Accept & Close. We use cookies to customise our website for you, giving you the best possible user experience. If you continue without changing your settings, weâll assume that you are happy to receive this personalisation.
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.
After the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act had been passed, the Poor Law Guardians had to provide accommodation for paupers. They did this by building  workhouses . The aim of the workhouse was to discourage people from claiming poor relief and conditions were to be made as forbidding as possible.