How the West Became Federalized
For the first part of America’s expansion across the continent, the land was privatized by settlers as they staked their 120-640 acre homesteads. This was consistent with our founding principles that the people, not government, should own the land and natural wealth of the nation. But for the thirteen most westward states, this policy changed after most of the area had been claimed by private individuals.
The federal government failed to honor the laws that encouraged this settlement, and instead withdrew massive swaths of land from the public domain. As a result, the western states would never enter the union on equal footing, and the federal government would be the largest owner of America’s land and natural wealth.
It was the work of the Robber Barons in the late 1800’s that federalized the west. They funded the emerging preservation movement and used this cause to create the political climate that led to fifty percent of the western lands retained in federal control. The federal government would be our largest landowner as a result.
History is repeating itself today, but this time, it is on a global scale.
Men like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, along with today’s environmental organizations are once again using the preservationist’s siren call to create an elite class of modern-day Robber Barons, controlling all wealth, power, and resources.
You can read the full story here.
