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As early as 1867, bills were introduced in Congress to encourage irrigation and reclamation of unproductive land and, in 1877, the Desert Land Act linked irrigation to grants of public land. Congress also authorized studies of the Westâs geology and water supply, which culminated in comprehensive reports.
Therefore, the immediate goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original colonies acquired from the UK at the end of the war. In addition, the act provided for the political organization of these territories.f the thirty-six sections of 640 acres in each township, the sixteenth was reserved for the maintenance of public schools.. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by Congress on May 20, 1785.