"Map of the United States Exhibiting the Grants of Lands Made by the General Government to Aid in the Construction of Railroads and Wagon Roads", U.S. Department of Interior

Public Domain Land, the largest land give-away ever, was granted by Congress to 19th century railroad barons to finance the construction of railroad lines. As the map illustrates, most of these grants were west of the Mississippi River and totaled more than 174 million acres. Particularly striking is the depiction of Iowa, where the entire state is covered in land grants. This is a somewhat misleading representation, however, as most grants were for alternate sections of land along the route of the road. Additionally, the railroads were not able to sell all of these grants and many reverted back to the federal government.

This historical and desirable railroad map may have been the source for a map used in an 1884 campaign poster by Democrats claiming a giveaway of public lands to special interests.

References:

Condition: B+

Issued folding with faint offsetting and a couple of short splits at the fold junctions.