was in debt. The government promised soldiers land in lieu of pay. After the Revolution, the new federal government owned all the public land except that within the 13 original colonies and a few non-original states. The land owned by the government was called The Public Domain. The

Land Act of 1785 The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

gave land warrants to the soldiers to fulfill the promise. The Act also allowed the Treasury Department to sell land in auctions to the highest bidders. A new surveying system was created. The first auction was held in D.C., but the land sold was in Ohio. Soldiers could not afford to travel to Ohio to see the land, and then back to D.C. for the auction. Soldiers sold their warrants, often too cheaply. The government sold 640 acres at a time, minimum. Small farmers could not afford the prices. Speculators bought the warrants, purchased land, and sold the land in smaller lots to small farmers, at a huge profit. Later, the government lowered the minimum acres, and sold land on credit, and offered some free land. The government made more money this way by copying the speculators' method. The government gained other land in time. States were then carved out of the public domain. The government has sold or given away over one billion acres of land. 5 million land patents were granted. The

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

grew from the older

and now controls public domain land.

Citations

{{Authority control Geography of the United States United States public land law

United States

History

See also

Citations