The Land Act of 1820 (ch. 51, 3 Stat. 566), enacted April 24, 1820, is the United States federal law that ended the ability to purchase the United States' public domain lands on a credit or installment system over four years, as previously established. The new law became effective July 1, 1820 and required full payment at the time of purchase and registration. But to encourage more sales and make them more affordable, Congress also reduced both the minimum price (from $2.00 to $1.25 (equivalent to $27 in 2023[1]) per acre ($495 to $309/km2)) and the minimum size of a standard tract (from 160 to 80 acres (647,000 to 324,000 m2)). The minimum full payment now amounted to $100, rather than $320.[2] At the time, these lands were located on the frontier within the Congress Lands of Ohio and elsewhere in the Northwest Territory and Missouri Territory, in what was then "The West".
With the high cost of transporting their produce and lack of internal improvements, the law was considered necessary because many farmers were having trouble paying off loans due to the additional economic hardships brought by the Panic of 1819. The previous Land Act of 1804 still included a minimum purchase (160 acres) too large for many individuals, and the price that was established by the Land Act of 1785. This was too expensive for the average family moving west. Squatters too were breaking the laws by trying to get land more cheaply; this was accomplished by moving onto the land before it was acquired by the government and put up for auction. Congress did not like these encroachments on Indian Treaties and had to do something about it. The act was instrumental in ushering in a new age of Western influence. The low price made it possible for settlers to move to the West, thus increasing the population in the west, and with it, Congressional states.
Although the Land Act of 1820 was good for the average American it was also good for the wealthy investors, who had sufficient money to buy the lower cost land. Although the Land Act helped create a new age of Western growth and influence, it also increased the confiscation of land from Native Americans. For earlier buyers of public lands however, and although helped by the eight-year credit extension, more than time was required to alleviate their situation. On February 16, 1821, the Relief Act of 1821 was passed to adjust debt repayment schedules for people who had bought public land prior to the Land Act of 1820, when the federal government changed its method of selling public lands.[3]
^1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^Land Act of 1820 Ohio History Central,
^Cynthia Clark Northrup, Ed. Relief Act of 1821, The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia, Vol. 1. p. 376-377
The LandActof1820 (ch. 51, 3 Stat. 566), enacted April 24, 1820, is the United States federal law that ended the ability to purchase the United States'...
The LandActof 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...
admitted as the 23rd U.S. state (see History of Maine). April 24 – The LandActof1820 reduces the price ofland in the Northwest Territory and Missouri Territory...
250 acres (1.0 km2) of public land (according to the provisions of the LandActof1820) in Logan County, Ohio, utilizing the land office at Piqua. Later...
1820: James Monroe was re-elected, virtually unopposed. March 6, 1820: Missouri Compromise, Sess. 1, ch. 22, 3 Stat. 545 April 24, 1820: LandActof 1820...
The Barbuda Land Acts establishes that the citizens of Barbuda communally own the land. The act specifies that residents must provide consent for major...
the Compromise of1820) was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the...
policy until passage of the Homestead Actof 1862. The Land Ordinance established the basis for the Public Land Survey System. The initial surveying was...
The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom...
such as land, research, and human labor.[citation needed] Developmental policy included such legislation as the LandActof1820, the Homestead Act, which...
appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land could...
between 1820 and 1830."". Rugbyfootballhistory.com. Retrieved 15 August 2011. "Rugby League World Cup 2013 will provide the sport with a true test of its...
of legislation make their way through the Scottish parliament; the Land Reform (Scotland) Act and the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act. The Land Reform...
performance of the nineteenth century, that of William Charles Macready. Macready played the role over a 30-year period, firstly at Covent Garden in 1820 and...
The Trusts ofLand and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (c 47), usually called "TLATA" or "TOLATA", is an Actof Parliament of the United Kingdom, which...
Treaty of1820 was initially signed between the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Great Britain in January 1820, with...
purchase Leque Island for the purpose of farming. Eide claimed the north end of the island through the LandActof1820. The men and their families drained...
George, Dennis, Reason, and Ruel. Cornelius homesteaded land in Ohio under the LandActof1820, beginning with 160 acres on September 12, 1821. In 1850...
Panic of 1819, the first financial crisis faced by the United States. In response, the government reformed how it sold lands with the LandActof1820 and...