114 THE GREEN RISING 



economic, political, and social life of the people. 

 The farm population, by virtue of its dependence 

 upon the soil, has been most vitally affected by these 

 policies. The United States government has pur- 

 sued two courses in the disposal of public lands. 

 Previous to 1820 the land was sold to provide rev- 

 enue to maintain the government and to pay off 

 the public debt. Since 1820 the western lands have 

 been disposed of to settlers and others for the pur- 

 pose of developing the country. While the latter 

 policy has at times yielded an important source of 

 revenue, this aspect has been incidental. The fun- 

 damental consideration has been to develop a rural 

 population composed of thrifty, enterprising farmers 

 who would contribute to the national wealth and 

 welfare of the entire country. 



The early policy of rapid disposal of public lands 

 for the purpose of providing revenue caused the 

 government to offer land for sale in large quanti- 

 ties, six hundred acres being the minimum amount 

 one person could buy. The effect of this plan was 

 to dispose of large areas and to concentrate land 

 possession in the hands of a few speculators or pro- 

 prietors. The Act of 1800 permitted the sale of land 

 in minimum tracts of a hundred and sixty acres. 

 This law also liberalized the terms of sale. The early 

 land policies resulted in the sale of about eighteen 

 million acres. Much of this land was sold to specu- 

 lators who assumed obligations beyond their ability 

 to pay. 



