Land Ownership in the Broad Sweep of U.S. History

Acquiring jurisdiction from foreign governments

Acquiring title from American Indians

Creating landowners

• creating parcels of land that could be owned

• conveying title to those parcels

Creating governments that could guarantee the rights of landowners - ceding some jurisdiction

Defining and regulating the rights of landowners particularly how the rights could be exercised

Withholding land from sale and reserving some land for particular purposes

Acquiring land from private landowners to complement and supplement existing public lands