The Evolution of Land Ownership

Excerpts: In July of 1787, Manasseh Cutler, lawyer, physician, preacher, and real estate dealer, persuaded the Congress to quickly pass the Northwest Ordinance, and coincidentally sell 1.5 million acres of the new territory to his Ohio Company. The Ordinance became the "settlement constitution" for territory west of the original colonial states. The Ohio Company land deal became a milestone in real property speculation. Today land is still an economic good which may serve as a financial asset, a factor of production, or a consumption good. Land also serves psychological, social, and political purposes. All these purposes are reflected in landownership, its past and present status in the United States, and its likely direction in the future.