Preemption (land)

Preemption was a term used in the nineteenth century to refer to a settler's right to purchase

squatter's rights and mining claims.^[1]

Preemption was politically controversial, primarily among land speculators and their allies in government. In the early history of the United States, and even to some degree during the colonial era, settlers were moving into the "virgin wilderness" and building homes and farms without regard to land title. The improvements increased the value of all the nearby property.[2] Eventually the political opposition by the speculators crumbled and the Preemption Act of 1841 was passed.

The Preemption Act of 1841 was abused by speculators who now operated as money lending businesses,

timber land that would then be harvested by the mill owners.^[4] Another avenue of fraud was the Desert Land Act, which did not include the residence requirement, although the preempting claimant still needed to improve the land, primarily by providing a water source. In California, tens of thousands of acres of land were claimed via false preemptors – "dummy entrymen" – on behalf of several large land speculating companies.^[5]

The Preemption Act of 1841 was pivotal, but was neither the beginning nor the end of the issue of preemption.

Homestead Act, the aforementioned Desert Land Act, and other similar land acts addressed the issue of preemption.^[7]

References

^ Ritchie 1858, pp. 162–163.
^ Johnson 1951, pp. 162–163.
^ Gates 1969, p. 321.
^ Gates 1969, p. 326.
^ Gates 1978, pp. 12–13.
^ Gates 1969, p. 312-314.
^ Treat 1910, pp. v–vi.

Attributions

Ritchie, James S. (1858). Wisconsin and Its Resources; With Lake Superior, Its Commerce and Navigation. Chicago: W. B. Keen. pp. 162–168. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
Johnson, S. Lyle (1951). "Fight for the Pre-Emption Law of 1841" (PDF). Arkansas Academy of Science Journal. 4: 165–172. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
Gates, Paul W. (1969). "Frontier Land Business In Wisconsin". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 53 (Summer). Retrieved January 27, 2013.
OCLC 5154193
.

Treat, Payson Jackson (1910). The National Land System, 1785-1820. New York: E. B. Treat & Company. Retrieved February 21, 2013.

References

Further reading