An Act for Granting Lands [to] Settlers at Vincennes and the Illinois Country

Title:

An Act for Granting Lands [to] Settlers at Vincennes and the Illinois Country

Subject:

1800-1832

Description:

#2 In 1816, when Lincoln was seven, his father moved the family to Indiana, further into what had been tribal lands. There he could buy land cheaply from the U.S. government. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson oversaw the creation of an efficient brokerage of western lands. The new settlements organized in neat grids served as buffers against European outposts and raised revenue to alleviate war debts. The Land Grant Act shown above demonstrates the power of the federal government to shape the territories, preparing them for eventual entry into the Union. Indiana became the nineteenth state during the year the Lincolns arrived.

Creator:

U.S. Congress

Date:

1791

Citation:

Act for Granting Lands... in the Territory North-West of the Ohio. [Philadelphia (PA): Childs & Swaine, 1791].

Item Sort:

Section 1: 1809–1832

item-index:

1

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