Introduction. The early administrative experience, 1785 - 1800. Albert Gallatin and the expansion of the land system 1801 - 1812. The organization of the general land office 1812 - 1814. The land system and the administration of the military bounty lands 1814 - 1818. The land office business 1815 - 1819: preparation. The land office business 1815 - 1819: fulfillment. Panic and relief. An uncertain business in the 1820's. The private uses of the land business: the republicans and others. Administering the general pre-emption acts of 1830, 1832 and 1834. The land office business 1830 - 1837: floodtide. Administering the land office business, 1830 - 1837. The Jacksonians and the land business. The close of an era. Notes. Sampling and recent scholarship. Bibliography. Index.
