Congress Passes the Reclamation Act
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Ecology and the Environment Series
- Categories: Government and Politics, Agriculture, Environmental Issues
- Subcategories: Laws, Acts, Legislation, Ecology, Environment, Conservation
- Curriculum: American History 1901-1950
- Geographical Location: Washington, D.C.
- Date: June 17, 1902
Article abstract: The 1902 Reclamation Act provided for federal development of irrigated agriculture and eventually transformed the Western United States.
Summary of Event
On June 17, 1902, the Reclamation Act (sometimes called the Newlands Act) became law after more than twenty years of discussion and failed federal land policy. Before 1902, irrigation and reclamation policies in the arid West were mostly aimed at promoting private and state initiatives to develop irrigated agriculture. The act represented the first of several conservation initiatives...
[The entire page is 2297 words long]
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