THE INFLUENCE OF LAND POLICIES 113 



The Public Domain and Land Settlement Policies 



By the Treaty of Paris (1783), by which England 

 acknowledged the independence of the American 

 Colonies, the United States acquired sovereignty 

 over an immense domain of 827,844 square miles. A 

 part of this area comprised the land between the 

 Alleghenies and the Mississippi River. This terri- 

 tory was first claimed by seven of the original states. 

 Their claims were based upon colonial grants, but the 

 boundaries were not well defined and dissensions 

 arose over conflicting claims. For a time it seemed 

 that this conflict of interests on the part of the 

 states might prevent the establishment of a national 

 government. 1 But the states finally agreed to sur- 

 render their claims to the disputed territory. This 

 ended the controversy. 



By 1802 the United States had come into posses- 

 sion of a vast public domain comprising 333,108 

 square miles. Since that tune the area of the coun- 

 try has been greatly increased by annexation or 

 purchase. The total landed possessions of the United 

 States today consist of 3,726,500 square miles, which 

 is about one fourth of the land surface of the earth. 



During the period that the United States was 

 acquiring this vast public domain, the government 

 was reducing it by sale and gift. The public land 

 policies have had important consequences on the 



*See Albert Bushnell Hart's Formation of the Union (1750- 

 1829), Chap. IV, p. 94. 



