1837 Martin Van Buren - US General Land Office - Need for Consolidation

 As of 1837, President Martin Van Buren stated that almost 70 million acres of public land had been sold the General Land Office (GLO), of which more than half was purchased for actual settlement. At the time the amount seemed extraordinary, but pales in comparison to the more than 500 million acres disbursed by the office between 1862 and 1904. Nevertheless, it was of concern to some and prompted Van Buren to question the federal government's intrusion into what were "internal concerns of the States". These were not public parks or federal land, but rather unsettled land within existing states and territories. According to President Van Buren in his first State of the Union, in some parts of the country, the registers and receivers of GLO had "very little to  do". Van Buren suggested that perhaps some districts should be consolidated, and the government employees let go. He even went as far as suggesting that eventually, some states will be able transfer public lands to buyers without the "machinery of the Federal land offices altogether".  After all as the famous saying goes, "the best government is that which governs least."

"All who take a comprehensive view of our federal system and believe that one of its greatest excellencies consists in interfering as little as possible with the internal concerns of the States look forward with great interest to this result."

The GLO was first created in 1812 to encourage homesteading, westward expansion and economic benefits for U.S. citizens.  District land offices handled the business and transferring of titles relative to public land in a declared land district.  Each district was headed up by a "Register of the Land Office" appointed by the President who recorded the applications and prepared monthly reports. A separate government official in each office was responsible for the accounting of public funds associated with each land claim.  The first district land office opened ay Steubenville, Ohio in 1800, and by 1890 more than 50 years after President Van Buren suggested consolidation, it reached its peak at 123 offices.   In 1946, the GLO was merged with the United States Grazing Service to become the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Today, the BLM has about 10,000 employees and is responsible for administering 245 million acres of land or about 10% of America's land base. That is something I don't think anyone could have imagined back in 1837.

Here is the full paragraph on consolidating the General Land Offices in 1837

"In some sections of the country most of the public lands have been sold, and the registers and receivers have very little to do. It is a subject worthy of inquiry whether in many cases two or more districts may not be consolidated and the number of persons employed in this business considerably reduced. Indeed, the time will come when it will be the true policy of the General Government, as to some of the States, to transfer to them for a reasonable equivalent all the refuse and unsold lands and to withdraw the machinery of the Federal land offices altogether. All who take a comprehensive view of our federal system and believe that one of its greatest excellencies consists in interfering as little as possible with the internal concerns of the States look forward with great interest to this result."

References

“First Annual Message.” First Annual Message | The American Presidency Project, 5 Dec. 1837, www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/first-annual-message-4

https://www.blm.gov/about/history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_General_Land_Office