The Land Act of 1804 was U.S. legislation that refined provisions for the purchase of U.S. public land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi river. At the time, the region was divided into the Indiana Territory and the

State of Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The goal of the change was to make migration to the western United States more attractive. Titled ''An Act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory, and for other purposes'', the act was passed by Congress on March 26, 1804.

Background

The Land Act of 1804 superseded the Harrison Land Act of 1800, introduced by William Henry Harrison, then the congressional delegate representing the Northwest Territory. The goal of the legislation was to attract more immigrants to the western United States by allowing smaller tracts of land to be sold, rather than large tracts that individuals could not afford. The Harrison Land Act reduced the minimum amount of land that could be purchased from to and introduced a credit feature by which one-fourth of the purchase price was required at the time of purchase and the balance was payable in annual installments over four years. The minimum price of $2.00 an acre was unchanged from the

Land Act of 1796 Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

, in which the price was doubled from that set by the

Land Ordinance of 1785 The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

.A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
"Chapter 35: Act of March 26, 1804". ''Statutes at Large'', Volume II. 8th Congress, 1st session. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1845, pg. 277-283. From Library of Congress, (accessed February 8, 2009) Land Act of 1804
/ref> Once the United States Congress enacted the Land Act of 1804 it directly dealt with land in states like Ohio and Indiana. The Act allowed Ohioans to purchase land via credit. https://www.in.gov/history/2896.htm However, "The credit provision worked badly in terms of government revenue and was eventually repealed in 1820." https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/8th-congress/c8.pdf The Land Act of 1804 was passed at the first session of the eighth congress in Washington, D.C. towards the end of the session in 1804.

Notes

Legal history of Ohio United States federal public land legislation Indiana Territory 1804 in American law 1804 in the United States 1804 in Ohio Settlement schemes in the United States {{US-hist-stub

Background

See also

Notes