1848 Treaty Recognized Mexican Land Claims
California was in a state of upheaval once the Gold Rush started. With no effective transition from Mexican laws t o American ones, newly arrived gold minders who did not discover the riches they intended turned to squatting on the vast unfenced holdings of Mexican landowners. Thousands of new settlers setting up camp throughout California knew little of the provision under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that obligated the state government to uphold Mexican land claims. California’s land holdings were essentially in a state of chaos and confusion. Congress immediately enacted the California Land Act of 1851, formally titled “An Act to Ascertain and Settle the Private Land Claims in the State of California.” The law is perhaps one of the most influential acts of legislation that affected California during the nineteenth century.
The Land Act of 1851 provided for the appointment of a three-man committee, the Board of Land Commissioners, assigned to determine the validity of private land claims and distinguish between private Mexican land grants and the public domain. All lands not presented within two years are rejected by the Board were not considered public domain.
The Board of Land Commissioners took an often controversial and very liberal stance in confirming Mexican land claims. Instead of adhering to a strict interpretation of Mexican law, which would have invalidated a majority of the claims on the grounds that they did not have official documentation from the Mexican government, the Board of Land Commissioners acted decidedly “in the spirit of the law.” They certified and approved claims based primarily on custom and actual occupation of the land, a position they interpreted to be “morally correct” in supporting the promises of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Consequently, the decisions of the Commission worked in favor of the Mexican claimants, much to the dismay of the newly arrived settlers.
Despite the official stance of the Commission that was to the benefit of Mexican land grant holders, the process of confirmation took an average seventeen years from the date of filing to issuing the official U.S. patent. This, in effect, was counterproductive and to the detriment of nearly all landholders. While awaiting confirmation land was often not salable, or sold substantially under market value because of the disputed title, and legal fees mounted. Squatters often ignored the legitimacy of Mexican land grants, believing that the U.S. government would ultimately act in their favor. Although eventually the Land Act of 1851 settled most of California’s private land claims for the time being, it was a drastic indication of the necessity to secure title to real property, and the need for a secure and reliable system of land transfer.
