THE ACQUISITION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

One of the first truly national issues for the new government, after waging war and financing it, was the disposition of new lands in the West. The Articles of Confederation held that western lands could not be unwillingly taken from the states by the central government, and seven states held claims on western lands. These claims were based on the colonies’ original grants from England and from dealings with the Native Americans. Many people argued, however, that the new western territories should belong to the national government and held or disposed in the national interest. Maryland, a state without western claims, brought the issue to a head by refusing to ratify the Articles until the land issue was resolved. In 1781, Maryland finally signed the Articles, after New York voluntarily gave its claims, based on treaties with the Iroquois, to the national government. Virginia promptly followed suit and relinquished its claims on western lands. The other five states with land claims soon followed their lead.

What land the new nation obtained from the British in 1783 is portrayed in the darkened area of Map 8.1. The United States began with a solid mass of land extending from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River and from the Great Lakes to, but not including, Florida.

Between 1802, when Georgia became the last state to relinquish its rights to western land, and 1898, when the formal annexation of Hawaii occurred, the United States very nearly assumed its present physical form as the result of eight main acquisitions (shown in Map 8.1):

1.  The Territory of Louisiana, acquired in 1803 by purchase from France.

2.  Florida, acquired in 1819 by purchase from Spain. A few years earlier, the United States had annexed the narrow strip of land that constituted western Florida.

3.  The Republic of Texas, annexed as a state in 1845. The Republic of Texas had been established in 1836 after the victory of the American settlers over the Mexicans.

4.  The Oregon Country, annexed by treaty with Great Britain in 1846. Spain and Russia, the original claimants to this area, had long since dropped out. By the Treaty of 1818, the United States and Great Britain agreed to a joint occupation of the Oregon Country and British Columbia; the Treaty of 1846 established the dividing line at the forty-ninth parallel.

5.  The Mexican Cession, acquired by conquest from Mexico in 1848.

6.  The Gadsden Purchase, acquired from Mexico in 1853.

7.  The Alaskan Purchase, acquired from Russia in 1867.

8.  The Hawaiian Annexation, formally ratified in 1898.

National acquisition of new land came either by a process of conquest and treaty or by purchase. The right of conquest was part of America’s European heritage, rights claimed by the sovereigns of Europe and unquestioned by Christian societies when levied against non-Christian societies. This is seen clearly in early times in Europe, repeatedly against the Muslims, through the Crusades, and in Spain in 1492 against the Moors. The

MAP 8.1

U. S. Land Expansion

The purchase of Louisiana marked the beginning of the westward expansion of the United States, which culminated in the purchase of Alaska in 1867 and the annexation of Hawaii in 1898.

European belief in the right to conquer and rule non-Christian native societies in North America passed into American hands with independence. This legacy was ultimately extended in the nineteenth century, when the remaining Native Americans were forced onto reservations. These acts and their accompanying treaties are targets of continuous challenge in the courts by Native Americans today.

In half a century (1803-1853), the United States obtained a continental area of 3 million square miles, of which 1.4 billion acres, or 75 percent, constituted the public domain.36 In 1862, two-thirds of this vast area was still in the possession of the government, but the process of disposal had been agreed on long before.