The text discusses the history and current status of Federal Land in the United States. The narrator explains that just under one third of land in the U.S. is federal, and the distribution varies significantly across states. Some eastern states have under one percent Federal Land, while five western states control less than half of the land within their borders.
The narrator then delves into the history of how the U.S. acquired its land. The country started small, with states giving away little for the federal government to manage. However, as the country grew, it expanded through purchases, cessions, and the concept of manifest destiny. This led to the federal government disposing of as much land as possible to new states and settlers.
The narrator then explains the current status of Federal Land. Most of it falls under the control of the President, who oversees several departments that administer the land. These include the Department of Defense, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. Each department has a specific role in managing the land, from running military bases to conserving wildlife and balancing extraction with maintenance.
The narrator also discusses the unique status of Federal Land. It belongs to the U.S. and can be used for any purpose the federal government deems necessary. This has led to a stark power imbalance between the states and the federal government, with states having little control over Federal Land within their borders. The narrator concludes by highlighting the political divide between states with a lot of Federal Land and those that don't.
1. The United States of America includes states like Hawaii and Alaska.
2. The federal government of America has fought over land, determining which states would get plains, forests, mountains, or swamps.
3. Just under one third of land in the United States is federal.
4. Eastern states have under one percent Federal Land, while five western states control less than half of the land 'in their borders'.
5. America's land ownership history includes the Louisiana Purchase, Mexican cession, and manifest destiny.
6. America turned from a land hoarder to a minimalist, disposing of as much of the land to new states and new settlers as she could.
7. Sometimes, plots of land were drawn, and the first family to a plot owned that plot.
8. 10% of all the land in the US was given away for free just to get people out West.
9. Railroad companies got the land either side of any track they could build for the length of a continent.
10. If you could live on or improve the land in the 1800s, America would probably give it to you.
11. By the 1900s, most of the states were mostly in place, and the Age of Empires and Wagons Westward was over.
12. America still had a ton of land she didn't or couldn't give away.
13. This change was rather a shock to states expecting the land in their borders would be land in their borders.
14. Some states, like poor Utah and Nevada, found themselves with hardly any state in their state or Arizona.
15. Almost all of the Federal Land falls under the control of the President.
16. Most of the Federal Land falls under the control of the President, to whom a dozen secretaries report.
17. The Department of Defense runs military bases, and nuclear silos, and all the toys of war.
18. The National Park Service manages the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone, and Blue Ridge Mountains.
19. The Fish and Wildlife Service is in the business of animal conservation, keeping land for America's species under her aegis, not to be developed.
20. The Forest Service is often confused with National Parks, but they're more America's resource tiles, leased for logging.
21. The Forest Service's job is to balance extraction with maintenance.
22. The Bureau of Land Management does it all, from resolving cow disputes, to leasing land for mining, to building parks.
23. Federal Land belongs to America and she can do with it what she wants.
24. Federal Lands will often have their own separate federal law enforcement officers.
25. Private citizens can't buy property on Federal Land.
26. There are Americans who will tell you they live in a National Park.
27. The Department of Defense that builds the housing can ignore all of a state’s laws about housing or health codes.
28. States can't build their own towns or parks or factories in Federal Land to collect any taxes from the land.
29. Today there's a big political divide between the states that have a lot of Federal Land and the states that don't.
30. With Eastern States thinking of Federal Land as belonging to the nation as a whole, Western states are getting nuclear bombs detonated in their back yards.