History of public land law development

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262 HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAND LAW DEVELOPMENT entered into the making of this correlation between the early concentration of ownership and the degree of speculation in land and the later number of large farms, the high average size of farms, and the high proportion of tenant operated farms.35 War of 1812 Long before the obligations to veterans of the Revolution had been satisfied and the warrants to which they were entitled located, a new crisis arose in American relations with Great Britain. A new war emergency appeared and new armies were needed. Mc-Master has shown how reluctant people in New England were to enlist and how slow a process generally it was to fill up the regiments Congress authorized. Believing that the Revolutionary land bounty had been effective in stimulating enlistments, and not troubled by the effects of the concentration of ownership in the military tracts, Congress returned to this device but only for noncommissioned officers and soldiers. In fact, Congress did not wait for the declaration of war to draft plans for building an effective army.36 As early as December 23, 1811, and January 11, 1812, it had passed two measures for the creation of new regiments and offered a $16 cash bounty and 160 acres to every man who would enlist for 5 years, or later, for the duration of the war.37 35 Paul George Minneman, Large Land Holdings and Their Operation in Twelve Ohio Counties (Ohio State University, 1929), successfully skirted around the Ohio Military Tract and offers no information on large farms in the tract in his otherwise interesting statistical analysis of large farm holdings in excess of 500 acres. 36 John B. McMaster, History of the People of the United States, III, 54Iff. 37 2 Stat. 669, 671; House Reports, 21st Cong., 2d sess., March 1, 1831 (Serial No. 210), No. 103, passim. Perhaps it was the size of the military bounties given officers of the Revolution and the large estates they had made possible that discouraged Congress in 1811 from offering any land to officers. Whatever Instead of making the warrants subject to location anywhere on the public domain, as might have been expected because of the unfortunate experiences in the two Ohio Military Tracts, Congress authorized the creation of three new military tracts: one in Michigan Territory, but with location unspecified, one in Illinois Territory between the reason for this discrimination, the officers were not content with this neglect of their claims. Before the war was over a measure was introduced to give major generals 2,560 acres, brigadier generals 1,920 acres, colonels and lieutenant" colonels 1,280 acres, majors 960 acres, captains 640 acres, and subalterns 480 acres. The measure had strong support but did not pass. In 1817 another effort was made to reward officers but with the bounty scaled down to 1,280 to major generals and to 480 acres for subalterns. Agitation in behalf of the officers continued for many years but not until the new warrant issues of the Acts of 1847-55 were these claims to be successful and then they were limited to 160 acres. Two bounty land acts of 1814 and 1816 were much more generous than those of 1811 and 1812, though more limited in their scope. The Act of Dec. 10, 1814, offered each noncommissioned officer and soldier who enlisted thereafter and was later honorably discharged a bounty of 320 acres; the last act of March 5, 1816, provided land bounties to American citizens who at the opening of the war had migrated to Canada and then enlisted in the United States Army and were slain, died from wounds, or had been honorably discharged as follows: colonels 960 acres, majors 800 acres, captains 640 acres, subaltern officers 480 acres, and noncommissioned officers and privates 320 acres. 3 Stat. 147, 256. Number and Acreage of Military Bounties Issued to 1824 160-acre 320-acre Average Acts warrants warrants Acreage Acreage Dec. 24, 1811 Jan. 11, 1812 Feb. 6, 1812 25,476 4.076,160 Dec. 10, 1814 1.017 325,446 May 5, 1816 74,032 276 Donaldson, The Public Domain, p. 234, shows that a total 29,186 warrants for 4,853,600 acres were finally issued to veterans of the War of 1812. To this total should be added the land bounties that were later given officers of the War of 1812 or their heirs under the legislation of 1850-55.