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Land Speculator “Profits” Reconsidered: Central Iowa as a Test Case

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  • Swierenga, Robert P.

Abstract

“Show us a non-resident who has made money speculating in western land,” wrote a frontier newspaper editor in 1850, “and we will show you a rare bird, more rare by far than a successful gold hunter.” Despite this warning and dozens like it, thousands of investors ventured surplus or borrowed funds on frontier land throughout the nineteenth century. Many, in fact, jumped from one frontier to the next on the heels of government surveyors and land officers. Either these businessmen were gluttons for punishment, or speculating in government land was far more rewarding than some contemporaries were willing to admit.

Suggested Citation

  • Swierenga, Robert P., 1966. "Land Speculator “Profits” Reconsidered: Central Iowa as a Test Case," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 1-28, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:26:y:1966:i:01:p:1-28_06
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    Cited by:

    1. Alston, Eric & Crepelle, Adam & Law, Wilson & Murtazashvili, Ilia, 2021. "The chronic uncertainty of American Indian property rights," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 473-488, June.
    2. Gary D. Libecap, 2018. "Property Rights to Frontier Land and Minerals: US Exceptionalism," NBER Working Papers 24544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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