Viewing Legislation Category (20) found:Jonathan Hughes: "The Great Land Ordinances." (1987)."The Great Land Ordinances" is the name the late Jonathan Hughes gave to the ordinances of 1784, 1785, and 1787, which were passed by Congress under the Article of Confederation. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was, according to Hughes, "largely an update of the legislation of 1784, and it embrace... Douglass C. North & Andrew R. Rutten: "The Northwest Ordinance in Historical Perspective." (1987).The Northwest Ordinance, passed by the Continental Congress on July 13, 1787, was, in the words of Professors Douglass North and Andrew Rutten, "a landmark in American economic history." Besides its famous guarantees of such rights as freedom of religion and prohibitions against slavery, taking of... Harold M. Hyman: "American Singularity: The 1787 Northwest Ordinance and the 1862 Homestead and Morrill Acts" (1985).How unique or exceptional is America? To Dr. Harold M. Hyman, America is "singular" because at different times in its history, it adopted policies that increased individuals' "access to recognized avenues of mobility, opportunity and success." These policies were expressed in particular laws that... Morrill Act (1862) and the Second Morrill Act (1890).The Morrill Act of 1862 established colleges in each state (except those in rebellion) that would educate people in agriculture, mechanical arts, and other trades. It gave each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representative. The land was to be sold and the proceeds invested in... The Organic Act (1849)The Organic Act, effective May 3, 1849, established the government of Minnesota Territory. It was incorporated in Article II, ยง1, of the 1857 Constitution. ... The Enabling Act (February 26, 1857).The Enabling Act, effective February 26, 1857, authorized the "inhabitants" of Minnesota Territory to hold a constitutional convention, draft a constitution, and form a government preparatory for admission to the union as a state.
Act of Admission (May 11, 1858).The Act of Admission, effective May 11, 1858, admitted the State of Minnesota into the union.
The Northwest Ordinance (1787)The Northwest Ordinance, effective July 13, 1787, organized the Northwest Territory, and established conditions for admitting new states to the union. It set forth six articles that constituted a "compact" between the original states and the people and future states in the new territory. That "comp... The Articles of Association (1774).In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln declared, "The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774."
Declaration of Independence (1776).The Declaration of Independence, dated July 4, 1776, was signed by fifty-six delegates, representing the thirteen colonies, to the Continental Congress, which met in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ... The Resolutions on Public Land (1780)In 1780, meeting before the Articles of Confederation were adopted, the Continental Congress adopted a Resolution calling upon the existing states--Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia were targeted--to cede their claims to lands in the Western Territory to the United States. A Recommendation to th... Articles of Confederation (1781).The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777; they were in force from March 1, 1781, when Maryland ratified them, to March 4, 1789, the last day of the Confederation and the first day of the government under the new Constitution.
The Ordinance of 1784.On April 23, 1784, Congress, operating under the Articles of Confederation, adopted a resolution known as The Ordinance of 1784, which applied to land west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River -- land encompassed by the current states of Ohio, India... The Ordinance of 1785.Operating under the Articles of Confederation, Congress adopted The Land Ordinance of 1785 on May 20, 1785. Because Congress lacked power to tax citizens of the United States, it aimed, through the Ordinance, to raise revenue through the sale of land in the Northwest Territory. It required that th... The Southwest Ordinance (also known as the Ordinance of 1790).The Southwest Territory, which was defined as "Territory of the United States, South of the River Ohio," was created by the Southwest Ordinance enacted on May 26, 1790, out of land that was ceded to the U.S. federal government by the State of North Carolina. The Southwest Ordinance was modeled aft... Pre-emption Act of 1841The Pre-emption Act of 1841 was passed by the 27th Congress on September 4, 1841. It encouraged settlement of new states and territories by permitting settlers or squatters on government land to purchase up to 160 acres for not less than $1.25 per acre before that tract was offered for sale to... Town Site Act of 1844.The federal Town Site Act of May 23, 1844, is posted here followed by the Minnesota Town Site Act, first enacted in 1855 and amended twice, in 1857 and 1858.
Homestead Act of 1862The Homestead Act was signed by President Lincoln on May 20, 1862. By fulfilling certain statutory requirements--filing an application, "improving" the land by actually settling on and cultivating it, and filing for a deed after five years--a settler could acquire title to 160 acres of previously u... The Land Revision Act of 1891.The Land Revision Act of 1891 repealed the Timber Culture Act (1873-1878) and the Preemption Act (1841), and revised other land laws. The last section of the statute authorizing the president to create forest reserves out of public lands has become so important that it is sometimes referred to as T... The Timber Culture Acts (1873-1891).Congress passed the Timber Culture Act in 1873 to encourage settlers to plant and grow trees on "western prairies." The following year, strict eligibility requirements and planting timetables were added. Amendments in 1878 loosened the schedules for "breaking" the prairie, "cultivating" the plowed... |