A look at an early source of revenue collection nationally (this also applies to Texas)
- Click here for the article.
During the 19th century, about 871.2 million acres of lands held
in common by the federal government were transferred to private
individuals, businesses, and state governments. The privatization of
public lands began in 1796, when the public domain amounted to
approximately 233 million acres. Between 1796 and 1923, private
parties purchased nearly 279.3 million acres of public land. Even
though the total amount of federal land holdings grew enormously,
the government sold off more acreage than had been included in its
original holdings. Most of these sales occurred before 1862; from
1800 until the beginning of the Civil War, proceeds from the sale of
public lands constituted a major source of revenue for the federal
government, accounting for 48 percent of net receipts in 1836.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
From the Cato Institute: THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND NINETEENTH CENTURY TRANSFER POLICY
