Land Bounties

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LAND BOUNTIES

LAND BOUNTIES. Lacking well-filled treasuries but possessing abundant supplies of land, the American colonies and, after the Revolution, the states and the national government, granted land bounties instead of cash subsidies to reward military service in past wars. This was to encourage enlistment in pending wars and to aid various special groups. During the Revolution and the War of 1812, Congress promised land bounties as inducements to enlist and as rewards for service. Many land grants were sold to speculators who used them to accumulate great tracts of property.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Oberly, James W. Sixty Million Acres: American Veterans and the Public Lands before the Civil War. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1990.

Paul W.Gates/a. r.

See alsoBounties, Military ; Land Grants: Land Grants for Railways .