Public domain is a term used to describe lands that were not under private or state ownership during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, as the country was expanding. These lands were obtained from the 13 original colonies, from Native American tribes, or from purchase from other countries. The domain was controlled by the federal government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

 and sold to state and private interests through the auspices of the General Land Office

General Land Office

The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...

. For most of the nation's early history, the government sought to promote settlement of the expanding frontier by selling off the public domain after it had been acquired. The authority for this came under laws such as the Homestead Act

Homestead Act

A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....

, the Timber and Stone Act

Timber and Stone Act

The Timber and Stone Act of 1878 in the United States sold Western timberland for $2.50 per acre in 160 acre blocks....

, and the Morrill Act.

The creation of the first public domain of the United States, the Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory

The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...

, began an epoch

Epoch (reference date)

In the fields of chronology and periodization, an epoch is an instance in time chosen as the origin of a particular era. The "epoch" then serves as a reference point from which time is measured...

 in American political history. It was decided early that new states would be created from it, to be added to the union in full equality to the original 13 states. Its subsequent expansion, the mode of its administration, legislation for its government, its relation to constitutional questions, the diplomacy and politics involved in its acquisition, its international boundary questions, the enactment of settlement laws, the attraction of immigrants and growth of population, internal improvements

Internal improvements

Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements...

 and increased facilities of transportation, the discovery of precious metals, and other similar topics of interest might be cited here in connection with the public domain.

See also

• Public land
  Public land
  In all modern states, some land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries...
  
  
• Eminent domain
  Eminent domain
  Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
  
  
• General Mining Act of 1872
  General Mining Act of 1872
  The General Mining Act of 1872 is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs prospecting and mining for economic minerals, such as gold, platinum, and silver, on federal public lands...
  
  
• Acquired lands
  Acquired lands
  In the United States, acquired lands refer to a category of public lands in federal ownership that were obtained by the federal government through purchase, condemnation, gift, or exchange....