New states proposed by Thomas Jefferson in the Northwest territory

The implementation of the rectangular survey system further influenced the delineation of other types of boundaries as a comparison of the county boundaries in Georgia and Michigan will underscore (Fig. 117.5). While straight lines are largely 

When the Ordinance of 1785 was passed the overwhelming majority of Americans were farmers. As a result, a central purpose of the Ordinance was to transfer land in the public domain to private ownership with the assumption it would be put into agricultural production. The typical size of surveyed land units sold from the public domain changed through time starting with sales limited to a full section of 640 acres (259 ha) prior to 1800, with as little as a quarter-quarter section or 40 acres (16.2 ha) in 1832 (Johnson, 1957 338-339). In spite of these changes the 160 acre (64.7 ha) quarter section became a tradition, haloed by the Homestead Act of 1862 (Johnson, 1957 339). The Homestead Act allowed citizens to acquire a 160 

---

Fig. 117.4 New states proposed by Thomas Jefferson in the Northwest territory...

---