Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in History
The Swamp Land Act In Oregon, 1870-1895, Richard Mark Pintarich
The Swamp Land Act In Oregon, 1870-1895, Richard Mark Pintarich
Dissertations and Theses
The Swamp Land Act of 1849, originally intended to give the state of Louisiana the unproductive swamplands within its borders and use the proceeds to construct the drains and levees necessary to reclaim these lands, was extended to Oregon in 1860. Oregon did not act on the matter until 1870, but once begun, it became a prolific source of political corruption, fiscal irresponsibility, fraud, and land speculation and monopolization. Even though the physiography of Oregon was much different than the states in the Mississippi Valley, millions of acres of "swampland" were filed upon and the state sold hundreds of thousands …