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Show The Public Land Setting ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DOMAIN THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS WERE TRIBAL RIGHTS SEVEN ORIGINAL STATES CEDED WESTERN CLAIMS THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE FROM FRANCE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO GADSDEN PURCHASE IN 1853 FINAL ADDITION PURCHASE FROM RUSSIA Aside from winning the War of Independence, probably the most outstanding accomplishment of the new nation under the Articles of Confederation was the establishment of the Federal public domain. Acquisition of the original public domain came with the extension of sovereignty over the nation's newly won territory. From the first days of the Republic it was obvious that the management of this extensive domain was beyond the capacity of individual states. The American colonists recognized that the Indians had just claims to the lands in their possession, and adopted a practice of dealing with them for the cession of such lands. The Federal government continued this practice. However, the property rights of the Indians were tribal rights, and the government dealt with the Indian tribes as sovereign powers - just as it dealt with other nations whose rights it acquired. Seven of the thirteen original states which claimed title to certain outlying lands on various grounds, including the provisions of their colonial charters and the rights of exploration and conquest, ceded much of their western claims to the Federal government. This was the Federal public domain as it existed until 1803. The remainder of the original public domain was acquired through purchase and treaty. The Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 added an area twice as large as the total ceded by the seven states. The next addition was the purchase from Spain in 1819 of the area now comprising the State of Florida. Most of the lands in the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, together with the northwestern corner of Montana and a portion of western Wyoming were added in 1846, when Great Britain finally conceded the United States' claim based upon exploration and occupation. By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico, concluded in 1848, an area covering roughly the states of California, Nevada, Utah, the western parts of Colorado and New Mexico, a small area in Wyoming, and most of Arizona, was added to the public domain. This was supplemented by the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845 did not in itself increase the Federal lands. However, in 1850, the United States purchased from Texas areas in the present states of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, to incorporate in the public domain. Final addition to the original public domain came in 1867, with the purchase from Russia of all her possessions on the American continent and adjacent islands, which constitute the present State of Alaska. Acquisition of the Territory of Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and other possessions has not increased the public domain, since the Federal lands within those areas have not been administered under the general body of the Federal public land laws. Following the 1867 acquisition, the public domain aggregated 1,442 million acres in the continental United States and 365 million acres in Alaska. More than 1 billion acres in the continental United States have already been disposed of, leaving slightly more than 400 million acres still in Federal ownership. Except for a small area, all of Alaska is still within the category of public lands either federally owned or now transferred to the new State of Alaska. In addition, the Federal government has, from time to time, acquired a total of approximately 45 million acres for various public purposes. |